Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has two choices on the “Native American issue” ahead of her inevitable 2020 presidential run: she can ignore the fact that she once claimed minority status at an Ivy League university as a lily white woman of Midwestern descent, based on traditionally racist observations like she has “high cheekbones,” or she can double-down on her claims of Native American ancestry in an embarrassing display of Congressional pandering.
She has, obviously, selected the latter, according to The Washington Times.
This summer, Warren will go to bat in Congress for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, which is seeking to build a $1 billion Indian casino in her home state of Massachusetts, even though the Massachusetts Senator has consistently supported increasing federal regulations on gambling.
And her constituents in Massachusetts aren’t sure they want the casino: a federal court blocked the project back in 2016, and locals believe the Congressional act that would grant the casino is an “end run” around authorities with better knowledge of the area. As The Washington Times also points out, the casino effort has a sordid history that even involves disgraced former federal lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
But Warren isn’t interested in what her home state thinks about gambling or Indian casinos. Her support of the casino legislation is part of a grand plan to court Native American tribes who might question her heritage if they don’t see her as a reliable ally.
Tribal leaders, noting Warren’s involvement in the Congressional legislation, were quick to praise her “leadership” on the issue: “We especially appreciate her remarks about how this government owes its native citizens ‘a fighting chance to build stronger communities and a brighter future — starting with a more prosperous economic future on tribal lands,’” they told the Associated Press.
That will, no doubt, get prominent placement on Warren’s resume.