Welcome to the Democrats' Post-Obama Family Feud

The progressive movement is in search of a leader and a voice to pressure Hillary Clinton to embrace populist economic issues.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) addresses a rally in support of Social Security and Medicare on Capitol Hill September 18, 2014 in Washington, DC.
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By Lisa Lerer

December 12, 2014 at 10:45 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

It's turning out to be an awkward week for the Dean family. As former Vermont Governor Howard Dean announced Wednesday that he would back a Hillary Clinton presidential bid, the progressive group he founded declared that they were launching a major campaign to coax Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren into the race.

"Some of the other candidates may not be happy about this but they’ll thank us for it later," Jim Dean, executive director of Democracy for America, and Howard's brother, said of the effort to woo Warren. "Part of this is trying to wake the party up." His position couldn't be more different than his brother's, who praised Clinton as a "mature, seasoned, thoughtful leader" in an editorial published by Politico that morning.