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Gee, where did 58 percent of Republicans get the idea that Barack Obama's citizenship is in doubt?

July 31, 2009 12:38 pm ET by Jamison Foser

So, 58 percent of Republicans either think Barack Obama was not born in America, or aren't sure.  As Politico's Glenn Thrush explains:

That means a majority of Republicans polled either don't know about -- or don't believe the seemingly incontrovertible evidence Obama's camp has presented over and over and over that he was born in Hawaii in '61.

Now, where on earth would people get the idea that Barack Obama might not have been born in Hawaii?  

Obama has, after all, proven that he was.  The state of Hawaii and its Republican governor have said that he was born there.  Prominent conservatives like Joe Scarborough have made clear that Obama was born in the US.  Even many of the nuttier media conservatives -- Ann Coulter, David Horowitz, Michelle Malkin -- have dismissed the Birther conspiracy theories.

But not everyone has been clear that there's nothing to this nonsense. Lou Dobbs promotes this insanity, pretending that Obama has not proven his citizenship.  And CNN -- the "most trusted name in news" stands by him as he does so.

CNN may not realize this yet, but this is not a game.  Lou Dobbs' promotion of ludicrous conspiracy theories is not amusing, and it is not harmless.

A frighteningly large number of people believe the patently, provably, obviously, clearly false claims that Barack Obama was not born in America.  At best, that does significant damage to the public's ability to make informed decisions, without which democracy cannot properly function.

That's bad enough, but what happens when some nutcase decides he's going to do something about this foreign interloper illegally sitting in the White House?

The bottom line is that millions of Americans hold the false belief that Barack Obama's American citizenship has not been proved -- and CNN's Lou Dobbs is the most prominent media figure who has given that theory credence.  The linkage between those two facts is clear -- unless CNN wants to argue that its reporting has no effects whatsoever on the beliefs of its viewers.

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    • Author by Bad News (July 31, 2009 12:53 pm ET)
         
      The true goal of the Birthers is to force President Obama to have to prove to America that he is 3/5 Human.
      To show him as Weak & Feakless lacking the Tanacity of a Harry Truman.
      Now in comes Liz Cheney who's family history is built on Cowardice & Deceit.
      I hope President Obama understands that this is only the beginning and that Liz Cheney & her Hate Mongers will never Retreat.

      Speak truth to power.


      Mr. News
      Report Abuse
      • Author by mustardman (July 31, 2009 5:45 pm ET)
           
        Liz is nothing. Not even a lightweight. She goes on Faux and spews nonsense without being questioned. Anyone can do that.
        Report Abuse
    • Author by mustardman (July 31, 2009 1:31 pm ET)
         
      I'm doing my part by boycotting CNN and badmouthing them to anyone willing to listen.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by magnolialover (July 31, 2009 1:34 pm ET)
      1  
      Can we stop referring to the birther movement as a fringe activity now?
      Report Abuse
      • Author by ForTheLoveOfEllipsis... (July 31, 2009 3:46 pm ET)
           
        Only in the sense that we now have a major media figure in Dobby the House-Nut promoting the meme. In the rest of the real world, the only people who believe this obvious garbage are the paranoid delusionals who probably also thing the earth is flat and we didn't land on teh moon. The only real problem is that so many of those tinfoil-hatters have plenty of guns and a President they passionately hate...
        Report Abuse
        • Author by redstatelefty (July 31, 2009 3:55 pm ET)
             
          "the paranoid delusionals who probably also thing the earth is flat and we didn't land on teh moon."

