Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Revisiting Ridiculous Rumors - The So-Called "Birther" Movement

Amazingly, the rumor that President Obama is not a U.S. citizen still persists. These people even have a moniker: "birthers" and supposedly respectable Republicans are working hard to legitimize these ridiculous rumors. In honor of the birthers, I am re-posting my (well-researched, I might add) rebuttal:


Remember during the campaign when Republicans were spreading those "Obama is not a U.S. citizen" rumors? I actually had a debate in my kitchen with a family member who bought into this crap. Well apparently, Alan Keyes and Senator Richard Shelby are still trying to cast doubt on President Obama with this tired, desperate story. According to Shelby:

"Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven’t seen any birth certificate,” Shelby said. “You have to be born in America to be president.”


Well, let's see. The Obama campaign posted his birth certificate on their website during the campaign. According to www.snopes.com, this rumor is categorically false. The State of Hawaii officially verified the validity of the birth certificate. There is even a birth announcement from the Hawaii paper in 1961! What I find hilarious when reading about some of these conspiracy theories, these conspiracy theorists act like this was some scam perpetrated starting back with his birth! Yes, I am sure that in 1961, President Obama's mother and grandmother knew that he would be running for president in 2008 and would need proof of his natural-born citizenship! It is absolutely ridiculous, barely worthy of response.

Another argument I have heard is that because President Obama's father was not a U.S. citizen, President Obama could not be one. These people need to just read the law. If you are born in the United States, you are a natural-born citizen, regardless of your parents' citizenship. And despite its "foreign", "exotic" feel according to Cokie Roberts, Hawaii is one of the fifty United States of America and has been since 1959. Case closed.

Give it up, people, and move on!

1 comment:

Laurie said...

What is wrong with these people? Could they please get back to work!