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The Left's Risky Birther Obsession
Townhal.com ^ | September 20, 2016 | Mark Davis

Posted on 09/20/2016 5:08:48 AM PDT by Kaslin

In the interest of bipartisanship and general goodwill, I’d like to offer the following advice to the Hillary Clinton campaign and other voices on the left: Drop the birther nonsense.

It’s obvious why they’re doing it. After one of the worst stretches in campaign history, Hillary’s forces were desperately grasping for a diversion from damaging story lines that were inflicting real damage.

Since there is no un-seeing her disturbing 9/11 collapse video, or un-hearing her hateful derision toward millions of Donald Trump voters, she redeployed the old, tired projectile of personal insult. The hope was that millions of those Trump supporters would suddenly remember the long-dead Obama birth certificate issue and suddenly realize that their support of him is horribly ill-founded.

No one has done that. This flogging of the birther horse resonates only with people who hate Trump anyway. It doesn’t gain her a single vote.

(As evidence of my objectivity on such matters, I offer an example of an issue conservatives are fond of invoking that also has virtually no effect on voters: Benghazi. I care deeply about her failures in that chapter of history, but none of her supporters do. E-mail lies and Clinton Foundation corruptions may sway some independents, but only conservatives care about Benghazi.)

As the Clinton campaign and others on the left suddenly rediscovered dormant outrage, Big Media suddenly remembered whom they will be voting for and mobilized accordingly. The actual birther story doesn’t particularly bother the average reporter, but here’s what drove them to apoplexy: the actual Trump announcement that he would have a comment on the matter.

He commented all right, for about 30 seconds, but only after a presentation promoting his new Washington hotel and revealing a crowd of military supporters, all on glorious wall-to-wall live TV. The last time campaign reporters were that angry, it was when they learned that bars close early in Iowa.

ABC’s Tom Llamas launched a particularly intrepid quest, informing us from the back seat of a moving SUV that since Trump had not chosen to answer a dozen questions on a matter he had just declared closed, doggone it, he was going to chase him to a suburban Virginia fundraiser.

So in someone’s front yard, the tireless reporter yelled the question that occurs to practically no one outside Clinton campaign headquarters: “Will you be apologizing to the President?”

Let’s help Tom with that one. No.

And now let’s offer further help to those who think it’s a good idea to badger Trump with apology expectations on this dead issue: You guys do not want to start a side-by-side list of who ought to be apologizing for what. The Clinton campaign in particular contains the last people who should be suggesting expressions of regret from others.

But the media have dutifully attached the comical “firestorm” label to this teapot tempest that will not sway a single vote. They have resorted to the weary tactic of suggesting it was driven by Trump’s distaste for a black president. Did these people pick up a paper when he asked the same question about Ted Cruz? At some point, Trump-haters are going to have to get a handle on his list of actual flaws. Broad, ham-handed jabs at opponents, yes. Distaste for black people, no.

But this is all they have.

The debate stage is one week away. Hillary Clinton faces a real challenge in going toe-to-toe with Trump on issues of immigration, terrorism, job creation or Supreme Court justices, to name a few.

He will spend this week huddling with people who will help him craft substantial answers in an attempt to appear worthy of the presidency. She will huddle with people lugging binders of Trump quotes designed to make him look like an execrable soul who should scarcely be allowed to tour the White House, much less live there. We’ll see how that works out.

Here’s the problem: America knows him already. They know his strengths and weaknesses; they have seen the skilled communicator who can resonate like no one else, and the undisciplined adolescent that occasionally pops out in the form of a midnight tweet or an unfortunate interview blurt.

There is no new material here. Donald Trump, warts and all, is neck and neck with a woman we are told is the most qualified candidate since the invention of candidates. He actually leads in some key states.

She knows this, and she knows why it has happened. Her negatives are cresting as his positives are re-emerging. She and the American left are scared to death. This is why they have returned to their reflex strategy of bottom-feeding.

And as they grow more shrill and slanderous, they tell us they are confident Americans will reject the man they will demonize hourly for the next fifty days.

Take the Congressional Black Caucus group attack Friday. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) called the election a “referendum on bigotry,” surrounded by members who will gladly share their firm expectation that Trump will do worse among blacks than any Republican in recent memory.

Then why not just relax and let that happen? Let Trump and his Deplorables just stew in their own hatreds while Hillary cruises to an easy win on the winds of her unique personal virtue.

They know better. They know Trump’s appearances in front of black crowds, even when interrupted by the occasional plotting pastor, are resonating among voters of all colors who are less than compelled by Hillary, especially lately. How much? Maybe just a few percentage points, but that could be enough in several electorally rich swing states.

But they should also know this: the things they could fairly criticize Trump about have already been vetted by an American electorate that seems to be warming to the notion of choosing him over Hillary Clinton. Additional obnoxious days of false smears of racism will not attract a single vote to their troubled candidate.

So what would? Effective arguments that she would make a better president than he would, that her judgments would be better on issues from the economy to global jihad to protecting our borders and our constitutional rights.

Good luck with all that.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: hillaryrottenclinton

1 posted on 09/20/2016 5:08:48 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Flogging a dead horse makes you look stupid.

People who care about your complaint are gonna vote for you anyway.

Most people don’t care. Nobody not already committed to Hillary want to be bothered with birther nonsense.

And its likely to cost Hillary as many votes as she might win so at best its a wash.


2 posted on 09/20/2016 5:15:20 AM PDT by goldstategop ((In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever))
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To: Kaslin
she redeployed the old, tired projectile of personal insult.