          Oh, them. Why didn't you just SAY "Republicans"?
          Report Abuse
    • Author by epkklk851 (July 31, 2009 4:08 pm ET)
      2  
      I just read the National Review piece from Andrew McCarthy, and he goes to painstaking trouble to debunk the hype but at the same time enhance the idea that President Obama is not who he says he is and therefore, doesn't deserve to be President. There is stuff going on here that many seem petty and trivial, but has real potential for being ugly and explosive.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by ulmer (July 31, 2009 4:24 pm ET)
        1
      It does not matter if he was born in Hawaii or not. The fact is he is a dual citizen. Twice. He is a dual citizen due to the fact that his father was a Kenyan National, under British rule. Obama was a dual citizen at his birth. He was adopted by Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian, so he could attend school there. His name was changed to Barry Soetoro, Nationality Indonesian, religion muslim.

      A "Natural Born Citizen" is some one born on U.S. soil to parents (plural) that are both U.S. citizens. Obama does not meet that criteria.

      Does the Constitution matter?
      Report Abuse
    • Author by historygeek001 (July 31, 2009 5:20 pm ET)
      1  
      This entire "controversy" is insane. I've seen and heard birfers repeatedly saying the same thing again and again, even when their claims are repeatedly debunked. Every time a conversation starts they parrot the same tired old lies as if they were suddenly true. This goes beyond delusional; this is deliberately ignoring the facts. They are too cowardly to admit WHY they don't like Obama so they invent things; maybe they're secretly ashamed of themselves, maybe they're so dishonest and lie so routinely that they can't stop, maybe they're so deeply buried in their own venom that they can't face the facts. Whatever the reason, they are utterly unwilling to face reality, instead acting like a child sticking his fingers in his ears and saying "I can't hear you!" and "I know you are, but what am I?" Logic has no impact on them, they disregard facts, and they self-righteously declare that they would be satisfied "if Obama would only [fill in the blank with ever-changing demands here]" rather than standing up and admitting that they will oppose Obama on everything, no matter what, without regard for what he is saying. They lie about their reasons, they lie about Obama, and they lie quite possibly lie to themselves rather than admit their own dishonesty. They reveal their own ethical and moral emptyness and are indignant when their own poison is exposed.
      They truly are beneath contempt.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by steeve (July 31, 2009 6:38 pm ET)
      1  
      Crass stupidity and inability to reason and gather facts is conservatism. It is not fringe, it is not wing-nuttery.

      This is the intellectual content of real conservatism. Supply side isn't any smarter than this, nor are any of their other ideas.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by Know1 (July 31, 2009 6:52 pm ET)
         
      No further action need be taken to "end the discussion" or to "end the questions". The discussion is closed by order of the US Supreme Court, whose Chief Justice administered the Oath of Office of President of the United States, and by order of the Senate of the United States whom confirmed the electoral college voting results.

      The discussion is OVER.

      Anyone applying for a passport would get a certificate from their state of birth similar to that issued to Barack Obama and the same as publicly circulated and displayed. The Constitution does not require special forms of birth certificates to appease racist subversives undermining the presidency using falsified Kenya documentations and claims.

      When it comes down to who do you trust, the STATE of HAWAII is trusted over unknown Kenyan alleged witnesses. STANLEY ANN Obama, Barack's mother, was unable to travel to Kenya for medical reasons, and an infant returning with her would not be admitted into the US for medical reason -- it didn't happen and was medically impossible due to Yellow Fever Virus Vaccination medical requirements.

      Pregnant women were not vaccinated and infants under 1-year-old were not vaccinated. It didn't happen.

      Stanley Ann was in classes at University of Hawaii before the birth -- there was no prolonged absence from classes. Barack Obama Senior was conspicuous as the FIRST-EVER BLACK STUDENT at University of Hawaii, and was not absent from classes before or after the birth.

      The only conspiracy is the criminal fraud conspiracy falsifying documentation purporting that there are witnesses in Kenya who allegedly attended the alleged Kenyan birth. These felony fraudsters need to be punished with severe prison sentences, including those aiding and abetting after the fact, because they have undermined military good order and have already caused at least one officer to refuse orders of assignment caused by the fraud crime. This is not harmless political tug-of-war but actual treason. Traitors must be punished for undermining America's security during a time of war.
      Report Abuse

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