Legal Commentary

The GOP Has Troubles With Reality

By Professor University of Miami School of Law

Mike Stark has turned his talent for ambush journalism to Republican Congressmen. He asked them if they personally believed that Barack Obama is legally entitled to be President of the United States. Almost none of them would affirm this belief on camera. Watch Birthers on the Hill and be amazed, disgusted, or worried, depending on your emotional fortitude.

Incidentally, anyone who is unaware of the literal incoherence of the Birther arguments need look no further than this appearance of Birther spokesperson, right-wing radio host, and former Watergate conspirator and felon G. Gordon Liddy on Hardball:

Chris Matthews’s best move here wasn’t confronting Liddy with documentary evidence he is wrong — mere documents failed to move him, as they failed to move so many of the crazies in the Birther cult — but rather his spinning the Birther view to its logical conclusion: If, as they argue, President Obama was born abroad, not only is he ineligible to be President as he’s not a ‘natural born citizen’ but the President is an illegal alien who should be deported since he’s never been naturalized and doesn’t have a visa. Liddy swallowed that, but this is so crazy that it’s going to turn the press — except maybe Lou Dobbs who conceivably might lose his job over this — against them.

Note also that Liddy’s reference to a “deposition” is a fiction — the actual source of this canard is a mistranslation in an interview.

More here and here if you need it.

Back when I lived in England, both sherry-drinking and beer-drinking intellectuals in the UK used to deride the British Tory part as “the stupid party”. Today British intellectuals boast that whatever their Tories may be, they’re not as crazy as the US Republican party. They don’t give people with burglary convictions radio shows in the UK either.

Full post as published by Discourse.net on July 28, 2009 (boomark / email).