Birthers: How the Grass-Roots became the Crass-Roots
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A post by "S-Dott " To see more posts click here |
If you haven’t heard about this already, there’s a growing movement of far-right citizens out there who staunchly maintain that the President of the United States of America is not a native-born citizen, and is therefore an illegitimate President. I don’t really find it surprising, for reasons that are pretty obvious, but something that I do find particularly interesting is how this ‘movement’ isn’t anything new as much as it is a rehash of an older conspiracy theory that has lost all it’s zeal. I can better explain what I mean by going through some basic background information:
1) How ‘Birthers’ Came About
Shortly after (then) Senator Obama gave his famous speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, there was a lot of talk on the Sunday Morning circuit about Obama being a contender for the Democratic nomination in the near future. While there was no legitimate reasoning for this other than his speech, several right-wing pundits began efforts to squash growing interest in the junior senator by writing disparaging commentary. One particular pundit, Andy Martin (famous for being a ‘vexatious litigant’ and for his anti-semetic remarks), began a smear campaign alleging that Barack Obama was a “secret muslim” which eventually evolved into the bogus “Islamic Madrassa” story that alleged Obama went to school at an extremist Islamic academy.
Anyway, Martin filed one of many lawsuits in October 2008 against the state of Hawaii and demanded that the state verify Barack Obama’s birth certificate. Ironically enough, Martin believed Obama was in fact a native born citizen, and filed against the state in an effort to link Obama to a man named Frank Davis, a well-known radical Hawaiian journalist, who Martin alleged was Obama’s true father. Martin’s case was dismissed for lack of standing, particularly since the Obama campaign released a copy of his birth certificate back in June that had been verified by the non-partisan group FactCheck.org.
Other conservative figureheads began to throw their bits of kindle to the fire, namely Swift-Boat hack Jerome Corsi and epic right-wing nutjob Alan Keyes. During the course of the campaign, you may remember Corsi’s release of the book “The Obama Nation” (a crafty play on words for ‘Abomination’) which, among other things, carefully insinuated that Obama’s birth certificate is a forgery (an outright allegation published in print would have gotten him sued for libel). Corsi’s book was wildly touted by right-wing organizations which bought copies of the book en masse to A) offer to people on the street as a 400-page pamphlet on why Obama is bad, and B) earn Corsi a spot on the NYT Bestsellers list and thereby manufacture an artificial sense of legitimacy for the book.
Guys like Martin, Corsi, and Keyes each had their respective groups of conspiracy theorists that held their allegations as absolute truth. The fact that these three combined on this particular birth certificate issue allowed these different groups to coalesce behind a common cause. Strangely however,
the basic premise of the birther ideology doesn’t make any sense.
Below is a statement taken from the website www.birthers.org (yeah, it actually exists):
“Depending on what his long copy vault birth certificate states, this may or may not deepen the problem. If it states either of the two hospitals and the hospital records prove that he was in fact born in one of the Hawaiian Hospitals, then the location of his birth will definitely prove he is entitled to be a US Citizen in accordance to the 14th Amendment. This of course does not necessarily give him the necessary status of a natural born citizen.”
What?
Oh that’s right, this is the far-right we’re talking about. Facts and details don’t need to make sense, because they don’t matter.
2) Why this is a problem
Harold Meyerson wrote an article in today’s Washington Post that addressed how this entire birther movement is likely to be remembered by history:
“When future historians look back at this passage in our nation’s history, I suspect they’ll conclude that this Obama-isn’t-American nuttiness refracted the insecurities and, in some cases, the hatred that a portion of conservative white America felt about having a black president and about the transformation of what many thought of as their white nation into a genuinely multiracial republic. But whatever the reasons, a mobilized minority is making a very plausible play to thwart a demobilized majority.”
At this point, we just all have to accept that there’s always going to be a group of people in our great country who simply cannot accept that a black man named Barack Hussein Obama is, in fact, the 44th President of the United States of America. Coupled with the rise of immigration, Obama’s election has caused these people to develop a growing realization that America isn’t the “white America” of yesteryear, and their instinctive reaction is to freak the fuck out. The more people like Lyn Cheney, Lou Dobbs, and the entire enclave at Fox News feed this nonsense, the more people are likely to believe he is an illegitimate President that needs to be removed from office, one way or another. It’s dangerous, it’s a threat to national security, and it’s complete buffoonery considering all the other pressing issues of the day.
