In a stunning move, President Barack Obama released the long form of his birth certificate yesterday. Although the quasi-racist fear mongering of conservative birthers had a tangible effect on public opinion, Obama missed a valuable opportunity to save this final nail in the conspiracy coffin for a more opportune time.
There was a time when I was never really interested in getting involved in political discussions. I was an impartial observer who saw faults with both parties and just didn’t want to waste my time. Some folks would call that apathetic, and maybe they’re right.
In any case, all that changed when Bush was somehow “reelected” in 2004. Bush…the man who lied to the country on many levels to get us into war. The man who raided Social Security. The man who outsourced jobs, ended bedrocks of international peace including the chemical weapons treaty, the man who started domestic espionage and torture. How could that happen?
It was at that moment, *after* the election that I realized that I had to get involved personally. I realized *everyone* who valued freedom and democracy and the American Dream had to get involved personally. It was one of those rare epiphany moments that sneak up on you and give you a good solid kick in the ass every once in a long great while.
One of the first things I discovered was how truly extreme the new conservatives were. This wasn’t Ike’s Republicans who were capable of respectfully disagreeing, but doing what was best for the country in the end. This wasn’t even the Republicans of Tricky Dicky, who when caught doing bad deeds would resign in shame.
This was a whole new brand of far right, authoritarian, corporatist bullies. People that were capable of taking a war hero like John Kerry and smearing his name with a slick, corporate funded campaigns and blatant lying to turn him into some type of “treasonous communist”. This new brand of extremist Republicans would say anything, do anything to win.
You cannot compromise with people that have only fear and hate in their hearts. Trust me, I tried it for years. Attempts at rational discourse are wasted on these extremists. All we can do is understand that they are going to attack with a rabid viciousness, and use their own aggression against them.
As Obama said while campaigning for the presidency in 2008, “We know their playbook.” Now, I know Obama has a good heart and wants the country to progress, but I wonder if he ever really understood their playbook, because in every major battle he has started off with a compromise position, then yielding to Republican obstructionism and hostage taking until the final product is either severely weak or ultimately ineffective. This latest move of releasing his full birth certificate was shortsighted and a waste of political capital.
The movement for change and reform in America consists of millions of people who understand that the only way to progress is to make that progress happen. You don’t do that by selling out your reforms for a kinder, gentler form of plutarchy, you do it by taking them head on, and making that change happen.
The legions of astroturfed Tea Partiers who are even a step beyond the extreme right in the GOP were quick to pounce on this birther issue as a way to make Obama, a black man with a strange name seem like some foreign usurper here to destroy America (as Glenn Beck would put it).
Death threats shot through the roof. Militia and white supremacist organizations came out of the closet. There were prayers for Obama’s death and calls for a “Honduran-style military coup.” The culture of hate was so strong that incidents of domestic terrorism shot through the roof, including the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ).
We on the left were using their fear and hate against these nuts very effectively. Obama already released the legal tender for Hawaii records: the Certificate of Live Birth. There are newspaper records announcing his birth. In June 2008, Politifact started an entire category to dispel various rumors about Obama’s citizenship. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/jun/27/obamas-birth-certificate-part-ii/ FactCheck.org examined his birth certificate in 2008 and concluded it was a valid document. The rumor debunking site Snopes called the birther claims FALSE. McClatchy called the conspiracy claims “just plain nuts.”
There is no better way to demonstrate what they really think than by giving them just enough rope to hang themselves, and the birthers were masters of auto-erotic asphyxiation. By continuing to rant on this conspiracy about America’s President’s birth place, the birthers made every other far right diatribe they would ramble on about seem just as pathetic and desperate.
Now, all that is gone, and it will be much harder to expose them for what they really are: liars who spread fear to push an extreme corporate and authoritarian agenda.
At the very least, the timing of this release is politically naive. Releasing Obama’s full birth certificate in early October of 2012 would have been genius, and a huge last minute boost. Saving it for a time after a big gaffe or some other misstep would have worked as well. This was a huge amount of political capital, and these aces in the hole are very rare, and once used gone forever.
Obama literally gains nothing by releasing the long form at this point. Donald Trump is already claiming “victory” for “forcing” him to do it, and now demanding even more documentation releases.
Mr. President, you have to understand in no uncertain terms that these people don’t care about doing what is best for the country, they are interested in one thing and one thing only: destroying you in order to derail the movement for change and reform. You must utilize the resources available to you better if we are ever going to take our country back from their grasp.
Related posts:
- TRUMP TO OBAMA: Show Your Birth Certificate, I’ll Show My Tax Returns
- Limbaugh: God Does Not Have a Birth Certificate and Neither Does Obama
- GOP Rep. Neugebauer: Obama has Never Produced a Birth Certificate
- Sean Hannity, Show Us Your Birth Certificate!
- Birthers Busted Peddling Fake Kenyan Birth Certificate; real owner steps up
I have to agree with the President on this one. I just spent the entire Easter break listening to how Trump exposed President Obama as a Kenyan. They couldn’t even get their stories straight. There were three or four different schools of thought but all of them had the stink of Trump and Faux News all over them. This is the same way that such a great percentage of Americans got the idea that Saddam Hussein blew up the World Trade Towers. I’m glad he didnt let it fester in the back of an easily impressionable American subconcious any longer.
I think I have to agree with the President on this also.I thought about that besiness of him holding off until later too,but,as we now see,the true nuts have just moved on to other stupid and preposterous things! which STILL shows them up for what they all are-maybe even more so! It truly shows normal folks that these people are nothing less than Racists,AND that they are really and truly very,very ignorant.It was absolutely right on target,what the President said,and would have made any truly normal person feel ashamed that they had done this, not only to one of the finest Presidents we will ever have,but also,that they had wasted this countries time with such nonsense and”SILLINESS”,as the President said! I’LL say we have PLENTY to do,without this!Its terribly hard to even run a small business.Can you even IMAGINE what it would be like to try and run a huge COUNTRY? And,contrary to what these fools say,Pres.Obama actually puts in very long hours everyday,even if he is on a rare holiday with his wife and girls-the President is ALWAYS on duty,24/7,protecting us all best he can,answering our calls for help.It get me that these idiots want”no government”BUT Who Do They ALL Call FIRST,when disaster strikes,like these terrible storms yesterday,or the Gulf oil spill?Put him down today,an YELL for him to come HELP the next,and why cant he get there SOONER-when they need him!And the President ALWAYS answers,no matter the time or day.These Repub/Teaparty are a true Bunch of IDIOTS,and actually”carnivil barkers”is a pretty good description of most of them,no doubt!
There will always be people who refuse to belief in the authenticity of the president’s birth certificate. That’s because they have their own agenda, which is to find ways to discredit him. The fact that people like Orly Taitz are incapable of admitting they were wrong, much less apologizing, means that the timing of when it was released would not have mattered to them. On the other hand, there are people who long ago accepted that he is an American, and they voted for or against him for other reasons. Then there are others who, after seeing this certificate, are convinced and unlikely to bring the matter up again.
Anne, I agree with you. Some will be satisified but the haters, the racists, will never be satisfied. Oral Taitz has already moved on to insist that Obama’s SSN is false.
I guess in way I wish he had not, but I personally trust his judgement on this issue. I am sure there was plenty of talk about the positive and negative of the issue.
No, it was quite right for him to release it now, as it would otherwise have been too easily denounce as a forgery timed for political capital. but as for your most telling description of the state of the union, Ole, I say, ¡ole!
P.S. I am so relieved we have more important things to discuss than Sarah Palin’s ¥.
To do it at the last minute of the election year would have been truly cheesy. Kind of a Donald Chump move.
“As Obama said while campaigning for the presidency in 2008, “We know their playbook.” Now, I know Obama has a good heart and wants the country to progress, but I wonder if he ever really understood their playbook” ole, I find it interesting that so many think they are smarter or more capable than the president. I disagree.
Also, I am unwilling to sign on to the “always” does this or that comment. I think Obama is a shrewd operator. He knows what he is doing and what he can get. Progress does not come easily.
I agree,the President is very smart and very shrewd.That is one of the biggest things that a lot of these nuts hate,especially the good ole white boys and gals in the political arena.They cannot STAND that Pres.Obama really IS extremely intelligent,AND that he doesnt have to yell and scream and say stupid things,to get HIS ideas and points across! So now,they start on his college and so on.Never mind that he did very well,was the editor of Law review,I believe,in college,that he was a Law professor(dont do that without some smarts),a state senator,AND,yes,a comm, organizer,which is in reality a VERY GOOD thing to do and be.The problem is that.most of these people in congress today,and in other political jobs,like these terrible new govenors,a lot of them all through the political system,are not very smart,and many dont have any ways near the education the President has,AND THEY KNOW IT!AND IT EATS AT THEM,because they KNOW they could never be on Pres.Obamas’intelligence level.It goes Right Back to them thinking that,no matter how hard he worked for it,or how smart he is,somehow,some way,”surely”the color of his skin,doesnt” entitle”him to be as smart as he is,or to be where he is-and THATS ALL IT REALLY IS! Shame,Shame,on the people acting and doing like this,and may it COME BACK to Bite them all Big Time,one of these days!
I agree with many of your points Ole, there are arguments to made for waiting til further on in the election cycle. But I do think Obama was correct in doing this now. Trump will continue to make a fool of himself in going after Obama’s college career. Then he will go back to his silly show and pretend to fire celebrities.
I have to admit I might have held off a little longer to show it but I don’t think that Obama “gains nothing” by releasing his birth certificate now. You see, I have faith in the Republicans. I firmly believe that they will jump on some other band wagon to deflect the debate away from the serious issues that we all care about. Maybe their next torch will be his school records. This move by Obama should create skepticism against any future attacks on his qualifications.
As far as “playing nice” with Republicans I fully agree. Hopefully, we’ve learned something through all this. When we’re in a position to change things we better act. A good start would be card check.
Yesterday morning my thoughts were the same as expressed in this article. As the day wore on, however, it became clear that Obama was, as usual, smarter than me. I think he has affirmed his citizenship among sane citizens, even those who may strongly disagree with or disapprove of him but on a rational basis. As the Orly Tates and Judson Phillips of the world continue to do everything to de-legitimize the President (auto-erotic asphyxiation as you so beautifully put it) the sane will be able to more clearly assess the nonsense for what it is.
Georgia, very nicely put. It makes total sense to me. Thanks
Hello Ole Ole.
I think this is an issue where I agree, then disagree, then agree again.
The issue of when he released his birth certificate is more than a two-way street. I totally take to heart your comments on him issuing it at the wrong time. on the other hand, come November of 2012 if these people are still going on about the birth certificate it can be used against them.
And again, about how Obama deals with the conservatives. I 1,000,000% agree with you that they do not want anything good for this country and that they are here primarily to destroy Obama. However, I must reserve judgment on how he is dealing with them. I sometimes think that he is giving them a little all the time like dragging a piece of meat across the floor in front of a cat. Is he naïve or is he the trap at the end of the rope? Quite a few times now. He has been the trap at the end of the rope and it hasn’t been publicized but the conservatives know that they have been had.
I have a feeling he possibly could have done this without worrying about political leverage. And that may be bad or good, depending on how you look at it. I honestly think he expected people to look at it and go okay, it’s time to get the work. but I don’t think he does anything without also understanding that he will have to have the upper hand in time
In keeping with Sarah Jones article yesterday about the media, what was the first thing the media did upon the release of the document? Fox news immediately got Pam Geller, who is a birther and hatemonger, and MSNBC immediately got Orly Taitz. Both immediately described the birth certificate is a fake, a fraud and their part of the initial of move on to continuing business as before.
Not only must the conservatives be defeated, but the media must go as well
“I 1,000,000% agree with you that they do not want anything good for this country and that they are here primarily to destroy Obama.”
Oh come on. This is just political banter. It happens and shifts ever few years. When Bush was president, you could say that all the liberals wanted to “destroy Bush.”
Both the liberals and conservatives want, what could be called, the “best” for the country, but they have different ways of implementing it. When you look at the broad political scale, liberals and conservatives are one and the same.
But I do agree that the media must go. It screws up everything.
I don’t recall Democratic leaders telling their flock that Bush wasn’t American, or Democratic leaders piling up as MSNBC pundits asking for Bush’s birth certificate, suggesting he was Nazi Marxist Commie. I don’t remember Democratic leaders putting crosshairs on Republican elected official or talking about 2nd amendment remedies or saying if the ballot doesn’t work, bullets will. And those things are coming from Republican leaders- not blogs.
Yeah, it was different issues at that time. It changes all the time. New issues, new smear campaigns, new attacks–but in the end, it is just political banter: Meaningless chatter from both parties.
The end idea though is that just because one party throws attacks at another, doesn’t mean that they “do not want anything good for this country.” Its just a big political game.
