Experts': Racism is at the core of the birther issue

http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2011/04/28/experts-racism-is-at-the-core-o
f-the-birther-issue/

 

After the
<http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2011/01/09/get-well-soon-rep-giffords/>
attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords,
<http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2011/01/10/shameless-politico-com/> the
MSM and shamelessly opportunistic liberals shifted their focus from accusing
opponents of President Obama's agenda of being "racists" to trying to paint
conservatives from coast to coast as "guilty by association" via "promoting
an atmosphere of violence" - in spite of the fact that Giffords' mentally
unstable shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, didn't fit the carelessly constructed
MSM narrative of "right wing extremist." Well, now that the Congresswoman is
well on her way to recovery - and now that we're headed full steam into
Campaign 2012 mode - opportunistic liberals and MSM types are bringing back
the "any criticism of Obama = racism" meme, as exemplified by
<http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theticket/20110427/ts_yblog_theticket/birth-c
ertificate-wont-end-race-related-attacks-on-the-president> this piece from
the Yahoo! News Ticket blog:

During the 2008 campaign, questions about John McCain's birth in the Panama
Canal Zone on a U.S. military base prompted some to ask whether McCain was
eligible to be president, since the Constitution stipulates that anyone not
born in the United States is not eligible to be president.

Amid a flurry of news reports, McCain's own campaign announced in February
2008 that it was conducting an investigation. When a bipartisan pair of
lawyers announced the following month that McCain was indeed eligible, the
issue virtually died-apart from a Senate resolution that pretty much laid
the question to rest by attesting to the facts surrounding McCain's birth
and citizenship.

But the winner of the 2008 election, Barack Obama, has faced a relentless
campaign questioning his U.S. citizenship-and thereby the legitimacy of his
presidency-that has disregarded the facts.

Questions regarding Obama's birth certificate have persisted for more than
two years, as the president noted Wednesday at a press conference announcing
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/news/yblog_theticket/ts_yblog_theticket/st
orytext/birth-certificate-wont-end-race-related-attacks-on-the-president/412
43343/*http:/news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theticket/20110427/ts_yblog_theticket/wh
ite-house-releases-obama-birth-certificate> the release of his long-form
birth certificate. A vast array of evidence attests to Obama's
citizenship-including a certificate of live birth, signed affidavits from
people who viewed Obama's long-form birth certificate, confirmation by
Hawaiian officials, and independent investigations by news outlets.
Nevertheless, "this thing just keeps going" as Obama said this morning. Even
after the White House released the long-form certificate of Obama's birth,
birther leader Orly Taitz-who has filed unsuccessful lawsuits seeking to
obtain access to Obama's birth certificate-sought to
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/yblog_theticket/ts_yblog_theticket/storyte
xt/birth-certificate-wont-end-race-related-attacks-on-the-president/41243343
/SIG=142sp5ncg/*http:/tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/orly_taitz_
obamas_long-form_birth_certificate_should_say_negro_not_african.php> cast
doubt on the document's authenticity, suggesting that in 1961, Hawaiian
officials would have classified Obama as "Negro" rather than using
designation "African," which suggests, in her view, a more contemporary
concern for "political correctness."

So what's fueling the dogged questioning of Obama's origins? Many critics of
the birther movement say its core tenets-and its stubborn resistance to
evidence disproving those beliefs-can be traced to racial hostilities. The
fundamental birtherist conviction, these critics say, is that an
African-American can't have legitimately won the presidency-and that his
elevation to power therefore has to be the result of an elaborate
subterfuge.

"There is a real deep-seated and vicious racism at work here in terms of
trying to de-legitimate the president," Peniel Joseph, a professor of
history at Tufts University, told The Ticket.

"This is more than just a conspiracy," Joseph added. "I think this is
fundamentally connected to a conception of white supremacist democracy in
this country."

Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. in early April
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/yblog_theticket/ts_yblog_theticket/storyte
xt/birth-certificate-wont-end-race-related-attacks-on-the-president/41243343
/SIG=13m32l1gv/*http:/www.citizen-times.com/article/C4/20110401/OPINION05/10
4010301/Leonard-Pitts-Jr-Birther-nonsense-rooted-racism> called for the
connection to be publicly drawn between birthers and racism: "So it is time
to call this birther nonsense what it is-not just claptrap, but profoundly
racist claptrap."

And columnist Michael Tomasky wrote for
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/yblog_theticket/ts_yblog_theticket/storyte
xt/birth-certificate-wont-end-race-related-attacks-on-the-president/41243343
/SIG=136n2m8mc/*http:/www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2011/a
pr/27/barack-obama-obama-administration> The Guardian Wednesday that the
birther conspiracy "had to be the only explanation for how this black man
got to the White House." He added: "And if you think race isn't what this is
about at its core, ask yourself if there would even be a birther conspiracy
if Barack Obama were white and named Bart Oberstar. If you think there would
be, you are delusional."