The Republican party needs to get a handle on this thing, fast. I consider myself to be a moderate liberal, but the fact that irrational and nonsensical groups like ‘the birthers’ are the new GOP base tells me that conservatism is getting weaker by the day, and is therefore becoming a weaker check-mechanism capable of keeping a liberal dominated government honest. Guys like Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and Michelle Malkin can’t be given center stage when guys like Ron Paul get swept under the rug.
udothedishes . . .
Factcheck.org is anything but non-partisan when it comes to Obama. It’s a part of the Annenburg Foundation. One of the things Obama “ran” while in Chicago…
I’m not saying there is any validity to the claim that he’s not legal. Just that Obama has strong connections with factcheck…it’s odd though that if you have such strong proof you release it to an organization that you were once in charge of to prove that it’s real…just something to think about.
That would be Annenberg…sorry
Just one more comment. Maybe the aversion to Obama has nothing to do with his skin color or name…maybe it’s that’s his prinnciples stand at odds with the MAJORITY of Americans. He is far left politically and this contry is slightly right of center. I think it’s hilarious that so many “open-minded” people run to race when confronted with opposition to Obama. It couldn’t be anything other than race…why wouldn’t anyone want someone who spends far more irresponsibly than Bush ever dreamed while printing money like it was for Monopoly, and all the while nationalizing banks and the auto industry and trying to socialize medicine?
They have to be racists.
Food for thought at least…
Love this piece! But I must say…it seems that it touched a nerve with bowened…He must have read The Obama Nation!
The fact that you think the new base of the GOP are “birthers” proves that you’re anything but a moderate liberal. This is no different then the left wing crazies that believe President Bush launched missiles into WTC and the Pentagon to simulate an attack. It’s a distortion of facts based on some Conspiracy Theory that somebody has used the internet to spread. It would all be put to rest if he releases the long form birth certificate from Hawaii which for some reason he hasn’t. I think that the amendment that is being proposed in Congress that anyone running for president produces an authentic copy of their birth certificate will prevent this issue from coming up ever again. I am curious if Obama will eventually have to produce an original to the Congress if he runs for re-election.
[edited 8/6/09] That’s a pretty good summary. Didnt know there was a BIRTHERS.ORG though.
…that’s pretty… yea, im speechless.
Conservatives are 40%, Liberals 21 and moderates 39. I’d like to mention the author also calls the birthers a minority. There are a many political motivation on his dislike of presidency which causes a large portion of dissent, however there is some question as to why his nationality, even his hertiage as a Kenyan and religion- as though even if he was muslim it would be a sin- is such an important issue. McCain was born in Panama. Are his birth records to be rechecked in case his father didn’t really claim him?
Political differences alone seems insufficient an explaination for xenophobia on- if nothing else- a ‘half bred’, ‘Muslim’, ‘immigrant’. If not racism, which I could be inclined to accept, xenophobia of different social and cultural unfamiliarity tends to be a recurring theme in American history.
Do you know what my positions are regarding cap and trade? How about the stimulus bill or wall st. regulation or defense spending? You apparently know me well enough to conclude I’m “no moderate liberal”, and I’m curious to know how you came about that conclusion outside of the commentary I’ve posted on this blogsite.
Anyway, the left-wing crazies that mustered up that 9/11 conspiracy story were rightly limited to spreading their rumors on the internet. No elected official, media network, or major liberal group subtly cosigned it in the way the right has done. Nobody ever sympathized with the conspiracy theorists nor did anyone even entertain the mere possibility that such a thing could even possibly have happened.
The same cannot be said of this birther nonsense, because that is precisely what inflated this issue to the degree it is. The RNC could have put this to rest long ago, but they kept its head above water for the sake of maintaining a loyal voting bloc. Do you really believe that in 2009, somebody named Barack Hussein Obama could even possibly dupe the entire federal government? Or are you just unsure because you insist a sitting president jump through each and every hoop demanded by the angry mob? Birther.org has made it clear that no matter how much support he administration offers, there’s always going to be a new question of his birth.
Obviously it would be based on the posts that you have written on here. You have insulted Sarah Palin, Mark Sanford, Michael Steele and John Boehner and they all represent completely different sides of the party. I would actually be curious to hear if there were any members of the Republican Party you agree with on anything. Based on your comments on this site it sounds like you would agree with everything the Obama administration has done so far which would again make you anything but a moderate liberal.
