Elizabeth Warren's "Pocahontas" Problem?

[asexual trans victimologist]

She's something of a fool, for reasons that were relatively easy to divine already (this weird combination of perceived intellectual elitism and vague bumpkinness that's come out in this situation). She's not, in and of this specifically, made herself a worse Senate candidate than Scott Brown, if only because we would have a fool who would occasionally vote based on something other than the specific kind of corporate propping-up that I find most objectionable (I'm not naive enough to believe there wouldn't be other kinds of corporate propping-up) rather than one who wouldn't.

[Communists For McCain]

"High cheekbones, like all the Indians have."

If a Republican in a high-profile Senate race had said this, it'd be all over the national news and there would be a big long thread in which all the liberals, Nathan included, would be yelling about how this is proof of how evil and hateful all Republicans are.  (Not that I like Republicans, but there *is* an *obvious* double standard).

Yeah, that was a bit stupid.

So is culturalist behavior (which I make a point to lampoon at times).

[Senator Napoleon]

The sinking of her ship starts now. It was fun while it lasted.

[Invisible Obama]

How does this end an campaign? It's silliness. It's May and these sort of stories have a short shelf life, it won't last until next month, let alone until November. Actual issues might have something to do with how this race turns out, but maybe I'm wrong about that.

[Landslide Lyndon]

How does this end an campaign? It's silliness. It's May and these sort of stories have a short shelf life, it won't last until next month, let alone until November. Actual issues might have something to do with how this race turns out, but maybe I'm wrong about that.

Remember how her mistake about the Red Sox would be the beginning of the end of her campaign? Fun times.

[Keystone Phil]

Great candidate!

[shua]

"High cheekbones, like all the Indians have."

If a Republican in a high-profile Senate race had said this, it'd be all over the national news and there would be a big long thread in which all the liberals, Nathan included, would be yelling about how this is proof of how evil and hateful all Republicans are.  (Not that I like Republicans, but there *is* an *obvious* double standard).

From the video clip it sounds like she was recounting a story her grandmother told her.

[Joe Republic]

Elizabeth Warren is 1/32 Cherokee.  As is the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, incidentally.

[Wrecking Ball and Chain]

On a 0-10 scale, 0 being not a scandal at all, 10 being candidate found with a dead body and murder weapon, this ranks around a 2.

[BeccaM]

She is a complete joke and I'm someone who wanted her to live up to the hype. Can't say I'm surprised though.

Why does MA field such awful Democratic candidates from an infinite pool of options? I guess years of just relying on the Kennedys contributed.

[wormyguy]

She is a complete joke and I'm someone who wanted her to live up to the hype. Can't say I'm surprised though.

Why does MA field such awful Democratic candidates from an infinite pool of options? I guess years of just relying on the Kennedys contributed.

You pretty much hit the nail on the head.  Political machines are very insular, clubby, and downright weird, and the candidates they nominate often reflect that (the saving grace being that non-existent oppositions frequently nominate mentally-ill and/or extremist candidates running "paper" campaigns).  Warren is proving to be the Democratic equivalent of Katherine Harris or Sharron Angle; she may well lose an election that the Democrats ought to easily win by 15 points or more if they nominated someone even remotely likeable or who even pretends to be a moderate.

The other reason why they don't have a nominee is because in a political machine there generally isn't an "infinite pool of options" - there are so many multi-decade incumbents that the bench is pretty short.  Not only that but everyone high-profile wants to wait for a sure victory before running, and won't declare for an election in which they have even the possibility of losing.

[Harry]

Why is Scott Brown so lucky?  I can't believe the Democrats might blow this one AGAIN...

[Invisible Obama]

Let's talk about something of substance instead, like ethics.

http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/05/03/brown-staff-treads-line-blends-official-work-with-campaign-activity/464XAe7Tu1n4WwUBIgquMI/story.html

May not be anything, but it's certainly more worth discussing than this Native American stuff. How much more of this sort of thing is really going on? Just putting information out there.

[wormyguy]

Let's talk about something of substance instead, like ethics.

http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/05/03/brown-staff-treads-line-blends-official-work-with-campaign-activity/464XAe7Tu1n4WwUBIgquMI/story.html

May not be anything, but it's certainly more worth discussing than this. How much more of this sort of thing is really going on? It should be looked into.

So your opinion is that nobody receiving a government salary should be allowed to work on a political campaign?  Good to know!

[Invisible Obama]

Let's talk about something of substance instead, like ethics.

http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/05/03/brown-staff-treads-line-blends-official-work-with-campaign-activity/464XAe7Tu1n4WwUBIgquMI/story.html

May not be anything, but it's certainly more worth discussing than this. How much more of this sort of thing is really going on? It should be looked into.

