Remember when some prominent conservatives warned about chasing the fool's errand of birtherism, and how it made the movement look weak and foolish? Well, no more!
Since Obama's been inaugurated, the birther movement has been completely mainstreamed within the far-right press to the point where lots of conservatives have convinced themselves it's helping their side and that more and more Americans are on board with the dopey, debunked conspiracy.
For instance, when GOP (maybe) hopeful Donald Trump appeared on The View this week and jumped head-long in with the birther brigade, conservative bloggers cheered the Donald on. Specifically, they were encouraged by what they said was loud applause from The View audience when Trump demanded Obama produce his birth certificate.
This point was made again [emphasis added]:
Listen as the audience applauds when Trump says Obama should show his birth certificate.
And again:
Listen to the crowd reaction beginning at the 2:08 mark, as Donald Trump vigorously and repeatedly states “I want him to show the birth certificate.” The crowd claps loudly to Trump's words.
And again:
On Morning Joe just now Joe Scarborough nailed it pointing out that the liberal audience of the View applauded when Trump said this. If the White House doesn't see that this is trouble then they ought to.
See? The View crowd cheered Trump's birtherism, which means the tide has turned and we're all birthers now.
Or something.
Well, watch The View clip below. I count no fewer than eight times when Trump demanded Obama produce his birth certificate. And you know what? For seven of those eight, Trump's demand was met with silence from the audience. Only one time was there applause, and it was brief. (Trump on several occasions also suggested Obama wasn't born in America. Those were met with audience silence.)
By comparison, when co-host Whoopi Goldberg countered Trump, denouncing his claims as “the biggest pile of dog mess I've heard in ages,” her comment was met with loud, sustained applause.
It seems Obama haters are so desperate to cling to birtherism that they're now hearing things.