Inhofe Clarifies Claim That Birthers “Have A Point,” Blames White House
As you’ve already seen, Senator Jim Inhofe made a big splash today by telling the Politico that the birthers “have a point,” adding that he doesn’t “discourage” their movement.
But he’s now clarifying his claim, and blaming the White House for the persistence of birtherism. Inhofe now says that the birther point he was endorsing was specifically that the White House has not done a good enough job of rebutting the birthers’ charges.
Inhofe spokesman Jared Young sends me this new quote from Inhofe:
“The point that they make is the Constitutional mandate that the U.S. President be a natural born citizen, and the White House has not done a very good job of dispelling the concerns of these citizens. My focus is on issues where I can make a difference to stop the liberal agenda being pushed by President Obama.”
Inhofe is not addressing the birthers’ core argument. He’s simply declining to say one way or the other whether the birthers have a “good point” in declaring the President illegitimate to serve. Also note the extremely respectful tone he accords the “concerns of these citizens.”
Inhofe’s clarification is yet another sign of the birthers’ grip on GOP pols: A U.S. Senator is forced to dance around the question of whether Obama is legitimately the President of the United States.
*************************************
Update: Inhofe’s spokesman confirms it: He does not question Obama’s legitimacy as president.
This blog’s homepage is here. RSS feed here. Twitter feed here. Email me here.
I believe this will go on long after Obama’s presidency is over.
I love how the white house hasn’t done enough to dispute this ridiculous claim, despite Obama’s birth certificate getting shown around as much as it has.
When has any other president gotten grilled on his citizenship, especially after actually showing proof? Wonder what the reason for Obama getting such a different treatment is…
This whole thing is so “interesting”…can you imagine what the public outcry would have been if in 2002 Lou Dobbs, Hannity, Rush et al had given this kind of airtime to the 9/11 “Truthers”? For even bringing those 9/11 crazies into the spotlight, they would have been lambasted by the greater public, elected officials, law enforcement etc. It is just unbelievable…hell, you know it is complete craziness when even Ann Coulter says that the “birther” are complete “cranks”…These elected officials are playing with fire when it comes to their deference toward this crazy wing of their party…what is the GOP going to do when the majority of their primary townhalls become focused on this issue? How out of touch will that make the GOP seem? How out of touch will it make the GOP candidate seem when they are having to focus time and energy on this issue? And if these guys/gals can’t even take a stand on principal on this issue, how in the heck are they suppose to be trusted in DC with all those special interests looking to line their pockets???
Also, on another note….I spent the majority of my Saturday afternoon reviewing President Richard Nixon’s policy positions on National Healthcare, to include his address to Congress in March of 1972, his National Health Strategy, his Comprehensive Health Care Reform Act of 1974 etc.; and all I can say after that is…Why didn’t someone tell me that Richard Nixon was a “socialist commie”??? Holy Cow, if Hannity, Beck et al had been covering the Nixon Administration, they would have been photoshopping his head onto the Soviet Flag, complete with hammer and sickle. After reading through Nixon’s positions and then seeing where the Republican Party is on this important issue now, it makes you see how their only answer is “No, don’t change anything” – of course, they say things like, “slow down” because deep down they know that the majority of Americans want healthcare reform, so they are too scared to say what they really think, hence “slow down”. I am anxiously awaiting the GOP Plan on Health Care Reform…
To be honest, I could care less if Obama decides to address this. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s not laughing along with Axelrod at how the right wing fringe is so capable of tying themselves, with little or no nudging from left, to mainstream Republicanism.
The birthers think their theories will be accepted by level headed thinking Americans somehow. It’s pretty pathetic that some of those who know exactly what they are doing are taking advantage of the paranoia and borderline insanity of some Americans.
