Civil rights expert: ‘Birthers’ only ‘racists or extreme right wingers’
Published: July 30, 2009
Updated 6 months ago
A small group of fringe conservatives, many fundamentally opposed to the notion of an African-American as president, are challenging President Barack Obama’s eligibility for the US presidency.
On blogs and even before US courts, the so-called “Birthers” are using the Constitution, with its stipulation that presidents be US natural born citizens, to argue Obama should not be in the White House.
Despite proof that Obama was born in the US state of Hawaii, including a birth certificate affirming that fact, rumors continue to spread, fueled by a group that critics say includes right-wing militants, racists and Holocaust deniers.
“These are people who are fundamentally either racist or extreme right-wingers. That’s where the whole movement is coming from,” said Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which studies extremist groups.
The movement is composed of “people who very much do not want Barack Obama to be president, largely because he is black, certainly because he is liberal,” he added.
On sites like WorldNetDaily.com, where a petition questioning Obama’s place of birth has attracted more than 400,000 electronic “signatories,” the so-called Birthers are daily raising “new doubts about the story of Obama’s birth.”
One of them has already tried in vain three times to sell on Ebay a birth certificate purporting to show that Obama was born in Kenya.
They are also taking their cause before US courts, where several lawsuits claiming that Obama was not born on US soil have been dismissed, including by the Supreme Court, which refused to hear argument on the issue.
At the beginning of the week, authorities in the state of Hawaii were forced for the second time since the senator from Illinois became president to certify that Barack Hussein Obama was in fact born in the Kapiolani maternity ward in Honolulu on August 4, 1961 at 7:24 pm local time.
The US House of Representatives on Monday passed a non-legally-binding text on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Hawaii’s entry in the United States, affirming that “the 44th president of the United States was born in Hawaii.”
“In America there is a history of conspiracy thinking that… is part of a tradition of dissent,” said Chip Berlet of Political Research Associates, which studies right-wing movements.
Berlet said a small percentage of the population believes the government has been taken over by a “secret elite” that includes “freemasons, the Catholics, Jewish bankers” and others.
He noted that former president Bill Clinton was also the subject of conspiracy theories that claimed he was seeking the help of the United Nations to confiscate all weapons on American soil.
While the movement has an audience of several hundreds of thousands of sympathizers, their theories are also being broadcast by media figures such as CNN’s Lou Dobbs and radio host Rush Limbaugh.
“So you have this right-wing social movement, relatively small but angry, and then you have these major public figures, inflaming them with rhetoric and conspiracy allegations on national television,” Berlet told AFP.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there were 926 racist groups in the United States in 2008, compared to 602 in 2000 — a rise of 54 percent.
“I think that’s very significant, and the numbers continue to rise,” said Potok. “Very likely the white supremacist world has been energized by the election of a black man into the White House.”
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If so, then why is the so-called “Liberal Media” giving these sub-humans such a disproportionate amount of exposure?
This is more exposure than the criminality of the 2000 and 2004 elections.
This is more exposure than was ever given the Downing Street Memos.
This is more exposure than was ever given to legitimate questions concerning the events of 911.
The answer? Because the same species of sub human mentioned above is now in control of the Main Stream Media.
Well, Duh! Not into expressing the obvious, are you?
Problem with that?
The white hoods are in on our TV, radio and internet. They are in our congress, judges and churchs.. But most americans are not racist, thats why we voted for a black man. There are more of us than them and this one we will win.
And we already did
kayttt2000: I hope you’re being facetious, because it doesn’t get any simpler or planer than the Republican Governor of the State of Hawaii, along with several additional state and private hospital officials including Dr. Chiyome Fukino, Director of the Hawai’i State Department of Health, acknowledging the man’s legitimate citizenship via birth and providing copies of the CERTIFICATE of live BIRTH (birth + certificate — get it?) which you can view for your lazy-assed self at FactCheck.org. Jeebus, get a grip on reality. P.S. — Grandpa Abe McCain was born in Panama, yet none of you fucktarded racists give one shit about that.
In truth, this is more about strange fruit and sour grapes than it is Barack Obama’s legitimate election. This is about racist, white rednecks too stupid (is there any other kind?) to admit the truth when it pisses repeatedly in their faces. It is about a retrograde sector of the American “mind”set who don’t want to admit that the majority of our nation has elected an African-American President and that majority is comfortable with the decision. That, bugs them, as does the fact that it’s no longer the free-to-lynch-a-black-man 1920s these reactionary retards so dearly and disgustingly miss.
Doubt it? Look at these mouthbreathing birthers: there isn’t a non-white face in the lot. Add to that media morons like O’Leilly, Beck, and Grand Wizard Lou Dobbs, and you’ve got a veritable lynch mob.
BTW, where were you Constitutional “scholars” when GW Bushit was stealing the 2000 and 2004 elections? I didn’t hear shit from any of you cracker-assed crackers when those two crimes were committed.
In other words, unless you’re joking (in which case, apologies), please STFU. You’ve had 8 years to ruin this nation, and you did a pretty good job of trashing it. Now’s the time to let your betters clean up after you selfish, bigoted ignoramuses.
I voted for Obama,so please don’t call me racist,
I was fighting more than most to expose Bush corruption.
Two wrongs don’t make it right…
If you were indeed fighting to expose Bush corruption, than you must be smart enough to realize that the entire FBI, CIA, the entire Hawaii State gov’t, as well as political adversaries could not possibly be in on this type of conspiracy concerning a document.
All parties have come clean on this. It should be settled in your mind. If it isn’t, the only task left for you to do is get on the next plane for Hawaii and ask the Dept. of Vital Records (or whatever it is) to see the copy firsthand.
I’m not sure what else you can do to satisfy yourself. I suspect nothing will.
I wished I had that much proof concerning the events of 911.
“I voted for Obama.” You know what? Prove it. Show us your completed, counted, and verified ballot. Without it, you can make pretty much whatever false claim you deem necessary to prop up your poorly erected and quickly crumbling argument. We see this crap every day on the Internet: do you really think we’re stupid enough to believe it just because you say so? You’re all about proof, so pony up, rules lawyer.
I voted for Obama.
I spent money trying to expose Bush Corruption.
Again, prove it, since you’re all about proof. Until you do so, withhold your ignorant comments.
Kayttt2000 did not vote for Obama
Why would he/she vote for Obama if he/she had doubted his citizenship?
Leave it to the folks at the SPLC to bust out the race card.
Did anyone know that the guy that brought the birth suit in the first place last year, Philip J Berg, is a former deputy attorney general and a democrat who also went after the supreme court for Bush v. Gore and also Bush for 9/11 and Iraq?
Does that sound extreme right winger?
Nope, but I’m thinking that the other option, “racist,” might apply. The man said either a racist or an extreme right winger. Those two terms are not necessarily mutually inclusive.
As for Bush v. Gore . . . totally irrelevant to the issue at hand. There were legitimate questions regarding that matter and the S.Ct. overstepped its Constitutional bounds by involving itself in the case . . . they involved themselves in a state’s rights case with no legitimate federal question. There are no legitimate issues in the ridiculous birther case. The birth record which has been presented [and VERIFIED AS AUTHENTIC by the state of Hawaii repeatedly] verifies that Mr. Obama was, indeed, born in the United States. Just because he has dark skin and a funny name doesn’t mean he’s not a “natural born” citizen with every right to be the President.
He sounds like a loon. This is the same character that demanded the disbarment of three Supreme Court justices, the same person that was sued (successfully) for malpractice and the same person that has a history of filing frivolous lawsuits alleging all kinds of conspiracies.
Just because he’s a Democrat doesn’t mean he can’t be mentally suspect.
You don’t have to be a Left winger or a Right winger to be a nut.
LOL - You DO realize that Berg has his panties in such a wad because he was an ardent admirer of Hillary Clinton, right? Sure, he’s a democrat, but he’d rather have had a white woman in the WH, than a black man. Berg’s motives are so fucking transparent, the blind can see right through them.
And, you DO realize that Berg is bat-shit crazy, right?
kaytt2000
What do you mean you’d like to see the matter resolved? IT IS RESOLVED! He has shown his birth certificate, and the State of Hawaii has certified it…TWICE!
Is there a funny little red dude that looks like a pitcher…wearing a white sailor hat running around you?
Obama is mostly semetic on his father’s side.
This is incorrect. I know that the birthers like to say that Obama is Arabic, but he is not. His father’s family was Luo . . . while there are members of the Luo ethnic group in the southern part of the Sudan, they are not considered Arabic [or Semitic]. The Luo are the third largest ethnic group in Kenya. Try again.
Jeez -who the hell cares?
For people who are not Racist, birthers sure are fixated on Race.
I always trust the opinion of one whose argument begins, “I’m not a racist, but. . . .”
scubydoo: and kicking her in the shins.
Are ‘birthers’ fundamentally racists or extreme right wingers?
http://www.youpolls.com/details.asp?pid=5843
.
you see, Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck are from good Aryan stock and they understand that the White Race is being undermined by people of mixed race. Now, you all know that Rush Limbaugh is the love child of Herman Goering and his sharp,
Aryan mind is why he is the leader of the Conservative Movement. He is the Director of Advanced Fascist Studies
in Palm Beach where the colored do not live and are not welcome. He will ultimately retire in Argentina where other
Conservatives moved to in June of 1945 after the traitors
surrendered to Eisenhauer.
The only place I am seeing the race card played is from those who wish to silence those who seek an answer to a real Constitutional issue.
Thou doth protest too much.
I’m confused -are you looking for proof that Obama was born in the US or proof that he was born in Kenya? There’s plenty of proof he was born in the US and nothing reputable from Kenya -as it stands there is more proof that he was born here than I or most Americans -many American’s births were not announced in the local paper and very very few of us have had the officials of the state we were born in come out TWICE to verify our birthplace to the press.
Did you ever see Bush’s “certificate of live birth”? Was that a “Constitutional issue” to you then?
Also, where was Grandpa Abe McCain born? We never hear any response from birthers about that one — they simply ignore the question every time it comes up.
But McCain is white, so it’s OK.
This is TOTALLY about race
No one is trying to silence you . . . you are simply wrong. The proof has been shown that you are wrong, you just don’t want to admit that an intelligent, likable, black guy with a funny name is your president. Get over it.
Jesus, idiot. Get a grip. Again, if you’re such a fan of the Constitution, where the fuck were YOU when Gore v. Bush circumvented the popular vote and put an illegitimate asshole in office?
Just as sure as I am that the sun will rise tomorrow, race is at the core of your prejudice. There’s nothing more to be proven: Obama is a citizen and you are a bigot. Thanks for clarifying.
BIRTHERS = REPUBLICAN SWIFTBOATERS
unleashed to destroy everybody that their
PROFITEERING CORPORATE HEALTH INSURANCE GODS dislike
and are threatened by.
The Republicans’ NANNY STATE FOR RICH PROFITEERS
is destroying America.
Don’t forget to add “fake progressives” to that list.
When the going gets tough and I need divine intervention - Always I pull out the race card - This is happening to me because - I AM BLACK - What is there to be lost - Some fool might buy into it - After all they bought into those silly papers I put out there that any fool knows I cooked up - Hell, if the race card doesn’t work and someone auctually gets there hands on the real documents, we’ll go with - who are you going to believe - me or your lying eyes.
Yo MaMa
Boy, you are really ticked that a good-looking, intelligent, likable black guy with a funny name AND A LEGITIMATE BIRTH CERTIFICATE showing that he is, in reality, a 100% “natural born” American citizen is your president.
You just make yourself look ignorant with your posts, you know.
If the father is from British East Africa he has very likely a high percetage of Arab blood. For you to suggest the guy is black given that fact and that the mother is white, you wouldn’t be correct to call him black unless you are yourself an old school racist, one who considers a person negro if the mother even shook hands with a black.
Again -fixated on his race.
Not so much “look” as “are”. Also, my bet is this troll is about as black as kayttt2000’s ballot was cast for Obama.
It is really informing how those who are supporting Obama shout down any one who questions his birth. If you all believe in this man and his birth history so much, why then pay so much attention to those who question it? It seems many of you may have a deep seated feeling of hesitancy, and do in your heart wonder what the truth is. Yet human nature being what it is, almost all of us, do not want to consider the possibility that we were deceived and lied to. After all no one want to admit to being taken advantage of. Wouldn’t it be in the best interest of the country and for the legitimacy of Obama’s presidency to have his records made public? If indeed they are as claimed, then why not open them up? Put the entire matter to rest, shut the birthers up and get on with the work of the country. The question remains why has Obama , who campaigned on transparency, spent huge sums of money keeping his record/history sealed?
