On the right tail of the bell curve, we find candidates for public office that are Birthers, or Birther sympathizers. Here’s a tour, but first a warning: Democrats are all too happy to paint their opponents as crazy, fringe, conspiracy theorists. The reader might want to do some careful analysis and fact checking before deciding for themselves whether any of the following fit the Birther category. I hyperlink to the sources I used.
Sharron Angle
We start, it appears, by taking Sharron Angle, Republican Senate candidate from Nevada off the list. Speculation swirled after an ambiguous answer on a radio show and an endorsement from the Alan Keyes’ Declaration Alliance posted on her web site. Angle told reporter Ed Morrissey “flat out” that she didn’t believe Barack Obama as born outside the United States, according to the Washington Post. The Declaration Alliance endorsement disappeared from her web site as well. Did she see the light, or the handwriting on the wall?
Michelle Bachmann
Bachmann (R-MN) is perhaps best known here for this pally photo with Birther Queen Orly Taitz and for them being friends on Facebook. Bachmann is going to be speaking at a conference hosted by Joseph (“Where’s the birth certificate?”) Farah in September. Is it a Birther conference? TPM Muckraker says so; Bachmann says no.
Ken Buck
Buck is a Republican candidate for the US Senate from Colorado. According Ali Weinberg on the ABC News blog First Read blog, Buck supports “‘birther’ craziness.” Buck is also a fan of former Representative Tom Tancredo, who campaigned unsuccessfully for president in 2008 on an anti-immigration platform.
Hector Maldonado
There’s little controversy over whether Hector Maldonado is a birther or not. This underdog candidate for the Republican Senate nomination in Missouri made quite a splash with his confrontation with Missouri Secretary of State Carnahan, where he asked for Barack Obama’s proof of citizenship
David Vitter
This Republican US Senator from Louisiana supports the Obama eligibility lawsuits although he says the he doesn’t have standing himself, according to TPM Muckraker.
Commentary
There is a great deal of commentary coming out of what we might call moderate Republicans denouncing the crazies in their ranks. Since Bob Inglis is my Congressman, I thought I would end with what he said. The 6-term incumbent was defeated in the Republican primary. Now Inglis is speaking out against extremism in his own party in this AP interview (the following is a brief excerpt).
Inglis said the rhetoric … distracts from the real problems that politicians should be trying to resolve, such as budget deficits and energy security.
“It’s a real concern, because I think what we’re doing is dividing the country into partisan camps that really look a lot like Shia and Sunni,” he said, referring to the two predominant Islamic denominations that have feuded for centuries. “It’s very difficult to come together to find solutions.”…
“Bachmann is going to be speaking at a conference hosted Joseph (“Where’s the birth certificate?”) Farah in September. Is it a birther conference? TPM Muckraker says so; Bachmann says no.”
Birtherism is Whirled Nut Daily’s cash cow. There’s more milking from those gullible cows.
Don’t forget Glen Casada – Republican Caucus chair for the Tennessee State Legislature. One of the first to sign up for Orly’s case (Barnett vs. Obama, I think?) as co-plaintiff. I confronted him on the issue (hence my catapult into the world of the Birthers) and received only the standard ‘birther’ tripe as a response. I expect more dignity from my representative, and certainly a show of more intelligence and character. A man I voted for and respected suddenly turned into nothing more than a tin-foil hat wearing conspiracy theorist – and his further (non-birther) related actions would only verify that he had become radicalized.
There are times I think the moderates are scared of the fringe arguments. However, many have denounced the fringe arguments.
I think the GOP winks at the Denialists, believing it will help them in the long run. That’s why they flirt with that fringe.
I just don’t get how one party seems to completely subsist off of fear and how people so easily fall for it
I have not seen any copy whatsoever of any birth record for Michele Bachmann, Sharron Angle, Ken Buck, or David Vitter. I have not seen Hector Maldonado’s naturalisation certificate. I have not seen a passport or other document that confirms US citizenship. Should I sue all of them and demand access to their birth records, medical records, school records, full passport file, and anything else that I want?
But of course; it is the American way, after all. 😉
I wrote to the sponsor of the Arizona birther bill, and asked to see her birth certificate. She said she’d show it to me if I visited her office in the state capitol. I explained I wasn’t in the area, and asked if he could post it on the Internet. She refused.
I wonder what she has to hide.
“She said she’d show it to me if I visited her office in the state capitol.I explained I wasn’t in the area, and asked if he could post it on the Internet.She refused.”
