Warren stumps in Western Massachusetts

Date: 6/6/2012

June 6, 2012

By G. Michael Dobbs

news@thereminder.com

NEWS ANALYSIS

SPRINGFIELD — At a rally conducted at Stearn's Square in downtown Springfield on June 1, Democratic senatorial candidate Elizabeth Warren was met by an adoring crowd and a group of reporters who were determined to quiz her further on the controversy over her Native American heritage.

Despite a battery of questions challenging her family history and recent statements, Warren was unmoving in expressing her pride in heritage as told to her by her mother and father.

The issue was stoked by a statement last week made by Sen. Scott Brown, who said, "My mom and dad have told me a lot of things, too, but they're not always true."

Warren responded with the following reply: "Scott Brown's comments about my parents are totally out of line. I resent him questioning their honesty. My mother and father are not here to defend themselves and should be off limits. Don and Pauline Herring are not fair game and Scott Brown should apologize."

The question of Warren's family history remained the red meat of her campaign for some reporters, rather than her stands on issues or political differences between her and Brown.

Warren was in the city to attend the state Democratic Convention on June 2 and she delivered a stump speech before talking with the press. About 100 supporters, most carrying Warren and Neal signs, listened to her.

Like Congressman Richard Neal, Warren faced a candidate in her own party, Marisa DeFranco. Neal is looking at a primary involving former state Sen. Andrea Nuciforo Jr. and Bill Shein.

DeFranco did not make it onto the ballot, but Shein announced through an email and video that he will be on the primary ballot on Sept. 6.

Arriving in Springfield on the Amtrak train from Boston, Warren walked over to Stearn's Square and after a brief introduction by Neal, spoke of the "two very different visions" that are being presented in the race for the Senate.

"One is pretty easy to say. My Republican opponent and his Republican friends take the view of 'I've got mine, the rest of you are on your own.' My view is 'No, no, no.' That's not who we are. We are a people who believe in the future. And we believe in building that future. We will build it by educating our children. We will build by investing in roads, bridges and trains. We will build it. We will build it for ourselves. We will build it for our children. And we will build it for our children's children."

Warren said that Sen. Scott Brown has money, power and connections in Washington D.C., but that she prefers having grassroots support across the state.

Warren only spoke for about two minutes and one supporter was heard to say, "Is that it?"

After a quick round of hand-shaking among her supporters, Warren met with reporters.

Although Warren said she believes the race is about issues other than her family background, she was asked if she thought she has a creditability issues because of the difference in answers she has given about the controversy.

"I have said the same thing. I am proud of my family and I am out there talking about what the issues are in this race. I'm not backing up one step. I'm here to talk about what matters to the people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I have lived my values all my life and for the last 25 years I've been working on issues related to America's families. They've been hammered and that is what this race is about," Warren said.

Answering another question about her family, Warren recounted how her parents eloped because her father's family did not approve of her mother's Native American heritage.

Warren said she thought the issues in the race didn't include her family history.

When asked about what she would do to assist the economy of Gateway Cities such as Springfield, Chicopee, Holyoke and Westfield, Warren said she would work for improvements in education, transportation and infrastructure.

Charging the Republicans do not want to help municipalities with these issues, she said, "Take a look at the Ryan budget. It proposes more than a half a trillion dollars in cuts in basic services, in infrastructure, education and basic research."

She stressed that she wants to go to the Senate to "help rebuild our cities."

Warren has been accused of making a "composite grandmother" on www.brietbart.com, a conservative news website. The candidate had made statements that her maternal grandmother had lived to see her graduate from college. When asked in Springfield last week if her grandmother had lived to see her graduate from college, Warren replied, "My grandmother lived to know that I would graduate from college and that I had a teaching job. She was deeply, deeply proud of that."

Warren said that she had let both Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania know of her Native American heritage "after I was hired."

"As I have said, this is part of my family. I have never received any benefit from it. Every single person who has been involved in hiring me has issued a statement to that effect and has said it repeatedly, repeatedly, repeatedly and strongly. That's been established."

After the convention, Warren announced that Brown had accepted her invitation to a debate, but no date nor format has been decided.