Article snippet: CHARLESTON, S.C. — Her dismissal from a job 48 years ago had been fresh round of hand-wringing about her willingness to court big donors for the Democratic Party if she is the presidential nominee. So as Senator Elizabeth Warren faced a knot of reporters after a walking tour of an environmentally degraded neighborhood here on Wednesday, she had to work to keep the focus on the matter at hand. “Did anyone,” she asked pointedly, “have a question on environmental justice?” Warren’s steady climb in the polls is drawing increasingly frequent barbs from her rivals and heightened scrutiny of her every move, opening up a new phase for a disciplined candidate that could distract voters from the core message and policy proposals that have helped propel her rise. But as the heat picked up in recent days, Warren’s strategy — as shown in her remarks in South Carolina this week — has started to emerge. While the idea of combat has long been central to Warren’s political brand — the word “fight” is in her campaign slogan and two of her book titles — she appears to be carefully picking her battles. She has largely ignored jabs from her Democratic opponents while saving her fire for attacks more central to her political identity — an approach that seems intended to project strength and focus ahead of a potential contest with President Trump while downplaying her Democratic rivals. Warren strongly fought back when the conservative Washington Free Beacon questioned the accuracy of... Link to the full article to read more