Birfers Hurting GOP - Bush Aide

[Toro]

Plus, they're "cranks."

Thanks to Donald Trump—real-estate mogul, reality-TV star, and possible candidate for the Republican presidential nomination—a fringe conspiracy theory is now front and center in American politics: the claim that President Barack Obama might not be a natural-born American citizen.

By focusing on Mr. Obama's birth certificate, Mr. Trump has garnered a lot of attention and some support. According to the latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, among Republicans he is now tied with Mike Huckabee as the most popular prospective GOP presidential nominee. If responsible Republicans don't speak out immediately against Mr. Trump's gambit, it will do substantial damage both to their party and to American politics.

The Trump case goes like this: Mr. Obama doesn't have a birth certificate, his grandmother has stated that he was born in Kenya, his family is fighting over which Hawaii hospital Mr. Obama was born in, and "nobody knew" Mr. Obama while he was growing up in Hawaii.

The problem is that Mr. Trump is wrong on every particular. ...

The problem for Republicans is that some significant figures within the party are giving a wink and a nod to his efforts. Sarah Palin has said, "I believe [Mr. Obama] was born in Hawaii," but in recent days she also said, "More power to [Mr. Trump]. He's not just throwing stones from the sidelines, he's digging in, he's paying for researchers to find out why President Obama would have spent $2 million to not show his birth certificate." (Ms. Palin has refused journalists' requests to explain where the $2 million figure comes from.)

Representative Michele Bachmann (R., Minn.) has said that she takes the president at his word and doesn't care about the issue. But she has added: "The president just has to give proof and verification, and there it goes"—even though proof and verification have already been given.

When prominent figures in a party play footsie with peddlers of paranoia, the party suffers an erosion of credibility. While certain corners of a party's base might be energized by conspiracy theories, the majority of the electorate will be turned off by them. People are generally uneasy about political institutions that give a home to cranks.

There's more than a partisan cost to all this. Mr. Trump is succumbing to a pernicious temptation in American politics: not simply to disagree with political opponents, but to try to delegitimize them. The argument isn't simply that Mr. Obama is wrong on almost every public policy matter (which I believe he is). Rather, the argument is that his presidency is unconstitutional and that he is alien.

Something like this happened with Mr. Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, who inspired such rage in some of his critics that they deemed his presidency illicit.

In self-governing societies, there have to be unwritten rules by which we abide. Among them is that we accept the outcome of elections and keep our public debates tethered to reality. ...

Mr. Wehner, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, led the Office of Strategic Initiatives in the George W. Bush administration.

Peter Wehner: The GOP and the Birther Trap - WSJ.com

 

[Robert]

Plus, they're "cranks."

Thanks to Donald Trump—real-estate mogul, reality-TV star, and possible candidate for the Republican presidential nomination—a fringe conspiracy theory is now front and center in American politics: the claim that President Barack Obama might not be a natural-born American citizen.

By focusing on Mr. Obama's birth certificate, Mr. Trump has garnered a lot of attention and some support. According to the latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, among Republicans he is now tied with Mike Huckabee as the most popular prospective GOP presidential nominee. If responsible Republicans don't speak out immediately against Mr. Trump's gambit, it will do substantial damage both to their party and to American politics.

The Trump case goes like this: Mr. Obama doesn't have a birth certificate, his grandmother has stated that he was born in Kenya, his family is fighting over which Hawaii hospital Mr. Obama was born in, and "nobody knew" Mr. Obama while he was growing up in Hawaii.

The problem is that Mr. Trump is wrong on every particular. ...

The problem for Republicans is that some significant figures within the party are giving a wink and a nod to his efforts. Sarah Palin has said, "I believe [Mr. Obama] was born in Hawaii," but in recent days she also said, "More power to [Mr. Trump]. He's not just throwing stones from the sidelines, he's digging in, he's paying for researchers to find out why President Obama would have spent $2 million to not show his birth certificate." (Ms. Palin has refused journalists' requests to explain where the $2 million figure comes from.)

