According to a new article in The Daily Beast, Elizabeth Warren is the “de facto leader of the American left.” While the honorific was only given to her in an attempt to make it seem as though the GOP was solely responsible for her rise in politics, a new poll shows that it might not be entirely fictitious. According to YouGov’s survey of likely Democratic voters in Iowa, Elizabeth Warren leads Hillary Clinton 31 percent to 24 percent.

There are caveats, of course. Not enough Iowans are familiar enough with Warren to actually put her above Clinton in a head-to-head poll. YouGov’s results were tabulated only after respondents were given a biography of the Massachusetts senator. Still, even that provides a glimpse into how desperate the left is for an alternative to the all-but-crowned Clinton. Conservatives are grumbling about being forced to accept Jeb Bush in 2016, but it appears that Democrats have the same issue.

Liberalism Incarnate

While it’s good to see some fireworks on the other side of the aisle, it cannot be overstated how devastating a Warren presidency would be to this country. You thought Clinton was bad? You thought Obama was bad? Warren, playing her faux-populist character all the way into leftwing stardom, is much worse. Just take last month’s gushing op-ed in The Atlantic, which put it like this:

Hillary Clinton speaks to those Democrats who feel that Barack Obama went too far. Elizabeth Warren speaks to those Democrats who feel he didn’t go far enough.

That scary enough for you? That there are Democrats who feel that way about Obama is disturbing enough. That there is a potential 2016 candidate who would cater to those Democrats is flat-out terrifying. Warren has insisted that she has no interest in running, but that could change in a hurry. She has the support of the liberal elitists. She has the support of idiot college liberals (well, when they’re not drooling over Bernie Sanders). She could change her mind.

If she does, it’s bad for two reasons. One, she could actually win. But even if that unlikely scenario doesn’t come to pass, she could force Clinton further to the left. That could pave the way for a Republican victory, but it could also force the GOP to the left as well. And if history is anything to go by, that’s exactly what will happen. In fact, merely by touting Bush as the candidate to beat, the GOP has already decided that it’s not going to put conservatism on the ballot in 2016.

A further slide to the left is the last thing this country needs. A candidate supported by the likes of Michael Moore is dangerous for the future of this nation. Hopefully, Warren remains true to her word. Hopefully, she doesn’t run. Because if she does, we might look back on the age of Obama and say, you know, that guy wasn’t really that bad.

How’s that for scary?