More telling is how quickly racists leap to lies to subvert the will of the masses.
Pull yer head outcha ass and catch some air, son: the vapors are beginning to cloud your “thinking.”
Once you and idiots like you can admit that fact is fact, I’ll listen to you. Until then, your comments are nothing more than strange fruit and sour grapes. And I’m tired of listening to shitheads like you spout their lies. We spent the last eight years doing it your way. Now it’s our turn. My advice: sit down and shut the fuck up. Your way clearly didn’t work.
“The question remains why has Obama , who campaigned on transparency, spent huge sums of money keeping his record/history sealed”
Because he hasn’t -this statement is another manufactured “fact”
“If you all believe in this man and his birth history so much, why then pay so much attention to those who question it?”
We’re just frustrated by your stupidity and inability to think things out to their logical conclusions.
If Obama has false papers, that would make him an illegal immigrant. Don’t you think ICE would have picked him up by now?
Oh that’s right -EVERYBODY is in on it.
If Jesus came down and told us Obama was born in Hawaii, people like you would claim he’s not the real Jesus.
The ignorance of most of these posts is breathtaking. The certificate issued in Hawaii does not prove American birth, they could issue one to someone born in another country.
And for all the koolade drinkers out there who say this is racist: Using racism as an excuse to seal all of Obama’s records, including his official long form birth certificate, is the worst racism of all. It’s also criminal collusion with a criminal pseudopresident. Bush was illegitimate for 8 years and no one did anything, now the same is done for Obama while he helps the Bush Crime Family loot what is left of our treasury.
There is no right and left, there are the plutocrats against the American people. Wake the hell up.
http://www.worldreports.org
This is all about race.
Did you demand to see Bush’s certificate, or Clinton’s, or Reagan’s?
Of course he didn’t: they were all white.
Of course -because they are white it didn’t even come up.
“The certificate issued in Hawaii does not prove American birth, they could issue one to someone born in another country.”
This is just plain stupid -if they just hand these things out to anyone who asks, why don’t all illegal immigrants have one?
What a brainless statement.
This issue has never been about whether or not Obama was actually born in the US - it’s always been about him being “different”, “he doesn’t look like us”, “he’s exotic”, etc. It’s a subtle form of racism. Why didn’t anyone question whether or not Sarah Palin was from the US? She’s from Alaska, an faraway place, not connected to the rest of the US, Alaska was admitted to the Union in 1959, same as Hawaii. Except she’s not black.
This is about one thing only: race.
Totally about race
Uh, no. This is about producing a LONG FORM, VAULTED COPY OF AN ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE which the President has yet to do.
What we’ve seen in the media is a CERTIFICATION OF LIVE BIRTH. It is basically a receipt for a non-validated birth certificate and isn’t even good enough to buy a house or get a passport with in Hawaii.
I bet if any of you found your old BC’s and compared them to the scant amount of info on Obama’s, I guarantee yours should have signatures along with a doctor’s and hospital admin’s names on them and you would be hard pressed to believe Obama’s is as certifiable as yours.
A guy from the DHS was even caught forging one of the same forms last year to show how it could be done.
These questions don’t keep coming up due to racism, they come up because there is a legit legal question to be asked. This isn’t about the black president; although a lot of defenders on here just love to point that out because it’s so easy to bust out with the race card instead of answering legit questions.
McCain was born in Panama, that was a legit question also. Bush should never have been elected, that was legit. Clinton burned down Waco, that was legit also.
Methinks the moderators ardently defending with vitriol and name calling, doth protest too much.
“Uh, no. This is about producing a LONG FORM, VAULTED COPY OF AN ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE which the President has yet to do”
You don’t even have access to yours
You would say it was fake too.
f God came down and verified his birthplace as Hawaii, you would doubt he was really God.
Did you ever see Bush’s certificate?
Try being more concise next time. Instead of writing so much blah-blah-birth-certificate-blah, simply say what you mean:
I’m not happy about a black man being elected President of the United States.
See how short that was? And it’s closer to the source of your discontent.
