Bad week may haunt Elizabeth Warren

[anolinde]

Elizabeth Warren fumbled through her worst stretch as a Senate candidate this week, setting off a debate among strategists over whether the controversy over her claims to Native American ancestry would linger when the November election is closer.

The Warren campaign will not say when top advisers learned that she considered herself part-Native

Comments

[world_dancer]

I don't know about her campaign.

But I do think it's interesting to consider as a matter of heritage. To me, it's not something worth challenging. According to the genealogist, her claim that she has Native American ancestry is true. It doesn't matter that she wouldn't be accepted as a member of the tribe. It's a legitimate part of who she is. You wouldn't tell someone that they're not Native American enough, therefore they aren't at all. I do believe her when she says she wanted to meet other people like herself (I'm thinking other people with native backgrounds who weren't brought up in native culture). It's the sort of thing people get interested in in relation to their own heritage and experiences.

Not sure how her ancestry plays into the rules on affirmative action. I hadn't heard that there was a specific genetic amount of racial DNA that you had to have to meet the qualifications. And considering that she's considered one of the top scholars, I'm not sure if it made a difference.

[mirhanda]

+1