And why hasn’t she released it to the mainstream media?
Another story: I wrote to one of Taitz’s legislator-plaintiffs. Asked to see his birth certificate. He referred me to state SoS if I wanted to his candidiacy papers. I explained to him that under his state’s law, he was only required to declare (under oath) that he was eligibile, but not actually required to demonstrate eligibility, so going to the SoS wouldn’t be helpful. He told me if it was good enough for the SoS, it should be good enough for me.
What are these people hiding?
I heard that Vitter has promised to check the citizenship status of any prostitute he uses in the future. Good for him.
It’s probably a fake anyway. I want to hear from all of the people present at the birth and a verification of the footprint on the long-form. What’s the point. It’s all faked anyway.
Elvis Presley’s manager, Tom Parker, was an illegal alien:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Tom_Parker
Holy wet clothes, Misha! That’s how my great-uncle got into the country!
David Vitter may be backtracking according to Politico.com
On Sunday, July 11, Vitter was asked at a town hall-style meeting, what he will do about President Obama’s “refusal to show a valid birth certificate.” He replied, “I know all the information I’ve been able to get my hands on through the media, but obviously with the mainstream media as filter that’s not a whole lot. I personally don’t have legal standing to bring litigation to court, but I support conservative legal organizations and others who would bring that to court.” However, in the next breath, Vitter admitted that pursuing the birth certificate issue could prove a distraction that could weaken Republican efforts to win elections in November.
Another good article Dr. C.
If I ever catch up and get some more time, I might provide my more complete list that I’ve been tracking, of all the politicians at the state or federal level (either currently holding office or candidates for such), which have either “flirted” with birtherism (i.e. mere cynical pandering – a despicable act in and of itself) or seem to be actual “birthers”).
Sadly, it is quite an extensive list. To date, I’ve got 78 folks in all listed there, including the ones you mention here.
From your list, I would place scumbag David Vitter in the “only cynically pandering” category at one end of the spectrum and Hector Maldonado at the opposite end in the full-bore birther gullible nutbag category (as are a host of others, such as Louie Gohmert of TX and Marsha Blackburn of TN, etc)
Folks like Bachmann (and Sarah P) are definitely low-information nutbag McCarthy-style demagogues, but I haven’t seen any evidence that they are actual birthers, so they are somewhere inbetween, but closer to the Vitter end of the scale in my book.
Now Sharron Angle – it is hard to know where to truly put her. She’s had a history of really crazy positions for years, but now that she’s won the primary as the GOP NV Senate nominee, she seems to have a bunch of “handlers” that are trying to help her pretend her positions are something other than what they were. I suspect with this being such a large attention election contest spectacle that we’ll get further insight on her positions on this issue before November.
An obvious candidate that hasn’t been mentioned yet is Nathan Deal, currently running for GA-Gov. I’m sure I don’t need to repeat the story of how he became a birther hero when he was in the House. It sure doesn’t take much to become a birther hero.
I emailed his website before the primary and asked if he knew whether the President is a NBC. Got an automated reply saying we’ll get back to you and then nothing. I’d say he was most likely just pandering to the paranoid fringe voters when he sent his letter to the White House and then has been trying to back away since. I would hope other Repubs admonished him especially for indirectly impugning the Republican administration in Hawaii.
From BF….Birther delusions, courtsey of the RAP….What a bunch of crazies….They really think they have “overthrown the US government” and now the capital is in Kalamazoo, MI. Really? Are the birthers so delusional they are willing to believe in any nonsense such as this? And looking at the commenters you can see they are infested with the usual birthers you see at the Post and Fail, WND, Orly house of horrors, and every other pro-birther site out there….
Jacqlyn Smith says:
July 21, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Please feel free to copy my email….I just sent this out….it is a good way to educate and tell them to pass this information on…..
Dear Friends and family……This will be one of the most important informative emails you will receive from me concerning the true history of our country and the enslavement that took place over time…..all of this has been hidden from the American people for many years…..NOW is the time to learn and make sure this history is shared with your children and grandchildren as well…..please pay special attention to Part 4…it goes into great detail concerning how this all came to be……I am celebrating today as our interim government has been established and is moving forward….I need all of you to spread the word and this information below is a good way to begin educating folks on what has transpired and why “we the people” need to restore the system of government that our fore fathers meant for all Americans to have…..but as we brought this RAP forward…..the world wanted to also be in on the freedom and rights that our Creator endowed on all of us…….so now join me and millions of others across the world in spreading the good news that God has had a hand in…….Peace and Love to all…..Jackie:)
russ says:
July 21, 2010 at 2:56 pm
Unconfirmed. In 4 minutes.
