Obama White House dismisses 'birther' movement as 'crazy' Internet conspiracy
Originally Published:Thursday, April 22nd 2010, 11:07 AM
Updated: Thursday, April 22nd 2010, 12:01 PM
The Obama administration has labeled them as "crazy," but "birthers" are busy keeping their eyes on Arizona.
A bill that would require presidential candidates to produce a birth certificate in order to get on the state's ballot passed the state's House in a slim 31-29 vote.
Despite this, the White House isn't likely to grow concerned over the "birther" conspiracy.
"The President has dealt with the crazy Internet rumors for years," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said on Wednesday. "I'm almost positive that no argument is somehow going to dissuade [them]."
Four Republicans joined with all House Democrats in Arizona to vote against the "birther bill." It is now slated to go to the state Senate.
Attempts to adopt similar legislation has been tried in several other states. All have failed.
Even if it does pass, it would likely face legal battles almost immediately, as it would reportedly cause a conflict between state and federal election laws.
The minor win in Arizona comes as Hawaii looks to pass legislation of its own to ignore repeated requests for President Obama's birth certificate.
According to a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, 58 percent of Americans said the President was born in the United States, with 20 percent believing he was born in another country (23 percent said they did not know).
"Birther" conspiracy believers claim Obama was not born in Hawaii, as the certification of live birth (equal to a birth certificate in Hawaii) posted online in 2008 states (and confirmed by state officials, newspaper notices, and even Fox News' Bill O'Reilly).
"This should have been done and gone a long time ago," said John Avlon, author of "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America," on "Anderson Cooper 360" on Wednesday.
"It's managed to become a very persistent conspiracy theory because ... it's feeding off of a lot of people's worst instincts and fears that have to do with whether or not President Obama is truly American."
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It's really pathetic how these media outlets diminish and spin this issue!
An election for President and Commander in Chief of the Military must strive to be above reproach. Our public institutions must give the public confidence that a presidential candidate has complied with the election process that is prescribed by our Constitution and laws. It is only after a presidential candidate satisfies the rules of such a process that he/she can expect members of the public, regardless of their party affiliations, to give him/her the respect that the Office of President so much deserves.
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