After reviewing President Nixon’s positions on nationalized healthcare and realizing, based on these positions, that he was a “socialist commie”…I would like to know if we ever saw President Nixon’s original birth certificate? Not the Certificate of Live Birth (like I have by the way, and all three of my kids have) and not the two announcements from the local papers from the day he was born, and not the then Gov. of the State saying the Certificate of Live Birth is valid…I mean some REAL evidence…seriously, after seeing the way that President Nixon felt about America, and his desire to have the Government take over the entire healthcare system and basically kill Americans, I think we really ought to see his birth certificate…. (dripping sarcasm)
Greg, can you explicitly ask Inhofe’s spokesperson whether Senator Inhofe believes that President Obama was born in the United States? Will Inhofe’s office explicitly confirm his acceptance of the legitimacy of Obama’s widely available birth certificate? This is the issue. Let’s here him on record.
(If you’ve already asked him the first question directly and there’s a non-response, keep going at it with them! Thanks!)
Josh Marshall: “The best way to understand the ‘birther’ craze is as a proxy for people who don’t want to accept a black man with a Arabic-derived first name as President of the United States.” Amen.
Easy.
“Sen. Inhofe, you state that you do not believe that the White House has not done a good enough job dispelling these rumors. Does this mean that you yourself have concerns over Pres. Obama’s authority? If so, why have you not gone further in questioning the credibility of someone you feel is inelegable for the Presidency? And if not, what information have you seen that these ‘birthers’ – as they are often referred – have not?”
Done, and done.
I don’t think Inhofe, or his party cohorts, is “forced to dance around the question of whether Obama is legitimately the POTUS”. He’s using this, and will continue to allude to it, as a political hot poker to avoid actual issues. He and the rest will never suggest that it’s a valid issue (because they knows it’s not), but by flaming the nuts who believe this issue, he’ll keep it alive (and distracting) until Rome burns…
The repub base are a bunch of brainless fools. I love it.
Obama isn’t addressing this because he’s made an (astute) calculation that every day this “controversy” stays in the media, is another day the GOP looks completely, totally insane and of out of step with the broader electorate.
Seriously, the best ad the Dems could come up with would be to tie the birther nonsense to GOP obstructionism on health care. Think of it: the same folks who would deny every person health reform are the same people that encourage these idiotic conspiracy theories. So while the Democrats are trying to reform health insurance, the GOP is strictly concerned with obstructing, complaining and obsessing over the president’s birth certificate. The ad writes itself.
Inhofe spokesman confirms Senator does not question Obama’s legitimacy as Prez…
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/president-obama/breaking-inhofe-does-not-question-obamas-legitimacy-as-president/
I think it is legitimate to ask Inholfe if he feels Obama is the legitimate president or not. Since he put himself in a discussion of the birther conspiracy, he needs to go on the record as do all politicians who try to pander to the wingnuts by encouraging their pathetic accusations.
I question Imhofe’s legitimacy. How do we know that his own birth certificate isn’t fake, and that he isn’t actually some sort of evil space alien, planted on Earth to foster the destruction of human civilization through global warming? Think about it–this would explain a lot.
“The White House has not done a very good job of dispelling the concerns of these citizens.”
Kind of like how NASA has not done a very good job of dispelling the concerns that the moon landings were faked. I’m more embarrassed every day to be from Oklahoma.
Heh. This is this week’s version of last week’s “waterloo” comment. Keep running off at the mouths, Senators, it makes for great one liners.
Isn’t this all kind of moot? Birthers are arguing about eligibility to be elected president. However, Obama has already *been* elected and sworn in as president. Horses. Gate. Corral.
I agree with Inhofe…Obama putting his birth certificate online, Hawaiian officials including the Republicans governor verifying the authenticity of the birth certificate, and producing two birth announcements is far less than any other president went through to prove his citizenship.
Of course the birthers haven’t produced one factual document that challenges Obama’s birth certificate….but that’s besides the point.
At least he finally admitted Obama’s legitimacy, unlike his colleagues in the House:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1o1p_ly7Yw
The White House has not done enough to tamp down the persistent belief by some in the Republican party that the Earth is 6000 years old. And they are nowhere to be found on the flat earth theory.
they never asked for St Ronnie’s birth cert because they knew he wasn’t born but decended directly from heaven, just as they are certain that he ascended directly back. The problem with the ascention was that it happened in 1982 and left the body behind.
