Birtherism: The monster that ate the GOP
Top Republican leaders have begun a belated effort to squash the birther theory that threatens to define their party as a bunch of lunatics, at least among those many Americans who don’t share the obsessions of the GOP base.
But I have no sympathy, because they brought this on themselves.
As far back as the 2008 campaign, the core of the Republican marketing strategy has been to discredit Barack Obama by depicting him as the much-feared “other” — an unAmerican, even anti-American, Muslim, anti-colonial socialist Kenyan, etc. The notion never really penetrated the general population, but among much of the GOP base it has grown into an article of faith, as much a sign of Republican fealty as a no-tax pledge and the adoration of Ronald Reagan. From its humble beginnings in the fertile imaginations of Orly Taitz and others, it has become the GOP’s Frankenstein, a monstrous creation that they no longer control and in fact now fear.
It has, for example, given them a nightmare called Donald Trump, who has used the birther issue to rise to near-frontrunner status among potential GOP presidential candidates. But remember, Trump did not create that sentiment; opportunist that he is, he merely tapped into what was already there. In fact, by saying outright what other GOP candidates had been coyly suggesting or hinting at, he kind of gave the game away. He made explicit what the party establishment had tried to keep implicit, and by doing so forced them to finally confront it.
But it may be too late. Just this week, a New York Times poll found that 45 percent of Republican voters profess to believe that Obama was born elsewhere; only 33 percent would admit the truth, that he was born in Hawaii. (A Fox News poll earlier this month showed similar numbers).
In Arizona, the arch-conservative governor, Jan Brewer, was forced to veto a bill this week that would have required Obama to produce his “long-form” birth certificate to get on that state’s ballot in 2012. The bill had passed the Arizona House 40-18 and the Senate 20-9.
In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal has announced he will sign such a bill if it reaches his desk. Oklahoma is about to pass such a law as well.
And here in Georgia, of course, state Rep. Mark Hatfield initially enlisted a majority of his House colleagues to sign on as cosponsors of a birther bill until saner heads prevailed. But Hatfield hasn’t given up:
“If one state passes, and the Obama administration basically ignores the requirement and does not qualify for the ballot in that state, that would send a very strong signal that we have a situation in the United States where someone who is not eligible is occupying the White House,” the Waycross Republican said this week, noting that “other states, including Georgia, have a duty to step up.” Such legislation is guaranteed to keep the issue in the political spotlight.
The point man for the GOP establishment’s effort to repudiate its illegitimate offspring has been Karl Rove, which itself is telling. Rove doesn’t have to run for anything, and he risks nothing with his unequivocal repudiation of birtherism. But party figures, including presidential hopefuls, who are dependent on the GOP base for votes don’t dare to be so blunt about the ridiculous nature of the charge.
Rove, in fact, has even tried to suggest that the whole thing is some plot against the GOP concocted by the White House, which would be very cool if true. Alas, it is not. Others on the right have demanded that the president save them from themselves by doing something, anything, that would end the debate. But why? If your opposition is self-destructing, why on earth would you come to their rescue?
Besides, nothing Obama could say or do would end this thing, as political scientist David Redlawsk of Rutgers University explains:
“The reality is that “facts” are unlikely to mean much to those who believe in their gut that Obama is not American. Political psychologists call this “motivated reasoning.” It goes something like this: I dislike someone; I learn something positive that should make me feel better about him; instead, I dislike him as much or even more. This is clearly irrational, but our feelings about people are complicated, and we tend to hold on to them even in the face of contradictory information. This is not unique to those who dislike Obama.
We are all somewhat impervious to new information, preferring the beliefs in which we are already invested. We often ignore new contradictory information, actively argue against it or discount its source, all in an effort to maintain existing evaluations. Reasoning away contradictions this way is psychologically easier than revising our feelings. In this sense, our emotions color how we perceive “facts.”….
In the case of President Obama, people who already dislike him at a gut level have little motivation to revise their beliefs, whether about his place of birth or, as we have found in other research, the persisting belief that he is Muslim. It’s not the evidence that matters. Feelings come first, and evidence is used mostly in service of those feelings. Evidence that supports what is already believed is accepted, that which contradicts it is not.
So the smart bet is that the birthplace issue, the Muslim issue, and any other ways in which Obama can be portrayed as outside the mainstream are not going away. And no amount of data to the contrary will change that for some people. The simple reality is people feel before they think. And when those feelings are strong enough, facts take a back seat.”
Having created a political movement around such “motivated reasoning” in which emotion substitutes for fact, the masterminds of the GOP now have to deal with its consequences.
It’s downright entertaining, don’t you think?
-- Jay Bookman
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
675 comments Add your comment
Go Donald Go
April 22nd, 2011
4:31 pm
dusted
Well my fries are better than yours!!! I’m sure you can con a blind man and make him think you’re pure but the shadow knows what evil lurks in the heart
Is Mitt Romney the Republican Frontrunner in 2012? – The Atlantic | Conservatives for America
April 22nd, 2011
4:32 pm
[...] nomination?Wall Street JournalRepublican Voters Have Few Presidential FavoritesWAMCCNN (blog) -Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) -Politicoall 592 news [...]
