It's time to Break It Down!
As a native North Carolinian who has lived here more
than half a century, there are lots of things about the Old North State that make me proud to be a Tar Heel. The state’s
position as an economic engine of the NewSouth, the vibrancy of my adopted
home town (Charlotte), the Flagship University, the oldest in-state
Historically Black Public University
(The University of North Carolina and
Fayetteville State University,
respectively; both, my alma maters), four
distinguishable seasons, professional sports (even though the Bobcats & Panthers experience more than their share of struggles), and a
healthy dose of Southern hospitality. And I could go on. But that’s enough to make the point.
Alternately, there are days when
I am reminded that North Carolina,
my home state; despite all its advances, is still irrevocably tied to its Old South ways. Yesterday was “one of those days!” Well, not so much yesterday, but for several
days leading up to yesterday.
Most of us are aware that
there was a national movement that gained popularity based on the assertion
that President Obama was not born in Hawaii,
and is not an American. In fact some argue he is a foreign-born Muslim Socialist, but
that’s a whole different story. Though
it took the first two years of his Presidency
to accomplish it, by most reasonable accounts, Mr. Obama finally put the matter to rest by presenting his official
long form birth certificate for inspection by the media and whatever other
document experts may have been required to ascertain the certificate’s authenticity.
People who identify with the
Republican marque, from John McCain
to John Boehner, have long conceded
the issue was a side show, detracting from legitimate campaign issues. Even DonaldTrump, who made the issue one of the central planks of his short-lived Presidential campaign, got an unceremonious comeuppance due to his unsubstantiated
position.
So a funny thing happened on
the way to yesterday’s election. Four Republican candidates for United States
House districts in North Carolina
inexplicably made Birtherism a key talking point in their
quest to win election. A main source for
the claims made by all four candidates appears to be the opinion of Maricopa County (Arizona)
Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Sheriff
Arpaio has gained a great deal of notoriety
for his controversial stance in dealing with illegal immigrants.
The NC GOP Birther Final Four includes:
- George Hutchins – 4th Congressional District of NC
- Richard Hudson – 8th Congressional District of NC
- Dr. John Whitley – 8th Congressional District of NC
- Jim Pendergraph – 9th Congressional District of NC
Each of the four has stepped
out and made public pronouncements
about his belief that the birth certificate is not the genuine article. Looked at in the absence of inside
information, it appears that there is a healthy dose of Southern Strategy involved.
By inserting the Obama card,
these “gentlemen” have effectively fed
red meat to the political carnivores
of the NC GOP. The four have made a variety of claims,
including:
·
Hutchins –
Maintains that he is convinced President
Obama’s birth certificate is a forgery.
He adds that if elected, he will lead an investigation into the issue of
the birth certificate, regardless of whether President Obama is re-elected.
·
Hudson (considered a leading candidate in the race to
unseat Democratic U.S. Representative
Larry Kissell) – Told a Tea Party
group in Rowan County that “There’s no question President Obama is
hiding something on his citizenship.”
·
Dr. Whitley
– Declared the President’s birth
certificate is a “poorly reproduced
forgery.” He added there was a
tremendous amount of smoke here, and in fact, it’s called a smoke screen.
·
Pendergraph
– stated “I have reason to be suspicious, but I don’t know. I haven’t seen the facts. I think there’s a lot of smoke and generally
when there’s smoke there’s got to be fire somewhere.”
Given the information that
most of the mainstream GOP leadership
accepts as legit, all of the above comments strike an odd cord. But apparently none stuck a note sourer than
that of Mecklenburg County Commissioner,
and former Sheriff, Pendergraph. The Charlotte
Observer’s editorial Board had this to say as it explained its rescission
of Pendergraph’s endorsement:
- “By buddying up to
one of America’s more hateful egomaniacs and then joining with
fringe ‘birthers’ to question President
Obama’s citizenship, Pendergraph
has contradicted much of what he told the Observer’s editorial board in his endorsement interview last
month. As a result, we have lost faith in him, and urge voters to consider
Edwin Peacock or Ric Killian in the 9th Congressional District race.”
Of the four candidates, Mr. Hudson has shown an indication he
may be walking back his earlier comments.
On Friday, he would not say
whether he believed the President was
born in the United States. Instead, he said if elected, he would hope to
eliminate such questions in the future by implementing rules and procedures to
verify the President was born in the United
States.
Ferrell Guillory, a UNC Chapel Hill based
political scientist, said “Some
Republican critics of Obama aren’t concerned with facts. Candidates feel raising the birther issue
will help them connect with deeply conservative Republicans who dislike Obama.”
He went on to say, “Race may be a factor.”
As for how much Old School Southern Strategy helped in propelling candidates to the ultimate
prize, it was at best a mixed bag. Mr. Hutchins and Dr. Whitley were eliminated in their bids while Mr. Hudson and Commissioner Pendergraph will likely face runoff elections before
either or both can secure the GOP nomination. Will the lack of overwhelmingly positive
results lead to abandoning the inanity of Birtherism? Probably not; the Southern Strategy is sure to rise again…and it may not be in the South.
For now, it is time to reflect on “TheReturn of the Birthers: North Carolina Raise Up!” I’m done; holla back!"
Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com.
A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information
on a variety of aspects relating to this post,
consult the links below:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2012/05/obama-birth-certificate-north-carolina-joe-arpaio/1
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/politics/2012-election/video-gop-candidate-dr-john-whitley-stiill-denies-pres-obamas-birth
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/05/07/147952/nc-gop-candidates-continue-to.html
http://obamareleaseyourrecords.blogspot.com/2012/05/3-more-north-carolina-gop-candidates.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/05/north-carolina-birthers_n_1484714.html
http://citizenwells.wordpress.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_citizenship_conspiracy_theories
http://www.libertarianrepublican.net/2012/04/republican-for-congress-in-nc-cd-8.html
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/04/19/467914/richard-hudson-birther/?mobile=nc
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2880233/posts
http://www.wasobamaborninkenya.com/InspectorSmith/showthread.php/1138-Pendergraph-suspicious-of-Obama-s-birthplace-Charlotte-Observer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_strategy
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/05/08/ncs-latest-republican-birther-candidate-says-arpaio-is-a-great-american/
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