The White House has also done a very poor job of dispelling citizens’ concerns about bat-boy, alligators in the New York sewer system, and Jim Morrison faking his own death.
There really should be a stupid test for Congress.
Jared, remember that day when you called home and said “I’m working as a spokesman for a Senator! A U.S. Senator!”
That was your best day on the job.
Republicans have a problem with an American born Hawaiian…
But Republicans were fine with foreign born Panamanian John McCain, his secessionist loving Vice President, and their foreign lobbyist run Presidential campaign…
[head/bang/wall]
It is impossible to “dispel” any of the birthers’ beliefs…there people are the same ones who believe the earth is flat, that man and dinosaur roamed the Earth together 6,000 years ago a la Fred Flintstone, and that Elvis and Marilyn are alive and shacked up together somewhere in the Great Smoky Mountains.
In other words, they are completely immune to logic and reason, and it does not matter what the White House does short of committing the birthers to rubber rooms and finger paints, and taking away all weapons and other sharp objects. All the lithium in the world can’t cure these wingnuts.
Everyone is missing the whole point here. A ‘natural born’ citizen simply means someone who was born a citizen rather than being naturalized. Since no one has yet disputed that Obama’s mother was a citizen, then he is a ‘natural born’ citizen no matter where he was born.
“Inhofe’s spokesman confirms it: He does not question Obama’s legitimacy as president.”
That’s mighty white of Mr. Inhofe….
I have never seen a long form birth certificate. I don’t know anyone who has one. If these things do exist, than I do think Obama should produce his. Isn’t that all they want to see anyway?
I think it might be advantageous to Obama to keep the birther movement going anyway. I don’t think it is a credit to Republicans.
Liberals are trying to divert attention from birthers to truthers. One issue is extremely pertinent and is growing by leaps and bounds (birthers). Continued concealment of not only birth certificate, but passport, medical, school, school, name change (Obama, Soetero, Obama) records, flies in the face of truth.
The other issue is so outlandish that any thinking individual will scratch his/her head and say, “Are they (truthers) for real?”
All conservatives need to drop every other issue and stay on this.
Long live Orly Taitz!!!!!
And just where was Donald Rumsfeld on September 11, 2001!
Inquiring Minds want to know & conservatives have found their call!!!
The birthers DO have a point. Much like Senator Inhofe, it’s located on top of their head…
I have a long-form certificate from the early 50’s but when I needed a copy for my passport, I ordered one and received a computer printout with a state seal embossed on it. It was good enough for the State Department. It just says I was born in the county/state, but not the specific hospital like the long-form. I think all these characters should request a copy of their birth certificates and see what comes in the mail.
What a waste of time Inhofe is – and all the rest of them, too.
It doesn’t matter where he was born as long as one of his parents were citizens of these great United States. Get over it. Let the man do the job Americans elected him to do. If he blows it, don’t re-elect him. Let’s pray that he is as strong of a leader as he projects himself to be.
SOMEONE posted Obama’s birth certificate and the birth application from the hospital,on freerepublic.com,along with the birth announcement.They ignore the truth or evidence.
THIS IS ABOUT A NON WHITE MAN IN THE White HOUSE,NOT HIS BIRTH!!
Why not tell the People of Kenya and the continent of Africa that their native son was not born there and is not the son of their soil. Tell them that his father was an American citizen not Kenyan. Or Better yet tell Obam to tell them. Beecause it looks like 2 countries are fighting
his birthright, so simple the tell the truth. He should be Proud to be Kenyan.
Kenyan.
BibleBeltBetty | July 27th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
You just shot yourself in the foot.
His father was a Kenyan citizen, never a citizen of the U.S. His mother was too young at the time of his birth to confer U.S. citizenship upon him. Looks as if you haven’t done a lot of research on this, eh?
Natural Born Citizen = Born on U.S. soil of **2 parents who are American citizens.**
He fails the NBC test. He’s illegitimate; a usurper. Time for him to get out of OUR HOUSE!
***********************************
BURT | July 28th, 2009 at 03:27 am
You’re even worse. Please knock off the race garbage; this is about an illegitimate president by virtue of his birth father. Do some research; your facts are wrong.