Representative Michele Bachmann (R., Minn.) has said that she takes the president at his word and doesn't care about the issue. But she has added: "The president just has to give proof and verification, and there it goes"—even though proof and verification have already been given.

When prominent figures in a party play footsie with peddlers of paranoia, the party suffers an erosion of credibility. While certain corners of a party's base might be energized by conspiracy theories, the majority of the electorate will be turned off by them. People are generally uneasy about political institutions that give a home to cranks.

There's more than a partisan cost to all this. Mr. Trump is succumbing to a pernicious temptation in American politics: not simply to disagree with political opponents, but to try to delegitimize them. The argument isn't simply that Mr. Obama is wrong on almost every public policy matter (which I believe he is). Rather, the argument is that his presidency is unconstitutional and that he is alien.

Something like this happened with Mr. Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, who inspired such rage in some of his critics that they deemed his presidency illicit.

In self-governing societies, there have to be unwritten rules by which we abide. Among them is that we accept the outcome of elections and keep our public debates tethered to reality. ...

Mr. Wehner, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, led the Office of Strategic Initiatives in the George W. Bush administration.

Peter Wehner: The GOP and the Birther Trap - WSJ.com

Never cease to make me laugh at how much effort is being put into shutting down any debate over Obama's lack of eligibility to be our President.

Just like Voter ID that one party goes nuts over not wanting....gee I can't imagine why.

 

[bodecea]

I totally disagree with the OP's link. The Birthers need to be front and center. They need to step up and LEAD the GOP this election cycle.

 

[washamericom]

i'll tell you what could be bad for the democrat party, when obama is impeached... that could hurt the dimkeys. hee haw !
but it would help hillary, don't give up bill, you may get another whack at the fresh crop of interns.

 

[Toro]

Never cease to make me laugh at how much effort is being put into shutting down any debate over Obama's lack of eligibility to be our President.

Just like Voter ID that one party goes nuts over not wanting....gee I can't imagine why.

I agree. Can you believe that Bush is in league with Obama?!?!?! Having his aides write such drivel! Sheesh! Don't they know the American public is fully enamored with conspiracy theories and cranks! We don't want to be talking about little things, like the economy for instance.

 

[washamericom]

I totally disagree with the OP's link. The Birthers need to be front and center. They need to step up and LEAD the GOP this election cycle.

Trump/Christie '12.... mm. mmm... mmmm.....

 

[Robert]

Never cease to make me laugh at how much effort is being put into shutting down any debate over Obama's lack of eligibility to be our President.

Just like Voter ID that one party goes nuts over not wanting....gee I can't imagine why.

I agree. Can you believe that Bush is in league with Obama?!?!?! Having his aides write such drivel! Sheesh! Don't they know the American public is fully enamored with conspiracy theories and cranks! We don't want to be talking about little things, like the economy for instance.

Talking about the economy Ya that would be great.. so far we've seen 'Raise Taxes' Huge discussion that was.

 

[bodecea]

I totally disagree with the OP's link. The Birthers need to be front and center. They need to step up and LEAD the GOP this election cycle.

Trump/Christie '12.... mm. mmm... mmmm.....

Yep....that would be wonderful.

 

[Sheldon]

Representative Michele Bachmann (R., Minn.) has said that she takes the president at his word and doesn't care about the issue. But she has added: "The president just has to give proof and verification, and there it goes"—even though proof and verification have already been given.

That is similar to some responses I see posted in almost every birfer thread. It's the "I'm not a birther, but" crowd.

That wishy-washy sect I think makes up a significant part of the GOP. They aren't attached to the issue like the USArmyLiars and bigredretards of the world. But apparently they have a seed of doubt as to his legitimacy, otherwise they wouldn't ask for further proof. And they offer up some facty-sounding things about Obama, followed by "I just think it's strange he hides it" or something to that effect.

Recognize the use of the word "hide".

