Just when you think sanity might have been restored the delightful Texas State Rep. Leo Berman (R) has introduced a "birther" bill in the Texas Legislature. Berman is the same representative who was famously quoted as saying, "Barack Obama is God’s punishment on us."
Now easy as it would be to just paint this guy with the broad brush and call him "frigging nuts", he represents a real problem in this state and pretty much most of the US. For a long time the Democratic Party has believed that reason and facts will win the day. If there were ever an argument against that, the last election cycle would be it. That little debacle for the Dems was won not by reason but by emotion. Mostly it was fear and bigotry. Fear stoked by the economic situation many American's find themselves in and bigotry disguised as the "Tea Party". The whole "take America back" thing is about having a black man in the White House. Every other argument is predicated on that unspoken premise and a closer examination of their rhetoric will reveal it.
So, meanwhile the Dems keep relying on reason. How has that worked so far? Not at all.
The whole birther thing is a racially charged non-issue anyway, but don't let reason get in the way of some good old fashioned fear. Even though the Obama birth certificate has been widely circulated and there is more than ample proof of his citizenship, the birthers persist. Why, because it is a good excuse to scare people and to tap into that old bigorty thing again.
So while I could just call Rep. Berman wacko, I will instead call him what he is, a politician who knows how to whip up his constituents with the most powerful tools in the GOP arsenal.
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