Promising to Take on 'Rigged System That Props Up the Rich and Powerful,' Elizabeth Warren Launches 2020 Presidential Campaign

Sen. Elizabeth Warren waves at the crowd ahead of a campaign rally in Lawrence, Massachusetts. (Photo: Reuters)

Promising to Take on 'Rigged System That Props Up the Rich and Powerful,' Elizabeth Warren Launches 2020 Presidential Campaign

"Millions and millions and millions of families are struggling to survive in a system that has been rigged. We are here to say enough is enough."

Vowing to take on a "rigged system that props up the rich and powerful and kicks dirt on everyone else," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) officially launched her 2020 presidential campaign in Lawrence, Massachusetts on Saturday with a call for bold reforms to America's dysfunctional economic and political status quo.

"If you don't have money and you don't have connections, Washington doesn't want to hear from you. That is corruption, plain and simple, and we need to call it out."
--Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Noting that President Donald Trump is an alarming symptom of America's political crisis, but not its cause, Warren declared that "we can't afford to just tinker around the edges--a tax credit here, a regulation there."

"Our fight is for big, structural change," said the Massachusetts senator, who throughout her speech invoked popular policies like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, a wealth tax, and ambitious criminal justice reform.

During her remarks, Warren repeatedly lambasted the fundamental injustice of a political system that rewards those with the deepest pockets at the expense of the most vulnerable.

"If you don't have money and you don't have connections, Washington doesn't want to hear from you," Warren said. "That is corruption, plain and simple, and we need to call it out."

"Now when I talk about this, some rich guys scream, 'class warfare!' Well let me tell you something: These same rich guys have been waging class warfare against hardworking people for decades," the senator added. "I say it's time to fight back."

As remedies to America's deep-seated political and economic woes, Warren proposed a wide array of reforms, including overturning Citizens United, barring members of Congress from accepting lobbyist donations, and scrapping "every single voter suppression rule that racist politicians use to steal votes from people of color."

Warren also vowed to spend no time "sucking up to a bunch of big donors on Wall Street" and promised to run a campaign free of PAC money and billionaire donations.

"Millions and millions and millions of families are struggling to survive in a system that has been rigged," the senator said. "We are here to say enough is enough."

Watch Warren's first campaign event below:

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