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Elizabeth Warren: I’m Native American “because my mother told me so”

Elizabeth Warren: I’m Native American “because my mother told me so”

She’s digging in, bolstered by headlines that much of the electorate doesn’t care, via MassLive:

Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren said Thursday that she knows she has Native American ancestry because her mother told her so.

Warren’s comments came after nearly four minutes of tense back and forth between Warren and Fox 25 reporter Sharman Sacchetti and 7News reporter Andy Hiller. As both reporters questioned Warren about why she listed herself as a minority in law directories, Warren refused to answer, saying she had already answered questions about her background.

Finally, Warren said, “I am proud of my family and I am proud of my heritage.”

Hiller followed up: “Does it include an Indian background?”

Warren replied, “Yes.”

“How do you know that?” Hiller asked.

Warren responded, “Because my mother told me so. This is how I live. My mother, my grandmother, my family. This is my family. Scott Brown has launched attacks on my family. I am not backing off from my family.”

Via Fox25 Boston, Elizabeth Warren stonewalling:

Don’t think this is going away. As we approach November, and as more evidence comes out, her blaming Brown and playing the victim isn’t going to work. It doesn’t need convince a lot of the electorate, just enough.

Added: Reader Danelle e-mails that you must, absolutely must read the “reviews” to Pow Wow Chow at Amazon.

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Comments

Not backing off from her family … such a “Trail of Tears”

Frank Scarn | May 24, 2012 at 6:05 pm

“I can remember it as if it were yesterday. My mother Glinda and I were standing in our parlor. I was complaining that my hair just wasn’t right, my grades weren’t good as they should be, and that none of the boys was calling.”

“My mother turned to me and said, ‘Elizabeth, now you just listen to me. If in the future you will just click your heels together three times and say whatever you want, then it will become true. So if you want to be in Kansas or in the Cherokee Nation, just remember to click 3 times.'”

ZOMG…!!!

Scott Brown has NOT launched attacks on her family.

This craven @*&$%### has DISGRACED her family by LYING about it.

Now she’s gonna hide behind mumsie…!?!?!

What a pathetic example for young women.

Yes, and my mother told me there was a Santa Claus, a Tooth Fairy, an Easter Bunny, and that my barky dog Cuddles went to live on a farm in the country where she could bark all day and not bother anyone. My mom was such a liar.

LOL. This is so stupid …. Just like her platform

Teresamerica | May 24, 2012 at 6:27 pm

I guess she’s proud to follow in Obama’s footsteps – having built a composite of her background and life.

Yep, you GOTTA go to the Amazon (apt, no?) Reviews for Pow Wow Chow…

Gotta love her tone voice as she pleads for families as hers is getting hammered, by her lies. The passion. Sorta like Ricky saying “So, we’re back in Paris. It’s Ricky again.”

While men are capable of being manipulative, I find women to indulge in this vice more often than men. (I do believe men have vices in which they out “shine” women, just not manipulation.)

Too bad Elizabeth isn’t as good looking as those NOW women protesting Rush.

LukeHandCool | May 24, 2012 at 7:17 pm

Scott Brown should counter,

“My mother told me you are not Indian. And my mama has just as much proof as yo mama.”

LukeHandCool (who used to love to listen to his wife’s stories of volunteering in their kids’ elementary classrooms. Once, in our daughter’s second-grade class, one of the girls was bossing around a sweet little boy. The boy finally had enough of the girl’s superior verbal skills and finally said, “My mom said you’re bossy!” and walked away. My wife said it was both funny and a little scary seeing the shocked little girl follow after the boy, demanding, “W-What? What did you say?! Your mother said what?! Come back here! What did your mother say?! Wait until I tell my mom what your mom said! My mom is going to be so mad!!”)

Affirmative action could only be justified for one generation. It has long become a form of institutional discrimination. A means to denigrate individual dignity in the same spirit as slavery and the discrimination which followed. Even then, it only recognized a selective history of slavery and the color of its victims.

As for “native” Americans or “Indians”, they were not all innocent victims, and they were not all first-wave inhabitants of these continents. They deserve only the concessions voluntarily afforded to them by the victorious party and nothing more. The circumstances surrounding the establishment of America are not materially different from other nations, empires, kingdoms, etc.

