As Rachel explained on the show last night, Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) has been going after Elizabeth Warren's (D) ethnic heritage very aggressively for months, but very recently, this line of attack took a deeply ugly turn.
It's disturbing enough that Scott Brown thinks he's capable of figuring out a person's ethnic background just by looking at them, but over the weekend, Brown aides -- whose salaries are taxpayer financed -- mocked Native Americans with fake war whoops and tomahawk chops at a rally for the senator's campaign.
Cherokee Nation was not amused by the racist antics and expects the Republican senator to apologize.
The principal chief of the Cherokee Nation today denounced Senator Scott Brown's campaign staffers for what he called "offensive and racist behavior" against Native Americans, calling on Brown to apologize. [...]
"The conduct of these individuals goes far beyond what is appropriate and proper in political discourse," the chief, Bill John Baker, said in a statement. "The use of stereotypical 'war whoop chants' and 'tomahawk chops' are offensive and downright racist. It is those types of actions that perpetuate negative stereotypes and continue to minimize and degrade all native peoples."
The Cherokee Nation chief added that the campaign "must be called to task for their actions," and called upon Brown "to apologize for the offensive actions of his staff and their uneducated, unenlightened and racist portrayal of native peoples."
Brown has said he doesn't "condone" the actions of his own staff, but thus far, he's refused to apologize.
Leave a Comment:
frat boy politics, pure and simple. i know the guys on the video. they're about as smart as Senator Centerfold.
They didn't look like rocket scientists. They made fools of themselves and their senator. Frankly, I thought I was watching something from the old Animal House movie.
A Senator is responsible for the actions of his employees taken on his behalf. Brown owes America an apology.
I hope Massachusetts voters see Brown for the Coward he is. He has offended not just Ms. Warren, but an entire race and he is refusing to apologize. These were not just supporters, his STAFF was included in this. Every time a member of your staff speaks or acts it is a direct reflection on you. Even in business, employees are a representation of their employers and would be held accountable if their actions warranted.
The Cherokee Nation is offended and rightfully so, Brown put your big boy pants on and do the manly thing - apologize. Being a man is more than exposing yourself in a magazine, my dog has that same claim to man hood as that.
Warren set up the CFPB and is talking about the rules being set up against all but the privileged and all Brown has is childish, insulting behavior, and superficial little campaign tactics like we all too used to from Republicans.
It's plain for all to see what with the Tea Party public antics of the last few years and dickweed displays like Brown's hatchet children that the Republican party is simply a bunch of immature, low-information punks, young and old.
Sure hope the Bay State is as forward-looking as their reputation. Guess we'll see.
Don't discount immature low-info punks. Europe did in the 1920's, and that was a huge mistake.
if you ever lived in the boston area one word springs to mind seeing these guys.
"townies"
if you don't get the reference count yourself lucky and don't ask.
Federal employees are not supposed to be participating in Political demonstration. Those, that were seen on TV understands to do so is against Federal laws. For those employees that demonstrated, foolish, they are supposed to be removed from Federal services.
Someone thinks a bunch of people with their hats on backward are not morons? The one in the yellow hat looks like proof the English were right about the Irish (what an embarrassment he is)
This Irish guy has a bit of a problem with your comment.
He sure looks Irish, and according to Brown, looks are everything.
TCinLA you must support Brown since you two have a lot in common. Do you also sip the Anne Coulter kool-aid? since she declares Native Americans don't count because they came from a different continent? Last time I checked they were here before the white man. that same white man who murdered men women and children in order to take land that wasn't theirs to take in the first place. White man is a big problem in this world. this country was founded by the ancestors of virus spewing, I am the divine instrument of God, I shall take and steal and murder as I please to get what I want. does that sound familiar?
@Jeff I couldn't have said it better, anyone that would listen to Ann or Rush really do need to get a life.
Mary and Jeff- TC is normally right on, and he's no right wing nut job. It's the Irish are an embarrassment part of his comment that I take issue with. TC's generally a very thoughtful poster.
Lol, way to counter ignorance with more ignorance.
I think that sound is my /snark/ detector going off re: #2.
TCinLA: well, I'm Irish and I live in Boston and I give your comments checks all the time!
.... and yes I agree with you that the young punk in the video is an embarrassment, but I don't know if he's Irish?
The problem with Scott Brown is that Scott doesn't see that there's a problem with insulting Native Americans and Elizabeth Warren!
His campaign got their smoke signals crossed. No pot until after the rally.
Geez why does'nt Scott Brown say something about Romney dying his face to look more Latino in order to get them to check the senor Romney box on the ballot?
In all those secret meetings he had with those kings and queens, they told him people of status never apologize.
Phenner
Brown must of also read Romney's book No Apology.
With any luck this can all be settled by scalping brown himself. See? All better! No?
No.
But yes.
Fine. Have fun with your "scalping" portrayal. Make Scott Brown proud.
^I suggest Senna (a sense of humor might also help).
When her opponent has clearly stepped in it, Warren doesn't do herself any favors by responding. This is her golden moment to stick with stuff and lay off the fluff. She will only seem more senatorial for it.
I agree. Going down to their level will do no good. Stay above it.
Nah .I don't think so. That's how we used to play it . No more rolling over . Come out swinging . Homey don't play that game
Whatever it takes to beat these lunatics
I concur. Let Brown keep going with his BS. Warren will look professional, dignified and like a Senator. Brown will look ridiculous as well as failing to intelligently discuss the issues. That is an easy choice for voters.
Elizabeth Warrens response perhaps reflectiing the Obama rapid reaction crew was pitch perfect .
Warren's response in the debate, which she repeated in her ad, was perfect. Enough said, and now she should let Brown twist in the wind. Keep an appropriate response handy in case she is asked, either by the media or in the next (?) debate.
If it comes up in a debate, Warren should reply that the matter has been discussed in great detail and no further discussion is needed.
Warren's reply, in a TV ad, is great--"Senator Brown may continue to insult my family, but I'll never stop working for yours."
I think Scott Brown has only one move. That is to say "I didn't know that they were going to do that. I think their actions are unacceptable and they have been removed from my staff."
If he doesn't do this, then he will loose any chance vs. Ms. Warren. I'm willing to bet he will do nothing.
"Not the whoops I would have used."
There ya go, throw 'em right under that bus!
This whole thing is so ridiculous. Everyone knows Elizabeth Warren is actually a Muslim.
That's fine. But Brown is clearly an Auton.
So many Republicans are behaving as if they want to lose. It's really odd. Delightful, but odd.
h l a
I have to post a "Bravo !" as I am very much of the same opinion but have failed to imagine so clearly . Bravo !
I have a two-sided conspiracy theory...
1: Romney saw running for President of the USA as a "stepping stone" to where the real money is, President of the Mormon Church. But if he became POTUS, it'd be at least 4 whole years before he can get his hands on the church's lucre, and who has that kind of time? So ala The Producers, he pretended to want to be a success while prepping for failure at every conceivable opportunity, hoping he wouldn't be found out...
2: We've now reached the point where many Republicans envision a Romney Presidency as a disaster, either for a: JUST the country, b: the party itself (the greater horror of the 2) or c: both. They can't endorse Obama, but they can refuse to endorse or retract an endorsement of Romney, claiming that the better course is to stand lockstep in opposition to Obama's radical IslamofascistcommunistgayfriendliestantiAmericanist agenda for four more years than to put out the plethora of fires Romney will undoubtedly start.
There's no way Romney could become the LDS church president. That position, ever since Brigham Young, is always filled by the senior-most member of the Quorum of the Twelve, and Romney never rose higher in the LDS hierarchy than stake president. Sorry.
What's the problem, just a fun group of political enthusiasts demonstrating their American exceptionalism. /snark/
Tell me, at midnight January 1, 2000, did the world go from the Age of Information to the Age of Idiocy or what. This era should have it's own special characterization just for the level of regression humans seemed to have undertaken. Next stop, caves with big screen TV's.
If you are familiar with films a rather middling film that touched a similar subject professionally may suit your query best , "Blood Simple" .
It started in the 80's so it has been happening for 30 years. It's just that they got bold about it in 2000 and the dems and the people of this country let them. We had the snake oil salesmen from Rush to Faux Fake and BS Gnuz then. So, yes, if the teapubs have their way we will live in caves, but the propaganda machine known as Faux will still be pumped into our heads from those big screen TVs to keep us dumbed down.
It is a lonely scene , the embattled senator white knuckled dignity shining from a sheen of cold sweat , not quite alone while fighting to protect his dignity . He ably faces the unexpected questioning with a masterly forbearance and cool non condolence statement . "How could matters have slipped so sudenly from my grasp" one might imagines the turmoil behind the mild face ...
The suave senator worn with appearing to direct his every moment to obligations towards his constituents . Appearances that are certainly at odds with an electorate clinging to a notion of the appealing senators actions having the wiggle room to advance a jobs , any agenda other than the louts who crashed the world economy . These haughty commanders of his , who calmly denyed restrictions at the height of the economic contraction , consequences of their mad gambling of investments with depositors funds accomplished , why would they allow some provincial Massachusetts haircut wiggle room ?
