Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
Seriously? This is a bad look for the GOP.
The question for GOP presidential hopefuls: To pander or not to pander? 51 percent of voters who say they are likely to cast ballots in a Republican primary next year believe President Obama was not born in the U.S., according to Public Policy Polling. (Twenty-eight percent think he was born here and 21 percent are not sure.) That’s up from the 44 percent who thought he was born elsewhere when PPP asked the question in August 2009.
Should we be worried? Most GOP primary voters are conspiracy theorists who have been described by a WSJ columnist as "lunatics," "fringe," and "just some nuts with a conspiracy theory."
Here's what that statistic means for the 2012 presidential hopefuls:
Mike Huckabee is the first choice for president among birthers, with 24 percent. Mitt Romney, meanwhile, leads among non-birthers with 23 percent. Also: Birthers view Sarah Palin favorably 83 percent to 12 percent; only 47 percent of non-birthers view her favorably.
H/T The Daily Beast. Read the in-depth analysis at Public Policy Polling.
Cheers to the Republican candidate who chooses to not pander to these birthers.
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May '10
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
If I were running for office and some reporter asked whether I believed Obama was born in the U.S., I would answer something along these lines:
"The place of Obama's birth is not an article of faith. It's a question of empirical evidence, easily established with the kind of documentation that ordinary Americans are routinely required to produce. I think Obama's failure to produce it, coupled with his habit of being less than straight-forward with the American public about his his past, shows a kind of contempt for those ordinary Americans. I don't blame them for not trusting him. I don't trust him. But, at this point, I'm not as concerned with where he was born as with where he lives now, in the White House."
Edited on Feb 16, 2011 at 7:03amDec '10
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
First, I don't think anybody actually votes on this issue. Whether you think he was born overseas and hiding it, think he should be legally required to release all documents or just think he's a secretive jerk with a mean streak, you're voting against him anyway.
Second, a better response is "I don't believe anything the man says without independent confirmation."
May '10
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
Much better.
May '10
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
Sad to see, in a blog that purports to be 'center-right', that those who clearly see a politician avoiding the issue of his/her meeting the basic requirements for the office to be characterized as 'nincompoops'.
Sep '10
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
I see your PPP and raise you a Rasmussen Reports..
"Democrats in America are evenly divided on the question of whether George W. Bush knew about the 9/11 terrorist attacks in advance. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Democrats believe he did know, 39% say he did not know, and 26% are not sure."
It looks to me like 61% of Democrats are at least open to the idea that Bush knew about 911 ahead of time.
May '10
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
Yesterday on the member feed Kenneth raised the point of the left's habit of using language as a way of manipulating perceptions--in other words, using it for the opposite of its purpose.
I think the term "birthers" is a good example. It's cleverly crafted to draw an equivalence between "truthers", viz. the genuine conspiracy types who think that 9/11 was an inside job, and those who think Obama should be required to prove his eligibility for office.
It makes even otherwise reasonable people on the right eager to distance themselves from the "crackpots" in their midst.
Aug '10
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
The double edged sword of propaganda. First, are you a birther ? A bad word coined by LGF and now misused by the lefty press. Nothing wrong in confirming a tenet of residency, but lacking it, demo SOP is to stigmatize it. Then, using a broad brush to paint the entire party, they try to do the same thing that was used on Capitol Hill and the n- word, spitting controversy that so many of their leaders conspired to accomplish, but failed. We can expect these kind of attacks to ratchet up. Remember you're a racist if you don't agree with healthcare ? Didn't fly. We need to build a shelf to put these ploys on as they fail. But then using them as a cudgel in the future has limited use due to
the large memory incinerators you see behind the NYT and WaPo
Edited on Feb 16, 2011 at 7:40ambuildings. Cal prop 8 battleground is training school for the rest of
the feckless left. PC is the weapon of choice.
Heck I don't believe much about Obama anyway, guess I'm a hater or something ? What about the madrassa in Indonesia ? The term paper at Columbia ?
Aug '10
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
It's clear that Obama is using this issue to smear Republicans which is why he won't produce the certificate. It's become a big club with which to bash conservatives over the head in the media. We should refuse to play his game.
Jun '10
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
Mark Belling Fan: I see your PPP and raise you a Rasmussen Reports..
"Democrats in America are evenly divided on the question of whether George W. Bush knew about the 9/11 terrorist attacks in advance. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Democrats believe he did know, 39% say he did not know, and 26% are not sure."
BEAUTIFUL.
I'm a little suspicious of the PPP poll. I live in a very rural area, one of the most conservative regions of Georgia, and I know probably four people who could maybe fit into the "birther" category. Anecdote is not the plural of data, I know, but something just doesn't add up. I would be interested to see the mechanics of PPP's poll.
Aug '10
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
Emily, Why isn't this headline worse than yours ? Abortion Advocates Make Up Majority of DEM Primary Voters Or this one Progressive Socialists Refuse to Vote in DEM Primaries
Oct '10
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
We've got to have faith and believe. Trust, but don't verify. We're bigger than that. We're beyond that now. It's an archaic law written by nincompoops. Obama has dual citizenship, he's twice as eligible. What? Me worry? Move along, nothing to see here.