Southern Comfort (aka The Man)
April 22nd, 2011
4:33 pm
Gll
Yep, just as I’ve been called a big, Black, bald-headed b@st@rd myself.
If he had to go before an immigration judge to contest his citizenship based on a birth abroad, #2 would probably be the likely outcome. I’ve read of situations where people have had to get re-married to acknowledge or legitimate a child. If it’s a state-recognized marriage, the US recognizes it as well. One would have to dissolve that other marriage for a US marriage to be valid.
Meathead
April 22nd, 2011
4:34 pm
Ok Mr. Logical Dude,
I just saw idiotic post. I never said he was born outside the US. And is my employer burden of proof to show my employment eligibility to HR? If Barry, self-admitted was born of the fathering of Mr. Obama, he not eligible. How can the questions or mysteries be solved if he won’t release his pedigrees? How does one prove a false negative? I think I merely stated documented fact and not innuendo. I asked questions to promote a Socratic discussion and you logic is to attack a discussion with these questions have no merit because I have no proof? What proof do I need? He said his father is a Kenyan, British National, his mother had him before he was 19(regardless of where in the f’n universe born) and is not a naturalized born citizen. If his father is someone else, he is a liar. Which way do you want to go on this? I am not trying to be right or the arbitrator of this issue, just curiosities about a man who tacked on 945 billion of debt to the US in 18 moths. Jorge Bush only managed 345 billion over 8 years, bless his heart. I swear, I think you proably illustrate your ACORN coloring books on 3rd grade Alabama level, as well as you read.
1811/1801 - 0311/0317
April 22nd, 2011
4:34 pm
Good Little Liberal:
I think I know and it has nothing to do with where he was born.
Just get one of those long-form certificates from back then (see my 3:48) and look at all the categories of questions that were answered.
Now, If it is what I think it is, it sure doesn’t disqualify him to be president but the American people still have the right to know.
Logical Dude
April 22nd, 2011
4:35 pm
Dusty asks: this is a propaganda fight and nothing more?
Well, it WOULD be, however actual state legislatures are taking up valuable time passing actual legislation around this subject.
So no, it’s not a propaganda fight.
But dang it, I was craving a Whopper when you went out earlier, but I already had lunch (not a Whopper), so. . . maybe tomorrow. (Whopper with Cheese, no onions please, extra pickle)
Dusty
April 22nd, 2011
4:35 pm
Go Donald Go…thou speak with forked tongue greased with fries!!
Besides that, someone mentioned “logical thinking” here. ON BOOKMAN’S BLOG? What heresy. There’s no logical thinking here! We all know THAT.
Southern Comfort (aka The Man)
April 22nd, 2011
4:35 pm
Dusty
Could be a propaganda fight. It could also be a backhanded attempt by the GOP to finally put this crap to bed without actually having to call part of their base liars. I’ve noticed that lately there has been more and more about birthism traveling through all news organizations. I tend to go with the pr or propaganda machine myself when you see a tide rising with one particular common theme.
Reverie
April 22nd, 2011
4:36 pm
Jay, I’ll keep bringing it up until he can produce the same damn proof required of me to join the military. Seems to me that the Commander-In-Chief should at least adhere to the same, minimal standards I have to. The truth is not that the right is shooting itself in the foot, it is that the sycophant press keeps ignoring the story. When you grow a set of testicles and actually persue this story to the truth, you will then get this to go away. The real reason that the members of the gutless press refuse to dig into this is the constitutional crises that will arise when it is proven that Obama lied to us and is not eligible to lead our nation. Then every action he took is invalid and every bill he signed is unlawful. Goodbye to your precious and destructive health care law.
Grow a set and dig into the story or quit blaming the messenger.
Go Donald Go
April 22nd, 2011
4:37 pm
1811/1801 – 0311/0317
What, his religion? His race? Does America truly care or even want to know?
Good little liberal
April 22nd, 2011
4:38 pm
Logical Dude
You saw the one on Factcheck. I saw the one on Obama’s own site. Seems like there are a few floating around out there. Which of course should raise eyebrows.
Personally, I’m not that big on conspiracies. I actually think that Oswald shot JFK. But if this issue has legs that will make more Americans question his legitimacy, I say: bring it. Make it every day news. I would really rather look at the way they passed healthcare, the way he supports foreign oil companies while going after the domestic oil companies and I would LOVE to see the transcripts from Panahou and Harvard and would love to know how he could afford to live in Boston while attending and paying for Harvard.
Go Donald Go
April 22nd, 2011
4:39 pm
**There’s no logical thinking here! We all know THAT.**
Yes, there is but you make up the illogical opposition. One caveat, you do it so well. Now just don’t go supersize it
Logical Dude
April 22nd, 2011
4:40 pm
Meathead: Since he was born in Hawaii, he is eligible to be President. It doesn’t matter WHO his father is.
Since you claim that you never said he was born outside of the US, then why are you arguing about this?
He’s our President.