The bottom line is if Obama wanted to put a stop to this he could. The liberal bloggers raised the same issue about McCain’s place of birth and he turned over his certificate to the Senate for verification, which ended the discussion. If Obama really wanted to put an end to all of this he could do the same. Obviously Rehm Emmanuel believes that they are gaining something politically by allowing this discussion to continue.
And to use a talking point of your party. In 2001, Bush was able to dupe the entire federal government, the public and much of the world, into thinking Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Politicians are inherently dishonest so until proven otherwise I don’t believe anything they say.
Thanks for the comment Judy. Sometimes you have to touch a nerve to illicit a response. It’s okay as long as both sides believe in their opinions and aren’t just playing devils advocate. Devil’s Advocates are stale.
Aversion to Obama is fine. Just as aversion to Bush was fine. BUT – I don’t care where anyone stands on their politics or performance but for anyone to say that challenging his birth status has nothing to do with his race seems a bit naive. Race baiting is at an all-time high, granted, but If Obama didn’t have brown skin then the question of his birth goes away. I’m no political scientist but I don’t remember Bush’s birth status being under fire. The theory being here that if you’re white you’re from America b/c you look like me. Might be faulty logic and maybe a equally as faulty an explanation but whatev. It’s what I believe. Cheers all-around more political commentary from both sides to follow . . .
Opps lastly, saying his principles stand at odds with majority of Americans 8 months after he won an election voted in by those same Americans is laughable but as I said I don’t study this stuff so I could be wrong.
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Those articles prove I’m a liberal, and I make absolutely no apologies for that. But I’ve also left comments supporting much of what Ron Paul (J.Mal has posted a couple articles related to him) has to say and respect him highly (as well as Peter Schiff). You’re concluding that because I’ve authored those articles, I would “agree with everything the Obama administration has done so far which would again make [me] anything but a moderate liberal”, but you again fail to provide any evidence beyond your own presumptions. If you’re going to make a statement and masquerade it as fact, you’d better be able to back it up.
Secondly, Bush wasn’t the sole figure responsible for the selling of the WMD farce. That was a push from his entire administration. Guys like Cheney, Rumseld, George Tenet, Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, and so forth were the real architects of the Iraq War. Bush hasn’t ever be given credit, from anybody worth listening to, for masterminding the entire invaision on his own.
I typically refrain from commenting on my own articles for the sake of maintaining an open forum, but I draw the line when it comes to conclusive statements made about me based on conjecture, and I’ll leave it at that.
Enjoy the last word.
The article you wrote about Obama winning his second term and the comments on the JMal’s healthcare post are pretty good proof of your support for Obama. I just didn’t include that because I figured it was just a little bit off of the topic.
I suppose I misspoke when I said that Bush convinced the world by himself. Any time people are duped it takes more than only one person. I was simply stating that it can be done much easier than you indicated in your post.
Appreciate the discussion.
If Obama was born in America the birth thing would go away…if he could prove it decisively and sending a half assed fake birth cert to the biased factcheck and refusing to produce a single document otherwise isn’t Decisive…it just fuels the fire. Because Bush’s birth status wasn’t questioned (you think no one even checked) and Obama’s was you’re stating that it’s a racist conspiracy? So questioning Obama at all if you’re white means you’re racist? Was it racist if a black person questioned Bush? I didn’t hear anyone make that idiotic claim…but I sure hear the new one a lot now. How do you quiet dissent? Pull the race card and people not wanting to be painted with that brush hush up…
You are right the majority of Americans who voted voted for him…and they were duped into thinking he was a moderate…which he’s anything but. It’s clear that he is trying to Socialize the country with his unprecedented deficit spending…wake up. People who think Obama is moderate are just wrong. I’m sorry but you have no idea where on the scale anyhting is if you’re looking at a president that is running our country into bankruptcy, nationalizing everything left and right from cars to bajnks to medicine and standing there telling me he’s moderate….it’s ridiculous. Maybe you should study some of this so you’re better informed…
None of this is based on anything but his brown skin mind you…if he was white I’d be fine with the fact that he’s ruining my country…you are narrow minded and wrong if that’s what you think. Just as anyone who voted for Obama is a racist if they voted for him strictly because of the color of his skin.
I was going to resort to name calling here and be done with it but then I understood your condescending tone was only brought on by a passion to see America restored to the heights of which it hasn’t seen since the late 90’s. To that Big ups and to the level of discourse, again I say Big Ups.
