In defense of “Birthers”

For some reason those of us who see Obama’s lack of birth certificate as a problem have been relegated to the corner of the political arena with 911 truthers and JFK conspirists. I have yet to really understand why.

The biggest problem comes from not distinguishing between those who insist Obama be removed, and those who simply want his birth certificate (and/or any other pertinent record) to be made public.

I agree with most “birthers” that what the Obama campaign released is not valid proof of where he was born. But I disagree that that alone, or even evidence of a foreign birth would automatically disqualify him. The laws regarding who is and isn’t a natural born citizen and why are varied and confusing and seem to change from state to state and decade to decade. They’ve never really been challenged because there’s never really been a pressing need to.

I predict that were Obama required to show his birth certificate, and it shows he was born in Kenya (or some other foreign country) the Supreme Court would handle the decision of whether or not that actually disqualifies him. Since his mother was a US citizen at that time, and the laws that (at the time) claimed he couldn’t be considered a natural born citizen were changed some time after that, that the SCOTUS would rule that a Constitutional right couldn’t be bestowed or denied based on variable laws, and in their ruling determine a solid definition of “natural born” which would allow Obama to continue as president.

To me the problem isn’t whether or not he was born in the US or Kenya, but that he was not required to show his birth certificate before taking office.

That, according to many, makes me a “birther”. So be it.

I think Conservatives who shake their heads at us “birthers” are missing a political “brass ring”. If the issue is approached from the simple standpoint of needing to show his birth certificate, with no presumptions of what it says. His suspicious actions would then become a focal point. As the next election approaches, that could become a useful tactic in creating suspicion among middle-of-the-road voters who may not feel the need to “prove they’re not racist” this time by voting for Obama in spite of his obviously lack of qualifications. There’s some reason he’s hiding that birth certificate. There’s a chance it may show he actually was born in Hawaii, but by his actions he’s confirmed that there’s something there he doesn’t want people to know about.

We shouldn’t let that opportunity slide by. Obama certainly wouldn’t.

Posted by Danny Carlton at July 3, 2009 8:33 AM