“Yes, in an amazing act of power and alignment, the Waking UP In America team, welcomes back, Mr. James Timothy Turner. Tim will be giving us an update on what has occurred since his attempted assassination (when he removed himself from the public) and the establishment of the government of the New Republic in our interim capital in Kalamazoo Michigan.
This Florida fisherman evolved into one of the Founding Fathers of the NEW REPUBLIC and is now our current interim president.
Floridafree says:
July 21, 2010 at 4:29 pm
This is GREAT news I welcome President Turner far better than NON president Barry Soetoro! Lets all PRAY for Tim’s safety as you know the OBOT camp must be fuming right about now and will attempt to stop ANY announcements!
Jacqlyn Smith says:
July 21, 2010 at 6:16 pm
Yachoved said…..
Okay now, haven’t we heard from Tim all along that the military is behind RAP? Didn’t they contact, who was it?, in RAP first? I know I’ve heard that from either Tim or one of the elders. So why would we have to wait for the military to come over to our side?
I’m feeling really guarded in my excitement right now. I want to hear this news with my own ears. I can’t seem to find the spot on The Voice of America site to listen to it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes….I believe some of the military came to them a while ago with their concerns about the US Corporation and fear of World War III…..that is when the plan was crafted and the declarations written….that part didn’t pan out as the Governors ignored the declarations and we the people had NO power to enforce the orders to the Governors…..then the military could not act either….reason being….we did not have our Grand Juries up and running……now they are…..the corporation is soon to be broke and won’t be able to operate….we will then have the full backing of the military because we will be the lawful government and they will have to retake their oaths to the republic of the united states and not the US corporation as they did before…..they will be getting paid out of our coffers after they come on board with the republic!
http://gwgjlg.wordpress.com/2010/07/15/rap-thread-v/comment-page-2/#comment-12596
sedition |siˈdi sh ən|
noun
conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch.
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense [violent strife] ): from Old French, or from Latin seditio(n-), from sed- apart’ + itio(n-) ‘going’ (from the verb ire).
Seditious conspiracy is a crime under US law (Section 2384 of Title 18 of the United States Code).
If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.
Ah, such absurd craziness from the RAP master folks! So, J. “Tim” Turner has “declared” himself “interim president” and their HQ is Kalamazoo, MI.
ROTFLMAO!!!
Majority Will is correct about sedition, but I think for charges to apply, such things have to go beyond just the voices in Turner’s head…
Oh, another political wannabe to add to the Birther list today:
http://www.hutchnews.com/Editorialblogs/edit-congress-withdraw-endorsement–1
I will go with vote pandering for $100 Alex….Nearly 2 years after Obama’s election and the delusional birthers and their ilk are still at it….They are so programmed to believe anything negative about Obama that they don’t even think….Here is the newest “controversy”….Again as it has been said before on this site…Hating Obama does cause brain damage….
Obama Visits Black Power Ice Cream
A Saturday jaunt to a Maine ice cream parlor by US President Barack Obama has brought serious concern after analysis of the the shop’s logo shows a striking similarity to the logo used to represent Black Supremacy in America.
Obama was photographed Saturday by reporters enjoying a scoop of vanilla in front of Mount Desert Island Ice Cream in Bar Harbor, Maine, which proudly advertises its “fearless flavor” on its website. However, its black, clenched-fist logo bears an uncanny resemblance to the one created to represent the supremacist movement in the 1960′s.
In fact, store owner Linda Parker admits to intentionally modeling her logo after that of the Black Power Movement, telling a reporter in 2008, “Everyone has seen enough cows in the hillside.”
The US Justice Department has come under scrutiny recently after its Obama-appointed Attorney General, Eric Holder, threw out a case of voter intimidation against members of the New Black Panther Party.
Since then, former Justice Department lawyer J. Christian Adams has come forward to tell the American public that racial “payback” is underway at the Justice Department, against Whites in favor of Blacks.
Republican Congressman Frank Wolf has asked the Inspector General to investigate possible Obama Administration involvement with the Justice Department on its handling of the New Black Panther voter intimidation case.
“Something is rotten” at the Justice Department, Rep. Wolf says.
