The 2016 presidential race could come down to the fake American Indian versus the fake Hispanic.
Jeb Bush reportedly identified himself as Hispanic on a 2009 voter-registration form, and yesterday it sparked a social media firestorm. Bush’s camp sought to downplay the kerfuffle yesterday, releasing a statement saying: “It’s unclear where the paperwork error was made. The governor’s family certainly got a good laugh out of it.”
Bush’s son, Jeb Bush Jr., who is half Mexican, poked fun at his dad on Twitter by using the hashtag #HonoraryLatino. The former Florida governor responded to the tweet, “My mistake! Don’t think I’ve fooled anyone! RT @JebBushJr LOL — come on dad, think you checked the wrong box #HonoraryLatino.”
The New York Times, which broke the story, isn’t taking this gaffe lightly. “Confusion over heritage,” the paper declared, “is no laughing matter during a campaign season.”
My co-host on Boston Herald Radio, Hillary Chabot, broke the news in 2012 that then-U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren claimed to be Native American for several years in published journals, but then abruptly dropped her minority status. It dogged Warren throughout her campaign against GOP incumbent Scott Brown and resulted in accusations she used the Indian status to advance her academic career.
The Times used kid gloves when dealing with the Indian scandal with headlines like, “Voters Shrug at Revelations of Ethnic Claim in Senate Race.”
But now, the Times isn’t shrugging over Jeb’s “misrepresentation.”
“It appears he got carried away with his appeal to Spanish-speaking voters and claimed he actually was Hispanic,” the paper said.
But let’s be clear. Bush didn’t make this error to benefit his political career. It was done on his personal voting form and required the media to use the Freedom of Information Act to obtain it.
The fact is Jeb Bush does have mass appeal among Hispanic voters. His wife was born in Mexico, he speaks Spanish fluently and he has a much softer approach to immigration reform compared to his Republican counterparts.
If Warren decides to enter the presidential race, there’s always the chance that her candidacy can catch fire and knock out Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential nominee. And Bush very well could get the party’s nod.
So which candidate would voters think is the bigger faker?
For my money, the big difference is Bush admitted the mistake immediately. Warren still claims she never misrepresented herself even though she was never able to prove her minority status through her ancestry.
Jaclyn Cashman is co-host of “Morning Meeting” on Boston Herald Radio.
Copyright © 2024 Jaclyn Cashman.
