Wait, what?

[digitaldiscipline]

Okay, I finally gave in and googled the term "birthers." I honestly thought they were some whacky-ass rebranding of the quiverfull thing.

You're telling me there is, honestly, a huge lunatic fringe, including members of our elected government, on board with a conspiracy theory that President Obama's birth certificate is fake, and this warrants news coverage?

Comments

[emzebel.livejournal.com]

You got it.

...

[maelstromsl.livejournal.com]

what else do you expect from desperate right wing asshats grasping at mythical straws?

Re: ...

[etcet.livejournal.com]

I don't suppose "mass seppukku" is a realistic answer.

Re: ...

[maelstromsl.livejournal.com]

We can always hope.....

[tirani.livejournal.com]

Three words explain why these are even getting press: "Slow news cycle."

[etcet.livejournal.com]

"we're tired of fucking up the conversation about health care reform."

[marchenland.livejournal.com]

And their mouthpiece is a woman name Orly.

ORLY?

YES!

She's also a dentist. And a real estate agent. And a bear baiter, tequila sommelier, bull semen extractor, small parts engineer, and haberdasher. I may have made some of those up, but then again, maybe not.

[moth2theflame.livejournal.com]

Actually, part of the reason it's news is because mainstream media networks have decided it's news. CNN's Lou Dobbs is leading the charge and it's been talked about on every channel. It shouldn't be news, these people shouldn't be given the time of day. Sadly there is such a strong undercurrent of hate and violence in this group, being fed by the SCLM (so-called liberal media), and there has already been a sharp increase in domestic terrorism since the election, largely due to these folks and others like them. President Obama is getting four times the number of death threats (http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/president-obama-faces-increase-400-deat) than Dubya did and the Secret Service can't keep up. So much for a black president being a sign that this country is post-racist.

[etcet.livejournal.com]

I love how the SCLM is airing all these criticisms of BO, but not a fucking peep about those fucks we had for the last eight years. Not that I don't think the press ought not to criticize the Gov't, because it fucking well should, but the blatant partisanship of it, which is then completely ignored and overlooked, just makes me laugh bitterly and wish for unlimited ammo.

[the_axel]

What's funny about that is that when Lou Dobbs was off the presenter who covered for him gave a strong rebuttal of the allegations, listing all the ways Obama's birth in Hawaii has been validated.

What's really funny is Jon Stewart's piece where he showed the rebuttal and then Dobb's the next day continuing with the bullshit.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2022026/obamas_birthday_birthers_lou_dobbs_pg2.html?cat=9

[inyou.livejournal.com]

I understand (slightly) part of the counter-argument that "Birthers" would give is that the Hawaiian "birth certificate" that was shown is more like a voucher for the vintage of the certificate that was also handed out for people that were from out of the country as well as those born inside of the country. I was listening to an NPR special on this movement a while back...

[the_axel]

'Clutching at straws to cover the pustulent boil of their racism' is, I believe, the technical term for it.

[timswar.livejournal.com]

It's news because Obama can't squash it and let it die.

First, because it'd be a violation of Hawaii's rights as a State to order a release of his original birth certificate.

Second, it'd be an egregious violation of his privacy (seriously, what other president has been forced into this kind of situation) for Congress to force such an action.

Third and finally, because the vast majority of the populace sees Birthers are complete morons. Republicans are forced into defending them because Birthers strongly correlate to their base, but tip toeing around them is a mistake and makes Republican candidates look weak at best, mildly retarded at worst. Obama has no reason to stop the GOP from continuing to make the mistake of not shutting these people down.

squash

[maelstromsl.livejournal.com]

Its not worth his time to squash it.... its that dumb. May the repooplicans destroy themselves. Amen.

[marchenland.livejournal.com]

That's the best part: it's like watching the final twitches of a nearly dead beast.

Sadly, it will reanimate itself later, possibly under a new guise, or not.

[faience.livejournal.com]

Isn't politics fun?

[etcet.livejournal.com]

It does provide a target-rich environment, in much the same way Barrens Chat does....

[ruefullyamused.livejournal.com]

New and improved with Chuck Norris jokes, even.

[kat1031.livejournal.com]

I wish they were a "luntatic fringe" unfortunately not so much:

http://www.brendan-nyhan.com/blog/2009/07/disturbing-poll-on-obamas-citizenship.html

http://www.brendan-nyhan.com/blog/2009/08/va-poll-backs-kos-result-on-obama-birth.html

[the_axel]

'It must be the truth 'cos it's there in the news' as Attila the Stockbroker put it.

Unfortunately, I must now end this thread, with a quote from the man himself:
in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie

[vatine]

You klnow, I always thought that "Birthers" was a new nick-name for the pro-life crowd.

[y2kdragon.livejournal.com]

Or something like "breeders" ?

[vatine]

Half of the "breeders", 9 months later?