In any case, Warren’s heritage is irrelevant. The mitigation of discrimination should have been and should be handled through an ex post facto review given probable cause. That is the only process by which individual dignity could possibly be preserved. The current approach is only capable of sponsoring corruption.

We are laughing, which is appropriate, but what a sad commentary this story is about our once-great country.

    n.n in reply to Rick. | May 24, 2012 at 10:32 pm

    America’s greatness was short and bitter. The original compromises are what laid the foundation for persistent regression. Unfortunately, there was little alternative at the time. Still, there was decay from the establishment and throughout. The only way to overcome it is for Americans to recognize and establish a reasonable compromise between the natural and enlightened (i.e. consciousness which suggests individual dignity) orders. As it is, there is a large and progressive minority which rejects both on principle. Some for reasons of redistributive change, while others for retributive change, and others yet who suffer from delusions of grandeur.

    It’s a shame, really. The principles described in The Declaration of Independence, and codified in The Constitution, are sound, if incomplete. Too many Americans would voluntarily forfeit their liberty and dignity in exchange for promises to fulfill their dreams of instant gratification (i.e. material, physical, and ego). It is a progressive corruption.

Was that “Native American” or “Naive American”? Since English may or man not be her “native” language Lizzie may have trouble with those homonyms…

Screw this Indian nonsense… the voters of Mass want to know if she can swim.

Lizzie may have trouble with those homonyms…

Bu-but 44 said they could marry, now what Elizard?

ShakesheadOften | May 24, 2012 at 8:02 pm

This is mind-bogglingly absurd…

Crossing her arms and stomping her feet…that ought to do it !!!!!

Professor: Thanks for guiding us to the Amazon.com reviews. They are hysterical, and the most fun I have had since I contributed to #AttackWatch. My favorite out of the many outstanding comments: “I’m a college student majoring in political science and with a minor in 1/32 Cherokee Lineage. These recipes are just what I needed to launch my political career!”

Perhaps this won’t have the effect people here think it will. Look, people can empathize with having faulty memories of what your family told you. I’m not convinced this is going to hurt her at all.

    WarEagle82 in reply to PhillyGuy. | May 24, 2012 at 8:44 pm

    Oddly enough, you may be right. Massachusetts lefties are virtually immune to “truth” and “rational thought.”

      martywd in reply to WarEagle82. | May 24, 2012 at 10:02 pm

         … Massachusetts lefties are virtually immune to “truth” and “rational thought.”

      Sadly, I spent some time with family ‘lefties’ a few weeks ago.   Each time the experience enforces, for me, the fact that ‘lefties’ in general are living an alternate reality.   Their ‘truth’ and their ‘rational thought’ exist in that alternate reality as well.   Thus it is with Warren’s ‘Indian ancestry’ fantasy.   At this point it’s an emotional thing for Warren, ‘truth’ and ‘rational thought’ are irrelevant.   The same will be true for those who vote for Ms. Warren.   ‘Truth’ and ‘rational thought’ will be irrelevant in the decision making process when the vote is cast.
      .

    Mary Sue in reply to PhillyGuy. | May 24, 2012 at 11:34 pm

    It is certainly possible this won’t have the effect many (including me)would like to believe. I am not sure we can draw many conclusions from the poll other than the obvious, so far it isn’t hurting her very much if at all.

    We can draw a few conclusions about her as a candidate if we look at her missed opportunity to put this to bed in this interview. IMO, Ann Althouse crafted the perfect response that would have put a cork in the waiting-for-the-shoe-to-drop party here at LI:

    But… if you sought career advancement by making a claim that was not factually grounded, then it is relevant as you seek political office. It goes to your character, your honesty, your fairness. Now, it might nevertheless be something of an answer to the question to say: You know, I now realize that I didn’t have an absolutely sound basis to believe what I believed, but I did genuinely believe it. And I know that I did expose this belief in a way that could have attracted benefits, and I did come to regret it. I’ve forgiven myself, and I ask you to forgive me, because my mistake was a daughter’s belief in what her mother told her was true, a granddaughter’s belief in her grandmother’s knowledge and honor.