Why President Obama chose to patronize an establishment with such a politically-sensitive logo at this time is uncertain. Some speculate that his handlers, or Obama himself, decided on the press shoot to send a subtle message to his core radical base.
http://www.therightperspective.org/2010/07/17/obama-visits-black-power-ice-cream/comment-page-1/#comments
And some of the comments….There are actually people that believe in this nonsense…
RT says Finally, I saw this picture yesterday afternoon (Friday) and was shocked. This is no coincidence. I’m sure it was calculated and planned. There is a message being sent and it probably is not a good one.
Obama sure seems to be going to parts of the country where wealth is concentrated (Asheville, Marthas Vineyard, Mt. Desert) is he letting the old money know he coming after them?
This photo is very telling!
Edwin Leemans says With the raised black fist is how it all started in South Africa. This was the symbol of the ANC, UDF and other so called liberation movements.
Now South Africa is in the hands of the communists. Only a few million whites are left, and each day is a struggle to survive. Our names changed, and we are now even called, “Afrikans”. The Boerevolk of South Africa, will stand up!
Wishing the conservatives of “Amerika”, the best of luck
TroubledAmerican says Oddly if Bush had ice cream from an establishment with a KKK logo, that would be racist? Racist is as racist does.
HappySad says fta: “Why President Obama chose to patronize an establishment with such a politically-sensitive logo at this time is uncertain. Some speculate that his handlers, or Obama himself, decided on the press shoot to send a subtle message to his core radical base.”
I don’t agree with that at all. Obama doesn’t need to send “subtle” messages to his base. His racism is overt and out in the open.
MichiganBob says You better believe this photo was planned. The (formerly) White House approves all these pics, they knew what that logo looks like and they wanted that pic to happen. It’s all part of Obama’s handlers’ plan to stoke up racial tensions before the elections, that’s the only damn thing Obama has going for him right now.
If this were Europe Obama would have gotten a vote of NO CONFIDENCE and he’d be out on his ass right now.
Bill Osgood says It has nothing to do w/ the business. It certainly shows how ignorant the current president is to peoples fears. I am sure the ice cream had great TASTE. For a black president to stand in front of a black power sign anywhere is no different then a white president attending a clan rally…VERY, VERY POOR TASTE
Theodore says I definitely see the logo looks like Black Power. People here are saying the woman who runs the business is white but that doesn’t matter, she’s definitely a Leftist and has sympathies with the Black Power movement. She probably thinks white people are responsible for all the sins of the world and hates the color of skin.
Black Lion –
Yeah, I read that ridiculous article earlier today too over at “therightperspective.org”, which is just another hack RW propoganda site.
What you failed to mention is the number of commenters even over there who completely eviscerate and mock that stupid article and its ludicrous claims & conclusions, many of whom are from Maine themselves and know that area and shipowner much better than the race-baiting hack who wrote this garbage article in the first place. When last I checked, they greatly outnumbered the gullible RW teabagger responses.
G, I did see there were many that mocked those idiots…I wanted to show that even though the premise was so outragous and ridiculous, that there were many willing to believe it just because it involved Obama. These individuals are not taking responsiblity for what they write or say. Similar to the Brietbart fiasco involving FOX and Ms. Sherrod.
And then you have the followers of the most dangerous of them all, Glenn Beck…..
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/07/organization_targeted_by_anti-govt_ca_shooting_suspect_was_frequent_topic_on_glenn_becks_show_video.php
“The Tides Foundation, which prosecutors in California say was among the targets of the anti-government unemployed carpenter Byron Williams before he got into a chaotic shootout with several law enforcement officers Sunday, is also a favorite topic of Fox News host Glenn Beck.
Beginning in 2009 (and as recently as last week), Beck has repeatedly included the group — along with ACORN, the SEIU and George Soros — in his cabal of liberals and liberal organizations that are supposedly agents of President Obama’s plan to spread Marxist and socialist ideas throughout the United States.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that Beck necessarily inspired or influenced Williams’ alleged plan to attack the Tides Foundation. But the group has been something of a whipping boy for Beck over the last year.
Williams was charged yesterday with allegedly opening fire on police officers on Interstate 580 in Oakland, California, while on his way to “start a revolution” by attacking members of the ACLU and the Tides Foundation. Williams was reportedly upset about “the way Congress was railroading through all these left-wing agenda items,” in the words of his mother. (Which, we have to admit, do sound like words Glenn Beck might say).”
Thanks for the update article on the Byron Williams shooting in CA, BL!
So, they’ve finally revealed items from his “target list”…sadly, the evidence really does lead me to suspect that this psychotic nut job felt “driven” to cause harm because of Glenn Beck’s influence on him.