I thought she was the old, tired projectile of personal insult.
3 posted on 09/20/2016 5:15:24 AM PDT by jjsheridan5
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To: Kaslin

That’s an excellent article.


4 posted on 09/20/2016 5:26:25 AM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, If you can keep it.")
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To: Kaslin

Yesterday, Clinton drew a couple of hundred people to a “rally” at a university. Her biggest post convention rally was a couple of thousand the day after her coronation, since then, its been all down hill attendance-wise.

At this stage in any election, the candidates are drawing thousands of cheering, enthusiastic supporters, and even tens of thousands. For the remainder of this week, Clinton has one event scheduled for Orlando FL, at an outreach center, not an arena, thus guaranteeing her another tiny, listless crowd or maybe 100 people.

Mike Pence is drawing bigger crowds than most of Clinton’s.

Meanwhile, Trump is drawing thousands at every event as he campaigns rings around her like she is standing still. He has two rallies today, and one each for the next two days. Not only is he drawing huge crowds, his rallies are being watched live by sometimes as many as 40,000+ people. Over a period of days some of his rallies are viewed hundreds of thousands of times, and a few have hit over 2 MILLION views. Clinton is lucky to have 400 people watching her rallies live online, and maybe a few thousand views afterwards.

There is definitely an enthusiasm gap, and no matter how many times they yell “racism” and point their crooked fingers at Trump and his supporters, that gap remains, and they don’t know how to do anything about that.


5 posted on 09/20/2016 5:31:14 AM PDT by euram
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To: All

HAS PRESIDENT OBAMA ACTUALLY DONE ANYTHING FOR HIS HOMELAND LATELY?

<><> $2 billion US tax dollars to the Muslim Brotherhood,

<><> $50 million US tax dollars to his tax-exempt foundation in the form of a grant to Kenya.

<><> Total US Foreign Aid to Kenya (FY 2012): $749,236,440

<><> Kenya listed as one of the Top Ten Recipients of US Foreign Aid

6 posted on 09/20/2016 5:32:43 AM PDT by Liz (SAFE PLACE? liberal's mind. Nothing's there. Nothing penetrates it.)
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To: All

Hillary knew a long time ago.....she and Bill had pics of Obama in Kenya in Muslim dress
as far back as the 2007 primary. But Uncle Teddy went ballistic, warned the Clintons not to use them.

Teddy Caroline and Patrick later endorsed the befuddled Obama.

OBAMA IN KENYA w/ HIS FATHER'S FAMILY (aunt in blue)

Kenya-resident, Malik Obama in Muslim dress, holds up
photo of his half brother Obama in Muslim dress (left),
taken during Obama's earlier visit.

7 posted on 09/20/2016 5:35:24 AM PDT by Liz (SAFE PLACE? liberal's mind. Nothing's there. Nothing penetrates it.)
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To: Jamestown1630

The best analysis I have seen so far!


8 posted on 09/20/2016 5:39:48 AM PDT by gr8eman (Don't waste your energy trying to understand commies. Use it to defeat them!)
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To: Kaslin

While blaming the right wingers for this, the words racists and bigots were thrown around by the left. Now that it is proven to have been started by Team Reptillary, the left’s meme is ‘Who Cares’.


9 posted on 09/20/2016 5:46:14 AM PDT by ArtDodger
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To: Liz

Michelle spoke once of Kenya as being Obama’s home country.

After barak was selected, Rahm Emmanuel made a lot of trips to Kenya.


10 posted on 09/20/2016 6:16:18 AM PDT by Texas resident (Obama's enemies are my friends)
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To: Kaslin; All

This propaganda serves to keep white liberal women on the plantation.

“Trump does not even believe that Obama was born in the USA— duh!” was the opening line of a conversation on politics begun by a liberal female acquaintence of mine. She then shut down and crawled into her New York Times reader shell, claiming she does not watch TV or read much of anything else.

It is virtually a closed circuit between the MSM and hardcore white female liberals out there. However, the hardcore white females need periodic mental reinforcement.

Without the propaganda, the hardcore white females would probably begin to doubt. And that doubt would be the end of the Hillary candidacy as we know it.


11 posted on 09/20/2016 6:17:06 AM PDT by SteveH
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To: Liz
Rather than reposting this over and over, you might do some research. You discredit yourself by repeating it.

This article is from a Kenyan newspaper, which added "Kenyan-born", and mis-spelled "Barrack".

Claims have been made that it was from an Associated Press story, but while this article may have been derived from it, the AP story doesn't say anything about being Kenyan-born.

12 posted on 09/20/2016 6:58:28 AM PDT by justlurking
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To: gr8eman

I like it when excellent writing and Truth come together.


13 posted on 09/20/2016 7:12:10 AM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, If you can keep it.")
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To: gr8eman
The best analysis I have seen so far!

But it fails to show that Hussein has continued on with his Muslim faith, he has sold out to the Muslim terrorists who want to rule the world.

Trump said Hillary and Obama created ISIS. YEP.

14 posted on 09/20/2016 8:21:04 AM PDT by politicianslie (What would a terrorist do if he were made POTUS? : Exactly what Hussein Obama is doing)
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To: Kaslin

http://theobamafile.com/indexArchive.html

It’s all here (above) and all true in the excellent, ‘The Obama File’.
I hope when Donald is safely in office somebody vets the muzzie and destroys his precious ‘legacy’.


15 posted on 09/20/2016 9:06:47 AM PDT by patriot08 (Post 5th generation Texan-(girl type) ANGRY? REFUSE TO VOTE? VOTING 3RD PARTY? HELLO HILLARY!!!)
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