Ethics matter

To a degree, one can sympathize with U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, a former Sooner seeking the Democratic nomination in Massachusetts. Tales of an American Indian ancestor are not exactly unusual in Oklahoma. But most Oklahomans know better than to formally claim that status without documentation. That Warren was identified as an American Indian professor at two universities indicates she benefited from playing a race card she never held. In a radio interview, Twila Barnes, a spokesperson for “Cherokees Demand Truth from Elizabeth Warren,” flatly declared her disgust with those who claim “they have a great, great grandma who is a Cherokee princess” that is “usually just a fictitious story somewhere that was invented, and when you do the genealogy it’s not there.” We’re not fans of racial gamesmanship, but in this case it appears claims of ethnicity may reflect on the candidate’s ethics.

AP Photo

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