So your opinion is that nobody receiving a government salary should be allowed to work on a political campaign?  Good to know!

The law says they can't campaign on federal time. Brown needs to explain exactly how much his official staff is involved with his campaign.

[wormyguy]

Let's talk about something of substance instead, like ethics.

http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/05/03/brown-staff-treads-line-blends-official-work-with-campaign-activity/464XAe7Tu1n4WwUBIgquMI/story.html

May not be anything, but it's certainly more worth discussing than this. How much more of this sort of thing is really going on? It should be looked into.

So your opinion is that nobody receiving a government salary should be allowed to work on a political campaign?  Good to know!

The law says they can't campaign on federal time. Brown needs to explain exactly how much his official staff is involved with his campaign.

And the article says they weren't campaigning on federal time, making it quite literally much ado about nothing, unlike Warren lying (or at least maintaining a very dubious half-truth) for career gain.

I mean, people in this thread are saying this proves Brown is desperate, but if your best "scandals" are that his daughter's on his health insurance and one of his congressional staffers posted a video to his campaign youtube account...

[Invisible Obama]

And the article says they weren't campaigning on federal time, making it quite literally much ado about nothing, unlike Warren lying (or at least maintaining a very dubious half-truth) for career gain.

I mean, people in this thread are saying this proves Brown is desperate, but if your best "scandals" are that his daughter's on his health insurance and one of his congressional staffers posted a video to his campaign youtube account...

It's a very thin line where the law goes, I just noted the article for discussion. I'm just curious about how much deeper it could go.

And hypocrisy on policy is an issue. You can't seriously rail against a law and then take advantage of it, without looking hypocritical.

[Bacon King]

I can't sleep and I have nothing productive to do tonight so I looked into this Cherokee ancestry thing.

The ancestor in question, Neoma (or Oma) O.C. Sarah Smith, was almost certainly the child of Wyatt and Peggy Smith, and there's no indication either of them had Cherokee ancestry. I suppose it's possible that when the family moved from North Carolina to Tennessee and they were passing through the Cherokee nation that they took in a young Cherokee girl- her name doesn't actually show up on records until 1820, when she was married to J.H. Crawford and living next door to Wyatt and Peggy in Tennessee- but I don't know how likely something like that is to have happened. It would explain the weird name and initials possibly hiding a Cherokee name, though, in trying to pass as white.

I think it's more likely though that William J Crawford in his 1894 marriage was just putting his mom's race down as Cherokee to try to prove ancestry to get a free Indian land grant from the Dawes Commission (which was established a year before). Literally tens of thousands of whites tried to falsely prove Native American ancestry to the Commission to get a land grant.

Not saying she doesn't actually have Native American ancestry or anything; being a white person from Oklahoma she's probably got 1/32 ancestry from some relative anyway. This probably isn't the source, though.

[krazen1211]

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view/20220504warren_brings_no_peace_to_dems/srvc=home&position=0


“There’s nobody watching this that doesn’t think she’s in big trouble,” one well-known Massachusetts Democrat said.




Yep, they are panicking. Next time perhaps the Democrats will nominate a more generic male candidate.

[Invisible Obama]

If Brown wins, it certainly won't be because of this.....

[Landslide Lyndon]

It's funny how this thing has everyone hyperventilating but Brown's Obamacare hypocrisy is business as usual.
Anyone want to bet that by Labor Day only krazey and his fellow nutjobs will remember the "Pocahontas Scandal"?

[Gravis Marketing]

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view/20220504warren_brings_no_peace_to_dems/srvc=home&position=0


“There’s nobody watching this that doesn’t think she’s in big trouble,” one well-known Massachusetts Democrat said.

The Herald is going to run "sky is falling" articles and damning anonymous quotes from "very important Dems" about Warren every day from now until Election Day. It's what they do. If this column isn't by Howie Carr, I expect the next two or three posted to this thread will be. 

It's hard to see this as being anything anyone will remember a week from now.  

[Oakvale]

Thoughts -

1) This is embarrassing and a stupid gaffe by Warren, who's a far, far overhyped candidate anyway. This is what happens when you run untested academics for high office, though.

2) That said, I can't imagine this changing anyone's vote, or being remember by anyone but the resident freepers come Election Day.

[ModerateCoward]

This is MA, she'll win by 3-5 points.

[Communists For McCain]

Thoughts -

1) This is embarrassing and a stupid gaffe by Warren, who's a far, far overhyped candidate anyway. This is what happens when you run untested academics for high office, though.

2) That said, I can't imagine this changing anyone's vote, or being remember by anyone but the resident freepers come Election Day.

This.

Sums up my thoughts on the matter exactly.