Slate.com carries an article by David Weigel on the relative newsworthiness of Alvin Greene (flash in the pan Democratic Senate candidate in South Carolina) and Orly Taitz (flash in the pan candidate for the Republican nomination for California Secretary of State). Weigel wrote:
So Taitz has played a role in a weird and interesting story; she has pushed a fringe cause, with some minor implications on the 2012 presidential race, into the mainstream. Her cause will continue to get attention even if she fades; she knows what she’s doing.
Related article from the Daily Beast.
Orly may have been somewhat effective, but I’m not sure that I’d characterize her as knowing what she’s doing or having pushed her cause into the mainstream (although I have to admit the thing about the Missouri Speaker of the House is significant – maybe it will lead to a eligibility law resulting in the confirmation of President Obama’s natural born status ;-))
Personal opinion. worth what you paid for it.
The point about Mad Ole Orly is that she has been an unwitting and marginally effective tool of others peoples agenda’s.
Her dogged insanity, shrew like manner and total disregard for legal or societal norms meant she has always been good for a couple of column inches on a slow news day.
What she has been “good” for is to get the whole “OBAMA IS NOT ONE OF US” meme up and running where it will be useable in a sly nod and a wink manner come 2012.
She is now wholly marginalized and her utility lies only in possibly being used as a foil for comparison. “Hey you may not agree with us 100% but at least we’re not like HER”.
Her 2 years of insane filings, case, lawsuits, demonstrations etc fed her desperate need to at least appear to be important and it dovetailed nicely with her foul racism.
She will now descend further into the land she really hates…..”Sorry….Orly WHO..?” so expect at least a couple more desperate attempt to position herself in the limelight.
Borvil,
Good point. What I’m hoping will happen is that now that ‘the meme is up and running’, as you put it, that the mainstream ignores the birthers for a while and they go and get a ballot eligibility law passed – thus confirming President Obama’s natural born status and discrediting the meme…
What I’d expect to see out of Orly in 2012 is that she’ll attempt to take control of the lunatic fringe of the Tea Party movement (I.e. most of it) once they realize their candidates were serious about not pursuing birterism. That would be interesting to see.
It looks to me like Orly has lowered her sights after she found interest in a movie deal somewhat cool.
So instead of an international art-house movie with Meryl in the lead and multi-Oscar nominations for the asking, she seems to be laying the ground work for a cartoon movie:
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/alley-oop#id=/comics/101123/cx_alleyoop_umedia/20102311
It will be fun to watch this one play its course.
I’ve always pictured the animated version of Orly more like the squirrel that is a parody of Marge on an episode of Itchy & Scratchy on The Simpsons…