The balance of appearing with his fellow Bay Stater's while a lady opens the footprint of obsequious votes slavishly denying these imagined simple folks who would be unable to feed themselves with out an authority telling them how . Ever nimble and energetic the mad improvisational skill set of the handsome senator is now on display .
Worse for him ...
Voters are not going to buy the kind of bizarre and sleazy attacks made on Elizabeth Warren by Scott Brown and Karl rove. The Tea Party scored a shocker in Massachusetts last time, but Brown and his right-wing crew don't understand that state at all, embracing ultra-conservative positions that are deeply unpopular. Their slim chances to beat Warren are evident in the desperate attempts to smear her in such an outlandish fashion. Brown can't run on the issues, so he condescendingly questions all aspects of her personal life. - progressive
A well deserved shocker . Coakley is a fine woman and a good or great Attorney General . Martha Coakley impolitic words , and acting out some fairly insulting social faux pas ere the common root of this shocking growth . By the time we got to Phoenix , there was a a resevoir of impressions the good lady would need a lifetime to correct .
TCinLA:
It is not necessary to cast ad hominem aspersions against the Irish people in order to criticize the statements of Mr. Brown and the actions of his staff. Please don't stoop to their level.
There are probably many things I don't understand about this race, but one thing in particular really puzzles me. Obama is leading in the polls in Massachusetts by around 25 percentage points. Given that, what is there about Scott Brown that even makes this race competitive.
It looks as though many Massachusetts voters want Obama to continue being president, but they want to send someone to the Senate to make sure he can't do anything of consequence. That seems like a strange way to approach voting for your leaders.
Oops, looks like you just beat me to it mpguy! :)
SouthpawsRock . . . Great minds think alike!
Massachusetts voters sent him to DC (after Ted Kennedy's death) to balance power away from the Democratic president (who looked at that time as if he might just succeed in his effort to shake up Washington). Now, the voters are saying they do not want a GOP Senate, so they may toss him, even though he is usually perceived as a nice guy.
Ditto!
During the debate Ms. Warren made that same point, she needs to make it LOUDER and more OFTEN!
MpGuy> Thats about to change :-)
I liked in the debate that she echoed some of the Obama campaign lines like 'Millionaires and Billionaires' among others. Obama has wide coat tails here, and she can easily jump on for a ride if she continues to parrot the Obama campaign and support of his policies that poll well here.
Her downside is when speaking she can get a bit preachy and carry on in a condescending tone. It has not been resonating well.
Also, remember, Brown was elected in a special election, with extremely low statewide turnout. The turnout was high among the Tea Party, which is what carried him in the end. Well, that and Coakley not wanting to do anything to mess with the 20-point lead she had in the polls early on . . . she just stayed quiet and watched it fall to single digits. Warren isn't making that mistake.
Hi All - I've been reading this blog for some time now and finally decided to join the discussion! :)
As an outside observer living in the Midwest I have an honest question for any MA residents on this board - How is it that Elizabeth Warren is only barely running even with Scott Brown in deep blue Massachusetts? Really, that is meant as a legit question, not snark. I can't figure out how a state that is consistently polling a 15-20% lead for Obama in the presidential election is only 50-50 on Warren vs. Brown. What is Brown's appeal that he is evidently pulling in a lot of Obama voters?
Here in deep blue MA we have elected a pretty fair number of GOPers to high office, in addition to a certain current presidential candidate. They can do ok here if they run far enough to the "left" (what would once have been considered center or center-right). Brown has been pushing his "moderate" cred. Plus the women just love him for his sexy pillow talk:
“'Gail and I were laying [sic] in bed last night and talking a little bit, as we do every night and I said: ‘Honey, can you imagine? Here I am, Scott Brown from Wrentham, and I’ve got a truck that’s got 238,000 miles on it and, you know, something like this comes up and I’m the first guy in the country to even bring it ["legitimate rape"] up and tell the guy [Todd Akin] to step down,’ ” Mr. Brown said."
A true feminist, Brown actually talks to his wife. Though he does seem to have to remind her of his full name, address, and how many miles he has on his truck.
I once lived in MA, and I too am incredulous. But what about MA electing Romney as Governor? I can't figure out that one. What happened to MA?
As a MA resident, I didn't vote for Brown. I had to hold my breath when I voted for Coakly. But I would have voted for other republicans in the 80s had I been old enough to vote. We have had several great Republican Governors (not the one running for POTUS). And since they had to work with a Democrat Congress, the bills passed were bipartisan.