NOW we can move on to him adding huge amounts to the deficit, growing national debt, and all of the other fun stuff we do on this blog. Those are separate issues apart from his status as someone born in Hawaii.
birthersarestupidfools.com
April 22nd, 2011
4:40 pm
let’s see Hawaii gives out COLB..Bush Administration approved the COLB!!It’s a 50 year conspiracy i guess. where is every other president’s BC? He’s already shown his COLB so what else is there to do? Birhters are stupid fools that have Xenophobia. Birther’s nothing, Fox nothing,conservative Bloggers nothing, Trump nothing, Orly Taitz nothing. Why waste time and money on foolishness
Thulsa Doom
April 22nd, 2011
4:41 pm
Keep Up the Good Fight!
April 22nd, 2011
3:41 pm
the impression from the context of it that the bridge collapsed due to a lack of repair or deterioration.thulsa doom
Buffoonery Doom. Reading the President’s speech they should KNOW that the MN bridge collasped because of lack of repair and deterioration. You are the one who looks foolish. -keep up
keep up,
Are you just stupid? Are you? It is a well acknowledged fact that the bridge collapsed due to a design flaw. It had nothing to do with decay or deterioration. I honestly can’t believe just how dumb you really are. Its mind blowing.
Dusty
April 22nd, 2011
4:41 pm
Logical Dude,(on Bookman’s blog????) Surely you jest.
What you need is a good Whopper right now. Brings logic if not indigestion. Sorry you missed such a delight at lunch. Mine was deeeelicious.
You worried about state legislators? By golly, they ‘ve got to have something to discuss. So why not ‘cuss Obama? Lotsa material there.
Tom
April 22nd, 2011
4:42 pm
This is rediculous, any politician and I mean ALL politicians should show their birth certificate if requested by an American citizen! Did they forget who in the hell they are working for!! For some reason they all of a sudden think they are GOD and above everyone else!! Don;t care if it is Obama, Bush, Clinton, Trump, Palin etc!!! PS – Somebody wake up Biden and tell him he is still on the clock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good little liberal
April 22nd, 2011
4:47 pm
Guys, take a break from arguing and PLEASE take a look at this, and TURN IT UP!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=qybUFnY7Y8w
Bose55
April 22nd, 2011
4:47 pm
Reverie and Tom:
He has shown his birth certificate. You’re choosing to ignore it or deny it. Come back to reality and move on to real issues. If you’re so desperate to see his original, start petitioning to change Hawaii’s privacy laws. He’s shown all he can show.
USMC
April 22nd, 2011
4:47 pm
Identity Politics: The monster that ate the Democratic Party.
Logical Dude
April 22nd, 2011
4:48 pm
I guess I waited long enough today. No actual Physical Evidence that Obama was born anywhere else than Hawaii was provided by anyone on the blog.
And I got a couple of people to say “well, I never said he wasn’t born in Hawaii” at least
Once I see a convincing piece of evidence that Obama was NOT born in Hawaii, I will change my stance. Until then, the ONLY convincing evidence is the document provided by the State of Hawaii. And it’s pretty solid evidence. It’ll be interesting to see if anyone can provide better proof than a state document (which can be used to get a passport, license, or other legal documents)
Z
April 22nd, 2011
4:50 pm
Recently on a TV program, the Queen of the Birther movement, Michelle Bachmann of Minn. agreed with George Stephanopoulos after he showed The Queen Birther, a copy of Obama’s certificate of live birth (his birth certificate) that yes it was settled, he was a Citizen of these United States. Only the bubble heads(lunatic fringe) believe he is not a Citizen, which is most of the republicans according to the polls. Maybe Michelle Bachmann has finally seen the folly of continuing with this birther lunacy..just maybe she finally figured out how absolutely ignorant she really looked, while spouting these out and out fantasies..about Obama. Those of us with a little sense can only hope these republican fringe groups, bubbles burst, and then maybe the light will finally come on. I won’t hold my breath.
Thulsa Doom
April 22nd, 2011
4:50 pm
HDB
April 22nd, 2011
3:52 pm
Thulsa Doom
April 22nd, 2011
3:30 pm
From the last figures I was able to find (2003), 34,700,200 white people were on Medicare out of 41,126,380 in the population…which is 84.37%……I’m not saying that half of ALL white people are on Medicare…but of those who ARE, the preponderance are white…….
http://www.nasi.org/sites/default/files/research/McBean.pdf
Gm and HDB,
Its obvious that Gm has reading comprehension problems. He stated half of all white people are on Medicare. Not quite because not half of white people are 65 or older. Now as a % of medicare recipients that would be a correct statement. since whites comprise the majority of the population. But that is not what Gm said. He said half of all white people are on Medicare which is not possible.
Secondly he said the same about Medicaid. Half of all white people are not on Medicaid. Now if he meant as a % of medicaid recipients he’s still wrong. Whites comprise 38% of all welfare recipients, blacks 37%, hispanics roughly 20%, and the rest are smaller minorities. Clearly the man does not understand how to read statistics- nor how to spell. Now even though whites comprise 1% more of the welfare recipients than blacks its also important to remember that there are 6 1/2 times as many whites as blacks. So as a % of their population the white numbers are much lower. Somehow I don’t think Gm is smart enough to understand these statistics.
