Sarah Palin Flip-Flops on Obama Birth Certificate

US News and World Report ^ | 12/4/09 | Robert Schlesinger

[pissant]

Sarah Palin scrambled away from the birther movement last night after giving them a wink and a nod on a conservative radio talk show yesterday. Posting on her Facebook page at 1:16am, Palin writes that, "at no point – not during the campaign, and not during recent interviews – have I asked the president to produce his birth certificate or suggested that he was not born in the United States." She tries to dismiss her birther flirtation as just an acknowledgment of voters' right to know: "Voters have every right to ask candidates for information if they so choose. I’ve pointed out that it was seemingly fair game during the 2008 election for many on the left to badger my doctor and lawyer for proof that Trig is in fact my child."

Well ... three problems with her explanation.

First, here's what she said when asked if she would raise the birth certificate issue in a presidential campaign (emphasis mine):

I think the public rightfully is still making it an issue. I don't have a problem with that. I don't know if I would have to bother to make it an issue, because I think that members of the electorate still want answers.

The key word there is "rightfully," which in this context means that it is right--as in correct or proper--to ask the question. She didn't say that the public has the right to ask, she said that it's right for the public to ask. That's an Alaska-sized difference.

[rabidralph]

I would hardly call the birth certificate the most pressing issue this country faces. Besides, if she’s elected president, she can pursue the truth about Obama and no one will be able to stop her. No sense in making a stink when there’s no means to find the truth.

[pissant]

You don’t need to tell me what she said. I read it.

[jamese777]

Because and only because there was a newspaper announcement in the local paper of Obama’s birth. If anyone can convince me that handlers knew back then that Obama would become president OR hackers could possibly fabricate the announcement decades later, then I’ll also believe the Great One is a fraud. A legitimate newspaper announcement just like an obit, is real to me. I absolutely detest this amateur but I believe he was born in Hawaii. Why he doesn’t produce the birth certificate is beyond me except that maybe he is hiding something that is on it that he doesn’t like - like maybe the father’s name or something.

---

BOTH the Honolulu Star-Bulletin AND the Honolulu Advertiser newspapers carried Barack Obama’s birth announcements on Sunday, August 13, 1961 and both newspapers have confirmed that they have always received their birth announcement information directly from the Bureau of Vital Records and not from parents, families or friends of the new born.
The Obama birth announcements can be viewed at the links below:
http://whatreallyhappened.com/IMAGES/obama-1961-birth-announcement-from-honolulu-advertiser0000.gif
http://whatreallyhappened.com/IMAGES/ObamaBirthStarBulletin.jpg

[rosettasister]

Jerome Corsi on with Rusty Humphries

If that link doesn’t work for you, you may be able to find another link here.

http://radiotime.com/program/p_45426/The_Rusty_Humphries_Show.aspx

[freekitty]

You bet ther is fraud and Obama is up to his neck in it along with Soros, Pelosi, Reid and host of others on both sides of the fence.

You flat don’t take two underdogs(Obama and McCain)and all of the sudden run them for the highest office in the land.

[dcwusmc]

Just posted this comment there:

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Sarah Palin Flip-Flops on Obama Birth Certificate
December 04, 2009 12:29 PM ET | Robert Schlesinger | Permanent Link | Print
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Parsing words

You know, if you were to look at something like, oh, say, Climategate with the same critical eye you use on Sarah Palin and start questioning the alleged “scientists” who falsified, then destroyed data in the face of Freedom of Information requests with the same intensity, you’d be doing the whole WORLD a big favor. Sarah Palin is a PRIVATE CITIZEN who may or may NOT run for President in 2012, but these Global “WARMING” ALARMISTS have apparently lied to us for DECADES, apparently with the connivance of people like you in the media. Now we may well wind up with a “treaty” or worse, and all based on LIES because your ilk never bothered to check the FACTS. You’re too busy maligning someone decent, like Sarah Palin.

[CharlesWayneCT]

If I had to speculate, I might say that having Sarah Palin come out against the birth-certificate folks has empowered her followers, who previously were afraid to be attacked as RINOs if they didn’t toe the “birther” line.

But maybe I’m being a bit to harsh on the herd mentality.

[CharlesWayneCT]

Here were your two statements:

1. No mistake. She was exactly right in what she said on that interview.
2. If you have the right to ask any question, you are right to ask that question.

In her facebook post, Sarah Palin said that sometimes you have a right to ask a question, but that question is not right to ask. She gave a specific example, the left questioning her and asking her to prove Trig was her son.

So while you say that having a right to ask a question means you are RIGHT to ask the question, you are contradicting what Sarah Palin said.

So you claimed she was exactly right, and then contradicted her statement with your statement.

Maybe my mistake was in thinking you believed YOUR statement. Maybe you made a statement you KNOW is wrong, so as to show that Sarah was right by contrast.

Mostly I think you just misunderstood what she said in her facebook entry. She clearly said that having the RIGHT to ask a question doesn't mean it IS RIGHT to ask the question. She gave the specific example of questions about her son Trig, and then said she would never ask Obama about his birth certificate.

[Bryan24]

I think the public rightfully is still making it an issue. I don't have a problem with that. I don't know if I would have to bother to make it an issue, because I think that members of the electorate still want answers.

Schlessinger says - "The key word there is "rightfully," which in this context means that it is right--as in correct or proper--to ask the question. She didn't say that the public has the right to ask, she said that it's right for the public to ask. That's an Alaska-sized difference."

Schlessinger must have failed Reading Comprehension:101.

