REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

The inmates have taken over the asylum

POSTED BY: NIKI2
UPDATED: Thursday, May 24, 2012 13:27
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Wednesday, May 23, 2012 12:42 PM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...


You just gotta laugh at the GOP shooting itself in the foot this way:
Quote:

Dark theories about President Barack Obama's citizenship show no signs of fading away.

But "birthers," as those skeptics of Obama's heritage are known, no longer seem relegated to tinfoil hat fringes of American politics.

Instead, it's Republican members of Congress, elected officials and state party organizations -- in Arizona, Iowa and Florida -- that are responsible for the latest round of conspiracy-mongering. And the loose talk could cause a headache for Mitt Romney this election season.

The issue flared this week in Iowa, a closely watched electoral battleground, where the state GOP wrote a passage into its proposed party platform calling on presidential candidates to "show proof of being a natural-born citizen," beginning with the 2012 election.

Don Racheter, chairman of the Iowa Republican Party's platform committee, told Radio Iowa that the language was intentionally crafted as a "shot" at Obama.

"There are many Republicans who feel that Barack Obama is not a 'natural-born citizen' because his father was not an American when he was born and, therefore, feel that according to the Constitution he's not qualified to be president, should not have been allowed to be elected by the Electoral College or even nominated by the Democratic Party in 2008," Racheter said defiantly, even though the language may be tweaked at next month's Iowa GOP convention.

Birther theories vary.

Some argue Obama was born in Kenya, not Hawaii. Others, such as the one outlined in Iowa, focus on the fact that Obama's father was not a U.S. citizen, supposedly rendering his son ineligible for the Oval Office.

The Romney campaign would clearly prefer to focus on the economy and banish birth certificate talk to the "fever swamps" of the Internet, as Buzzfeed's Ben Smith recently labeled the sinister corners of the Web where conspiracy theories thrive.

Instead, birtherism is creeping more and more into the domain of GOP officialdom.

Fresh examples appear on a near-weekly basis, often in key battleground states, much to the delight of Democrats eager to distract voters from the troubled economy and tie Republican candidates to the extreme elements of their party.

Republican members of Congress in swing states such as Florida (Rep. Cliff Stearns), Colorado (Rep. Mike Coffman) and Missouri (Rep. Vicky Hartzler) have publicly raised questions about Obama's citizenship in recent weeks.

In North Carolina, the state GOP convention will be headlined next week by Donald Trump, whose 2011 crusade to unearth details about Obama's origins drew global attention and prompted the White House to release the president's long-form birth certificate.

Also in North Carolina, a state both campaigns are aggressively targeting, The Charlotte Observer recently retracted its endorsement of a Republican congressional candidate after he said he was "suspicious" of Obama's birth certificate.

In Arizona -- not quite a swing state, but one that national Democrats are nonetheless keeping an eye on -- Secretary of State Ken Bennett said last week that he may refuse to put the president on the ballot in November unless the state of Hawaii authenticates Obama's birth certificate.

Bennett, a co-chairman of Romney's Arizona campaign, said he was only doing so at the request of his constituents.

On Wednesday, Bennett said that he had received the necessary verification from Hawaiian officials. "They have complied with the request and I consider the matter closed."

With the general-election fight between Obama and Romney now under way, and with both campaigns fighting for an increasingly tiny share of undecided and moderate voters, Republicans are expressing frustration and downright embarrassment that the issue won't just fade away.

"Birtherism is a fringe issue that's way out of the mainstream, and it's disturbing when you see people you ... have some level of respect for, whether it's members of Congress or even Donald Trump, falling into that category," said Steve Schmidt, one of Sen. John McCain's senior advisers in 2008. "In the middle of the electorate, people think it's bats--t crazy. The side that's seen flirting with it doesn't do themselves any favors."

GOP strategist Rob Johnson, a political adviser to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, called the ongoing questions about Obama's background "an unnecessary and unfortunate distraction."

Even the late conservative provocateur Andrew Breitbart -- whose eponymous website recently uncovered a 1991 brochure from Obama's literary agency claiming, inaccurately, that Obama was born in Kenya -- said "the birther thing" is "ridiculous."

But the conspiracies continue to percolate and wiggle into the mainstream, raising the prospect that Romney will be asked about Obama's heritage by a voter at a town-hall meeting during the heat of the campaign, or about the latest local birther flap by a reporter in Nevada, Ohio or elsewhere.

"If 10% of your audience is primed to ask a crazy question, the risk of undermining your message is exceedingly high," said Schmidt, the former McCain adviser. "You can't turn over control of the campaign's message on stuff like this."

In an era in which the political media is eager to spotlight "outrage" and the "craziest stuff happening that day in the American public space," Schmidt said that Romney's tightly disciplined campaign team has to be careful about handing the town-hall microphone over to the conservative base. http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/23/politics/birthers-arizona-iowa/index.htm
l?hpt=hp_c1

I do so love it...GO BIRTHERS!!

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Wednesday, May 23, 2012 1:06 PM

KPO

Sometimes you own the libs. Sometimes, the libs own you.




