President Obama released his long form birth certificate yesterday and said, "This issue has been going on for two, two and a half years now. I think it started during the campaign. I have watched with bemusement, I've been puzzled at the degree at which this thing just kept on going."
He’s correct, the issue has been going on since the campaign, and during that time-frame, no one, not even lawyers, have been able to get the President to release his birth certificate.
Then, Donald Trump comes into the arena and the media gobbled up and promoted him and the Birther movement because he packaged it with a pretty bow and powerful words, which gave it serious momentum, and ultimately forced the President to release that mysterious piece of paper that those Birthers were certain had invisible script which proved Obama was an alien from outer-space.
This entire Birther movement is ridiculous to me in more ways than one. First, I do NOT believe that the President wasn't born in Hawaii. Second, I am ticked that so much time and effort has been wasted on this non-issue and feel that our media and our President are partially to blame.
Obama admitted that he watched for over two years in “bemusement” and that he released his birth certificate because he doesn’t want to distract from the real issues. Um, excuse me, but haven’t we had “real” issues for the last two years? Hasn’t our economy, unemployment, two wars and a deficit out our wazoo been important?
This “issue” could’ve been put to rest over two years ago had the President just released the darn birth certificate when first asked. But no. Rather than be a leader, he participated in the dog and pony show and acted like a spoiled child. Whatever his reasons were for withholding his birth certificate don’t matter. There were citizens, whom he serves as President of the United States, who questioned something, and it’s his DUTY as Commander-in Chief, to put those citizens at ease, not divide them, not distract from the issues and certainly not add to the divisiveness. Now, whether those individuals would’ve accepted what he released is debatable, but I personally think that the delay in releasing the birth certificate only enhanced the movement.
I’m not a Birther, but there are those, starting with the Hillary Clinton supporters, who believe he’s not a citizen and even though he has now produced the official birth certificate, they will continue with their silly conspiracy theories. I have to believe, however, that had the President produced his birth certificate two years ago, this fiasco wouldn’t have the traction it has today. But delaying it only gave the Birthers ammunition—he has something to hide, blah, blah. So, in reality, the President has himself to blame.
Then our media— and you all know how much I adore them! (insert eye roll here). They not only jumped on the Birther bandwagon but helped move that wagon along. With their endless stories, interviews and, yes carnival shows. It’s been non-stop. They don’t report serious news anymore, they report what they think will give them ratings and what’s better for ratings than the President’s a closet Muslim from Kenya pretending to be a citizen! The press gobbled it up faster than pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and stumbled over each other to get to the printing presses!
The saddest thing, though, is no one learned a dog-gone thing from this. The press will still go after their carnival shows and promote non-issue stories that won’t educate the public and our politicians, including our President, will still do what’s in the best interest for themselves.
So, Obama may have been “Trump-ed”, but in the end, the American people were, too, because we still aren’t getting what we pay for—honest, responsible, caring government and a reliable media that's supposed to be our "watch-dog".
Cross-posted @ Rational Nation USA
The only real reason I wanted his long-form birth certificate released was because when I moved to Pa and transferred my vehicles my certificate of live birth was unacceptable for the government bureaucrats and they required me to produce my long-form birth certificate to transfer my car. I figure if I had to show my birth certificate for that the least Obama could do is produce his long-form birth certificate to show that he was indeed eligible to be President. I pretty much always thought that Obama was a citizen or born in Hawaii but my doubts rose as he refused to produce his long-form birth certificate. Thank goodness this whole charade is over.
ReplyDeleteTeresa: You had to give your birth certificate to transfer your car! Oh.my.gosh. Imagine how much money we'd save without that stupid crap!
ReplyDeleteLike I said, he should've released it when asked. But for him to say he sat back and watched in "bemusement". That's a bit much for me. This isn't funny. It's not funny that there's even a Birther movement either. None of it's funny.
I hope it's over, too, but I think we'll still have a "fringe" who will say the birth certificate is forged or something dumb like that.
and feel that our media and our President are partially to blame.
ReplyDeleteIt's mostly the mainstream Republican leadership that is to blame. A firm and sustained repudiation by them might have been able to squelch this insanity. They chose not to try, preferring to coddle the birthers with weasel-words because it was politically useful.
This “issue” could’ve been put to rest over two years ago
Releasing this form two years ago would not have put this phoney "issue" to rest, any more than it will do so now. Idiots like these can't be swayed by evidence (to anyone who can be swayed by evidence, there has long been ample proof that Obama was born in Hawaii). Already they're claiming the long form is fake or Obama still isn't a natural-born citizen because of some technicality about his father. There's no reason to think the reaction two years ago would have been any different.
There were citizens, whom he serves as President of the United States, who questioned something,
How obviously-flaming-batshit-insane does a "question" have to be before people with serious work to do are entitled to simply ignore it?
there are those, starting with the Hillary Clinton supporters, who believe he’s not a citizen
Not "the Hillary Clinton supporters". It was only ever a tiny fringe of Clinton supporters who believed this. 45% of Republicans believe Obama wasn't born in the US. This is a Republican problem.
The birth certificate that Mr. Obama produced during the presidential campaign and that was posted on the internet was a document that ALL officials of the state of Hawaii, Democrat AND Republican [the then governor was a Repub.] attested to and declared a factual and certified document of birth.
ReplyDeleteThis very same document is used to attain a US passport by thousands of Hawaiians.
Yet, the GOP was not satisfied with this proof of birth.
My question is why? Why did they keep hounding the president for more and more evidence? Why did the birthers suspect THIS particular president was not forthcoming on a birth certificate that every other Hawaiian has used and had approved as evidence of citizenship when they applied for a US passport?
IMHO, it is not Mr. Obama's burden to prove anything else, once he provided his birth certificate.
I know Pam is too good a person to want to face that this whole controversy was race based. But I'm forced to come to that conclusion when no other president in the history of this country has had to show his papers in the insulting and demeaning manner that this first bi-racial president has had to.
Where were the birthers when GWB became president? Why should it be assumed that he was born in America and Mr. Obama was not? Why wasn't Mr. Obama's birth certificate believed when he first produced it?
We all know the answer.
Teresa, not all states have the same requirements for motor vehicle transfers. If PA required that long form, it does not necessarily follow that all states do.
Mr. Obama was born in the United States of America to an American mother. That makes him incontrovertibly an American and qualified to be our president.
This article links to 9 other sites with documents proving Obama's citizenship.
ReplyDeletehttp://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2011/apr/27/links-documents-involving-president-obama/
Why all this uproar over Obama's BC? Why not McCain's when he ran? Why not Jackson's or Teddy Roosevelt's or other presidents who either weren't born on American soil or whose parents had emigrated here?
Yes, this whole circus has been a distraction from far more serious issues and I will stand by Obama for not releasing the "long form" sooner. It was and is insulting and disrespectful, not only to the man but to the office.
Pamela - Great post. Thanks for posting at RN.
ReplyDeleteThis issue should have died at birth.
Infidel: I’m in agreement that this issue is “batshit insane” and even if Obama had released it 2 years ago there would still be loons out there touting it was fake. However, by Obama NOT releasing it for 2+ years it only gave the loons more leverage AND with Obama stating he sat back in “bemusement” he showed HE was acting immature when he should’ve risen above his adversaries, like any good leader would, then if the Republican establishment didn’t back him up THEY would’ve been just as bad as the loons. As it stands, for 2 years they really didn’t have anything substantial to stand on because the birth certificate wasn’t released, but now that it has been if they don’t tell the media and the loons to STFU they will be in the same camp as the loons.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct, and I apologize, I should’ve written “some” Hillary Clinton supporters.
Shaw: I’m not convinced that this is racially motivated. I won’t deny that there are a percentage of people who hate the President because he’s Black. However, I don’t think the Birthers are racists, although I DO think they hate just as much. The Obama haters are akin to the Bush haters. It’s a blind hatred that these people feel and something I can’t understand. I’m not sure anyone who doesn’t hate can ever understand. But to blame every criticism or lunacy on racism is a bit excessive. It seems that any time someone even criticizes the President it’s somehow racial, and that’s really unfair. How are we to judge him, which is our right as citizens, if we’re going to be accused of racism? Again, there IS racism, we’ve seen it in many of those ghastly cartoons, but the Birther issue…again, I’m not convinced that it’s racial.