Meathead
April 22nd, 2011
4:53 pm
Mr. Logiacal Dude:
One more time, and just as a qaulifier, Stanley had Barry before she was 19. Reade below carefully. I am going through great efforet of cutting and pasting on my i-phone to help you. I am on my way to mass, I will shout out one too St. Jude on your behalf; you are hopeless in understanding this discussion for, no matter how remedial or pedestrian I present this.
Natural-born citizen
Who is a natural-born citizen? Who, in other words, is a citizen at birth, such that that person can be a President someday?
The 14th Amendment defines citizenship this way: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” But even this does not get specific enough. As usual, the Constitution provides the framework for the law, but it is the law that fills in the gaps. The Constitution authorizes the Congress to do create clarifying legislation in Section 5 of the 14th Amendment; the Constitution, in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4, also allows the Congress to create law regarding naturalization, which includes citizenship.
Currently, Title 8 of the U.S. Code fills in the gaps left by the Constitution. Section 1401 defines the following as people who are “citizens of the United States at birth:”
· Anyone born inside the United States *
· Any Indian or Eskimo born in the United States, provided being a citizen of the U.S. does not impair the person’s status as a citizen of the tribe
· Any one born outside the United States, both of whose parents are citizens of the U.S., as long as one parent has lived in the U.S.
· Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for at least one year and the other parent is a U.S. national
· Any one born in a U.S. possession, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for at least one year
· Any one found in the U.S. under the age of five, whose parentage cannot be determined, as long as proof of non-citizenship is not provided by age 21
· Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is an alien and as long as the other parent is a citizen of the U.S. who lived in the U.S. for at least five years (with military and diplomatic service included in this time)
· A final, historical condition: a person born before 5/24/1934 of an alien father and a U.S. citizen mother who has lived in the U.S.
Reference:
http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_citi.html
I could be wrong
April 22nd, 2011
4:54 pm
I just always assumed that in order to meet the requirement of American born, you had to prove that when you registered as a candidate. I would assume this applies to any elected position that has American citizenship as a requirement. I find it impossible to believe that you could actually run for and win the highest office of this nation without having to meet that requirement to some sort of regulatory body as a condition of running. Anybody have clarifying info?
Dusty
April 22nd, 2011
4:56 pm
Go Donald Go,
R U SUGGESTING THAT I MIGHT BE A REPUBLICAN?? WHAT? Just because I reject silly subjects for more tasty items? That I don’t waste my time on mystery machinations? (Enough of that on TV).
But, YES, sweetheart, I am a Republican who knows when some one is beating the bushes for brouhaha and that is Bookman and his faithful bite’em bozos. OOPs..it is Easter weekend so I should have said lovely compatriots..sorry ’bout that.
So lead kindly ight and let us share our friendly fries (but you can’t have my Whopper. That’s asking too much.)
Keep Up the Good Fight!
April 22nd, 2011
4:56 pm
Doom….yeah the NTSB said design flaw because the gussett plate s were undersized and fractured and weight limits had been raised. The bridge had also been listed given a structurally deficient ratings several times (and at the time of collapse) and had a 50 out of 100 ratingm (only 4% of 100,000 bridges scored below 50). The 50 rating indicated it should have been replaced.
So yes it collapse from lack of repair to the gussets. Deterioration (evidenced by its rating) and from its under design for current condition. It should have been replaced as many of our bridges and other infrastructure needs to be replaced.
So the question for you is to repeat back your childish name calling Doomy, “are you stupid”? The only answer that is available is yes. We have a serious infrastructure problem in this country. Don’t you have a rock to crawl under child?
USMC
April 22nd, 2011
4:58 pm
“…certificate of live birth (his birth certificate)”–Z
Z,
A “Certificate of live birth” and a “Birth Certificate” are not one in the same.
They are two completely different documents.
Meathead
April 22nd, 2011
5:00 pm
Mr Logical Dude:
Thank you for capsulation of today’s discussion, but before you go away in to the sunst of apathy, let’s agree he was born in HI. Done, I agree for the sake of fluid discusion. Who droped the seed in Stanley? If it was was the MauMau Socialist anti colonialist Kenyan, then he is not a NATRUAL BORN CITIZEN- he’s a citizen just like anchor baby- US Citizen, without the right to Natural Born Citizenship. I don’t care where he was born. I want to know two things; who is his daday and how did HI vett him? It’s pretty simple, if you don’t know already, don’t you want to know?
Thulsa Doom
April 22nd, 2011
5:01 pm
Keep Up the Good Fight!
April 22nd, 2011
4:56 pm
Doom….yeah the NTSB said design flaw because the gussett plate s were undersized and fractured and weight limits had been raised.
Keep up,
There ya have it! Finally you admit that it was a design flaw. Certainly the bridge was probably deteriorating also but the entire point was that was caused the collapse was the initial design flaw. End of story!
Speaking of that I thought all those bridges were supposed to be repaired with a trillion dollars worth of stimulus money and shovel ready projects. Are you telling me that Obama spent a trillion dollars of waste but didn’t fix all the deteriorating bridges, dams, etc. ? Is that what you are telling me??? If we spent a trillion dollars and lord knows I have no idea where it went than why did none of that money go towards infrastructure repair? Where the hell exactly did it all go? Where sir??? Where???