No,this has gone far,far past any normal political games! These people have treated Pres.Obama absolutely terrible.Totally disrespected him in ways no one did to GWB,or other Presidents,in modern times.And,it is also No,these new breed of Repub/Teapub,are NOT my FATHERS’GOP,IN ANY WAY,SHAPE OR FORM,nor do they want ANYTHING good for anyone not White and Rich! The people who are” regular”folks,making(maybe)just enough to support themselves,who follow along after this New GOP,and vote for them,are FOOLS of a kind hard to imagine.These guys plan to” take over”the rest of us,similar to a dictatorship,especially the good ole white boys in congress and all these new govenors trying to get absolute CONTROL over the people in their states.We have to Hope&Pray,that these folks wil Wake Up and absolutely REFUSE to vote for even one more of these guys,AND throw the Teapub Bums OUT,THAT ARE IN THERE NOW,ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.it really is the only hope this Nation has right now!
I’d like to hear specific comparisons with links.
BP, we didn’t dislike Bush because of *who* he was (although it was comical), we disliked him because of *what he was doing*. For instance starting to use extraordinary rendition and torture, no-bid contracts to big campaign donors, lying to start a war with Iraq that killed well over 100,000 people, domestic espionage, stocking the high courts with far, far right wing activist judges, etc. etc. etc.
What the conservatives were doing was tyrannical, and what the progressive wing of the Democratic party has tried to do is stop that practice (even though we have a long way to go with a few of the draconian practices that have been continued in the Obama administration). There is greater transparency now for instance.
Good point.
Shiva, I hear what you’re saying but would like to see him take far stronger stands against the rabid right. They are openly waging political warfare on him, and he’s just taking the blows. Sooner or later, he needs to start punching back like FDR did.
I guess only time will tell, but I really think that even *if* the conspiracy of where he was born dies (and that’s a big IF), they will just find something else to hate him for. That’s their nature, to fear and hate and try to destroy.
Yeah exactly! Conservatives nature is to “fear, hate, and try to destroy!”
Don’t you think thats a little brutal?
Well, Afez, sometimes the truth is.
Honestly, even with the President releasing his “long form” birth certificate as a big steaming cup of STFU, there are still morons out there–like my husband–who refuse to accept its authenticity because it doesn’t have his weight or his religion on it.
HELLO, my “long form” birth certificate doesn’t have either of those things on it either! But try telling that to the birthers.
I agree that releasing the long form was a huge mistake, but I can’t blame all of the travails of the Obama administration on Republicans. Obama has shot himself in the foot so many times I marvel that he’s got any toes left.
God hates people who aren’t Americans!
Thank God for Donald Trump, Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann–real Americans–who dogged the Kenyan Muslim Communist Socialist into the corner.
Keep up the good work, you three future presidents of America! Make that illegitimate “president” prove he’s a real American.
Which he still hasn’t done. That birth certificate is a fake. Notice how it doesn’t have his kindergarten school address or his credit card numbers listed on it.
This article should be titled, “Why Obama Should Have Released His Birth Certificate Two Years Ago.” I mean, come on. There is no good reason for him to not release it in the first place. He is the freakin president of the United States–and as a public official, he should have no secrets.
Honestly though, because he waited SO long to release anything, I feel like there must be something fishy going on.
He did release it 2 years ago. Its been on the net ever since. The release yesterday was for the living brain dead who walk among us known as conservatives
I mean an authentic long-form one like he did yesterday. Short forms are more vague and don’t carry the same authenticity.
“Long-form” certificates aren’t actually released. If you Google for more details you’ll read that they had to get special permission to get a copy of it. Who had even heard of a long form prior to all this? Be honest…
The copy he posted in 2008 is prima facie evidence of birth in any court in this nation. It would be impossible for you as a normal citizen to prove your citizenship any better.
Thats not true.
Short certificates are just abstracts of the original that only include surname, forename, DOB, sex, registration district, and sub-district.
Long-form certificates, or also called “full” certificates, are certified copies that are replicas of the original. My certificate in my safety deposit box is the “full” certificate.
Typically for legal purposes, the full version is required.
What is contained on the original and certified copies vary from state to state. In Hawaii if you request a copy of your birth certificate you get exactly what President Obama released in 2008. It is, as it states on the certificate, prima facie evidence of birth.
In order to get what they posted recently they had to request an exemption from the Hawaiian government to get a photo copy of the original. This isn’t granted usually because it would be entirely too cumbersome of a system.