ReplyDeleteLeslie: If I’m not mistake McCain was asked for his bc because he was born in Panama and he released it. Then it was over and done with. It would be nice to “think” that had Obama released his long form it would’ve been done and over with, but, the Birthers would’ve found something wrong with it back then and we know that. However, and I know I’m repeating myself, had it been released 2 years ago, at least the President would’ve done the right thing and could’ve said pound salt, I released it. As it stands, he didn’t, which gave the Birthers more ammunition for their conspiracy theories.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links, I had no idea that form for Obama’s Indonesian school was out there. But I suppose his step-father KNEW way back when that Obama was going to be President of the US one day in the distant future so he wrote Honolulu as his place of birth!
Pam: While I found something about the issue of McCain's citizenship in 2008, I couldn't find the original source and I couldn't find where he produced his BC. However, the claim was debunked by the MSM and most other media outlets, including the leftist MSNBC. It simply didn't go anywhere and nobody tried to take it to the Supreme Court. In other words, it was a dead issue before it even got started.
ReplyDeleteIn my view, evidence of racism within the TP movement is hard to ignore. Birtherism, Photoshop images of watermelons on the White House lawn, photos of the President dressed as a pimp and the First Lady as a tramp, images of the President as a Joker in blackface, images of the President as a chimpanzee … these well-publicized examples do not exist in isolation, and all are part of a pervasive and pernicious pattern.
ReplyDeletePerhaps more to the point, consider this historical context: The former Dixiecrats and segregationists who switched parties 40 years ago as part of the so-called “Southern Strategy.” These former Dixiecrats, now stalwart Republicans, barely disguise their bigotry and contempt.
Furthermore, since overt racism is now considered taboo, it simmers below the surface in the form of consummately subliminal and covert messaging: “Wink, wink, nod: Oh, yes, we are talking about that [fill-in the blank] in the White House. Wink, wink, nod.”
In this era of identity politics, it is easy to understand how one loses oneself in party loyalties and talking points, loses objectivity, and ignores signs and symptoms.
Well, this should not come as a surprise, but I completely agree with you. Obama could have stopped it (except for a few of the wacky birthers)way back when but chose not to. Maybe that was a political ploy or it was just "bemusement" at our country's expense. Either way it was erraneous.
ReplyDeleteI am not a "birther" but I must say that at one point it did cross my mind. I mean why on earth wouldn't he provide it if it answered questions? There had to be some reason. (note above reasons)
(Sigh) I do not think that this has anything to do with race and frankly I am soooo tired of any actions or feelings against Obama being attributed to racism. I'm not saying that there aren't racists out there, there are. Two of the most vocal ones are Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Or do they not count? I don't like him not because he is black, but because I think he is a terrible president. Why can't people understand that?
If a cop asked me to show him my license, I'd show them. When we play soccer and the ref's ask for our coaches passes, I show them. I don't understand what was so difficult about showing his birth certificate. I agree that if he showed when people asked we could have avoided so much drama. "Birthers" are stupid but why give them fuel for the fire?
I have a feeling that there is going to be more drama with people already questioning if Bin Laden is really dead. I wonder if he will hold off and stir the pot again? Honestly, I am just so over Obama at this point. Nothing surprises me anymore.
To be perfectly honest, as an inhabitant of the sea and a solid citizen of the realm, you have no idea how much I resent those humans dumping trash in my backyard. Osama FIN Laden, indeed. Why not embalm and stuff him in a Tanqueray bottle; then call him Osama GIN Laden. As for that Tonsil Dump character, why not call him Osama TWIN Laden.
ReplyDeleteAnd anyone who criticizes the Pres. for bagging the bum should be renamed Osama SPIN Laden.
Birthers are the right's equivalent of those clueless boobs on the Left who doubt that Bush actually won the election in November 2000. Both are breeds of addle-brained sore losers.
ReplyDeletePamela said: " It seems that any time someone even criticizes the President it’s somehow racial"
Yes, one of the biggest lies from the Left is that the "birther" issue is somehow racial.
