We have names....woo hoo
*snip*
Ironically, the birther movement began in response to Obamas own efforts to debunk rumors. One year ago this week, the presidential campaign of then-Sen. Barack Obama launched FightTheSmears.com, a web site designed to push back against false rumors about the first African-American presidential nominee.
To push back against rumors that he was not born in Hawaii, the campaign reproduced a Certificate of Live Birth from the states Health Department.
Instead of terminating the conspiracy theories, that inspired new theories that the certificate had been forged or that even if it hadnt been forged it was the sort of certificate that could be given to someone born outside of the United States. But the certificate is specific about Obamas birth in Honolulu, down to the 7:24 p.m. time.
Its crazy, said Janice Okubo, director of communications for the Hawaii Department of Health. I dont think anything is ever going to satisfy them.
Okubo, who said that she gets weekly questions from Obama Birthers that are more like threats, explained that the certificate of live birth reproduced by Obamas campaign should have debunked the conspiracy theories.
If you were born in Bali, for example, Okubo explained, you could get a certificate from the state of Hawaii saying you were born in Bali. You could not get a certificate saying you were born in Honolulu. The state has to verify a fact like that for it to appear on the certificate.
But its become very clear that it doesnt matter what I say. The people who are questioning this bring up all these implausible scenarios. What if the physician lied? What if the state lied? Its just become an urban legend at this point.
The urban legend has become too pervasive for Republicans to avoid. In February, Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) introduced a much-mocked bill that would require presidential campaigns to provide a copy of the candidates birth certificate.
While Posey initially said that he disbelieved conspiracy theories about the presidents birth, he told the host of an Internet radio show that hed discussed the possibility of Obama being removed from office over the eligibility issue with high-ranking members of our Judiciary Committee.
As of July 15, nine fellow Republican members of Congress were backing the bill. While Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) has said that he supports the bill because he didnt know whether Obama was a citizen, other sponsors say that they weighed in to pour cold water on the conspiracy theories.
Its a good idea, said John Donnelly, a spokesman for Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), who became one of the bills co-sponsors this month. If candidates provided that information to the Federal Election Commission you wouldnt have all this hullaballoo. You dont want to needlessly expose presidents to crazy conspiracy theories.
At the state level, birther conspiracy theorists have made headway in getting Republican lawmakers interested in legislation like Poseys. At least four Republican members of Missouris state legislature have looked into introducing a similar bill.
State Sen. Randy Brogdon (R-Okla.) who is running for governor of Oklahoma in 2010, said that hed co-sponsor birth certificate legislation if it made it out of the state senate and would definitely sign the bill if he won the governorship.
You bet Id sign it, said Brodgon. I know Id have no problem showing my birth certificate.
The Republicans who appear to be willing to listen to birthers, even to debunk them, have to walk a tightrope. In April, freshman Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) held a town hall meeting at her old high school in Cheyenne, Wyo., and got a question about the presidents citizenship.
Lummis challenged the skeptic to please send evidence that the president was not a natural-born citizen. Im not questioning your concern, Lummis said. I am questioning whether there is credible evidence. In early July, a small group of birthers walked the halls of Congress handing grand jury presentments over to the confused front desk assistants of members of Congress; the activists rushed online to report the latest member who had been handed the information.
After birthers provided some of their papers to Michael Schwartz, the chief of staff to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), they rushed online to report that Schwartz had been won over to the cause and was about to get in touch with Orly Taitz, a California lawyer who has filed several unsuccessful challenges to the presidents citizenship.
It is possible to mistake politeness for agreement, Schwartz told TWI, and I make every effort to be polite. He did have a brief conversation with Dr. Taitz, but challenged the way online birthers had hyped their contact with Coburns office. An observer would not report it quite like this, said Schwartz.
Taitzs lawsuits and the pressure of conservative talkers like Limbaugh have made it increasingly difficult for Republicans to avoid the birthers. On June 16, after Limbaugh joked about the presidents citizenship, WorldNetDaily editor-in-chief Joseph Farah appeared on the Web-based Recharge Radio to thank the host for spreading the birther message.
What that did is beyond Rushs impact, said Farah. It also gives other talk show hosts license to talk about this issue Rush is kind of the standard of talk show hosts. A lot of people emulate what he does. He crossed the Rubicon on that show, and Im very proud of him for doing it.
Farahs instincts have been borne out by conservative media. This week, Taitz represented Maj. Stefan F. Cook, a reservist who volunteered for duty in Afghanistan, then demanded to be released from the commitment unless the president proved that he was a U.S. citizen.
I did not volunteer with the intent of becoming a conscientious objector, Cook told TWI in an email. On Wednesday Cooks deployment was cancelled, and a spokesman for Centcom took issue with Taitzs claim, made in a WorldNetDaily story, that this decision verified conspiracy theories about the presidents birth.
Later that night, Sean Hannity cited the story on his Fox News show and used Taitzs version of the facts, not Centcoms.
Major Cook and his lawyer expressed joy at this outcome, said Hannity. And they took it as an admission on the part of the military that the president is not in fact a legitimate citizen by birth.
http://washingtonindependent.com/51489/birther-movement-picks-up-steam
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IS THIS TRUE ?
“If you were born in Bali, for example, Okubo explained, you could get a certificate from the state of Hawaii saying you were born in Bali. You could not get a certificate saying you were born in Honolulu. The state has to verify a fact like that for it to appear on the certificate.”