I think this pseudo-non-birther crowd don't want to come front and center with their suspicions, because doing so carries with it the kook label. So they set it up under the guise of "putting the issue to rest". The problem is this won't BE "put to rest" until Obama is out of office, regardless of what he does or doesn't do to satiate the rabid horde of birfers.



Imo the biggest irony in all this is that the birfer movement actually started with some hard-core Hillary supporters.

 

[Toro]

Never cease to make me laugh at how much effort is being put into shutting down any debate over Obama's lack of eligibility to be our President.

Just like Voter ID that one party goes nuts over not wanting....gee I can't imagine why.

I agree. Can you believe that Bush is in league with Obama?!?!?! Having his aides write such drivel! Sheesh! Don't they know the American public is fully enamored with conspiracy theories and cranks! We don't want to be talking about little things, like the economy for instance.

Talking about the economy Ya that would be great.. so far we've seen 'Raise Taxes' Huge discussion that was.

I will give you some crafty political strategic advice - "not raising taxes" is a more winning proposition than "he's a Kenyan."

 

[washamericom]

I totally disagree with the OP's link. The Birthers need to be front and center. They need to step up and LEAD the GOP this election cycle.

Trump/Christie '12.... mm. mmm... mmmm.....

Yep....that would be wonderful.

christie has cleverly never said he wouldn't be vice president ... i sense another fastrack

 

[washamericom]

Plus, they're "cranks."

Thanks to Donald Trump—real-estate mogul, reality-TV star, and possible candidate for the Republican presidential nomination—a fringe conspiracy theory is now front and center in American politics: the claim that President Barack Obama might not be a natural-born American citizen.

By focusing on Mr. Obama's birth certificate, Mr. Trump has garnered a lot of attention and some support. According to the latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, among Republicans he is now tied with Mike Huckabee as the most popular prospective GOP presidential nominee. If responsible Republicans don't speak out immediately against Mr. Trump's gambit, it will do substantial damage both to their party and to American politics.

The Trump case goes like this: Mr. Obama doesn't have a birth certificate, his grandmother has stated that he was born in Kenya, his family is fighting over which Hawaii hospital Mr. Obama was born in, and "nobody knew" Mr. Obama while he was growing up in Hawaii.

The problem is that Mr. Trump is wrong on every particular. ...

The problem for Republicans is that some significant figures within the party are giving a wink and a nod to his efforts. Sarah Palin has said, "I believe [Mr. Obama] was born in Hawaii," but in recent days she also said, "More power to [Mr. Trump]. He's not just throwing stones from the sidelines, he's digging in, he's paying for researchers to find out why President Obama would have spent $2 million to not show his birth certificate." (Ms. Palin has refused journalists' requests to explain where the $2 million figure comes from.)

Representative Michele Bachmann (R., Minn.) has said that she takes the president at his word and doesn't care about the issue. But she has added: "The president just has to give proof and verification, and there it goes"—even though proof and verification have already been given.

When prominent figures in a party play footsie with peddlers of paranoia, the party suffers an erosion of credibility. While certain corners of a party's base might be energized by conspiracy theories, the majority of the electorate will be turned off by them. People are generally uneasy about political institutions that give a home to cranks.

There's more than a partisan cost to all this. Mr. Trump is succumbing to a pernicious temptation in American politics: not simply to disagree with political opponents, but to try to delegitimize them. The argument isn't simply that Mr. Obama is wrong on almost every public policy matter (which I believe he is). Rather, the argument is that his presidency is unconstitutional and that he is alien.

Something like this happened with Mr. Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, who inspired such rage in some of his critics that they deemed his presidency illicit.

In self-governing societies, there have to be unwritten rules by which we abide. Among them is that we accept the outcome of elections and keep our public debates tethered to reality. ...

Mr. Wehner, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, led the Office of Strategic Initiatives in the George W. Bush administration.

Peter Wehner: The GOP and the Birther Trap - WSJ.com

harper is BY PETER WEHNER related at all to ANOTHONY WEENER ??

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgntVtEM9Fo]YouTube - Movieoio[/ame]