Nope. No one even thought of asking candidate Jesse Jackson for his. Sorry, not every thing that is dumb is racial, and not ever criticism of Obama (valid or nutty) is racial.
Octo: Sorry, the "southern strategy" accusations of racism do not fly. Because these same people would bash, and did bash, Bill Clinton, a white guy.
And what does the "southern strategy" appeal to anyway? NON-racists. The people that want everyone treated equally, and are offended by the blatant racism of affirmative action.
If there is anything racist in the issue of criticising Obama, it is shielding Obama from criticism just because of his skin color.
Jenni said it well.
I disagree that the President shares any blame regarding the birth certificate fiasco and it's being used as a distraction from the real issues. I agree with what Shaw Kenawe said... What Obama released in 2008 (the so-called "short form") IS considered by Hawaii to be the OFFICIAL birth certificate. So what if PA does it differently? All states are entitled to their own rules regarding this subject. It's a 10th amendment issue, which I'd have thought those on the Right would support.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the charade isn't over. Now the conspiracy theorists are claiming that, even if he was born in Hawaii he still isn't "natural born". There also IS speculation that the BC was forged. See my post "Natural Born Birthers" from 5/6/2011 for my take on the issue (in poem form). With this post I conclude that the BC controversary IS racially motivated.
I also authored a post on 5/7/2011 titled "Republican Cons and Carnival Barkers", in which I discuss Donald Trump and others who might run for president (Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin). My conclusion is that the president was not "Trump-ed". It was The Donald that ended up looking stupid (and hopefully this signals the end of his "campaign").
In regards to dmarks statement that "Birthers are the right's equivalent of those clueless boobs on the Left who doubt that Bush actually won the election in November 2000"... Al Gore DID win that election, and Barack Obama agrees. On 4/14/2008 at a Messiah College PA forum featuring candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Senator Obama said, "By the way, I have to say, I think Al Gore won" -- this was in response to a statement by Hillary Clinton indicating that she believed Al Gore had lost the 2000 election (you can hear and see the words comming from Mr. Obama's lips at the 2:23 mark in this YouTube video).
Pamela,
ReplyDeleteSince the elimination of OBL, you and Dalan (and my own daughter included) have been in my thoughts.
Perhaps there will be an opportunity to wind down our involvement in Afghanistan and the region, thus sparing our respective families yet one more agonizing deployment. At least that is my hope.
I agree, Octo, once the conditions are met which would make this decision sensible: the elimination of the Taliban. I am in favor of anything that moves us toward that goal. Then we can bring the boys home.
ReplyDelete------------
Sorry, W-Dervish. Gore lost the election. There's a little thing called the Electoral College. Bush won in Florida which gave him enough electoral votes. Constitutionally, that is what counts. Not the popular vote. That's the current reality until someone changes the law.
(Bush wins in Florida if you count the ballots the way people actually voted on them. Gore wins if you use deceptive trickery to count voteless ballots as Gore votes).
So, from your quote, it looks like Pres. Obama is poorly informed on US election history.
On 4/28/08, appearing on the MSNBC program "Verdict with Dan Abrams", Constitutional Lawyer Jonathan Turley said, "Al Gore appears to have won Florida" (at 2:07 in this YouTube video). In the same intreview he called the SCOTUS decision "one of the great outrages in history". I agree.
ReplyDeleteGore won the popular vote AND the electoral college. It was Jeb Bush, Katherine Harris and the Conservative SC justices who engaged in deceptive trickery to steal Florida from Gore. If the vote had been allowed to continue (in compliance with FL law) Al Gore would have won Florida and the presidency.
Well, sure, and if they'd demanded he shave his head so we could make sure there weren't scars from where the horns were removed, he should have snapped right up and shaved? This stuff is nonsense and a non-issue and nothing he could have done or has done now would have made any difference to these biddable folk. I'm with infidel. Responsible Republicans should have nipped this right in the bud but they thought they had something to gain. Reprehensible. What Obama did provide initially was exactly the form he would have to use to get a passport issued.
ReplyDeleteDmarks: "Gore wins if you use deceptive trickery to count voteless ballots as Gore votes."
