Way, way back in the old days before October 2018, it was racist to make fun of Elizabeth Warren for claiming to be Native American. We were supposed to assume that it was her true heritage because she said so, and therefore any jokes about her were racist. (In addition to being sexist, of course, because she's a woman.) Then Warren took a DNA test that conclusively proved she's not Native American, although for some reason she and her enablers in the press initially thought it was a vindication of her claims that she's Native American. Now that she's been forced to admit she's not Native American, you still can't make jokes about her because it's, um... racist?

Enter: Actor and possible immortal Rob Lowe. The other day he made this joke:

See what he did there? Commander in "Chief"? Because there are Indian chiefs, and Warren's not actually an Indian even though she claimed to be one for decades. She even put it in writing.

Lowe's quip is perhaps not the most clever or original joke anybody has ever told, but it's just a joke. He didn't hurt anybody. He certainly isn't a racist. Is joking about Rachel Dolezal's false claim of African-American heritage racist? No, it isn't. Neither is this.

Elizabeth Warren has made a complete fool of herself, and it's funny. Calling her "Chief" or "Fauxcahontas" or "Lieawatha" isn't an insult to Native Americans, because she's not Native American.

But Warren is running for president as a Democrat, so her fellow Democrats feel duty-bound to protect her. Most of Lowe's Hollywood colleagues are, of course, Democrats. And if there's one thing Democrats love to do, it's flinging accusations of racism at anybody who crosses them.

Lowe got some pushback, and this was his response:

I deleted my Elizabeth Warren tweet. It was a joke and some peeps got upset, and that’s never my intention. On the GOOD side: I just got to use the Oxford comma!

— Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) February 10, 2019

Observation: many polarizing politicians actually LIKE each other, privately help each other, then publicly stir the pot, playing for votes. That’s fine. Only thing wrong with it is when we buy it whole cloth, breeding intolerance, anger and total inability to laugh at ANYTHING.

— Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) February 10, 2019

But that's not good enough. Watch 'em circle the wagons for their favorite fake Indian!

Don’t. Jesus.

— Valerie Bertinelli (@Wolfiesmom) February 10, 2019

Tonight, the role of Scott Baio will be played by Rob Lowe. https://t.co/Tpv9RVwyRh

— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) February 10, 2019

Amplifying the hateful message of an openly racist President isn’t funny. The house is fine. Your material sucks. https://t.co/uszHS67EgE

— Bradley Whitford (@WhitfordBradley) February 10, 2019