Martin Williams
April 22nd, 2011
5:02 pm
Truth, what ever you drank today besides water, you better stay away from it. It is truly messing with your thinking. You all might as well get used to it till after 2016…….amen. Maybe the GOP should ask John McCain to run again as they still don’t have a serious candidate.
Southern Comfort (aka The Man)
April 22nd, 2011
5:02 pm
Meathead
You’re using the wrong Natz chart to try to determine his citizenship based on a birth abroad. When you can, read my post at 4:22 and you’ll see why.
Senior Citizen Kane
April 22nd, 2011
5:03 pm
“JFK was everything Dan Quayle wasn’t.”– Amvet
What, a serial philanderer who helped to get his country mired in the most useless war in its history at a cost of nearly 60,000 lives (not to mention a smaller disaster at the Bay of Pigs)? I’ve always thought Quayle’s answer to Benson should have been, “Why thank you.”
Dusty
April 22nd, 2011
5:05 pm
There’s music of the ancients upstairs. Go fer it, oh fearless ones!!
Go Donald Go
April 22nd, 2011
5:09 pm
Nah…I’d rather be here telling whoppers with the dusty one. My condolenses on being an admitted republican, I guess when you reach the bottom, there is no where to go but up. Well many a repub have learned to go sideways, which are you?
USMC
April 22nd, 2011
5:11 pm
“JFK was everything Dan Quayle wasn’t.”– Amvet
Yeah, that’s a laugh when liberals bring up JFK.
JFK lowered taxes and had a famous quote that makes Democrats croak every time they hear it:
“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”
Watch all of the Democrats are scattering about because those words are contrary to everything the Liberals and the Democratic Party stand for.
JFK:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLdA1ikkoEc
Bose55
April 22nd, 2011
5:15 pm
“A “Certificate of live birth” and a “Birth Certificate” are not one in the same.
They are two completely different documents.”
USMC
Hawaii has only issued certificates of live birth since 2001. Your attempted semantic argument is meaningless. They have the original birth certificates on record, and issue certified copies, which is exactly what has been shown. Since he was born in 1961, there would have been his parents would have been giving an exact duplicate as was the practice then, but people lose those all the time. I only have a certified copy, as do millions of other Americans. So again, Obama’s certified copy of his birth certificate can be used in any scenario requiring a birth certificate to be provided. Sounds like a birth certificate to me. In the future, it’s best to just use phrases like original and copy, fyi.
Mighty Righty
April 22nd, 2011
5:16 pm
It is easy to know what or who scares the left. They just can’t stop writting and discussing the person or subject. Funny how Jay’s facts don’t include a copy of the factual document.
Doggone/GA
April 22nd, 2011
5:18 pm
“Funny how Jay’s facts don’t include a copy of the factual document.”
Google is your friend
Go Donald Go
April 22nd, 2011
5:24 pm
usmc
Yeah that’s why when he went to dallas they were passing out posters of jfk inside a sniper’s scope. The hate was so strong that in some schools students actually cheered upon hearing of his assassination. I’m pretty sure those people grew up to be our present day tea partiers and birthers.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
April 22nd, 2011
5:25 pm
Doomy child, you suffer from focus. I’m not arguing your tagents of diversion, You claimed Obama lied by “implying something” (how foolish a claim) and then want to argue that a design flaw alone as determined by a govt agency is evidence alone (ignoring the other issues) in a blog about birthers when you igore a govt agency certification and now you want to move on. I’m tired of your dishonest buffoonery. You are incurable! I laugh at you. Recovery.com has your answers but you are too dense to read and a nonsense child.
Birthers be crazy. buh-bye.
Donald Trump electrifies the Republican competition – FRANCE 24 | Conservatives for America
April 22nd, 2011
5:31 pm
[...] Trump win the Republican presidential nomination?Wall Street JournalWAMC -CNN (blog) -Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)all 648 news [...]
Doggone/GA
April 22nd, 2011
5:33 pm
Considering that what Jay wrote wasn’t even about Obama’s birth certificate…it would be fun to know just how big a belly laugh he’s getting out of all this.
Dave R.
April 22nd, 2011
5:35 pm
“Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for at least one year and the other parent is a U.S. national”
Meathead, since Hope & Punt ™ was downloaded from the womb of an American citizen, he is, through the rule above, an American citizen.
End of story.
Got it?
Move on.
Left wing management
April 22nd, 2011
5:43 pm
To those wondering about the brutal beating that was posted on YouTube, here’s finally some actual reporting on the incident. Seems the incident occurred in Baltimore and two assailants have been charged, one a juvenile.
http://www.wbaltv.com/news/27640819/detail.html
Go Donald Go
April 22nd, 2011
5:46 pm
Dave R.
Well, I’ll be a monkeys uncle, there is one sane voice amongst the kookamonga berry patch.