ReplyDeleteAs a Florida resident, I am closer to the facts than you are (and Carol Roberts, The Palm Beach County Canvassing Commissioner who called the recount, is a personal friend of mine).
The official count: 537 votes.
Votes in Palm Beach County that were never recounted: over 3,000.
Missing votes in Volusia County (from heavy democratic districts): Over 600.
Number of disenfranchised voters due to ballot misprints in Jacksonville (all minority districts): Over 2,000.
Number of statewide registered voters (all minority voters in minority precincts) denied the right to vote: Over 45,000.
Former Governor Jeb Bush disenfranchised those 45,000 voters in 1998-90 after he hired a 'private' company to audit the state's voters rolls. The audit was declared bogus and the voters were reinstated in 2002 by court order.
So don't give me GOP talking points crap about 'deceptive trickery" when the elements of statewide voter fraud were pervasive and put in place well before the 2000 election. And you wonder why we are still BITTER about that!
I have a 10 foot pet alligator. Would you like to meet him?
You're absolutely right Octopus. Gore won no matter how you slice it. Even WITH all the deceptive trickery the Right used to wrongly disenfranchise tens of thousands of voters (which you can read about in Greg Palast's book The Best Democracy Money Can Buy), Gore STILL won!
ReplyDeleteThe Conservative SC justices had to STOP the recount to ensure their guy was anoited. You're bitter? I'm bitter too.
Gore lost, the exact same way Dole lost before him, and Bush lost before him: the actual popular vote in enough states was not enough for enough electoral college votes. Time to grow up and get over it.
ReplyDeleteAnything else is as nutty as the birther stuff.
Among the bizarre ways to "slice it" to conjure a Gore win out of the reality of defeat was to have a standard of "voter intent" that contradicted how people actually voted.
Yeah, you are bitter about it. So are the McCain fans about Obama's victory. Do you want to see a length list of voting irregularities on the other side? We can start with the Black Panther voter intimidating scandal, which was deemed "OK" by Eric Holder. I can provide a long list if you like.
There are also some widespread strategies by the Democrats to corrupt the democratic processes, including their opposition to voter ID (which would get rid of a lot of fraud), and the Dems insistence on "statistical sampling" in Census matters (conjuring people in voting districts out of thin air, for districting purposes).
Yeah, Gore won in 2000? It's a Harry Turtledove novel, not the way people actually voted.
The majority of the Supreme Court justices held to the law and the actual vote. All they did was let the actual vote stand.
w-dervish,
ReplyDeleteFive years ago, Carol Roberts (the former commissioner of Election Year 2000 recount fame -mentioned above) asked me to co-author a book on the subject. During the recount, Carol received over 2,000 death threats and was under constant police protection.
A little known fact about Carol: After the Soviet Union broke up and former satellite states were having their first elections, Carol was enlisted as an election monitor for Estonia. Although a Democrat, Carol was enlisted by Republicans for this assignment because of her solid reputation as an honest public official. Yet, during the recount, she was targeted with death threats. How easily partisan hacks can defame an honest person at the drop of a hat!
Dmarks,
I will not engage you in a prolonged discussion due to time constraints (I am in the processing of moving to a new house), but I will say this: All taking points, but you have NO COMMAND OF THE FACTS. You should acquaint yourself with renewed attempts to disenfranchise voters starting with this article: Curbing Voting Rights in Wisconsin. The new bill will disenfranchise students, minorities, and most especially the elderly. Like it or not, this is how Republicans do business, and THIS IS NOT DEMOCRACY!
FYI: A Wiki reference about my friend Carol Roberts.
ReplyDeleteEvery election we hear how the Republicans suppress the minorities, youth and elderly. Then we hear how the Democrats suppress the Military and get votes from the illegals, deceased and prisoners.
ReplyDeleteVoter fraud has been an on-going problem perpetrated by BOTH sides and it COULD be rectified, however, neither side wants to fix it because they BOTH benefit from it!
Yes, Pamela. And requiring a valid ID to vote is a GREAT idea.