P.S., Lying Liar? Try masking your lies with a little darker smoke and a lot more mirrors. Your ludicrous mistruth about a certification of live birth “isn’t even good enough to buy a house or get a passport with in Hawaii” is a real kneeslapper. Obama has a passport, fool: how else would he travel worldwide without one even before he was elected president? The State Department approved it years ago.
Jeebus, you people are something else: you’ll say whatever the fuck you think will help your argument and make up lies for the rest.
Hadbrain, is that you giving the thumbs down to the replies to your unthought comment?
Why do people call Obama African-American? He is 50% Caucasian, 43.75% Arab, and 6.25% Black.
His mother is 100 % white, his father’s birth certificate says “Arab”.
You all know this guy has a point.
Man -birthers are REALLY fixated on Obama’s race -right down to the exact percentages.
Did you demand to see Bush’s certificate?
Or his military records?
Or his cocaine arrest records?
Or his drunk driving records?
Or his wife’s vehicular manslaughter records?
Or. . . .
Try to keep in mind: the former president (with whom you apparently have no problem) was the grandson of a man convicted of selling materials to our enemies during wartime. He is also the grandson of the same man who supported a corporate overthrow of the US government during that same period.
Yeah — it’s in the crisply starched top of his white-hooded sheet.
Back in 1961, the “Certificate of Live Birth” was easy to get as a high school kid getting a fake ID to get into bars. It was much abused. The need to have an “anchor baby” was a common motive. A birth notice would have been published in the local newspaper.
The debate will be over when the original birth certificate is made available, not when some political shill claims to have seen it.
This is so stupid -when the “real” certificate comes out, how will you know it’s the real one -because it will say what you want it to? You don’t believe the one with the Hawaii stamp on it is real -yet you would believe one stamped by the Kenyan government? -talk about stupid.
Did you demand to see Bush’s certificate?
You people are just not thinking this out.
“Back in 1961, the “Certificate of Live Birth” was easy to get as a high school kid getting a fake ID to get into bars. It was much abused. The need to have an “anchor baby” was a common motive. A birth notice would have been published in the local newspaper.”
This is official sounding “fact” was manufactured specifically for this particular argument and is a lie.
Birthers would sooner believe the legitimacy of a Kenyan stamped document over a Hawaiian stamped document -talk about nuts.
Just not thinking. There’s no “out” about it.
Dear dumbass: No doubt you have a “Certificate of Live Birth” to prove your claims. None of us have seen it, though, so why the fuck should we believe anything you say? And even if we did, whose to say you didn’t fabricate it or have it fabricated for you. For all I know, you could be an Al Qaeda plant — in fact, I’m certain of it, now that I re-read your post. That would explain your purpose in undermining the road to recovery.
The problem with bullshit? Anyone (including and primarily birthers) can make it up. Truly, this is about one thing only: your inability to accept the fact that an African-American was duly elected President of the United States — that, and of course, your unapologetic bigotry.
Besides, even if you held Barack Obama’s original Birth Certificate (how the fuck is that any different from a “Certificate of Live Birth”?) in your web-fingered, knuckledragging hands, you still wouldn’t accept it as fact — provided you could read it in the first place. Your bigotry simply won’t allow it.
There’s no need to appease buffoons like you and the rest of the racists on this thread: no amount of appeasement will satisfy your shallow, hate-buttressed ignorance. Your purpose is sowing dissent, not righting a wrong.
It is amazing how so many comments on this page default to name calling and tantrums on race. The topic of “birthers” has nothing to do with race and everything to do with legitimacy. It is their own racial bias that shows through in a situation like this. Here is an example of the liberal tactics.
“Namecalling as a cognitive bias. Name calling is both a logical fallacy and cognitive bias, and a technique to promote propaganda. Propagandists use the name-calling technique to incite fears and arouse prejudices with the intent that invoked fear based on fearmongering tactics will encourage those that read, see or hear propaganda to construct a negative opinion about a person, group, or set of beliefs or ideas that the propagandist would wish the recipients to denounce. The method is intended to provoke conclusions and actions about a matter apart from an impartial examinations of the facts of the matter. When employed, name-calling is thus a substitute for rational, fact-based arguments against an idea or belief, based upon its own merits.”
