Elizabeth Warren: No, Romney, corporations are not people

Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren struck a strong populist tone in her prime time speech at the Democratic convention Wednesday night, saying that the political system is rigged in favor of powerful interests, but that she and President Obama would work tirelessly to change that.

In a rousing stemwinder that ignited the convention hall, Warren attacked those entrenched interests, saying they stood in the way of real progress for average Americans. In doing so, she also lumped Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in with that crowd of entrenched interests, accusing Romney of favoring policies that would enrich him and his business friends at the expense of the majority of the country.

"People feel like the system is rigged against them. And here's the painful part: they're right," Warren said. "The system is rigged."

"Look around. Oil companies guzzle down billions in subsidies. Billionaires pay lower tax rates than their secretaries. Wall Street CEOs—the same ones who wrecked our economy and destroyed millions of jobs—still strut around Congress, no shame, demanding favors, and acting like we should thank them," she continued.

Warren said that she would work to, "level the playing field" and return power to average people. And in a swipe at Romney, Warren said the people she would represent are not the kind of people who, like Romney, move their assets to foreign banks.

"Not one of them—not one—stashes their money in the Cayman Islands to avoid paying their fair share of taxes," Warren said of the people she's met while campaigning in Massachusetts.

Later, in a more direct attack on Romney, Warren slammed his statement that corporations are people.

"No, Governor Romney, corporations are not people," Warren said. "People have hearts, they have kids, they get jobs, they get sick, they cry, they dance. They live, they love, and they die. And that matters. That matters because we don't run this country for corporations, we run it for people. And that's why we need Barack Obama."

Watch the whole speech below: