Elizabeth Warren takes credit for ideas behind Occupy Wall Street protests

Elizabeth Warren said the Occupy Wall Street protests that have spread across the country are built on her ideas.

“I created much of the intellectual foundation for what they do,” the Massachusetts Senate candidate told The Daily Beast. “I support what they do.”

{mosads}Prior to jumping into the race for Sen. Scott Brown’s (R-Mass.) seat Warren, a liberal favorite, was also the mastermind of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She has been an outspoken advocate of tougher regulations of Wall Street. But Republican opposition in Congress prevented her from taking the lead role at the new agency.

Warren has gotten the support of national Democrats and liberals in her quest to unseat Brown but she has to get through the Democratic primary first. She recently won the endorsement of Emily’s List.  

In the same interview, Warren, 62, admitted that into her 40s she was a Republican. 

“I was a Republican because I thought that those were the people who best supported markets. I think that is not true anymore,” Warren said. “I was a Republican at a time when I felt like there was a problem that the markets were under a lot more strain. It worried me whether or not the government played too activist a role.”

— This story was updated at 2:04 p.m.