Coakly lost because she rested on her laurels. She got uppity and snarky. She thought she was a shoe-in, and her attitude reflected that. She didn't feel a need to be seen as caring. She didn't think she needed to actually run, but she would still get elected. That pissed a lot of Democrats and Independents off. Why should people vote for her if she can't even be bothered to try to earn our votes? So she lost.
She lost to a guy whose claim to fame was being a centerfold and driving a pick-up. How senatorial. The mental picture of Brown driving naked in a pick up truck makes me wanna puke.
Old school east cost republicans use to still make sense , in iowa here , I still love to listen to collins and snow speak up and flabbergast the southern gop pin heads , but their party have abandoned their type completely
If dems win every election , they get as corrupt as the gop eventually , think entrenched dems from the 70's and 80's , the alternative of having moderate repubs helps keep the corrupt in line , at this point we barley have a sane alternative to dems , which is not a good thing in the long run
Brown is not an old school east cost republican , but he tries to pretend to be one , sanity in an alternative viable political party is absolutely necessary to have a sane democratic government , it is shocking Mass. can not come up with a Snow or Collins , maybe Warren will shock everyone and be it ?
Because Massachusetts has a 12 member Elected Governors Council, the Governor has the 13th vote. Thus the 'executive' power of the Governor is less than another State.
For scores of years long gone, school boy taunts included such phrasings as "Who Do You Think You Are? The Governor of Massachusetts!"
I am really disgusted by the behavior of Brown and his staff. I hope Massachusetts is, too.
To SouthPaw:
Well, I can try to answer.
When talking to the dad of one of my daughter's friends, who seems to be a reasonable, intelligent person, he told me that he likes Brown because he's the only Republican who is willing to cross the aisle. Now, when you actually look at his record, you see that he's only crossed the aisle when it absolutely doesn't matter. On all the meaningful stuff, Brown toes the Republican line completely, but he has somehow managed to create a really good smoke screen and has branded himself as the last remaining bipartisan. Brown has also been successful in branding himself as a "nice guy" and Warren as a stuck-up snot.
I don't think Brown thought Warren would run as good a campaign as she has. She had zero name recognition before this started and has gone from nothing to leading in the polls in a short time. Brown was supposed to be a shoo-in, remember. And now he's not.
Ditto, massahusian. I cringe when I see Scott Brown's ads saying that he supports women, when I know full well that he co-sponsored the Blunt Amendment and voted against us at just about every chance. And between the behavior of his staff yesterday and his lack of an apology (to Ms. Warren and the MA taxpayers), I'm just positively disgusted with him.
This is one female in Massachusetts who is *not* voting for Scott Brown.
Thanks, that at least helps make some sense of it!
Now if I could just figure out how my own state managed to re-elect Scott Walker by 7 points......
Take heart, Southpaw, you did not "re-elect" Walker. (That would be in 2014, if ever.) You just refused to throw him out for pursuing his political agenda, essentially doing his job.
You will still have a chance to make him a one-termer.
Not from Mass (obviously) but I think they voted in Brown due to a combination of Teddy fatigue, Coakley's missteps, and a ton of late outside money. Having voted FOR him less than 2 years ago, they are reluctant to turn on him.
I think these latest antics are giving them a picture of Brown that causes them to re-evaluate.
.
Republican voters Re-Evaluate?
That would take introspection.
Introspection requires intelligence.
Intelligent Conservative is an oxymoron.
...
Those lacking in empathy are the most likely to be bigoted and/ or Racist
Empathy is the ability to imagine yourself in another persons situation.
Empathy requires intelligence,
Intelligent Conservative is an oxymoron.
....
You may have a point in burn out, that democrat Teddy had been their Senator for a very long time and they may have wanted to try a diffrent flavor.
All things considered, from what I gather, the Voter is about to spit up Brown (pun intended).
.
Well, Brown never looked terribly bright and now that we know who he hires (and are Senate staffers really permitted to campaign; what about the Hatch act?) we know for sure that he is more than a few steps down the IQ scale.
Are U. S. taxpayers paying the salaries of these people while they're out there mocking Warren with their war whoops and "tomahawk chops?"
If so (and I'll bet we are), can you imagine what the reaction would be if aides to a Democratic senator or representative were doing this?
MpGuy> Oh trust me...its making the news! :-)
.
Of course the defenders of Brown (sic) will cry Political Correctness and such.
Funny thing about people who cry Political correctness, they don't understand how much they're protected by Political Correctness.