Whether or not you are someone who still is or who at one point could have
been classifed as a birther, these accusations are - as usual - outrageous,
because the suggestion is all over the place that questioning this President
on such basic issues as whether or not he is legally qualified to be the
"leader of the free world" is off limits. True, the short form bc was
released when questions arose during Obama's run for the WH, but HE could
have put this issue to bed right then and there by requesting the long form
version instead of waiting two and half years before
<http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2011/04/27/breaking-obama-releases-long-f
orm-birth-certificate/> releasing it out of supposed 'frustration' at the
'distraction' he claims it has created. As the article correctly points out,
Senator McCain faced a similar issue as well and nipped it in the bud
without hesitation - in 2008. Barack Obama chose not to, which led us to the
point we were at this week with him finally releasing it in an attempt to
"move on" from the issue.

 
<http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2011/01/26/birther-movement-gets-boost-fr
om-journalist-friend-of-hi-governor/> As I've said before, even though I'm
not a "birther", I'm outraged that there are people out there who think it's
"beyond the pale" to question the legal qualifications of anyone seeking the
highest office of the land . no matter their political affiliation, and
furthermore, I'm disgusted that most of those same people believe that
questioning a liberal President of color equates to racism. People had
doubts about the short form bc and wanted the long form released. He didn't
do it. The questions persisted long enough that conspiracy theories formed.
I didn't believe in any of the theories because too many people would have
had to be involved in "the cover up" and - in this day and time - nobody can
keep their mouth shut about anything, so someone would have blabbed by now
if there had been any shred of truth to the conspiracy rumors. That said, I
did agree with those who weren't birthers who nevertheless called on the
President to release the long form in order to try and put the issue to bed.
I was appalled by his use of the issue as a political weapon. For someone
who claimed to want to "unite" the country and "build bipartisan bridges",
he deliberately used this issue for political gain by trying to paint
conservatives as people you shouldn't listen to because some of them
believed he wasn't born in the US. 

Also at the core of the questions about his birth, in addition to trying to
determine his legal legitimacy, was something that both birthers and
non-birthers had (and still have) in common: a serious concern about the
secretive nature of then-candidate and now-President Obama. Like the refusal
to
<http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2011/04/valerie_jarrett_to_trump_no_co.html
> release college transcripts. And the limited information available about
the time he served in the Illinois state senate.
<http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2008/07/31/eight-watchdog-groups-find-mcc
ain-more-transparent-about-campaign-donations/> Detailed campaign donor
information. But, you see, that must be raaaacism, too - a conclusion that
the writer of the above piece (Rachel Rose Hartman) tries to guide us to
(bolded emphasis added by me):

Birthers emphatically deny such criticism [that racism is the primary
motivator]. But it's difficult to apprehend the ongoing resistance to proof
of Obama's citizenship without crediting racial fear as a significant
factor. At first, after all, many adherents of birtherism argued that the
administration fueled speculation by failing to release the long-form
version of Obama's birth certificate, but now that this version has been
released to the public, the call continues to go out for other kinds of
information about Obama's past to be released-a level of scrutiny that
neither McCain nor Obama's 43 predecessors in the Oval Office were expected
to face.

Riiight. Because previous candidates for President (and for VP) have never
been expected to
<http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/benedetto/2005-06-10-benedet
to_x.htm> release their college transcripts,
<http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/05/24/medical_records_state
_mccain_fit_cancer_free/> medical records,
<http://www.taxanalysts.com/www/website.nsf/Web/PresidentialTaxReturns?OpenD
ocument> tax returns, etc. I take it the demand in 2008 that Senator McCain
release his medical records must have been racist in some way? After all,
that's what Hartman would lead you to believe. Oh wait, McCain's white . so
it couldn't have been racism. But Barack Obama, on the other hand, is black
(technically half black), so asking him to stop being so damned secretive is
"code" (as the Rev. Jackson would say) for racism.

It's the same ol' song and dance we've heard ever since then-Senator Barack
Obama announced he was running for the presidency. Any conservative
question, criticism, discussion about him that is not 100% positive,
glowing, and supportive "must" be racism to this crowd. Heck, even reliable
uber-liberals Hillary and her husband Bill (you know, the first black
President) Clinton
<http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2008/05/25/black-ny-politicians-to-the-cl
intons-youve-got-racial-wounds-to-heal/> found this out the hard way during
the 2007-2008 presidential campaign season. You're just not supposed to
question this man. Period.

And that's where we're going again as America prepares for Campaign 2012 to
kick into high gear. The left's game plan, in part, is to make Obama's
re-election campaign about race in an effort to try and silence the
opposition. Obama himself
<http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2008/08/02/obama-concedes-point-on-dollar
-bill-remarks-controversy/> wasn't beyond making race a part of his campaign
in 2008, and it helped, so why change the winning formula? He's already
<http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2011/03/03/despicable-post-racial-preside
nt-race-is-a-primary-motivator-behind-tea-party/> sent signals to his base
that he "knows" racism is behind the Tea Party movement, so expect him to
invoke the race card as well at some point - although he'll leave the vast
majority of that to his underlings, so as to make himself appear "above the
fray",
<http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2008/01/14/barack-obama-one-smooth-operat
or/> just as he did in early 2008 against Hillary Clinton.

Gird your loins, my dear readers. We can't let him, nor his campaign, nor
his allies in the MSM, get away with this again in 2012.

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