Over at the POLITICO Arena today, folks are debating the birther issue, how it compares to 9/11 "truthers" and if leaders of both political parties have handled each issue appropriately. As someone who worked for George W. Bush for the better part of a decade, even remotely equating birthers and truthers gets under my skin. I live in Seattle, where encountering someone from the loony left is a common occurrence.
Last year in the span of just a few days, I had two people ask me if, given my service as President George W. Bush's deputy press secretary, I was "in on it" (Sept. 11) or if I knew my boss had "planned the whole thing." After politely asking what color the sky was in their world, I disengaged from the conversations. I couldn't help but wonder if these two otherwise seemingly normal people knew they were suggesting I was complicit in the slaughter of nearly 3,000 innocent Americans. The very idea that the birther conspiracy could be compared to that of the truthers is deplorable. One group's crazy idea is that the current president wasn't eligible to hold the office because of his birthplace. The other's belief is that the former president was a mass murderer. One theory is laughable. The other is despicable. If Terry McAuliffe or Howard Dean (DNC chairs during President Bush's two terms) issued statements disavowing the truther conspiracy of their fringe, I'm not aware of them.
Republican leaders like RNC chairman Reince Priebus, Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Gov. Mitt Romney have been very responsible in putting the birther idea in its place. Maybe that's because the mainstream media is more prone to tar the entire right side of the political spectrum with the faulty ideas of a few, while the same reporters give leaders of the left a pass on answering for the hateful theorists in their ranks.
Comments
Truther vs Birthers
Birthers had every right to speculate.
Our congress FAILED the citizens of the U.S. by not vetting Obama in the beginning.
This whole thing is the fault of CONGRESS and unfortunately that stands for ALL of CONGRESS.
At least, now, Obama has potentially done what he should have had to do before ever even being put on the ticket - show his credentials to hold the position.
Regarding the 9/11 truthers...well, we'll always have conspiracy theorists.
Congress should be reprimanded, in truth, for their irresponsibilty to their position - dereliction of duty, really.
Rulkes are in place for a reason and should be enforced. Look at the damage Obama has done...were we not foolish to just let anyone hold that power? That's what we were doing, until he proved his eligibility.
Imagine...we let this man in the White House and we had no proof he could righfully be there.
Foolish aren't we?!
One Wonders
Many folks are wondering how such a corrupt and incompetent individual such as Mr. Obama ever made it to the Oval Office. He has minimal economic sense, and has never worked in business, or served in the armed forces. He should have been a professor, minister, or remained a senator because he lacks the skills to lead on domestic and foreign policy. Even Carter and Clinton had far more experience than Obama. Has Obama ever had a real job in his life?
It's the Constitution, Stupid!
As far as "Truthers" go, I think that's the most insane "theory" I've ever heard. As for "Birthers", it has everything to do with the U. S. Constitution. Should we let Osama Bin Laden be our President? Equates to the same thing by not vetting the current resident of the White House. He's paid $2M to attorneys to hide SOMETHING. This is not gossip or theory, it's true. Don't you think the leader of the free world & holder of the nuke code, should be subject to a background check of some kind? So before you start bashing "Birthers" like the lame stream media does, think about what damage he could do and has done to our Constitutional Republic.
Logic Never Fails to Escape Some Folks
People who want to see a birth certificate want to see it for a couple of very legitmate reasons:
1. Is the Marxian man/child in chief a "natural born" citizen?
2. That he was actually born in Hawaii is a reasonable conclusion. PROVE IT. (Failing to do so early on simply engages in pettiness unbecoming a sitting president.)
There are other concomitant issues however. Did he travel on a foreign passport? Did he ever renounce his American citizenship either purposefully or by accident? How did he get into Columbia and Harvard, and who paid? Did he matriculate as a foreign student? What were the grades of this wondrous geniass?
As for the "truthers" out there, they pale in comparison to the millions of completely ill-informed, minimally educated although extensively schooled foamers in the bureaucracies, the unions, the schools, and the venerable groves of academe.
Post new comment