Anyway, I didn’t mean to lead anyone to believe I was speaking of conspiracy. The point I was making though, is minus his politics, I’d wager that many of the ppl that dissented with the election of Barack Obama as the 44th president simply due to the color of his skin, more than likely, make up a large portion of the ppl who are seeking his birth certificate now.
Do I think he should provide his BC, yes.
If he isn’t bound by the law to do so, now, at this point being as we ethically and constitutionally should have gone over this process by now (which we did) then I’m not going to hold his feet to the fire to provide it especially if he was already fully vetted (unless of course the courts eventually say so).
I agree he is trying to Socialize the country. I think it’s a means-to-an-end though and I don’t think this socialization will continue once things begin looking up. Although it’s debatable, I think we were in a “recession” way before January 20th, 2009.
…If Americans were duped in 2008 after being duped in 2004 then maybe Americans are just stupid. I say, only time will tell.
The bottom line on race is that it’s a huge issue in this country. Yes, some use it as a crutch to make false accusations of wrongdoing and some use it as a means to get ahead (AA) while others tend to dismiss race, color, and ethnicity as baseless but all three are problematic. Pull the race card and ppl not wanting to be labeled hush up … AND saying that ppl pull the race card frivilously makes those who have truly been wronged due to their race not want to pull it too for fear of persecution.
But I’m pulling it anyway not as the sole reason they want to see his BC but as a contributing factor.
Finally, if you’d like to express your opinions I have a forum you could use; you seem to be rather passionate about politics.
I wsn’t condescending to you. Or that wasn’t my intent anyway. When I said you should study this…it was only in response to your professed ignorance, not that I thought you were stupid…far from it.
I think it’s short sided to look at race as a motivation for the bith cert issue…I think it’s more likely that the MAJORITY (not that race isn’t a motivator at all) see that as the only legal ground they have to stand on to get rid of someone they see as a Scoialist threat. Also, the vloume has been turned up because of the Obama camps unwillingness to just produce the proper document and shut them up. I jtoo wish we could get off this topic and talk about actual issues that matter.
Socialization can only end in one thing…it’s not a necesary evil…it can’t be turned off like a faucet. I have worked in and around the government for 12 years now and I can tell you…once it grows government does not contract again without 10 times the initial effort you made to grow it. These changes, if not permanent, are here for a very long time to the detriment of us all. The reason I said you should study it wasn’t a sarcastic or condescending statement…it was a worried one. You, like so many others, seem to be dismissing what is happening as no big deal. It is a very big deal. I am passionate, and worried…and I let that get in the way of making a coherent point…lol. Sorry
This is rather interesting. Im genuinely curious and would like some answers or personal opinions (btw- bravo for a tame, yet passionate and respectful convo! Convulsions with race matters and politics will continue until harmony is reached- this is inevitable and expected as a vehicle for understanding- IE: a good sign!) My questions are based on logic flow and thought process as follows:
-Why would a person run for head of the nation- FBI, CIA, DOD- and want to fake citizenship? If he did confide his lack of citizenship in anyone within his party- why would the Democratic party nominate him?
-What motivated the discussion of his religion? Why was THAT important? Are these issues related? Im asking to inspect the motives that cause these doubts in people. If not racism, it seems it’d be indicative of an issue as Americans we would need to address to live more harmoniously.
-Considering the issue of his birth arose before his election, how did our intelligence agencies fail to address this issue? And what reasons do we have to motivate questioning his birth certificate’s authenticity?
Id like to understand the mental process of birthers, and for actual answer to some questions.
The problem in our government when you talk about things being a means to an end, is that everything about our government operates on “Precedent”. Giving the president authority to do these things while someone you agree with is in office seems fine. But what happens when we elect by mistake another president with immoral ambitions and he uses this government take over “precedent” as a means to his own destructive ends.
I don’t think Obama is a bad person trying to ruin our country, matter of fact I think he believes he’s doing what is right.
My problem is that throughout history as stated before once government grows even a little, to take a step back is almost impossible.
Out founding fathers of this nation knew this was the case as the knew what it was like to like under a truly repressive government. That is why they drafted the Constitution and put so many limits to the Authority and power for Federal Gov.
Those limits and rules are being throw out the window right now, and started way before Obama. He’s just using the ‘precedent’ set by those before him to accomplish his own agenda.
Dem. , Rep… Conservative, Liberal, whatever you want to call yourself, you should no matter what call yourself a lover of Liberty.
