Warren Is AWOL and Should Step Down [OPINION]

Elizabeth Warren is, as expected, not doing her job as U.S. Senator from Massachusetts while she is out campaigning for the Democrat presidential nomination. Many of us predicted this would happen, and it has.

The website Pro-Publica says Warren’s 44.8 percent absentee vote rate for 2019 is "the fourth highest in the Senate." Warren has missed all 17 recorded votes this month alone. The Boston Herald reports: "From April through June 2019, she missed 22 percent of roll call votes, and from July through September that missed-vote rate rose to 70 percent, according to GovTrack. And since October she’s missed 96 percent of roll call votes."

This should not come as much of a surprise to anyone. When Warren was campaigning for re-election last year, voters were warned that she would quickly hit the campaign trail even as she insisted she was not running for president and vowed to serve out her six-year term if re-elected. Of course, it was not the first time Warren has struggled to tell the truth.

Many senators have run for president before and that's fine, provided they continue to do the job they were elected to do while they campaign. Sometimes a window opens halfway through a senate term and it is an opportunity that might not present itself again. I get it. But Warren was at the end of her term. She should have opted not to seek re-election and focus instead on her presidential bid. This would have allowed Massachusetts to continue to have full-time representation in Washington.

She selfishly put her own interests first. What else is new?

New Bedford's lucrative scalloping industry is facing a serious threat from offshore wind developers and Warren is nowhere to be found. The Herald says Warren has missed a number of important votes "on the nomination of judges, appropriations bills for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, and other amendments and resolutions."

Elizabeth Warren has done a poor job in representing Massachusetts and her campaign for president has made matters worse. Warren should consider resigning from the Senate now so that Massachusetts can have the full-time representation it deserves. 

StopPocahontas.com has prepared a petition asking Warren to step down. You might want to review it and consider signing it if you believe Warren is not doing the job she is being paid for.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.