Logical Dude
April 22nd, 2011
5:52 pm
Meathead: let’s agree he was born in HI. Done, I agree for the sake of fluid discusion. Who droped the seed
Well, if you agree that he was born in Hawaii, then IT DOESN’T MATTER who the father was. Having been born on american soil with an American mother makes him. . .
wait for it
. . . AMERICAN!
Dusty
April 22nd, 2011
5:52 pm
Well, shucks! GO DONALD GO thinks Republicans might want to go anywhere but straight forward. Poor baby! Doncha know that Repubs don’t vacillate like jello under whipcream? We are a sweeet crowd dedicated to freedom and individual rights. So why would we change?
The answer is we are not even tempted. What is better than the freedom we have to take care of ourselves with minds and choices of our own? To realize that debt is undesirable and economy is discipline? That our troops are fighting for us!!
Yep, I am going to be a REPUBLICAN for a long time. And… for a few whacks, I’ll even throw in some patriotism. Now, that is not politically correct but us Repubs don’t care. The USA is the BEST!!
I’m gone. au revoir!!
Keep Up the Good Fight!
April 22nd, 2011
5:54 pm
Logical….. awww man…you took away the anchor baby argument too? lol.
Doggone/GA
April 22nd, 2011
5:59 pm
“you took away the anchor baby argument too? lol”
I have NEVER seen a response from an “anchor baby” believer to explain what they are supposed to ben anchoring.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
April 22nd, 2011
6:46 pm
Doggone…that is one high bar you’re trying to set. Crazy conspiracy arguments with facts, logic, standards and rational explanation? I don’t suppose you’ll settle for “trust us”?
Corey
April 22nd, 2011
6:47 pm
UGA199@3:03, I’d say that it’s only been about fifty years since blacks were granted fulll citizenship in much of the south a lot has been accomplished. Astronaut MIT physicist from rural South Carolina – Dr. McNair, Astronomer and director of the Hayden Planetarium – Neil DeGrasse Tyson, astronomer and director of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Chancelor of Brown University, Secretaries of State, National Security Advisors, POTUS, generals, astonaut Charles Bolden of Columbia, South Carolina, astronaut and dear friend whom I had the pleasure of knowing an serving with in the Air Force – Michael P, Anderson (deceased- the latest shuttle disaster which occurred on reentry over Texas), chief of pediatric neuro surgery Johns Hopkins – Dr. Ben Carson, first black dean of an American Medical School – Dr. Ross (Diana Ross’s sister) and the list goes on. However, when the local media parade a slew of blacks behaving badly that’s the only thing that gets imprinted on your brain.
Mr Right
April 22nd, 2011
6:53 pm
Ho Hum I wonder what Jay would write about if he wouldn’t write about the GOP ?
Southern Comfort (aka The Man)
April 22nd, 2011
6:54 pm
I guess they’re anchoring babies.
Ramguy
April 22nd, 2011
6:56 pm
Oh we should give these birthers a break. They’re doing the best they can. If they could do any better they would.
Mighty Righty
April 22nd, 2011
7:01 pm
A note to those of you uninformed Democrats who insist Bush got us into two illegal wars. Both the United States House of Representatives and the United Sates Senate authorized and funded both wars in compliance with of the War Powers Act. This was and is unlike Obama’s War in Libya which has neither approval of Congress nor authorized funding and is in fact a violation of our Constitution which should be an impeachable offense. Personnaly I think George Bush made a mistake in Iraq by staying there after Saddam Hussein was toppled and he should never have gone into Afghanastan at all but the Democrats were insisting on it at the time. The Democrats now deny there involvement. I think Obama was correct prior to his election about getting out of both now. That thought comes from a proud right wing conservative.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
April 22nd, 2011
7:05 pm
okay, who played the illegal war card twice? Can somebody Trump it?
Southern Comfort (aka The Man)
April 22nd, 2011
7:31 pm
Mighty Righty
I have slight disagreements with part of that, but I’m in agreement with you on Obama’s statement about getting out of both.
I think Afghanistan was justified, but not justified to be a 10 year campaign. We knew AQ was behind 9/11. We could have used recon and satellite scans to locate their training camps in no-mans land. Once all camps were located and documented, 3 solid days of B-52 bombing runs with Tomahawk intermissions could have taken out all their training camps without putting a boot on the ground. A quick, decisive punch to the mouth is the fastest way to get someone’s attention when they’re trying to provoke you.
As far as Iraq, I think that’s the one that we should have never been involved in. Hussein was our stopper to keep the drain plugged in that area. Well, actually, he was one of many chess pieces we had over there. As a footnote, I wouldn’t have gotten involved in Libya either.
1811/1801 - 0311/0317
April 22nd, 2011
7:40 pm
Go Donald Go:
I don’t think “religion” is on birth certificates. Not on mine and shouldn’t be.
However, race is on there and if for some reason his mother wanted “white” then he wouldn’t be our first black president now would he? After all, he is 1/2 white …….. is he not?
Union
April 22nd, 2011
7:49 pm
forget the whole birther issue.. the gop needs to let go.. well.. not the gop.. just jay and the other idiots.. most conservatives i know could care less.. obama had managed to prove himself as a complete and total failure..
I like how bookman and the other liberals try to label conservatives by what one person says.. does that mean that we can label libs by what other libs say.. apparently libs have no problem knocking off presidents.. that may be an issue..
