‘Birther’ Conspiracy Roils GOP Campaigns

[babylonsister]

‘Birther’ Conspiracy Roils GOP Campaigns
State Legislators, Party Strategists Keep Anti-Obama Rumors Alive
By David Weigel 3/1/10 6:00 AM


Still from an advertisement by John McCain's re-election campaign (YouTube)


In the wake of Sen. Scott Brown’s (R-Ma.) upset victory in Massachusetts, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee issued a memo to campaign managers suggesting a few ways to prevent their candidates from becoming the next Martha Coakley.

“Create sufficient pressure for your moderate opponents to be forced to weigh in on the positions of your far right opponents,” argued the memo writers. The memo set up a hypothetical scenario in which a front-running candidate would have to respond to someone who questioned whether President Barack Obama was a natural-born citizen of the United States. The so-called “birther” question, they argued, could trip up Republicans just as well as questions about the gold standard or nullification of federal laws.

Republicans and conservatives rolled their eyes at the scheme. “That has got to be the most brilliant campaign strategy since Michael Dukakis and Max Cleland raised questions about their own patriotism,” joked conservative columnist James Taranto in The Wall Street Journal.

But it wasn’t Democrats who fired off the first attack ad on the “birther” conspiracy theory. On Feb. 24, Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) re-election campaign released a 78-second video accusing his primary challenger, J.D. Hayworth, of indulging the conspiracy theorists. Footage of wild-eyed “birther” attorneys segued into footage of Hayworth mulling over the “questions” surrounding the birth of the 44th president.

more...

http://washingtonindependent.com/77867/birther-conspiracy-roils-gop-campaigns

[catbyte]

1. Is there another link? I can't seem to get through

Thanks!

:hi:

Diane

Anishnabe in MI (edited for my lame spell checking--sorry!)

[babylonsister]

2. I just tried it and it works, though it takes awhile to load, and no,

I don't know of any other links, sorry. :hi: