Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Meme Wars Part 2: "Birthers", "Transparency Dodgers", "Transparency Champions", and Left Wing Propagandist David Weigel of the Washington Independent

After my blogpost yesterday posing some legitimate questions in response to Dr. Chiyome Fukino's ambiguous restatement of the basis upon which the State of Hawaii issued President Obama's 2007 Certification of Live Birth, left wing propagandist David Weigel, who masquerades as a real journalist for the Washington Independent, made these false charges against me.

Weigel added another false charge later, claiming that I am trying to advance conspiracy theories.

To the contrary, I am simply calling upon President Obama to live up to his promise of transparency. That's it. Nothing more.

For the record, I will state again so that perhaps Mr. Weigel can accurately describe my position on this: there is no evidence whatsoever to support the "birther" claim that President Obama was born in Kenya. None.

Mr. Weigel is obviously a transparency dodger, however, because he refuses to exercise even an ounce of curiosity and follow up Dr. Chiyome Fukino's ambiguous statement of yesterday.

Here's a Journalism 101 question that makes Mr. Weigel and his fellow left wing propagandists quiver in their boots when they contemplate asking it of Dr. Fukino:

Dr. Fukino, you say you reviewed the vital records of the State of Hawaii in making your determination that the 2007 Certification of Live Birth was issued in accordance with Hawaii statutes. Did you review an actual physical hard copy of the 1961 Certificate of Live Birth, signed by the attending physician, or did you simply review the digital forensics of the process by which the record currently existing in the State of Hawaii Birth Record Database for President Obama was created?

And here's one Mr. Weigel ought to consider asking Press Secretary Gibbs:

Mr. Gibbs, why doesn't the President simply put this entire birth certificate issue to rest once and for all and authorize both the Kapiolani Medical Center and the State of Hawaii to release all original documents in their posession related to his 1961 birth?

The simple and transparent release of these records would end this issue.

As American citizens, we have a right to ask that a President who promised transparency be held accountable to that promise.

6 comments:

MIchael said...

I have a sincere question: Why does the certificate issue matter so much to you? Assume that your suspicions are correct: Obama is not a natural born citizen. What follows? And don't say that it's a matter of abstract principle, a simple interest in seeing the letter of the constitution upheld. For that might even be true, but hardly explains the obsession. This is of course a common human frailty:In Les Miserables, Javert is right, Jean Valjean is an escaped convict and as such is in violation of the law, but this hardly excuses Javert's obsession; it is a convenient reason for something much more self-deceptive and pathological. Maybe you're just crazy, or maybe you're hoping for personal enrichment, or maybe you like imagining yourself leading point in the defense of civilization, or some other sort of prideful, vengeful and gradiose narcissistic delusion. I understand: Jesus taught that justified aggression--'righteousness'--is usually of the most vicious and evil sort, but also the one to which humans are especially prone. But honestly, you are lying, least of all to your readers, and most of all, I suspect, to yourself, when you claim that a desire for transparency is your only motivation. That would be like Judas arguing that he was only interested in seeing that a declared fugitive from Pharistical preogative be given his day in court. Back to the main issue: I am quite sure that in no other area of your life or politics do you demand the same rigor of evidence or use the same standards of rationality. It would be crazy to do so. I doubt that you demand such transparency of your doctor, clients, colleagues, friends, etc. And yet on this issue you do. That suggests that there is something much deeper than a simple care for 'transparency' motivating your obsession.

David Weigel said...

Serious question, Michael -- have you ever asked for another politician to show his/her original birth certificate? If not, do you think you've been failing to demand transparency from politicians before now?

Michael Patrick Leahy said...

David,

Serious answer:

The only Constitutional Office which requires "natural born citizen" status is the Presidency.

Never before in my life time has there ever been a question of the "natural born citizen" status of a major party nominee for President.

The facts suggest that it is far more likely than not that President Obama was born in Hawaii. However, given the importance of the office, and given the President's pledge to be transparent, it would be in the public interest for the President to simply authorize the release of his 1961 Certificate of Live Birth, which yesterday the State of Hawaii Department of Health spokesperson said still exists and is held by the state.

The only person I would need to ask this question of in 2008 would be John McCain or Barack Obama. McCain disclosed his original birth certificate well before the election.

With regards to John Kerry, George W. Bush, Al Gore, Bob Dole, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Michael Dukakis, Ronald Reagan, Walter Mondale, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, George McGovern, Hubert Humphrey, Barry Goldwater, Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Dwight Eisenhower, and Adlai Stevenson, there was never a question of their natural born status, as is the case with President Obama. Barry Goldwater was born in Arizona when it was a territory, and that fact was readily disclosed to all.

And if you are really David Weigel of the Washington Independent and if you really want to be taken seriously as a journalist, I expect to see a very public retraction of your false claim that I am a "birther."

ehvogel said...

Michael, I appreciate all your efforts, but you are wrong in going after this issue. It will only marginalize your voice. Stay focused on things that matter, like getting Sarah Palin involved in the Tea Party movement. Don't sacrifice your credibility for hits on your blog.

Anonymous said...

Eh, give it up. You'll have just as much success here as you did getting Letterman fired.

Unknown said...

Even IF Obama released the Long Form BC, you people will just move the goalpost again, NOTHING will convince you that you are WRONG!