Marianne Williamson plans to stay in the 2020 race, and backs impeaching 'lawless' Trump
Author and Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson might be lagging in the polls — but she doesn’t plan to slow down or drop out any time soon.
Despite her low poll numbers, Williamson has raised money at a surprisingly brisk clip. She told Yahoo Finance on Wednesday that she pulled in roughly $3 million during the third quarter — double what she brought in during Q2.
“As long as people are showing up at my events… as long as they are sending the money... I’m in there,” Williamson said.
Currently, the colorful California activist is polling at the lower end of the wide field of Democratic hopefuls — behind California Senator Kamala Harris and tied with businessman Andrew Yang.
Yet despite her rising popularity Williamson does not qualify for the next Democratic debates in October, in which the 3 frontrunners — former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) — will likely fight to separate themselves from the pack.
Williamson told Yahoo Finance that if she doesn’t win the nomination, she would support any Democratic candidate with 2 or 3 particularly in mind — though she wouldn’t specify which.
The candidate said that the American people “have a lot of power in their hands.” She believes that as an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump heats up, the public has reached a point where all citizens must hold a “lawless elected official” accountable.
“Do I believe the president has committed impeachable offenses? Absolutely I do,” Williamson said.
“It’s gone too far, we have to do our own constitutional duties, not only people in the legislature but we as citizens,” she said. “There has to be a point at which we all hold accountable any lawless elected officials, including the President of the United States.”
Backs expanded health care, higher taxes on the wealthy
Part of Williamson’s economic policy proposals to close the wealth gap involve universal healthcare. Her website states that “preferably” this would be a “Medicare-for-all type of plan.”
She told Yahoo Finance that she “intellectually” supports Sanders’ proposal for Medicare-for-all, but that the “political and personal realities” are such that the country would need to start with “a public option in addition to Obamacare.”
And how would she fund universal healthcare and her other policies? While other Democratic candidates want to tax the rich, Williamson isn’t completely advocating for increased taxes on the wealthy.
Williamson first would repeal the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which Republicans have overwhelmingly stated has been helpful for the economy. Yet critics have blasted the law as a tax cut for the wealthy.
“To repeal that tax cut is not putting a higher tax on the rich,” she explained. “It’s just stopping this ridiculous slide by which we have made this huge transfer of wealth over the last 40 years into the hands of a very few Americans.”
Williamson did, however, back a tax cut for the middle class, and ending corporate welfare.
“I would stop the corporate subsidies such as the $26 billion that we gave to oil and gas alone last year,” she continued. “I would also take back this ridiculous way the U.S. government abdicated its right to negotiate with big pharmaceutical companies to lower drug prices.”
The military budget would also take a hit — Williamson said she would fully fund all military needs but that “the money on top of that” would go away.
“And I also agree about the 3% tax on assets of billionaires and 2% on $50 million or more,” she added.
Williamson also wants to eliminate student loan debt for all Americans, saying that her vision for creating peace and prosperity is built around the core principle of helping people thrive.
“That’s where money comes from,” Williamson explained. “Money comes from releasing people so they can live their dreams.”
Kristin Myers is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.
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