This morning three different law professors sent me this video of U.S. Senate Candidate and Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren claiming to be the first nursing mother to ever take the bar exam. One of the professors, who is a liberal academic, noted that she knows that claim to be untrue from personal experience. However, as noted by Winnie Comfort of the New Jersey Judiciary (which administers state’s bar exam), the bar does not track nursing habits and women have been taking the New Jersey bar exam since 1895. This was not a claim to be a nursing Cherokee mother, but the question remains why Warren is making such controversial boasts when she has a great financial expertise record to run on. Worse still, Warren today admitted that she did in fact claim minority status at Penn and Harvard — after insisting that she was unaware of the claims.
Obviously, the running of a law professor has made the Warren race a focus of law professors around the country. With these issues becoming part of the campaign, that fascination has grown to unprecedented levels. Warren has enjoyed overwhelming support in the academy from what I have seen. That support remains strong, though law professors are still chattering about these controversies.
These distractions however cannot be simply blamed on conservative publications, which are running the stories. Warren does not need such claims to distinguish herself. It could not come at a worse time when she has been unable to support her claim to be Cherokee In one of the most bizarre twists on the story, there are now accounts that great-great-great grandfather may have been a member of the Tennessee Militia who rounded up Cherokees and pushed them into the horrific Trail of Tears. Of course, even if true, that would not alter the fact that his wife was a Cherokee. However, the Boston Globe has confirmed that there is no documentation to support the claim.
With today’s admission that she did in fact repeatedly claim minority status at both law schools, I am again left perplexed why she would take so long to admit her claim. As I noted earlier, I could not imagine any way that such a claim, let alone repeated claims, unless it was made by the law professor.
On the merits, there is significant doubt about the claim. Warren’s bio lists her as becoming pregnant in 1976 before graduating from law school. By that point, the chances that she was the first woman to be a nursing mother during the bar seems doubtful, but more importantly it is not clear how she would know.
Once again, this is not an issue of importance, but it is one that Warren raised. While the claim of being a minority does have significant aspects for law schools and academics, nursing is not a matter that seems particularly relevant. However, what is fascinating is that I would have been impressed with Warren noting that she nursed during the bar exam – reflecting the challenges of female lawyers. No need to be first. I was trying not to hyperventilate at the time. I would be impressed even if she was the latest in a long line of nursing mothers during bar exams.
Nevertheless, she still looks good in comparison to 13 Senatorial candidates who are now accused of having backgrounds that include criminal convictions or tax violations.
I wonder if any of our attorneys have accounts to share of challenges that they faced during the bar examination. I know of one professor who was caught in a broken elevator in a hotel during his break from the bar. I know of another lawyer who was under cancer treatment and had to leave to throw up from the medication (he passed).
Who cares who was breastfeeding or not at the time of the Bar exam? This is a non-issue dredged up to make her look back. Why can’t the media stick to the real issues of the campaign?
Since we’ve had a number of discussions about Elizabeth Warren’s claims and truthfulness–maybe it’s time to take a closer look at her Republican opponent’s veracity.
MA-Sen: Video exposes Brown’s false tea party claim
1/14/2010
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/01/14/824925/-MA-Sen-Video-exposes-Brown-s-false-tea-party-claim
Excerpt;
In the Massuchusetts special election for U.S. Senate, GOP nominee Scott Brown is trying to appeal to moderate voters by claiming that he doesn’t know anything about the right-wing tea party movement.
But as this video shows, Brown not only knows about the tea party movement, but he’s actually spoken at one of their rallies, the Worcester Tea Party event held on April 15, 2009.
According to TPM, Brown’s own campaign has posted photos of him speaking at the Worcester Tea Party rally as well one of him at another tea party event. Salon’s Mike Madden also discovered that Brown’s campaign website featured a fundraiser thrown for him by tea partiers.
Who knows what a proctor/the proctors may have said to Warren when she took the bar exam in New Jersey?
bfm,
I don’t think she lied about anything. And what are the facts? speak with specificity.