I remember the time we could call an idiot an idiot and go into detail why their idiots, but today we have to coddle the Conservative Republican.
.
It’s quite easy for all of us to chuckle and laugh at Mitt Romney and the circus sideshow that his campaign has become. But I think it is important for us to remain aware of the danger in taking such a lackadaisical and carefree attitude toward it all. We need to remind ourselves of what is truly occurring here, it’s not funny, it’s frightening.
Mitt Romney and a majority of the Republican Party are attempting to buy, lie and manipulate themselves into some of the most powerful positions in the world and under the noses of those that elect them and those they claim to serve faithfully. They are making a mockery of something they should be holding sacred. But the more the party spins out of control, the more the veil is lifted.
A mass majority of the party is clearly motivated by money and greed, power and control, America’s interests clearly take a backseat to their own. Seeing what they are willing to do to seek the prize, to hijack the country, we should all be terrified and a little less amused. This should be an incentive for all of us to go to the polls and clearly demonstrate we will not stand for this in America. How hypocritical is it of Romney's message to be "freedom", when that is exactly what they intend to steal from us all. Freedom of choice, freedom of expression, freedom to chase our own version in the American dream, etc...
Like a deer in headlights, let's become so mesmerized by the spectacle of it all that we forget to dodge the car. What's happening here is really scary. I am personal voting straight democrat this year.
PJ, to your first paragraph ....
In 2000 I wasn't worried
When I first heard Shrub speak I cut him slack because it was about the first time he was on the National stage.
I 'tuned in' a month later to see how well Bush progressed, he hadn't.
I wasn't worried, it was more than apparent Dubya was in over his head. Someone as unsuitable as Dubya couldn't possibly become President of the United States.
I was wrong.
I will not make that mistake again.
.
Rob...same here, Not this time around...Dem all the way!
For whitie to have the last name of Brown and not know exactly what his staff was doing is shear folly.
Scott Brown is not an honorable man, nor an effective Senator fort the great state of Massachusetts, and I think he already knows this - what else would allow him to excuse the unexcusable with such a dashing "I don't give a flying fyck about the issues" attitude?
Though he has not the skills set to realize it, Scott Brown is an embarrassment to our political heritage! -Kevo
The GOP's actions just keeps getting crazier and crazier. Dang, all you can do is sit back and watch. Who knew it would get this nuts?
It's disgraceful that Senator Brown makes this an issue and in such an offensive manner. The only way to combat ignorance and prejudice is TO VOTE them out of office!
you prefaced this story by saying out of no where scott brown started the debate with an attack on mrs warren ... when in fact the question was "does integrity and character count in a candidate.. mr brown eluded to the controversy surrounding miss browns claim of minority status.. rightfully so... as a regular person i to would question the ethics and motivations behind someone claiming a minority status with nothing to support it. and her reluctance to release the records and history regarding her career advances is somewhat troubling and raises questions of honesty.. at least to me.. but your presentation was somewhat dishonest and misleading i know i will be berated for my comments here and ive never commented on anything but i felt your blatant misleading and dishonest opening to this story was wrong... and im sure it happens on both sides and that will be the response to point out all the slants of fox news and all the others but ... why wouldnt you want to be honest in your editorials as opposed to misleading... im jusT curious
Welcome, Spedcat2.
Just a personal story. I can relate to Ms Warren. I was also raised hearing stories from my grandmother of her Cherokee heritage. Proving that heritage has been difficult. We know the name of the man we think was Cherokee, the year he was born, and the state in which he was born, who he was married to, and the names of their children. Unfortunately, the genealogical records stop there. Am I part Cherokee? I may never know without doubt. I do respect my ancestors, whoever they may be, and whatever nation they may be from. I believe them to be honorable people (well, OK, most of them) and take pride in who I am, thorns and all. If Ms. Warren claims to be a child of the Cherokee nation because she honestly believes she is, I don't fault her for that. I do object to her being labelled a liar because someone says "Well, just LOOK at her". I hope you don't feel berated, it was certainly not intended.
Well said and I agree. I was told similar stories. I was also told that I come from african and french canadian ancestory as well. Can't prove any of it.
Stl Saxist & Blake
Actually nowadays you may prove your heritage through genetic testing. Henry Louis Gates had a show about well known American and genealogy called Finding Your Roots:
http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2012/03/finding-your-roots-with-henry-louis-gates-jr-to-debut-on-pbs.html
Genetic testing is still very expensive but with technological advances in the future anyone will be able to get their genome mapped and find their true ancestry and then you can find yours.