President Obama's disclosure of his long form Birth Certificate was, as some have opined, an unfortunate day for this country and for Enlightenment in general. This President, unlike any other, had to finally take steps to halt a dangerous juggernaut launched by a group of "infantile" Americans (aka cranky Republicans).
He did this for the sake of enlightened voters who reside in "backward" States; he did this to prevent his own name from being left off any state's Presidential election ballot.
A number of state Legislators, basking in the support of the cretins they call their "base", have sponsored "birther" bills. These bills require Presidential candidates to offer proof of their natural-born citizenry, or else have their names withheld from the ballots in their states.
Had this been an issue in, say, 1948, I would say this is a reasonable request in order to uphold Constitutional eligibility to hold the office.
But now, during this Presidency, it appears an nothing more than a case of blatant racism. No one has convinced me that this sudden call for "proof" from Mr. Obama was urgently needed for the good of Americans everywhere.
For a list of states who have sponsored these bills, check out this good article in the Daily Kos.. All of the bills were sponsored by Republicans. Most of them failed in Committee.
A bill was recently passed by the Arizona legislature but vetoed by Governor Jan Brewer, who surprised her party by claiming that the issue was a "distraction" and that we have to "move on".
The Arizona bill, had it passed, would have considered as legitimate proof of American citizenship, in addition to Birth Certificates, such documents as an early baptismal certificate, circumcision certificate, hospital birth record, postpartum medical record signed by the person who delivered the child or an early census record.
I would love to see a political movement that would demand a circumcision certificate from a female Presidential candidate. Call it the Wee Party.
President Obama had urgent reason to produce this document. It was a smart political move. In a time when states can pass such laws to prevent its citizens from voting for legitimate candidates with "Trumped-up" accusations of questionable citizenship, and all with the blessing of an incredibly ignorant electorate-- Mr.Obama did the right thing.
I wish he would take it a step further, if only for the sake of irony. I wish he would state publicly that he supports any state legislature to pass laws to withhold the name of any candidate who could not show proof of citizenry with a birth certificate. I wonder how many potential candidates would pass scrutiny.
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