Of course the media didn’t, and doesn’t care. That’s a given.
But when the Conservative legal foundations, think-tanks, commentators (Thomas Sowell, Ann Coulter, etc.) and judges (Alito, Thomas, etc.) don’t seem to agree with Birthers, perhaps Birthers are simply wrong.
But when the Conservative legal foundations, think-tanks, commentators (Thomas Sowell, Ann Coulter, etc.) and judges (Alito, Thomas, etc.) don’t seem to agree with Birthers, perhaps Birthers are simply wrong.
I have to admit, that argument had me befuddled for awhile. Why would people, whose opinion I otherwise had always respected, be so disdainful of something that seemed to me so obvious? It was a conundrum. I eventually did come up with some explanations that make sense to me, and it is my current working theory to explain their behavior.
It all starts with John McCain, whom I voted for in the Primary, mainly because all the other candidates sucked worse. (I have personally met, and shook the hand of John McCain, by the way.)
When I voted for John McCain, I did not know that he was born in Panama. (On a military base, yes, but still outside the United States Proper.) I did not discover that he was not born in the United States until late 2008. Now this makes no difference to me at all, because His father was assigned to that base as a defender of our Nation, and it has always been my opinion that where stands our Military, there is America also!
The problem is, among the General Public, this is a no-no. So many people have grown up with a FALSE 14th Amendment based understanding of the meaning of "natural born citizen" that it is a no-brainer. To them, a "natural born citizen" MUST be born here.
What I and Others didn't know at the time, was this issue had had far more serious consequences for John McCain than any of us could have guessed. As a result of John McCain's having been born outside the Country, He dared not raise the issue of what is a "natural born citizen" because the bulk of the public would side against him.
It goes beyond that. John McCain was the Republican Nominee, and it was the Duty of Party Leaders and leading Republicans to help get him elected, so rightly or wrongly, they could not, would not, discuss the issue of "natural born citizen" because to do so would politically KILL their guy.
It is my opinion that anyone in the Party who knew how the issue would affect their candidate's ability to get elected, would not want to discuss it, and as a result, the issue could not be brought up as a weapon against Barack. The Media (the other side) also did not want to bring it up because of Barack.
After a while, everyone's positions became set in stone, and as this article so cleverly explains, the rest was cascade and herd theory.
To summarize, you have a vast amount of ignorance regarding the correct meaning of "natural born citizen" (even by the lawyers and the Judiciary, because anyone that has not studied this specifically, does not know the truth about it.) You have political circumstances which compelled people in both parties to change the subject and ridicule anyone who was bringing it up, and you have the cascade effect of many people making up their minds suddenly as a result of the perception that others had made up their minds, and then you have the Herd mentality which requires the herd to attack anyone who refuses to be a part of the herd.
And that is the SHORT explanation. :)
The funny thing is, Both Ann Coulter AND George Will have both written on the issue, without even realizing it! Publicly they disdain the "birther" argument, but both of them have written on the issue of "Anchor Babies" and if you read their articles, every single point they make also applies to Obama.
They BOTH point out that "anchor babies" are an incorrect understanding of the 14th amendment, and that these children should NOT be regarded as American citizens. THAT IS EXACTLY THE "BIRTHER" ARGUMENT! :)
They agree with us in Principle, they just refuse to see it.