Return of the Birthers: North Carolina Raise Up!

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:

1. George Hutchins – 4^th Congressional District of NC
2. Richard Hudson – 8^th Congressional District of NC
3. Dr. John Whitley – 8^th Congressional District of NC
4. Jim Pendergraph – 9^th 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/