Obama is either feeding the question or avoiding the question. Why?
May '10
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
I agree we should refuse to play his game, but not by dissing the legitimate concerns of our own base. We should call him out. We should say, openly, unabashedly, repeatedly that, while it's by no means the most important issue on the table, Obama's refusal to produce the document is another instance of his contempt for the voters.
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
Mark Belling Fan: I see your PPP and raise you a Rasmussen Reports..
"Democrats in America are evenly divided on the question of whether George W. Bush knew about the 9/11 terrorist attacks in advance. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Democrats believe he did know, 39% say he did not know, and 26% are not sure."
It looks to me like 61% of Democrats are at least open to the idea that Bush knew about 911 ahead of time. · Feb 16 at 7:29am
This is a good point--it proves that presidents in general are often subject to conspiracy theories. But it doesn't justify the fact that birthers believe what they do. Both the birthers and the 9/11 truthers are loons.
Dec '10
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
Mark Belling Fan: I see your PPP and raise you a Rasmussen Reports..
"Democrats in America are evenly divided on the question of whether George W. Bush knew about the 9/11 terrorist attacks in advance. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Democrats believe he did know, 39% say he did not know, and 26% are not sure."
It looks to me like 61% of Democrats are at least open to the idea that Bush knew about 911 ahead of time.
9/11 conspiracy theories are about as irrational and paranoid as you can get, IMHO.
However, all of these numbers are unsurprising. A lot of people believe in a lot of irrational things.
A Harris poll found that 64% of Americans believe in or are "not sure" about UFOs (35% & 29% respectively). For belief in witches its 50% (31% & 19%). For astrology %54 (29% & 25%).
Of these, uncertainty about Obama's birth status is the most rational considering that ordinary, routine documentation has not been forthcoming. I suspect either the original birth certificate is no longer available or he is deliberately withholding it to feed the conspiracy in an attempt to marginalize conservatives.
May '10
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
Emily Esfahani Smith, Ed.
But it doesn't justify the fact that birthers believe what they do. Both the birthers and the 9/11 truthers are loons. · Feb 16 at 8:00am
I'd give dollars for doughnuts that the poll made no distinction between those who believe that Obama wasn't born in Hawaii and those who think the fact that he won't produce the document, coupled with the fact that his father was not an American, the fact that he spent a portion of his youth outside the US, and the fact that he routinely misleads the public about his past, gives rise to legitimate doubts.
Emily, I'd like to know why you think it's loony to doubt Obama's word on something like this?
May '10
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
"The Last Word"
In truth, Obama has proved that he is a native of Hawaii, and this proof would hold up in any legal or administrative proceeding.
The document that Obama has released, which carries the title “certification of live birth,” confirms that the president was born in Honolulu. It is a legal birth certificate, and, as the Honolulu Star-Bulletin notes, it is the only kind of birth certificate the state of Hawaii issues.
FactCheck.org has a close-up photo of the certificate, which states clearly at the bottom: “This copy serves as prima facie evidence of the fact of birth in any court proceeding.
The opposing side would have to provide serious evidence calling into question the veracity of Hawaii’s official state records.
Sep '10
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for proof of a job qualification, as many Americans are asked to do every day. But then, politicians at all levels seem to think themselves above this sort of proletarian messiness.
At least doubting Ricochetians are not being called racists for doubting Obama's word.
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
Dan Holmes: I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for proof of a job qualification, as many Americans are asked to do every day. But then, politicians at all levels seem to think themselves above this sort of proletarian messiness.
At least doubting Ricochetians are not being called racists for doubting Obama's word. · Feb 16 at 8:41am
I agree. Personally, where Obama was born is not of huge concern for me, but I don't think that those who want proof of legitimacy should be called nincompoops.
Dec '10
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
Mark Wilson: "The Last Word"
In truth, Obama has proved that he is a native of Hawaii, and this proof would hold up in any legal or administrative proceeding.
The document that Obama has released, which carries the title “certification of live birth,” confirms that the president was born in Honolulu. It is a legal birth certificate, and, as the Honolulu Star-Bulletin notes, it is the only kind of birth certificate the state of Hawaii issues.
FactCheck.org has a close-up photo of the certificate, which states clearly at the bottom: “This copy serves as prima facie evidence of the fact of birth in any court proceeding.
I really haven't followed this issue. I didn't think there was much to it. So I haven't seen the close-up photo of the certificate until now. Assuming it's authentic that does seem to settle the issue. What problem do the so-called birthers have with this?
Dec '10
Re: Birthers Make Up Majority of GOP Primary Voters
Categorization of people into pejorative groups like "birthers" is not what I expected here at ricochet. The term means different things to different people, a fact that I'm sure was used to great advantage by the pollsters. If it actually means people who believe in their heart of hearts that Obama was born in Kenya and is therefore ineligible to be president, you might have a point. If you mean people who insist that Obama should produce the documentation available to put this matter to rest, you don't. This is the only reasonable position in this matter.