If these guys were honest, which they are not, they would realize that Palin is a HUGE voter information advocate. She deeply believes that voters should question anything about the government if they are unsure what their government is doing. It is in THAT context, one freakin sentence later, that she gives the context to the first sentence.

[Electric Graffiti]

....here's the FactCheck team that Team Obama hand-picked for the Obama Certification of Life Birth validation on August 21, 2008.

Pelosi signed the DNC Certification(s) a week later on August 28, 2008.......

Interesting time line. I didn't realize 'factcheck' came out with their report that early. Great post BP2.

[SmokingJoe]

“Here were your two statements:
No mistake. She was exactly right in what she said on that interview.
If you have the right to ask any question, you are right to ask that question.
In her facebook post, Sarah Palin said that sometimes you have a right to ask a question, but that question is not right to ask. She gave a specific example, the left questioning her and asking her to prove Trig was her son.”

Don't paraphrase. Just state the direct quotes from her. This is what she said on her Facebook, and I quote:

“Voters have every right to ask candidates for information if they so choose. I’ve pointed out that it was seemingly fair game during the 2008 election for many on the left to badger my doctor and lawyer for proof that Trig is in fact my child. Conspiracy-minded reporters and voters had a right to ask... which they have repeatedly.”
http://www.facebook.com/notes/sarah-palin/stupid-conspiracies/188707498434

Exactly where did she say “but that question is not right to ask”?
I don't see it. All I can see is that she said they have the right to ask. She never said anything about the question not being the right question to ask did she?

[CharlesWayneCT]

Wait. You actually think she was praising the left-wing attackers for asking her repeatedly about whether her son was hers?

You read what she said, and you think she is saying that were RIGHT to ask those questions? ANd you agree with that? YOu think that it was RIGHT to ask her that question? You think the MSM was correct to ask her about her family, to question her about her pregnant daughter, to ask her to prove her own son was hers?

Seriously?

Because I don’t for a SECOND think that Sarah Palin is giving approval to the left-wingers who attacked her family.

[CharlesWayneCT]

And for the record, I quoted that several times in this thread, so it’s not like I was trying to hide what she actually said.

I simply can’t believe you could be so wrong in your interpretation of what she said.

[SmokingJoe]

“You said that she claims to have presented it. So where did she say it?”

Listen to this tape of her interview with rusty Himphreys again (start from around 9 minutes into the video).:
http://www.floppingaces.net/2009/12/04/palin-mainstreaming-the-birthers-i-dont-think-so/

“the weird conspiracy theory freaky thing that people talk about that Trig isn’t my real son — ‘You need to produce his birth certificate, you need to prove that he’s your kid,’ which we have done.”

[SmokingJoe]

“You actually think she was praising the left-wing attackers for asking her repeatedly about whether her son was hers?”

No.
She is merely going by the axiom “I may not agree with what you say, but I'll fight for your right to say it”.
She said those insisting that Trig isn’t her real son, and shrilly demanding Trig’s birth certificate were pushing, and I quote, a “weird conspiracy theory freaky thing”.
At the same time, she said “Conspiracy-minded reporters and voters had a right to ask... which they have repeatedly”.

So to summarize, she thinks they are nuts for ever believing that Trig wasn't her son, but at the same time she said they had the right to ask those questions.
That's the trouble with the 1st amendment. Anyone can say whatever they want. We don't put people into jail for saying someone’s son is not their real son.

[Kickass Conservative]

Are we Conservatives now using the term “Birther” when referring to anyone who questions facts that have not been disclosed by the “Transparent” President?

I didn't realize that we now take the Liberal Dictionary as are own. The term “Birthers” is only used to compare people to the crazy 9/11 Truthers to discount legitimate questions. By using the term ourselves, we discount the serious nature of the situation. The Constitution is not a joke.

Are we going to start using the term “Teabaggers” to describe those who resent this country being turned into a Socialist Utopia too?

Incrementalism on FR, how tacky.

[CharlesWayneCT]

IN your last post, you said:

She is merely going by the axiom “I may not agree with what you say, but I'll fight for your right to say it”.

In your previous post, you said:

If you have the right to ask any question, you are right to ask that question.

In MY opinion, those two are contradictory. But maybe you are using "right to ask" differently. Or maybe you are saying that "fighting for your right to say it", is the same as thinking you ARE right to say it.

But I think that there are cases where "I may not agree with what you say" means "I don't think you SHOULD have said it"

In this context, we aren't talking about what questions are asked, not what opinions people express. But the principle is somewhat the same.

So I'm still confused as to what you are saying, or how you think it is different from what I said before. Because I agree with what you just said about "fighting for your right to say it" (In this case, only in the most basic sense that Palin would not push to ban speech, not that she would set up a press conference for them to attack her).

But I disagreed with your previous statement, which means that I believe the two statements above are saying two different things.

But if you are telling me I misunderstood your 1st statement, and that "you are right to ask the question" just means "you have a right to ask the question", then I guess we are in agreement, although I'd still say that as a matter of use of english, you are wrong -- those two statements are not at all the same, one saying merely you have a right, and the 2nd giving tacit approval to the question being asked.

SO I'll just go back to what I said before, and see if you agree now: Palin said that she did NOT AGREE with the question about the birth certificate, but she did believe people had a RIGHT to ask the question.

[mewzilla]

FWIW, this looks to me like the MSM trying to start up a game of let’s-you-and-him fight...

[RobRoy]

>>The term “Birthers” is only used to compare people to the crazy 9/11 Truthers to discount legitimate questions.<<

I use it. But not with that meaning. Think of it as the equivalent of homosexuals hijacking the word “gay”. They were successful.