Southern Comfort (aka The Man)
April 22nd, 2011
7:56 pm
I like how bookman and the other liberals try to label conservatives by what one person says.. does that mean that we can label libs by what other libs say..
You guys already do that. I guess that’s why it goes back and forth. Neither side is man enough to stop acting like grade school kids.
Mighty Righty
April 22nd, 2011
8:09 pm
Doggone/GA-Did as you suggested-there are some compelling arguments about “other” people seeing the Birth Certificate so I understand where you are coming from. I have also seen a internet copy purported to be authentic but without certification. I still wonder why He won’t release a “certified” copy. I would suggest you read Snopes account paying particular attention to the “story” of the lady who thirty years later remembers in detail the specifics of a conversation she had about Obama’s birth and even made a note of the baby’s name on a napkin, and she remembers the name of the resturant she was in at the time. Now most of us remember where we were when JFK was shot, or on 9/11 But this lady remembers specific details of the birth of a obscure not yet famous infant claiming to be a friend of the mother. How many of you can remember the details of the birth of an infant in your own family 30 years after the fact. That is nothing but a bunch of BS and it makes a skeptic like me wonder why such a concoction is neccessary. Also, talking about internet copies, there is one floating around that shows him being born in Kenya. I don’t put any stock in that either. All of this could be cleared up by just producing a “certified” copy with a real doctors signature on the line that says “delivered by.” It defies credulity to think the Obama people are spending so much time hiding something that doesn’t need hiding.
y_p_w
April 22nd, 2011
8:16 pm
You want irony?
Unlike the Georgia bill that set a standard that Georgia’s birth certificate form could meet, Louisiana’s proposed birther bill requires a standard that their current form doesn’t meet.
Here’s a copy of a recent Louisiana certificate birth certificate that was released by a candidate for Congress from the state:
http://cenlamar.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/screen-shot-2010-07-14-at-9-01-57-pm.png
Here’s the requirements for Pres/VP/Congressional candidates to have submitted before their names can appear on the ballot in Louisiana under HB 561. The same text is present five times for different offices/election periods in the bill:
http://www.legis.state.la.us/billdata/streamdocument.asp?did=742268
“An original or certified copy of the candidate’s birth certificate that includes the date and place of birth, the names of the hospital and the attending physician, and signatures of the witnesses in attendance.”
The Louisiana “Certificate of Live Birth” does list the date and place of birth, as well as the name of the hospital. However, it doesn’t list the attendant (could be a nurse or midwife I would think) and as a computer-generated abstract it doesn’t reproduce any original signatures. They’re deliberately targeting Obama because all he can produce is a Hawaii form. However, if this goes into law, they’re stabbing the backs of current and prospective members of Congress and Presidential/VP candidates born in the state of Louisiana. They’re apparently so eager to keep Obama off the ballot that the looked at what wasn’t in the Hawaii birth certificate form which they could target, that they didn’t stop and think what a Louisiana form looked like. There’s been some speculation that some out of state birther drafted the bill and the bill sponsors simply attached their names without looking closely at the text.
Left wing management
April 22nd, 2011
8:20 pm
I’m watching Donald Trump right now on Eliot Spitzer’s show and I’m going on record here that if this guy actually runs, my money’s on him. You can put me down right now.
Yippee
April 22nd, 2011
9:22 pm
I don’t know where the jackass was born or what religion affiliation, if any, he claims or practices. I do know one thing about the president. He is doing a crappy job. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be defeated in 2012 regardless how many billions he raises and how many facebookers he attracts. The masses have seen enough of this jerk and he will be kicked to the curb. Bet on it!
Go Donald Go
April 22nd, 2011
9:26 pm
Could be a long wait till 2016, hope you can handle it.
Jezel
April 22nd, 2011
9:37 pm
As long as the Republicans continue to hate…it will not take much to make them look bad.
Jezel
April 22nd, 2011
9:46 pm
Trump was the only Republican who had a chance to defeat OBama. Can see he will not keep his foot out of his mouth.
Z
April 23rd, 2011
11:37 pm
Republicans don’t care a flip about debt, if they did why weren’t they flipping out when GW Bush was spending us into oblivion. The only thing Republicans care about is, Abortion, Guns and Taxes. The poor sheep just can’t seem to figure out anything for themselves so they follow the Goats(Faux Nutty Nuz and Icky friends, Rush, Hanny, Coch brothers, Rupert Murdock, Dick Army, Beck, all the right-wing shock jocks, over the cliff every time. All the Goats have to do is yell, ABORTION, GUNS and TAXES and over the cliff the sheep go, poor things…you would think they would finally figure it out but no, they truely are real honest to goodness sheep. Gawd help um please, especially on this Easter week-end, maybe they will see the light.
independent thinker
April 24th, 2011
9:07 pm
Palin, Limbow, Bachman, Coulter, Trump, Hannity, Gingrich, Beck, Turd Blossom, Malkin, etc,- How are they all going to fit in those little clown cars?
bigappleyankee
April 25th, 2011
12:29 pm
What a complete and utter waste of time and effort! With all of this country’s (and the world’s) problems, you’d think people would spend more time on finding a job (they are out there!) instead of worrying about a birth certificate. Since when did ANY gov’t agency in ANY state issue you an original birth certificate when you requested it? Think, people!