Liberty was what this nation was founded upon, and although not always the case for everyone in our history, everyone in this country should want to uphold the principles that all men are free. That all men have a inalienable right to life, liberty, and property… and that no government should ever have the power to take from one to give to another.
That would be stealing, and if we as citizens understand that I can’t rob a rich man to help feed a poor person, then why is it you agree with the government doing the same thing.
First, how about Obama is not spending time defending his status as President, because, um….he already is. And until the legislative powers that be produce a standing law, or write a new one that makes this necessary, he has the right to do (or not do) what he wants. And he should do his job, rather than defend it. And as he is doing his, let the policing of the facts be done by those who’s job it is (i.e. Congress, FBI, CIA, etc). If more people worried about their jobs and not what other people thought about them or their jobs, more things would get done in this country.
Secondly, anyone that is throwing Obama’s religion in the mix or his status as a half-breed is RACIST/Anti-Sematic on some level, because last time I checked, you didn’t have to be a Christian or White to run for President. Who cares what religion he observes or where his daddy is from as long as he observes the laws of this country, and runs this country based upon the principles setforth by our founding fathers, to the liking and agreement of his constituents, as best he can.
Thirdly, not only was Bush’s birthplace not discussed, last I heard it wasn’t even questioned. BOWENED, please show me a good reason why his birth place is being questioned in the first place; a GOOD reason. You say youspeak out of fear of socialism but your reasoning and misstated facts seem like you’re just saying stuff to say it, which is probably why people perceive you as racist, as you defensively stated. No one once has claimed that ALL people speculating his birth was racist, however, the whole discussion APPEARS racist because of two things:
1. no good reason that its being questioned (esp since none of his predecessors were!)
but more interesting…
2. why was it even dug up in the first place.
The fact that these people even went digging to begin with, is what disturbs people that are concerned with racism,…digging to get rid of a socialist, or digging to get rid of a black man?
You have to be careful the group of people you associate yourself with. I’m sure there are white people that believe there are certain tradional things that this country should revert to, without siding with the KLAN to prove their point.
Obviously, this country is not slightly right because he was elected. And like it or not, you can say people are duped,…maybe people are fed up with this EXTREME capitalistic state we are in where we invest our hard-earned dollars into a Wall Street that is choc-full-o bands of thieves that are in cohoots with certain politicians to make sure they can steal our money, and do it through huge loopholes in the law. Extreme anything is not good, and you shouldn’t make stances based upon fear. To swing us back center from extreme capitalism is necessary; however, being born in a country that was devastated by extreme socialism, I can confidently state i know more than you about how devasting an extreme – not socialism – is. i don’t understand how “working for the [democratic] government in America for 12 years” has given you any knowledge or experience on how “horrible” socialism is….reading books about the USSR doesn’t give you the knowhow to state anything…
If you wanna worry about something, and be TRULY passionate, worry about HOW the changes are made, not that change IS being made! Go debate the the points IN the health care reform bill rather than criticizing that it is even happening. I’m just sick and tired of people complaining about every single move being made, and not taking the time to help shape the move. Your passion is great, but it should not be born out of fear, it should be born out of positivity. if you look for something positive in the CURRENT ruling body of our country, and try to channel your beliefs through that/them, you’d be much more appreciated, and probably more useful.
working in the government has taught me how horrible government is…the reason I want to avoid more of it. I didn’t say anythign about socialism then…I don’t need to, you already know more government = socialism.
I actually do things to effect change in government…I don’t just debate it or comment on forums…I work so that our government saves money by making better decisions.
I’m not defending myself against racism…I don’t care if you think I am…if you do I’m sure you also believe in the Bogey Man. I just said I wished Obama would prove them worng so they would shut up…I don’t care what the birthers have to say, I had a problem with assertion…and not necesarily by S-Dott or anyone on ths blog in particular…that people criticizing Obama were motivated primarily by racism. I don’t agree with it and I don’t see that anyone has any evidence to back it up. Not that you need it I guess, I was just rebutting that statement.
I am very passionate and positive…I’m just disappointed by that optimism when people let me down. I don’t really care if I’m apprecaited…I’ve been working for years doing what I do for absolutely no recognition and relatively little reward. My reward is that I did service for my country…
In short I don’t HAVE to show you any reason at all why someone brought up Obama’s place of birth or citizenship…I’m not defending the tactic…I just said that desparte people will tak edesparate actions…that doesn’t mean they’re necesarily racist.
I have found something positive in the current administration…it will be over in 3 years. Have a good day