It's not personal. It's just war.

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Wednesday, May 23, 2012 5:16 PM

FREMDFIRMA



I believe the appropriate term here is "circular firing squad".

-F

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Thursday, May 24, 2012 3:47 AM

KWICKO

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)


Is Romney eligible? I've yet to see a birth certificate, and his family fled to Mexico to escape anti-bigamy laws. Was Romney's father a citizen? A *REAL* citizen? Is Romney?






"I supported Bush in 2000 and 2004 and intellegence [sic] had very little to do with that decision." - Hero


"I've not watched the video either, or am incapable of intellectually dealing with the substance of this thread, so I'll instead act like a juvenile and claim victory..." - Rappy

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Thursday, May 24, 2012 3:51 AM

BLUEHANDEDMENACE


Quote:

Originally posted by Niki2:
But "birthers," as those skeptics of Obama's heritage are known, no longer seem relegated to tinfoil hat fringes of American politics.

Instead, it's Republican members of Congress, elected officials and state party organizations -- in Arizona, Iowa and Florida -- that are responsible for the latest round of conspiracy-mongering.



Doesnt this auther realize that we ELECTED the tinfoil hat crowd to Congress?

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Thursday, May 24, 2012 4:59 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...


Of course he knows that, but to me that's just more of the same. People were scared, Obama hadn't "fixed" things as quickly as they expected, so typically they turned to the other party. And remember, most of those candidates played on that, and promised jobs, jobs, jobs. We'll see what happens in the next few elections and if they survive. The elections of 2010 were, to me, as weird as the previous election, and at the same time as predictable. I think a lot of people thought the Tea Party was something new that would change things...unfortunately it's changed things in the wrong way, so we'll see.

Aside from which, tho' less weird, lots of nutcases are elected to office...shit, look at Michelle Bachmann. There's no accounting for some of the American electorate, but I really don't think people expected it to turn out the way it has, with things getting crazier and crazier all the time--certainly I don't think the Republican Party did! We can only wait and see, but why and how they got elected to the power they've got isn't really, to me, the fault of Americans, except in that they were naive and bought into a lot of the hype at the time. Besides, nobody said the American electorate was partricularly smart--hell, they elected Bush TWICE, that pretty much says it all!


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Thursday, May 24, 2012 5:49 AM

NEWOLDBROWNCOAT


Isn't the whole "birther " thing moot at this point?

Guy won the election in 2008, and has been living in the White House for (almost) 4 years. What would they do if it was PROVED that Obama wasn't legally qualified, boot him out and move John McCain in? Replace him with Biden? Wind back the clock 4 years and pretend that none of it ever happened, that it was really 2008? Annul every law passed in the last 4 years, cancel every appointment and regulatory change? Delete 4 years from world history? Burn down 1600 Pennsylvania Ave because it was contaminated some way, and build a new White House? Or just put a termite tent over it and fumigate?

Any of you pro-birhter folks here have a remedy?

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Thursday, May 24, 2012 6:03 AM

OONJERAH


Quote Niki: "hell, they elected Bush TWICE, that pretty much says it all!"

Did we?
Elections are a charade? Results predetermined?


. . .
=========================
I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. ~Charles R Swindoll

If I have to react to others all the time, then they own my mind more than I do.
If I let others tell me how to feel, I lose my ability to choose happiness.
If I let others tell me who I am, I've vacated self-definition.
Finally, I realized how foolish I was to give others such

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Thursday, May 24, 2012 6:22 AM

CUDA77

Like woman, I am a mystery.


Quote:

Originally posted by Kwicko:
Is Romney eligible? I've yet to see a birth certificate, and his family fled to Mexico to escape anti-bigamy laws. Was Romney's father a citizen? A *REAL* citizen? Is Romney?






"I supported Bush in 2000 and 2004 and intellegence [sic] had very little to do with that decision." - Hero


"I've not watched the video either, or am incapable of intellectually dealing with the substance of this thread, so I'll instead act like a juvenile and claim victory..." - Rappy



Hell, are we even sure Romney's HUMAN? I've seen lots of accusations floating around that he's in fact a unicorn. And yet the Romney camp hasn't published any sort of DNA tests proving that he isn't one. So how can we be sure Mitt can legally hold public office since we don't know for sure if he's a human or a unicorn?

I'M JUST ASKING QUESTIONS!

Socialist and unashamed.


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Thursday, May 24, 2012 7:06 AM

NEWOLDBROWNCOAT


Quote:

Originally posted by Cuda77:


I'M JUST ASKING QUESTIONS!




Isn't that what Socrates said right before he drank the hemlock?

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Thursday, May 24, 2012 7:19 AM

BYTEMITE


Quote:

Originally posted by Oonjerah:
Did we?
Elections are a charade? Results predetermined?



Pretty much.

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Thursday, May 24, 2012 7:21 AM

KWICKO

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)


Quote:

Originally posted by Cuda77:
Quote:

Originally posted by Kwicko:
Is Romney eligible? I've yet to see a birth certificate, and his family fled to Mexico to escape anti-bigamy laws. Was Romney's father a citizen? A *REAL* citizen? Is Romney?