@Matt
I didn’t say she lied. Although my recollection is that in the past she has said that she did not know how she came to be listed as Native American.
In fact the WAPO reports:
“when the Boston Herald first reported on the fact that Warren was listed as a Native American in a faculty directory, she said that she had no previous knowledge of that fact and had not authorized Harvard to list her as a minority. Warren’s campaign has said she forgot some details of her past employment as a way to explain the discrepancy in her statements.”
Apparently Warren is now admitting that she gave her employers the information.
My point was not to accuse her of lying. The point was that by not being totally forthright she gave her adversaries an opening. I think that is accurate – it looks terrible.
What she did is not so terrible. The way she handled it could be a disaster for her.
It is really too bad. There are some real issues in the campaign, economic policy, financial regulation, consumer protection.
Now we will hear nothing for a while but accusations and explanations.
In one sense, the worst of it is that much, not all, but much is self inflicted by Warren herself.
Sometimes it is just best to make cruel jokes and move on:
Swarthmore mom,
I also think members of the press/news media have handled Scott Brown with kid gloves because his wife Gail Huff is one of them. She was a broadcast journalist in Boston. She now works down in Washington.
@bettykath
I think there is some truth to what you say. To me it makes a difference whether Warren introduced this as part of her campaign or whether the opposition dredged this from the past.
But Warren is actually doing a pretty good job of marginalizing herself. This from the WAPO: “Senate candidate turned molehill into a mountain by mishandling questions on matter” The story is about Warren’s acknowledgement that she told university employers about her ethnic background.
I think many would agree that Warren would be far ahead if she had just talked openly about what she did and why. Now it looks like she was guilty of something, lied about it, and now has been brought to account by those who dug out the facts.
It really is too bad. There are some real issues in the campaign, economic policy, financial regulation, consumer protection. And there are real choices to be made.
Unfortunately, I think Warren had contributed to the confusion and given her adversaries an opening.
Anon,
You don’t understand. What is being requested is equal opportunity for Willard, Brown and Bain Capital. They should share in the abuse, but for some reason they are not, they are getting a free ride. They are only using Liz’s words against her.
Can you think of anytime the press took words of Willard and actually distorted them?
bfm,
You’re right. But lawyers get first place.
Good thing I’m an accountant. I’m not surprised that lawyers are assholes.
Easy now Matt. Lawyers may get all the press, but some claim that accountants are not that far behind.
“It’s no joke, I sincerely hope that whatever it is that causes lawyers to be such colossal assholes canNOT be passed from mother to child.”
It’s no joke, I sincerely hope that whatever it is that causes lawyers to be such colossal assholes can be passed from mother to child.
Warren’s primary opponent is Marisa DeFranco, a pro-single-payer candidate who has been suppressed by party leaders. I think it’s possible that Warren could still lose the primary if the complications with her credibility continue.
In Massachusetts Senate Race, Top Democrat Has Rival
Governor Throws Weight Behind Senate Candidate
anon,
Is that a joke. Do you know where the BLF came from?
Elaine, Kind of like Romney and Bain Capital. They get a pass here too.
Jesus, I certainly hope for the kid’s sake that basal lawyer fucktardery (BLF) is not passed through the milk.
I’m convinced she has good intentions. But she needs to be careful how she phrases it. She gets something of a pass because she’s female, but that has its limits.
Puzzling,
Warren needs to learn from the Cheney-Bush Files, that if you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the indisputable truth. It seems to be working for Obama. While claiming to be reducing the troops, he is actually switching them from diffetent bases and actually increasing the numbers. I am very much surprised that Obama expanded the use of drones at the same time.
Elaine, Because he is a good looking caucasian male that gets lots of contributions from JP Morgan. In other words, he is a member of the good old boys club. I have never seen a negative article on this blog about him.
“Warren concedes she told Harvard and Penn about Native American ancestry
Swarthmore mom & Blouise,
Scott Brown claims he’s a moderate. That’s a lie! How come the news media doesn’t call him out on his claim?