Apropos of some comments yesterday, here’s a question: have there been any polls about the percentage of Republicans who are birthers? And who will be the first major Republican presidential candidate to embrace birtherism?I'd say judging by the fact the "Obama is a Seekrit Muslim" thing keeps scoring in the low teens, I;'m going to say that at least that many Republicans believe that.
As far as #2 there, somebody, anybody, please ask Sarah Palin what she thinks about it. Preferably on live national TV.
[UPDATE 3:12 PM] Bonus Questions from the crew at LG&M:
The Birfer theory really boggles me: I can't even understand the thought process involved. Obama's been a (very minor, initially) public figure since at least his time as editor of the Harvard Law Review, and at the very least since then there's never been any change in his biography, in which he was born to Stanley Ann Dunham in the state of Hawai'i, a birth that was announced in the local paper. What exactly do these nutcases surmise - that he wasn't born to Dunham, but instead was born to some other woman overseas and smuggled as a newborn to Dunham's hospital? What possible reason could a newlywed college student have for doing such a thing? How would it make any sense? Even in their most unhinged fantasies, why would Obama's family have plotted from his infancy to fake the location of his birth and the identity of his mother?Because he's The Enemy, capital T, capital E, as in "the way Gandalf refers to Sauron". It doesn't matter. The birth certificate being forged or missing or from Andromeda Seven is Al Capone's missing tax returns to Eliott Ness, a technicality they can use to get the guy because he's EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVIL.
Through the birther idiocy comes the greater ability to de-legitimize Obama and everything he is trying to do. If his birth certificate is wrong/a lie/huge cover up/SEEKRIT MUSLIM then everything he does as President has to be called into doubt, too.
I can't wait for Palin's new third party to break away and save The Real Americans from this terrible influx of foreigners now invading our government. As dday put it over at digby's:
ReplyDelete1955 - They are an inferior race
1965 - They are lazy workers
1975 - They make old white customers uncomfortable
1985 - Affirmative action means their diplomas are bogus
1995 - They are a litigation risk for discrimination
2009 - They are racists who discriminate against white people
Boo fucking hoo.
Here's a scary thought, just from a "The World's Craziest Venn Diagram" point of view. How many Birthers are Twilighters too?
ReplyDeleteWrap your head around THAT one.
Let's get real: the birfers are out there because Obama's middle name is Nicholae Carpathia.
ReplyDeleteSeriously: if you want the largest cross-section between fantasy literature and birferism, I'd say include Left Behind in your Venn diagram.
Another addition to the Venn Diagram would be, how many of them watched an American Carol and thought it was actually funny?
ReplyDelete