"I supported Bush in 2000 and 2004 and intellegence [sic] had very little to do with that decision." - Hero


"I've not watched the video either, or am incapable of intellectually dealing with the substance of this thread, so I'll instead act like a juvenile and claim victory..." - Rappy



Hell, are we even sure Romney's HUMAN? I've seen lots of accusations floating around that he's in fact a unicorn. And yet the Romney camp hasn't published any sort of DNA tests proving that he isn't one. So how can we be sure Mitt can legally hold public office since we don't know for sure if he's a human or a unicorn?

I'M JUST ASKING QUESTIONS!

Socialist and unashamed.







Why won't Mitt prove that he's not a unicorn?!


I've seen the websites and petitions, and read the news stories. Where was it, Arizona? Some state where they were threatening to take Obama's name off the ballot because they didn't believe that he's really a citizen, and the jackass making the statements claimed he's gotten "more than 1200 e-mails" asking him to demand proof from Obama.

So now there have been over 2500 e-mails to the same jackass demanding that Mittens prove he's not a unicorn. And this idiot can't do it.



"I supported Bush in 2000 and 2004 and intellegence [sic] had very little to do with that decision." - Hero


"I've not watched the video either, or am incapable of intellectually dealing with the substance of this thread, so I'll instead act like a juvenile and claim victory..." - Rappy

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Thursday, May 24, 2012 7:25 AM

BYTEMITE


Quote:

Doesnt this auther realize that we ELECTED the tinfoil hat crowd to Congress?


Tin foil hats are fine, the issue is more when someone gets so invested in their theories that they lose sight of things that ACTUALLY matter.

Whether or not Obama is a natural born citizen, would the powers that be remove him from office or particularly care about the laws involved here? Hell no? In that case, look at me and my complete lack of interest.

If they don't like the guy, find a different avenue to counter him and stop wasting time on stuff that won't even get results.

Of course, altering the narrative and making nonsense up does wonders for credibility, if the birthers are looking for allies.

Competency. I have no claim to it, but at least try to act like it.

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Thursday, May 24, 2012 7:42 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...


Yeah, I got a real laugh out of the "unicorn" thing. And yes, it was in Arizona, in response to Bennet's threat to kick Obama off the ballot there because his citizenship hadn't been "proven":
Quote:

Is GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney a businessman? Or is he really a unicorn?

At the time of this post, more than 17,000 people would like Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett to find out.

In response to the 1,200 "birthers" who asked Bennett to verify with the state of Hawaii -- yet again -- that President Obama has a birth certificate there, the left-wingers would also like Bennett to check out their conspiracy theory.

"I understand you are considering kicking President Obama off the ballot because some people continue to raise questions about his birth," the petition to Bennett says. "Well, I believe it cannot be proven conclusively that Mitt Romney is *not* a unicorn. A unicorn would not be qualified to be president. Thus, I hope you will apply the same standard to Romney, and investigate the unicorn question."

After receiving word from Hawaii yesterday that Obama's birth certificate checks out, Bennett told the Arizona Republic the situation is resolved, and Obama will be on Arizona's ballots come November, but that's not stopping the people from asking him to verify Romney's documentation.

As one of the petition-signers pointed out, the framers likely did not intend for unicorns to be qualified as natural-born citizens, so the lefties just want Bennett to check it all out. http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2012/05/mitt_romney_unico
rn_obama_birth_certificate.php?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
] Let's see, 1,200 birthers versus 17,000 people...sounds fair to me! You just gotta laugh at some of this idiocy, and I think asking if Romney is a unicorn was just the right note to take to show how idiotic it was. Just like that bill to make male sperm declared "persons"...which, unfortunately, didn't have as good effect.


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Thursday, May 24, 2012 8:14 AM

KWICKO

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)


Quote:

Of course, altering the narrative and making nonsense up does wonders for credibility, if the birthers are looking for allies.




Did you just call Rappy a birther? ;)


Well, if the clown shoe fits...



"I supported Bush in 2000 and 2004 and intellegence [sic] had very little to do with that decision." - Hero


"I've not watched the video either, or am incapable of intellectually dealing with the substance of this thread, so I'll instead act like a juvenile and claim victory..." - Rappy

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Thursday, May 24, 2012 1:27 PM

RIONAEIRE

Beir bua agus beannacht


Regarding the title of the thread, I saw a Lifetime movie, called Committed, about just such an affair. They lured this doctor to come and work there and then tried to make her think she killed her fiance, then told her the truth and wanted her to work there anyways with them, the "inmates who took over". Interestingly enough it was only a select few patients who staged this coup and killed the real doctors. But the other patients were still patients. My favorite charactor, of course, was Evan the touched one, who they kept locked up but he was such a sweet and beautiful soul, and the doctor took him home with her at the end to look after. An entertaining movie it was.

I assume you're my pal until you let me know otherwise.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya.

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