Joe Mama
April 25th, 2011
5:59 pm
Righty — “A note to those of you uninformed Democrats who insist Bush got us into two illegal wars. Both the United States House of Representatives and the United Sates Senate authorized and funded both wars in compliance with of the War Powers Act.”
Nope. This was the same argument Bill Clinton tried to use, and it didn’t fly then, either. Congress *didn’t* authorize our involvement in Used-To-Be-Slavia, but it *did* authorize funding. President Clinton (for whom I did not vote, BTW) tried to claim that the funding constituted IMPLICIT authorization on the grounds that Congress certainly wouldn’t fund military actions it didn’t approve of, but that is NOT what the War Powers Resolution says. Congress is *required* to EXPLICITLY authorize military actions over 90 days in length, and that did not happen in Kosovo, Iraq or Afghanistan. Technically, all three were violations of the War Powers Resolution and therefore illegal.
“This was and is unlike Obama’s War in Libya which has neither approval of Congress nor authorized funding and is in fact a violation of our Constitution which should be an impeachable offense.”
Nope. You’re wrong. Violation, my butt and impeachable offense, my foot. If anyone’s uninformed on this issue, it would appear to be you.
You need to READ the War Powers Resolution, because you are misrepresenting what it says. I personally don’t agree with our involvement in Libya, but the fact is that Presidents can send our military into action for up to 90 days WITHOUT Congressional approval. Anything OVER 90 days, though, REQUIRES Congressional authorization. If we’re not out of there by mid-June, come see me again. But between now and then, maybe you could actually READ what the thing says.
“Personnaly I think George Bush made a mistake in Iraq by staying there after Saddam Hussein was toppled and he should never have gone into Afghanastan at all but the Democrats were insisting on it at the time.”
I hadn’t yet left the GOP at the time, but it seemed to me that OBL admitted to 9/11 and to being in Afghanistan, and that the Taliban said he was there and they weren’t giving him up. For that reason, IMO we should have gone into Afghanistan in force and gotten OBL dead or alive.
IMO there was no reason for going into Iraq, and doing so just spread us too thin. Saddam Hussein didn’t have WMDs and the claimed evidence was just a load of bulldada. Besides, if we’re going to take out dictators with WMD, there’s a loonytune in North Korea who fits the bill PERFECTLY, yet we’re sitting down with him and talking things out.
“The Democrats now deny there involvement. I think Obama was correct prior to his election about getting out of both now. That thought comes from a proud right wing conservative.”
I think now and have always thought that our involvement in Iraq was a bad idea, but I remain supportive of getting OBL. I think that Congress and two Presidents, however, have frittered away our national will to get OBL, and I find that a crying shame.
Joe Mama
April 25th, 2011
6:06 pm
Mighty — “I still wonder why He won’t release a “certified” copy.”
He can’t release it because the State of Hawaii doesn’t and never has.
“All of this could be cleared up by just producing a “certified” copy with a real doctors signature on the line that says “delivered by.” It defies credulity to think the Obama people are spending so much time hiding something that doesn’t need hiding.”
He’s not hiding anything; the State of Hawaii simply doesn’t release it and he can’t authorize them to, because it’s against state law.
The head of the state records department and (former) Governor Lingle both viewed the original, and both have verified and vouched for its authenticity. And given that Gov. Lingle is a Republican (she was Mayor of Maui County when I lived out there), I think she’d have said something if there was anything fishy about it.
The good people of Hawaii don’t like outsiders telling them what to do and how to run their state any more than the good people of Georgia do, so the Hawaii Legislature actually passed a law permitting the state records department to IGNORE repeated and harassing demands for any state records. So not only does Hawaii not have to release the certificate (because that’s been state law since HI was a state), it now doesn’t even have to respond to you if you call or write or fax and ask for a copy.
There’s nothing to clear up here. Just as your GA drivers’ license is good in HI because GA says it is, the President’s HI birth certificate is good in every other state just because HI says it is.
Full Faith and Credit Clause. Learn it, love it.
Robert
April 26th, 2011
9:19 am
Just to clarify, the word “birther” is the new code word for “white racist” and the GOP is responsible for attracting lunatics like the home grown terrorist group(s) known as the “tea party” whose weapons of choice are hatred, fear and rage against minorities, women, gays & lesbians and Muslims & Jews. The whole world saw their hatred and bigotry on display during the 2010 midterm elections and heard their call to battle (take back my country) as well as saw the majority of poor, uneducated White Americans embrace the “tea party” and vote for the entire GOP ticket regardless of the candidates experience. The American People elected President Obama and the “tea party” (aka, klansmen, skinheads, disenfranshised white americans) have tried unsuccessfully to taint him as un-American which has created code words for racist such as “birther” and fanned the flames of racism in this country. Enough is Enough
Robert
April 27th, 2011
11:53 am
To clarify the word “birther” is the new code word for “white racist”