ReplyDeleteThose who dismissed the idea completely must see nothing wrong with the massive voter fraud problem. It's a real menace, not a phantom one, due to the large number of illegal aliens and people who willingly tossed away their right to vote (felons) who end up voting anyway.
Instead of dismissing the idea, we should modify the idea to address criticisms (elderly, students, etc). Wisconsin is on the right track.
Among the lost comments were the ones about voter fraud, and about how Democrats block efforts to eliminate it (such as voter ID).
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I do have command of the facts. Talking points? A meaningless label apparently used her for facts that you do not like.
ReplyDeleteYeah, of COURSE Gore won... and Obama is really a Kenyan citizen, and Cheney blew up the World Trade Center.
dmarks: [Republicans are concerned about] voter fraud, and... Democrats block efforts to eliminate it (such as voter ID).
ReplyDeleteRepublicans realize that the higher voter turnout is, the more likely it is that they lose. That is the reason behind legislation like "voter ID". It's all about suspressing the vote... and has nothing to do with "voter fraud".
As (the now deceased) Republican operative Paul Weyrich used to say, ""I don't want everybody to vote. ...[Republican's] leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down".
The reason behind voter ID is the large number of fraudulent votes. Nothing more. The only votes that get suppressed if we have valid ID are fraudulent votes (non citizens, double votes, fake/dead people. etc). If there are sectors of society that have trouble getting a valid ID, then fix this. But don't throw away this excellent idea.
ReplyDelete"As (the now deceased) Republican operative Paul Weyrich used to say, ""I don't want everybody to vote"
So? It's just like the Democrats I hear who want Republicans to stay home on election day.
""I don't want everybody to vote. ...[Republican's] leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down".
There are a number of ways to interpret this, including the idea that passionate dedicated informed voters tend to be Republicans, and the casual ones are Democrats.
The reason behind voter ID is the large number of fraudulent votes. Nothing more. The only votes that get suppressed if we have valid ID are fraudulent votes (non citizens, double votes, fake/dead people. etc). If there are sectors of society that have trouble getting a valid ID, then fix this. But don't throw away this excellent idea.
ReplyDelete"As (the now deceased) Republican operative Paul Weyrich used to say, ""I don't want everybody to vote"
So? It's just like the Democrats I hear who want Republicans to stay home on election day.
""I don't want everybody to vote. ...[Republican's] leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down".
There are a number of ways to interpret this, including the idea that passionate dedicated informed voters tend to be Republicans, and the casual ones are Democrats.
dmarks: The reason behind voter ID is the large number of fraudulent votes.
ReplyDeleteWhat "large number" of fradulent votes? Numerous studies have shown that voter fraud is virtually non-existent. In PA, for instance, state Republicans want to spend 10 million dollars to combat the voter fraud "problem". But a 5/14/2011 article from PA's "Standard Speaker" titled "PA wastes time on non-existent fraud" says, "Statewide in 2008, the most recent presidential election, four people where charged with misrepresentation at a polling place - four".
Like I said, dmarks, this isn't about combating "voter fraud", it's about preventing people who are legally entitled to vote from casting their ballot. There is only one way to interpret the Paul Weyrich quote... he (as do all Republican politicans who push this phony voter fraud issue) rightly knew that it is the Democratic Party that best represents what the majority of Americans want. Republicans represent what a minority of (wealthy) Americans want. The more legally eligible voters turn out the more likely it is that Republicans will lose. It's just that simple.
"Republicans represent what a minority of (wealthy) Americans want."
ReplyDeleteHardly any of the Republican voters I know are rich, and they are voting Republican out of their informed interest.
If this false accusation (a major Democratic talking point) were true, Republicans would be 1% of the electorate instead of HALF.
And just one example of Democratic policies being more harmful to the poor can be seen in the current battle in Congress to try to further overtax the oil companies and force them to raise prices. Just what strapped families need: paying even more at the pump.
ReplyDeleteRE: "The saddest thing, though, is no one learned a dog-gone thing from this. The press will still go after their carnival shows" Yep, dang, we almost got raptured over the weekend....
ReplyDeleteVoter ID:
ReplyDeleteCan't figure out why the GOP types love that one so much, yet hated the idea of
a national ID card. (?)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete