Wall Street Reform: Elizabeth Warren Says She's Princess Leia, Not Darth Vader

Elizabeth Warren shot back at a Republican congressman who called her Darth Vader this week, saying she’s always seen herself as more of a Princess Leia.

The “Star Wars”-themed insult came from Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, a Missouri Republican, who called Warren “the Darth Vader of the financial services world” during a panel at the American Bankers Association conference on Wednesday. Luetkemeyer also told the crowd of bankers that they needed to “find a way to neuter” the Massachusetts senator, Politico reported.

Warren responded to the comments with a post on her campaign website and in a fundraising email on Thursday.

“My first thought was: Really? I’ve always seen myself more as a Princess Leia-type (a senator and Resistance general who, unlike the guys, is never even remotely tempted by the dark side),” Warren wrote on her website. “Clearly the Force is not strong with Congressman Luetkemeyer (maybe he’s a Trekkie).”

She also objected to the congressman saying he wanted to “neuter” her, calling the comments sexist and emphasizing that insults would not make her back down.

“Why would he go out of his way to say something so sexist and offensive? Is he hostile to all women? Clueless? Afraid? And then I had a second thought: This is all about money,” Warren wrote.

Luetkemeyer, who is a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, frequently receives large campaign donations from the financial industry and recently sponsored the CLEAR Act, which would deregulate community banks. Warren has often criticized big banks and is one of the more prominent voices in Congress on Wall Street reform. She called Leutkemeyer a “Wall Street yes-man” and said that “trying to land the best zinger with my name is just one more way to earn chits and try to cash in big time with that audience.”

Warren promised to continue fighting for her causes despite the name-calling.

“They can call me Darth Vader or Voldemort or the Wicked Witch of Massachusetts for all I care – but I won’t be neutered. I won’t be muzzled. And I won’t stop fighting to level the playing field for working families,” she said.