    Had Warren sufficient foresight, delivering that response the Thursday prior to Memorial Day weekend would have permanently foreclosed the possibility this issue could deliver any tangible damage to her candidacy at some unknown point in the future. Warren doubled down instead.

    It is quite possible one or more of Warren’s former colleagues could claim she was quite vocal she intended to benefit from her unsubstantiated claim to Native American heritage. Althouse’s suggested response would have made the appearance of such a colleague far less likely. Who knows what other variations of this shoe could conceivably drop before election day?

    Maybe voters who sent Ted Kennedy swimming to reelection most of his adult life will never care Warren stepped on the backs of the imaginary ancestors she claims to admire. As Prof. Jacobson suggested, however, there may be just enough who care to make a difference in a very close election. I wouldn’t want to be an unseasoned candidate dodging falling shoes in an election that could very well determine which party controls the Senate.

      It is certainly possible this won’t have the effect many (including me)would like to believe. I am not sure we can draw many conclusions from the poll other than the obvious, so far it isn’t hurting her very much if at all.

      I suspect it won’t. There are the Ted Kennedy example, the Barney Frank example, the Gerry Studds example, and others.

      Moreover, I keep noting that Brown has distanced himself from the MA Tea Party types whose enthusiasm got him elected. Whereas he got a lot of momentum from his It’s the people’s seat line in a debate, this time the moderators should be primed to make him look bad and Warren good.

      Brown might be a guy who achieved success by being talented, in the right place, at the right time—and attributes it all to his own wonderful wondrousness.

      I’m not saying the outcome is inevitable. I hope to hear the drop of the shoe which our host has mentioned; in fact, I hope to hear many dropping shoes, heavy ones.

      persecutor in reply to Mary Sue. | May 25, 2012 at 8:19 am

      Ma Warren is trying to drive the debate to compare her victimhood to those of her 1/32 ancestors, and we know that the libs like to define the persons and define the storyline.

      So far, she’s not too successful; we’re still talking about it, and so is Howie Carr!

Another example of the right wing war on women. If Ms. Warren’s mother, who told her about her Indian ancestry, had been a man, this wouldn’t be an issue.

I’m a middle class, retired American. You and your Democratic programs have reduced the value of my retirement savings 30%, reduced the purchasing power what’s left another 25%, sunk the country into debt for generations, bloated governments, buried us in useless regulations, and turned citizens everywhere against one another. For goodness sake, just go home.

And stop whining.

Can’t wait for Ms. Warren’s explanation for why she SUDDENLY started to believe her mother/grandmother/family in the mid-80s, and the SUDDENLY stopped believing her mother/grandmother/family in the mid-90s.

see, the thing is, this all could have been avoided.

if warren had any competance, she could have released a statement plainly saying her family told her she had cherokee heritage, but she never checked.

when she checked, she found out there was none. issue a public apology.

then move on.

the strategy taken is just awful. her integrity is still shattered.

SmokeVanThorn | May 25, 2012 at 12:46 am

This is the equivalent of Milhouse Van Houten’s “But my mom says I’m cool.”

TeaPartyPatriot4ever | May 25, 2012 at 1:08 am

Warren responded, “Because my mother told me so. This is how I live. My mother, my grandmother, my family. This is my family. Scott Brown has launched attacks on my family. I am not backing off from my family.”

This statemet and attitude would be fine, if she was really from native American Indian ancestry and heritage, but the lack of evidence suggests otherwise, as in she is not.

Elizabeth Warren is a fully grown responsible adult, and either she has the mental capacity and ability to discern the difference between mythology, and factual evidence of reality, or she does not.

Juba Doobai! | May 25, 2012 at 1:59 am

So, if her mother had told a virginal Elizabeth Warren that she, Elizabeth, was a harlot, then Elizabeth would tell people that she is a harlot because her mother told her so.

Okay, I understand now. Gotcha. Yeah.

My Momma tole me thet my IQ or JP, I cain’t member whichen it wur wuz 160. Or mebbe 16. Cain’t member whichen it wuz.