Well,think about this:For many years,I had my very pretty,oridginal birth certificate,kept it in my safe deposit box too.Then,I had to take it out for something,and brought it home.Unfoftunately,we had first a fire inthe house,and the very day the repairs were complete for that,we had a tornando that took the whole roof and a portion of the house,with it.No more birth cert! THINK-These terrible storms lately-how many people lose EVERYTHING? Well,I simply had to go to the courthouse and get a certified copy,stamped by the court,and its done every day,all over the country,all over the world.What they gave me amounts to about half a sheet of paper and thats all anybody needs.A friend had to do the same thing when hers got lost,in order to visit another country,no big deal.Also,when people say that folks should not complain about showing”ID”to vote,well showing ID is one thing,toting your Birth Cert.around to vote,is quite another!Where I vote,you could not POSSIBILY vote wrongly-they have two different places where you are in a big register,and they ck both befor you are given a ballot.If you even move,you have to chg to new polling place before hand or cant vote. All of this stuff IS just” Silly”,with all we got on our plates!
they carry the same exact authenticity. They are legal tender just like the one dollar bill. There’s hardly a state in the union that doesn’t use the short form.
Authentic, sure. But they are just abstracts of the original–and therefore don’t carry the same authenticity as a full version.
In many legal instances a full version certificate is requisite.
This is a dumb point, but if you are writing a research paper, do you want to cite an abstract of a book, or do you want to look at the actual book and make sure it is legit?
They carry exactly the same authenticity. Legal tender. There may be more data on the long form but that doesnt make it one bit more authentic. Most states only use the short form.
If you write the book uisng the short form, its just as valid as the long form.
I would also add that the short form was the one used to vet Obama by the GOP and Dems.
If you cite a book abstract in writing a research paper, you are never going to get your book published.
Its called primary research.
Ok, I won’t argue with you using the “authenticity” word. I didn’t mean short forms aren’t authentic, but think about this:
In California you can get a informal short certificate that carries no “authentic” value to it (it isn’t certified). In other states, a short form may be certified. When applying for a passport, the requirements say, “some short (abstract) versions of birth certificates may not be acceptable for passport purposes.” This is directly from the US Department of State’s website.
In other words, short certificates carry different authentic weights, depending of where you are from–and thus people tend to be more leery about them. Making full circle to my point that there is no reason that he shouldn’t have released the full version 2 years ago. In some legal instances it is the only version that holds “authenticity.”
Yet its still good enough to get a candidate vetted as valid to run for President. Now I am certain you would need different data for books, but if you were writing as book on the presidents birth certificate, the short form is absolutely valid for that purpose If the RWNJ’s wernt happy its too bad, the pres never had to release it..
But its not worth argueing
Yes,when I had to replace mine,the court told me thats all they have,all you get,and I didnt care.I was just surprised at how little and short it was,so I commented on it,and that is what they told me.I found out they even make you a version of the same thing that is only the size of a drivers license,for traveling.Dont know why I didnt get one,it seemed like a handy idea,and then a person COULD have it with them all the time.
Oh noes, a new conspiracy theory because Obama released his birth certificate.
Wisdom says to not use one’s aggression against them.
Neutrally it is allowed them to use their aggression against themselves.
Wisest, allow them to vent their aggression away from all into the vacuum until it is expended.
Aggression consumes energy, kindness creates it.
I think the time was actually perfect. One of the biggest voices of the birthers is Jerome Corsi and he has a new book coming out in May entitled, “Where’s the Birth Certificate?: The Case that Barack Obama is not Eligible to be President”. It’s already on the top sellers list and won’t be available for another three weeks. This book was set to keep the Trump snowball rolling so it had to be nipped in the bud. Where’s the Birth Certificate? Uh… Right here. LOL
Like I said earlier, I don’t buy that this new “long form” version is real. It’s still a fake. I won’t believe he’s an American citizen until he can produce a birth certificate that lists his kindergarten school address, his credit card numbers, his wedding date to Michelle Obama and the names of his kids on his birth certificate.
That’s when I’ll believe he’s an American citizen.
But that still won’t change the fact that I know he’s a Kenyan national with aspirations to become a Muslim terrorist and a commie-socialist who secretly wants America to fail.
“the names of his kids on his birth certificate.”
Oh thats hilarious! Love that one!
The degree to which the extremists have taken over the GOP has still not sunk in. They have captured all three branches of government by using so much money to frame the message that we still have not seen the tip of the iceberg. They are playing a dangerous chess game with the future of our country. No matter what President Obama does, they have a counterattack. He released his birth certificate and now they ask “What took him so long?” Where are his grades from college? How did he get into such excellent schools? If a female were elected they would be asking for DNA evidence that she was a real female. President Obama has to go on the attack and stir up his base, show the opposition that they are nonsense, and lead with the same maturity that he has always shown. He is the adult in the room of bigots and racists who will stop at nothing.