Blah blah blah
Did you demand to see Bush’s certificate -yes or no?
Bush was not born he was manufactured in the depths of hell. He was known by the mark. No one on this page said he was entitled to the office.
I take that as a no -and proves my point
No, there was no need to question his birth. Read the Constitution and you also will understand when to question and NOT to question a persons legitimacy to POTUS. Stay on topic and don’t look back. Bush is gone. We are talking about BHO not Bush or Reagan or Clinton or………..
Yeah -don’t ask if he’s White you mean
OK Smartypants -where in the Constitution does it say when and when not to question a candidates citizenship?
You did not question Bush’s citizenship because he’s white, and because of that the issue did not even come up -admit it
Calling people name callers is a form of name calling, and observe that you’ve offered nothing at all in respect to Obama’s place of birth. Put up or shut up you fucking retard.
As for the namecalling, man, I am sickSickSICK of the right and conservative America ruining this nation through their proud ignorance, violent defiance, blatant lies, disinformation, misinformation, and garble. Fox News, CNN, Rush Limbaugh, and fools like those showcased on this thread have destroyed the signal to noise ratio in this country. There is nothing left but static. It takes a loud voice to speak above the noise. Everyday, the volume on the right speaker gets turned up just a little more. This is why the angry, curse-ladened, namecalling diction: fighting back is the only option left.
The ignorant, racist-based source of this disdainful vitriol is like a slap to the forehead: it pains me to read it and, far worse, to have to admit that people in this country actually “think” this way.
I make no excuses for my exasperated disgust with this wing(nut) of thinking in America. These people do not contribute to a legitimate debate. Their problem-solving capabilities stop at “problem.” If legitimate debate was their purpose, they’d be writing about wealthcare in America and addressing our nation’s ills rather than miring us in ignorant, timewasting bullshit like birther bills and applauding each others’ efforts to undermine the will of the people.
Be forewarned: I have no intention of discontinuing this manner. You will not see this language in a legitimate debate. This, however, is not a legitimate debate. Here, it is anything goes. When your entire argument starts with an obvious falsehood, there’s no point in maintaining Robert’s Rules of Order.
If you don’t like the comments, I suggest you overlook anything starting with my screen name. This is your right, which can easily be exercised by expending a little more energy and allowing the rest of us the right to our free expression, no matter who much it may offend your tender sensibilities.
We didn’t get to see Bush’s service records, nor his cocaine arrest records.
Obama is just another politician. If you think he is something special, it is too late.
You already drank the Kool-Aid.
Finally, something out of your keyboard that I can agree with. But I still don’t see any issue with the birth certificate. You can see it by making a trip to Hawaii.
By the way, what’s the title of this website? “RAW Story,” isn’t it?
Where were these fucking morons who claim to be so concerned about the constitution when George Bush and Dick Cheney were running for office from the same fucking state? These fucking morons could give a shit about the constitution, it’s clearly their ideology that motivates them, their racist ideology.
The constitution says the President and Vice president must be from different states, Dick Cheney was running Halliburton from its headquarters in Houston and his primary residence was in Houston, they just said he was living in Wyoming, that’s bullshit.
This is a straw man argument.
You’re right. This is a lose-lose like the shit about Clinton burning his draft card or something.
What’s important is that everyone remembers the “different looking president born in Kenya” is nothing but another globalist puppet with no allegiance to anyone other than the wealthiest 1% that benefit from him giving more powers to the Fed & the international banking industrial complex both laughing and shitting bricks at the idea of some birther bullshit.
What’s important is you sticking to the facts and not making up your own whenever it benefits your argument. Your comments are all over the place and lack consistency even within the framework of their own source.
As you may have noticed, jlewd, my comments are replies to other comments so they are molded to the comments at hand and not meant to be a consistent work.
Everything I wrote is backed up by research and information–save for the whole globalist puppet thing which is just popular opinion.
We all tend to use numbers and arguments to back up our own arguments, you included Mr. Moderator.
But you don’t even know me and don’t know all I stand for so don’t assume I’m a racist and a liar when you’re the one refusing to hear or reply to any base of my arguments.
I only started writing on this article because I can’t stand it when fake civil rights groups that were implicated for working with the Feds in the Oklahoma city bombing bust out with the race card whenever something like this comes along.