Third Way VP indicates they fear Elizabeth Warren's influence on the party.
It seems they feel they have the right to determine who speaks for the party. Their now defunct partner, the DLC, felt the same way. They also used their power and influence to denigrate those on the left as fringe.
I don't think they worry about the possibility of her running for president as much as they worry about her outspoken economic populist tendencies.
From Truthdig:
How Elizabeth Warren Is Scaring the Crap Out of Think Tanks and Banks
The Massachusetts senator caused a stir this week after the Third Way think tank wrote an op-ed Monday warning Democrats not to follow Warren “over the populist cliff.”
....But what’s truly behind all this resentment toward Warren? Fear, of course. Just read what Kessler, Third Way’s senior vice president, had to say about the Massachusetts Democrat, according to the Daily Kos:
...“The impetus was really—we saw after the most recently, this push that okay, it’s time to really move the national Democratic party to a much more liberal agenda, in this case, Senator Warren was the standard bearer—she’s on the cover of a lot of magazines,” he said in an interview on Sirius XM with Ari Rabin-Havt. “We were a bit alarmed by that.”
....“She is a very compelling elected official and national figure,” he said. “Her involvement in that particular bill, we just looked at it and said ‘okay, this seems to be starting to get out of hand.’”
They are afraid others might notice her popularity and start speaking out as well. They can't let that happen.
From Salon:
The point of economic populism and pushing Democrats to the left is to push them to the left, not to beat Hillary
They’re not afraid that Warren will run for president, they’re afraid that she’ll be so popular that other senators will start acting like her. They’re worried that she’ll have money to direct to candidates who share her views. They’re worried that Warren might embarrass Democrats into passing stricter bank regulations. They’re worried that finance’s iron grip on the Democratic Party might weaken. The impetus for writing the editorial was Third Way’s realization that Warren was sabotaging the decades-long project that turned cutting Social Security into a bipartisan goal. A lot of money and time was spent encouraging elite consensus around “entitlement reform,” and suddenly a bunch of senators are talking about making the program more generous. That, of course, is a wildly popular idea, judging by all polling conducted on the subject, but the anti-populism backlash relies on reinforcing the common Washington idea that it is brave to oppose policies most people want and would benefit from. The bankers and CEOs who back Third Way understand that their policy preferences have won out in the Democratic Party in spite of popular opinion.
I doubt those with the corporatist Third Way mindset will let up on the left. After all look what they did in 2003. The DLC which was still active then, and they actually called a press conference to declare that Howard Dean was not the man to be president.
The D in DLC doesn't stand for Dean
The 'D' in DLC Doesn't Stand for Dean (David Von Drehle, May 15, 2003, Washington Post)
More than 50 centrist Democrats, including Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner, met here yesterday to plot strategy for the "New Democrat" movement. To help get the ball rolling they read a memo by Al From and Bruce Reed, the chairman and president of the Democratic Leadership Council. The memo dismissed Dean as an elitist liberal from the "McGovern-Mondale wing" of the party -- "the wing that lost 49 states in two elections, and transformed Democrats from a strong national party into a much weaker regional one."
"It is a shame that the DLC is trying to divide the party along these lines," said Dean spokesman Joe Trippi. "Governor Dean's record as a centrist on health care and balancing the budget speaks for itself."
As founder of the DLC, From has been pushing the Democratic Party to the right for nearly 20 years. He was in tall cotton, philosophically speaking, when an early leader of the DLC, Bill Clinton, was elected president in 1992. As Clinton's domestic policy guru, Reed pushed New Democrat ideas -- such as welfare reform -- that were often unpopular with party liberals.
"We are increasingly confident that President Bush can be beaten next year, but Dean is not the man to do it," Reed and From wrote. "Most Democrats aren't elitists who think they know better than everyone else."
They will keep trying to undermine Warren's efforts, but I think she is strong enough not to cave to them. Good for her.
= new reply since forum marked as read
It's a good thing. 
Matt Adler
Disclose your Wall Street donations and act with transparency!
13 · about a week ago..
Susan Gibbs
You might as well be Republicans!! No more of your brand of Democrats!!!
12 · about a week ago..
Lucy Donnan
I wish your page had a "dislike" button.
12 · last Thursday..
edited to add a couple more gems:
Judyray Plumery You're nothing but Astro-Turf. A complete fraud on the American people. How about full disclosure for a change? Elizabeth Warren is calling you out, and about time, too.
Lloyd Lachow we're onto you, corporate schmucks.
Holy-moly, the hatred is palpable:
Ronda M Fulfer Third Way? NO WAY! You guys are exposed as very wall street types that brought down our economy.
Well boys, trying to trick liberals is a lot harder than tricking tea party types. And that's because liberals have an INTERNAL conscience and they a...See More
David Shuff Third Way, kindly STFU and get out of our way.
mie Marinelli What a crock! If it looks like a Koch and quacks like a Koch....it's a Koch. We aren't the gullible puppets you are used to dealing with. The more you attempt to deceive us, the more obvious you become to us. So, by all means, please continue.
having WAY too much power in the Turd Way remnants of it... Time to stop drinking the Kochaine Koolaid!
meme that Martha Raddatz brought up in the debates which she moderated (and which we all see in other forms - from TV ads touting 401(k)'s and mutual funds, to op-eds which rest on the presumption that SS is going broke):
>>A lot of money and time was spent encouraging elite consensus around “entitlement reform"<<
Wall Street. Duh. You mean to tell me that those who stand to benefit handsomely from privatization would spearhead a misinformation campaign designed to convince 'dumb money' and voters that they need to 'take retirement into your own hands!'? Color me shocked. SHOCKED, I tell you! 
It was always obvious - at least here on DU, and to most of us who was pushing that agenda. Naturally, the talking heads that go on Sunday morning are paid EXTREMELY well to ignore the reality that SS as a program is not going broke, but MAY have to tweak sources of revenue in order to meet obligations. K&R
She is so impressive.
-Laelth
Welcome to DU. Yes, we do have momentum.
They had a lot of success, but let's hope enough will speak out now. But perhaps I am dreaming. 
Been too long though.
Bvar22
I hope she keeps on.
How this particular Senator is able to reduce the 1% into whiny 2 year old's. It would be wonderful if she and Bernie could work together on some meaningful legislation, just out of curiosity, to see what they could do together.
I feel fortunate to have this type of Senator working for us right now, and just in time. The weed that is the Third Way needs a bucket of Roundup.
-p
It is starting to sound that way. Fingers crossed.
There are not enough of the leaders doing that. Yes, the sentiment is there in the party, now we need the leaders to catch up to us.
We need to keep pushing against them.
Thanks for the rec. Good combo on the bumper sticker.
Awesome thread!
The Republicans in my family (there are a lot of them) are that way. I think the Tea Party types snuck up on most of them.
I think you remembered your sarcasm tag. 
