It's been perfectly clear for about three years now that questions about Mr. Obama's nationality have no traction. Whether he is a native-born American or has a valid birth certificate or (most recently, thanks to Mr. Trump) was born at a particular hospital -- reasonable people have long since felt the matter settled.While it's true that reasonable people have long felt the matter settled, what about, you know, Republicans?
The only ones being hurt by the regular roiling of these waters are those who oppose Mr. Obama on a higher plane -- namely, the majority of Republicans and independents who do not dwell on the lunatic fringe.
In a recent poll by Public Policy Polling of 416 Republican primary voters in Iowa, when asked "Do you think Barack Obama was born in the United States?" 48% said no. 26% were unsure. That's 74% who have not settled the matter, Ruth Ann.
But maybe that's just one state. What does it look like nationwide?
In another recent poll by PPP, 400 Republican primary voters were asked, "Do you think Barack Obama was born in the United States? 51% said no and 21% were not sure. That's 72% who haven't settled the matter either, Ruth Ann.
Maybe it's the Polling company. So let's look around a little.
Last August in a CNN/Opinion Research poll, when asked, "Do you think Barack Obama was definitely born in the United States, probably born in the United States, probably born in another country, or definitely born in another country? 44% of the Republicans got it wrong. 27% said he was "probably born in another country" while 14% said he was "definitely born in another country" and 3% had no opinion.
That's 44% of polled Republicans who haven't settled the matter, Ruth Ann. Or at least they hadn't settled it in August of 2010.
Does this mean that Ruth Ann Dailey thinks that nearly half of the GOP isn't reasonable?
UPDATE - Straightened out the grammar of that last sentence.
Actually, the depth of the failure of Ruth Ann's analysis is rather more profound than what your well researched post indicates. I mean, yes, it is clear that at the very least a sizable minority if not a majority of Republicans question or reject President Obama's US citizenship, despite Ruth Ann's belief that this does not reflect the thinking of the Republican party. I would say the birtherism is a direct result of the Republican party's deliberate attempt to court both rural voters and the Tea Party. It is ironic, by the way, that Tea Party leaders and legislators who identify themselves as part of the Tea Party all downplay, if not reject, their connection to the Republican party.
ReplyDeleteBut more than that, when Ruth Ann tries to make her case for voting Obama out of office, she again distorts reality. I guess she is trying to make a witty and skillful literary turn when she claims that while Obama isn't foreign, his ideas are. This is the same Republican thinking behind David Brooks statement on Bill Maher's show that Obama is governing from left of center. Generally speaking this has not been the case; Obama has on several occasions consciously tried to incorporate Republican ideas or accommodate Republican demands in proposing and negotiating legislation and policy. From the tax cuts in the stimulus through Obama's actions with regard to wiretapping, whistle blowers and Guantanamo, his continuing of Bush era policies at the Minerals Management Service, Obama's extending of the Bush era tax cuts and now Obama's budget compromise to keep the government from shutting down, from all of that it is hard to argue Obama is much of a liberal, let alone a socialist as many Republicans still characterize him as. While I am sure that the polls do show Obama losing support among independents, I seriously doubt that means they are now embracing any Republican candidates.
Ruth Ann ignores how many of her party still believe the birthiem nonsense and suggests that despite his popularity, Donald Trump does not represent the thinking of her party. Yet the statistics can not be denied, and further the fact that the only proposals Republicans have made to create jobs involve fantasy economics and taking thousands of dollars from senior citizens each year. This is what passes as logic for Ruth Ann and the Republican party.