September 21, 2012

Brown confronts Warren about heritage

US Sen. Scott Brown Confronts Elizabeth Warren on Her American Indian Claims

By Rob CapricciosoIn his most direct shots against U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Massachusetts, challenged her claims of Native American heritage in their first debate on the evening of September 20—and the shots kept coming from his campaign after the debate ended.

Kicking off a lively one-on-one in Boston, Brown looked at Warren squarely, and said she had presented no evidence to show she has Cherokee and Delaware ancestry, which she has claimed for years sans any tribal enrollment or genealogical evidence. She has relied on family folklore to back up her claim, but genealogists, including Indian ones, who have researched the lore have found no blood ties that would indicate she is any part Native.

“She checked the box claiming she is Native American, and clearly she is not…. I think character is important,” Brown said. “You refuse to release your records, and I think that speaks volumes.”

Warren responded that she has answered all questions about her claimed heritage, and she believes the election should be focused on jobs and taxes.

“I never used it, never used it for getting into college, never used it for getting into law school,” Warren said. “There’s nothing else there, the question has been asked and answered. I think the senator just doesn’t like the answer.”
And:While Warren and her campaign have downplayed the importance of this Native identity issue, Brown says it speaks directly to her character, and polls have indicated that it matters to independent voters. With the race currently very close between the candidates, with polls alternating who is in the lead by the day, every vote here will matter, experts say.

Warren has done little to help calm the controversy, instead always sticking to her story on family lore. She has chosen not to do interviews with the Native press, has ignored visits and inquiries from Cherokees, and she refused to meet with Native American delegates at the Democratic National Convention earlier this month. Her campaign did not respond to questions from Indian Country Today Media Network after the debate.

In recent days, some relatives of Elizabeth Warren have told The Boston Globe that they share none of her remembrance of Indian ancestry, while others cited the same lore she has relied on. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, and former chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, also recently called her claim “bizarre. … I know lots and lots of Native Americans, they have a very huge presence in my state and I’ve yet to meet one of them who claims to be related to Elizabeth Warren,” McCain told The Boston Herald earlier this week.
For more of their exchange over Warren's heritage, see:

Warren And Brown Hammer Each Other Non-Stop In First Debate

Comment:  Warren still hasn't answered most of the questions asked of her. Her claim that she has is disingenuous, if not a lie.

For more on Elizabeth Warren, see Angry Patriots and Pinheads and Elizabeth Warren Ducks Native Delegates.

2 comments:

dmarks said...

Yes, of course it is a diversion from more important issues.

But in the end it is Warren's fault... both for her initial fraudulent Native ancestry claim, and her deception and dishonesty ever since.

She could kill the issue right now, or could have at any time. But she keeps lying about it, and keeps the issue alive.

Seems like a stupid politician, or at least one with bargain-basement campaign advisors.

Anonymous said...

The strangest thing is Sky Davis who said she was Cherokee and part of the original protest against Warren. Has as much Cherokee in her as Elizabeth Warren. Which is Nada. So you have the whole world making fraudulent Native ancestry claims. The ball was dropped, at least Warren never claimed to be enrolled like Davis.