Quote:I think my favorite part about Elizabeth Warren's ridiculous DNA stunt is that a whole team of advisors, videographers, family members, and the would-be candidate herself all decided that it was a good idea. Mind-bendingly, they actively chose to go out of their way to publicize the results of a DNA test that showed that Warren likely had a single ancestor, six-to-ten generations ago, with Colombian, Mexican, or Peruvian blood. This decision was greeted with widespread ridicule on the Right, and more than a modicum of criticism on the Left. Warren stepped on an identity politics landmine and it detonated, years after she'd cynically listed herself as a racial minority in a hiring directory -- only to abandon the farce after attaining tenure at Harvard Law.

Warren hoped that a speech to Native Americans would help end the issue. It didn't. Then she hoped her October video would put things to rest. It did the opposite. Now she's reportedly being pressured by advisors to rip off the bandaid yet again with a major apology -- via the New York Times:

Nearly two months after Ms. Warren released the test results and drew hostile reactions from prominent tribal leaders, the lingering cloud over her likely presidential campaign has only darkened. Conservatives have continued to ridicule her. More worrisome to supporters of Ms. Warren’s presidential ambitions, she has yet to allay criticism from grass-roots progressive groups, liberal political operatives and other potential 2020 allies who complain that she put too much emphasis on the controversial field of racial science — and, in doing so, played into Mr. Trump’s hands. Advisers close to Ms. Warren say she has privately expressed concern that she may have damaged her relationships to Native American groups and her own standing with activists, particularly those who are racial minorities. Several outside advisers are even more worried: They say they believe a plan should be made to repair that damage, possibly including a strong statement of apology.

Perhaps one could avoid "damaging relationships" with Native Americans by not appropriating their heritage based on family folklore in order to advance one's career -- then not discarding said heritage like a genetic afterthought, just as soon as it was no longer useful to one's ambitions. Just spitballing here. The Times reports that Warren is publicly standing by her comedy of errors for now, but that progressive groups fear the entire episode is evidence of poor instincts and judgment:

The advisers say Ms. Warren will have to confront the issue again if she announces a presidential campaign, which is expected in the coming weeks, and several would like her to act soon...For some Warren allies and progressive groups, Ms. Warren’s standing by the DNA test amounts to profoundly poor judgment. Some said she was too reactive to Mr. Trump’s attacks...Ms. Warren’s allies also say she unintentionally made a bigger mistake in treading too far into the fraught area of racial science — a field that has, at times, been used to justify the subjugation of racial minorities and Native Americans...Three people close to senior members of Ms. Warren’s team, who were granted anonymity to speak freely on the issue, said they were “shocked” and “rattled” by the senator’s decision to take the DNA test, which they described as an unequivocal misstep that could have lasting consequences, even on 2020 staffing. One former adviser, who also asked not to be named, called it a “strategic failure” that was “depressing and unforgettable.”

Intriguingly, CNN also published a 'warning signs'-type analysis about Warren recently, which makes me wonder if fellow Democrats are leaking to the media to shiv the Massachusetts liberal before she announces for president. Who benefits from the media dumping on Warren? Her rivals, of course, but also anyone in the party who might fear that she's the sort of general election nominee who could pave the way to a second Trump term. Either way, make no mistake -- it very much looks like she's planning to pull the trigger on a White House run.

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99% European, lol.

One good thing about this: She will be ridiculed about this so much she could never win president.


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Even if this ancestry/DNA/“family-lore” stuff had never, ever been mentioned at all in connection with Elizabeth Warren, I still think she would’ve had a very steep uphill climb to be the nominee in 2020. But now, I really think she is done. I’m starting to believe that she won’t run at all, and if she does, her campaign will be an epic face-plant that ends in New Hampshire, if not sooner than that.