So says a new PPP poll:
Do you think Barack Obama was born in the
United States?
Yes ……………………………………………………….28%
No…………………………………………………………51%
Not sure…………………………………………………21%
Full poll here [PDF]
Part of me find this is to be an almost unbelievable number, as the evidence on this issue if overwhelming. Yet, on the other hand I have read too many “arguments” about Obama’s birthplace and have dealt with a sufficient number of birther-oriented commenters over time to know that the view is still quite prevalent.
That large chunks of the electorate can be so difficult to persuade on such a simple topic makes it easier to understand why we cannot come to reasonable consensus on fiscal policy.
Interestingly, with those GOP voters sure that Obama was born in the US, “Palin’s favorability rating is 41-52…But with birthers, she has a soaring 83-12.”
February 15th, 2024 at 1:07 pm
The GOP and the larger right wing in general have been building this for decades. I mean, Birchers? Hello? Heck, there’s a major cable channel seeming dedicated to non stop mainstreaming of right wing conspiracy theories. Hey, it’s just the market, right? Freedom of speech and all that.
You can’t shake the devil’s hand and say you’re only kidding. My guess is that this can only end in tears.
WRT the larger issue, “That large chunks of the electorate can be so difficult to persuade on such a simple topic makes it easier to understand why we cannot come to reasonable consensus on fiscal policy”, it also seems clear that the reason is that the media – the venerable 4th estate – have clearly decided that informing is not part of their job. The birtherism meme is merely a symptom of the larger problem. The media simply decided that the were merely conduits of factesque content, and it was not their responsibility to pass judgement on said content.
Consequently, we had the surreal case of the NPR ombudsman (public radio, that liberal hotbed) arguing that she couldn’t possibly call water boarding torture because a political party was defining torture in a different way. Thus, no judgement could – and should – be made.
Welcome to the end times. Here’s you’re accordion.
February 15th, 2024 at 1:51 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by The 912 Project, teapartymentor. teapartymentor said: RT @the_912_project: Breitbart Update: Birtherism the Majority View Amongst GOP Primary Voters? http://ow.ly/1blH5f [...]
February 16th, 2024 at 3:18 pm
I’d quibble over the size of the sample but it would be just that. Would say these are the Crazy Years, but how many believed that either Al Smith or Kennedy would install the Pope in the White House? Then there’s Trig Palin’s questioned maternity and so on.
February 16th, 2024 at 3:24 pm
@Hal:
I must confess, I do think that right-wing oriented media is doing a substantial disservice.
@walt:
It just strikes me as a depressingly large number.