Even more sadly, I fully expect we’ll be seeing a lot more of this type of behavior from the unhinged on the far right in the near future and over the next several years.
It really seems that Fox News is doing its best to stoke these fears and intentionally trying to incite racial tensions as well. Just utterly disgusting.
G, I couldn’t agree with you more. Think of the last few “scandals” that FOX news has focused on….The manufactured “New Black Panther Party”, Van Jones, ACORN, and now Ms. Sherrod and the NAACP. What do they all have in common? They all involves minorities (Blacks) as the bad guy somehow trying to take something from Whites. That is the narrative that Roger Ailes and FOX is going for. The “scary blackman” is out to get you seems to be the overall Conservative plan, with the birthers playing right in to the plan….
Unfortunately, you are absolutely correct. The direct link of all of these scandals to trying to stoke white fear (along with anger & resentment) of black people has become starkly evident over the past few weeks. In my view, such racial fear stoking is totally racism in and of itself. Sadly and shamefully, it seems to be working all too well. I feel shame for my country and my fellow countrymen who are falling for these loathsome fear/smear tactics.
I am extremely disappointed in this Administration for their initial McCarthy-style reactions, especially when you consider the original sources (Breitbart & Fox News) and their less-than stellar reputations.
I am completely disgusted by the media for their part in the story and for still, to this day, practically giving another “free pass” to the utter lack of journalistic integrity of those propaganda & agenda-based sources. These stories have all turned out to be intentional smears and carefully edited hit-jobs, which have left real damage in their wake. Such actions should not be given a “pass” and organizations that do such should be stripped of any journalism credentials they hold and not be treated credibly at all. In fact, many of these acts, particularly the most recent one by Breitbart are so beyond-the-pale in their malicious editing and intent that they deserve to be prosecuted to any extent possible.
Agreed again. I am very disappointed that the Obama administration is reacting with fear of FOX and the Beck’s of the world instead of challenging them and calling their racist nonsense out. They should have had Breitbart prove himself before they reacted. It is almost like they are pandering to a segment of the population that is not going to vote for them anyway. No person that gets their news from FOX, WND, Breitbart, or sources would vote for Obama even if he cured cancer. So worry about the people that elected you and strive to follow your agenda instead of attempting to be bipartisan with a GOP that will be against anything you propose. Secondly the media is responsible for running with the stories instead of verifying information. At least they showed some guts and refused to take the so called New Black Panther bait that FOX has been pushing for the past month….
Well said again, BL! I agree with you on these points as well.
Although, unfortunately CNN seems to still fail to learn the lesson a bit. I was watching them late last night and although Anderson Cooper had a good segment where he pointed out that Breitbart was the real perpetrator in that hack-job video, their very next segment was on the bogus “New Black Panther bait” – sadly from a perspective of “OMG!” and “we’ve got to spend more time looking into and covering this story”. So, sadly, I don’t think the media has learned its lesson at all and is stuck in a repeat loop of sensationalist stupidity…
Maybe this is as good a place as any to note a teabagging politician who has been outed as being most emphatically not a birther. Ken Buck, who’s running for the GOP nomination for Sen-CO, and quite the Tea Partier, said:
(He said it in conversation, not realizing that the person he was conversing with was a Dem tracker who was surreptitiously recording him.)
I pretty much suspected this was what GOP politicians thought about birthers, but it’s nice to see it confirmed.
h/t Wonkette, which has an amusing article.
See also this in the Denver Post: http://www.denverpost.com/election2010/ci_15600796.
More wingnuts…I am begining to believe that it will take these tebagging politicans to lose in November in order for them to distance themselves from the movement….
Add Kris Kobach (not surprisingly) to the list of birthers in America, the people who can’t believe Barack Obama was born in the United States.
The Kansas Republican secretary of state candidate, of course, is just playing to the ultra-conservative views of his supporters in questioning Obama’s birthplace.
Even though Hawaii officials have fully documented the birth, and courts have thrown out lawsuits challenging Obama’s citizenship, and birthers throughout the nation regularly make fools of themselves, Kobach remains undeterred.
Kobach said this week:
Look, until a court says otherwise, I’m willing to accept that he’s a natural U.S. citizen. But I think it is a fair question: Why not just produce the long-form birth certificate?
Long-form, short-form, any form – it wouldn’t matter to Kobach and the birther crowd. They don’t want to acknowledge Obama’s citizenship.
Read more: http://voices.kansascity.com/entries/kobachs-laughable-birther-views/#ixzz0utlleCvD