christiefan915
Catalyst
Slate breaks down the birther movement from its earliest stages. I only copied the 1st paragraph of each section since the entire article is three pages long.
Birtherism Is Dead. Long Live Birtherism.
The history of a national embarrassment, and why it's not over yet.
By David WeigelPosted Wednesday, April 27, 2011, at 7:31 PM ET
Paleobirtherism: 2003-07
In the beginning, there was no controversy whatsoever about Obama's family ties to Kenya. Reporters mentioned them when he became president of the Harvard Law Review. Book reviewers mentioned them when he released Dreams From My Father in 1996. In late 2003, when Obama jumped into the open race for Illinois' U.S. Senate seat, conspiracy theorists were more focused on his middle and last names than his birthplace.
Proto-birtherism: April 2008 to June 11, 2008
In March and April 2008, Clinton regained ground and looked to have some chance of beating Obama for the Democratic nomination. This was the time when some Clinton supporters started glomming on to any rumor that looked dangerous. A chain letter from American missionaries in Kenya did the trick: It claimed that Obama's real middle name was "Mohammed."
Short-form birtherism: June 12, 2008 to March 2009
The release of Obama's COLB did not end birtherism. More accurately, it created it. The one-page document, which had the basics about Obama's birth and the weight of Hawaii's government behind it, inspired a mad rush of would-be forgery analysts and detectives.
Birtherism, the Democratic tactic: March 2009 to January 2011
In March 2009, with very little fanfare, Rep. Bill Posey, R-Fla., introduced one of his first pieces of legislation...
"To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require the principal campaign committee of a candidate for election to the office of President to include with the committee's statement of organization a copy of the candidate's birth certificate, together with such other documentation as may be necessary to establish that the candidate meets the qualifications for eligibility to the Office of President under the Constitution."
For the first time, an elected office-holder had indulged the birther theory.
Birtherism, the Republican tactic: January 2011 to April 27, 2011
Republicans won big in 2010, and they won especially large landslides in some red and blue states.* In 2010, "birther bills" were distractions, doomed from the outset. In 2011, there were legislatures with big Republican majorities ready to pass them. Birtherism stopped being a joke. All of a sudden, the Republicans who believed in it were on cable TV, talking about the need to find out where Obama was born.
http://www.slate.com/id/2292306/pagenum/3
Birtherism Is Dead. Long Live Birtherism.
The history of a national embarrassment, and why it's not over yet.
By David WeigelPosted Wednesday, April 27, 2011, at 7:31 PM ET
Paleobirtherism: 2003-07
In the beginning, there was no controversy whatsoever about Obama's family ties to Kenya. Reporters mentioned them when he became president of the Harvard Law Review. Book reviewers mentioned them when he released Dreams From My Father in 1996. In late 2003, when Obama jumped into the open race for Illinois' U.S. Senate seat, conspiracy theorists were more focused on his middle and last names than his birthplace.
Proto-birtherism: April 2008 to June 11, 2008
In March and April 2008, Clinton regained ground and looked to have some chance of beating Obama for the Democratic nomination. This was the time when some Clinton supporters started glomming on to any rumor that looked dangerous. A chain letter from American missionaries in Kenya did the trick: It claimed that Obama's real middle name was "Mohammed."
Short-form birtherism: June 12, 2008 to March 2009
The release of Obama's COLB did not end birtherism. More accurately, it created it. The one-page document, which had the basics about Obama's birth and the weight of Hawaii's government behind it, inspired a mad rush of would-be forgery analysts and detectives.
Birtherism, the Democratic tactic: March 2009 to January 2011
In March 2009, with very little fanfare, Rep. Bill Posey, R-Fla., introduced one of his first pieces of legislation...
"To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require the principal campaign committee of a candidate for election to the office of President to include with the committee's statement of organization a copy of the candidate's birth certificate, together with such other documentation as may be necessary to establish that the candidate meets the qualifications for eligibility to the Office of President under the Constitution."
For the first time, an elected office-holder had indulged the birther theory.
Birtherism, the Republican tactic: January 2011 to April 27, 2011
Republicans won big in 2010, and they won especially large landslides in some red and blue states.* In 2010, "birther bills" were distractions, doomed from the outset. In 2011, there were legislatures with big Republican majorities ready to pass them. Birtherism stopped being a joke. All of a sudden, the Republicans who believed in it were on cable TV, talking about the need to find out where Obama was born.
http://www.slate.com/id/2292306/pagenum/3