I have been repeatedly asked to explain why I say the Republicans are political allies of conspiracy theory. My point is not that electoral voters for the Democrats do not endorse conspiracy theories. Rather, my point is that the Republicans have an institutional bond with conspiracy theory. It is so deeply ingrained in the party that publicly supporting a conspiracy theory is not only not stigmatizing for a candidate, it may even, in some cases, be necessary to get as many Republican votes as possible.
Below is a partial list of Republican candidates and representatives who at some point referred to so-called Obama Birther conspiracy theories as part of their political life. It is not complete and anyone able to supply me with more names and references is invited to contact me. I have no doubt that some of those named, like my Facebook friend Mike Huckabee, are not real Birthers. But that’s my point. In some cases, even candidates or major figures who are not real Birthers need to at least pay lip service to the idea.
In contrast, the only significant Democrats I am aware of who have publicly endorsed a 9/11 conspiracy theory are Cynthia McKinney, who served six terms in the United States House of Representatives for the Democrats, and Van Jones, who was Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. McKinney is now completely ostracized from the Democrats and has recently appeared on stage endorsing an American patriot group that promotes chemtrails and global weather engineering. Jones was fired from his position after it was disclosed that in 2004, he had signed a 911Truth.org petition calling for a new 9/11 investigation.
In fact, the most prominent politician that I know who has recently publicly endorsed a 9/11 conspiracy is Debra Medina, who was candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2010 Texas gubernatorial election http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/texas-legislature/headlines/20100211-Debra-Medina-s-9-11-remark-7131.ece
In the Republican primary on March 2, 2010, Medina finished with 18.6% of the vote, behind Perry (51.1%) and Hutchison (30.3%). Rick Perry is also on my list of Obama Birthers – so that’s 2 out of 3 for Texas.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20124604-503544/is-rick-perry-a-birther/
Scott Keadle, who is running for the Republican nomination for the state’s 8th Congressional District
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/15/scott-keadle-nc-birther-_n_1517464.html
GOP congressional candidate Jim Pendergraph
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/05/04/477958/jim-pendergraph-birther/
NC-8 candidate Richard Hudson
Former Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), who is running for Senate
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/senate-candidate-hoekstra-establish-a-national-birther-office.php
Republican candidate for senate Tommy Thompson
http://gawker.com/5951785/wisc-senate-candidates-son-goes-birther-we-have-the-opportunity-to-send-obama-back-to-kenya
Iowa’s 4th District in the U.S. House of Representatives
http://www.blogforiowa.com/2012/10/22/des-moines-register-endorses-christie-vilsack-over-birther-candidate/
GOP nomination in North Carolina’s 8th congressional district, Richard Hudson
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/04/19/467914/richard-hudson-birther/?mobile=nc
Former Michigan congressional representative and current Republican candidate for Senate, Pete Hoekstra
Michigan GOP Senate Candidate In On-Air Battle With CNN’s Brooke Baldwin Over ‘Birther’ Issue
James Grinols, one of 10 presidential electors chosen by the Republican Party of Minnesota
http://www.wnd.com/2012/09/eligibility-challenge-arises-in-electoral-college/
Leo Berman, Texas State Legislator
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/18/leo-berman-texas-birther-bill_n_784914.html
Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Missouri and Republican candidate for President
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20037877-503544.html
Republican congressional candidate William Hudak
Hudak used birther code name for Obama
John Sampson, Republican candidate for Colorado State Senate – District 25
http://www.squarestate.net/diary/2472/birther-meets-purger
U.S. Representative for Florida’s 15th congressional district
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Posey#Tenure
Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey,
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/32409.html
Wil Cardon, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Arizona
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/23/wil-cardon-arizona-obama-birther_n_1445424.html
Larry Klayman, former Sen. candidate & Judicial Watch founder
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2012/03/larry-klayman-former-sen-candidate-judicial-watch-founder-goes-birther-in-florida.html
Nathan Deal, Republican governor of Georgia
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/13/nathan-deal-birther-lette_n_422171.html
Even Romney had to pay lip service to the idea.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19372536
And of course there is Donald Trump
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/06/donald-trump-birther-obama-birth-certificate_n_1749257.html
You may not be aware of this, but all over the USA, Republican legislatures have been introducing bills inspired by the challenges of the Obama Birther conspiracy. You can read about these on the Fogbow ‘Birther Legislation’ forum
http://www.thefogbow.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=59
However, the lay news is full of information about this,
Missouri Birther Bill Gets Preliminary Approval From Lawmakers
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/28/missouri-birther-bill-lawmakers-preliminary-passage_n_1385575.html”Birther” bill passes in Arizona legislature
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20054236-503544.html
Kansas committee approves Birther Bill
Scott Sommers' Taiwan Blog 
What about that nest of vipers in New Hampshire? Rep. Laurence Rappaport Harry Accornero, Lucien Vita and Carol Vita.
Raw Story (http://s.tt/1g7nF)
You might add Republican Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, and Kansas SoS Cris Kobach, both of whom demanded certifications from the Hawaii Department of Health of Obama’s birth certificate. Alabama Chief Justice elect Roy Moore has been an outspoken supporter of courtmartialed birther Terry Lakin, and expressed doubts about Obama’s citizenship; Moore has been a writer for WorldNetDaily.
Arizona Senate candidate J. D. Hayworth had a dalliance with birtherism, and backed away: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/02/22/i-believe-obama-is-a-u-s-citizen-hayworth-says/?fbid=1KM5onCC9jm
And last, but far from least, there is Republican Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Georgia Representative Mark Hatfield was defeated in the Primary. Hatfield was the author of a Georgia “birther bill” and he represented Carl Swensson and Kevin Powell in their Georgia lawsuit arguing that Obama was not a natural born citizen. There was a birther item in one of his campaign videos.
http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2012/07/23/youtube-and-a-hot-state-senate-race-in-south-georgia/
I fear this could get really long if one completely ran it to ground.
Oh and Orly Taitz ran for the Senate this year, and for California Secretary of State in 2010, as a Republican. Another birther lawyer, Gary Kreep, was elected a Superior Court Judge in San Diego. Kreep was chairman of the Republican Majority Campaign.
There were many GOP members at the state government levels who either pandered or directly participated in Birtherism (translation – participated in Birther lawsuits or legislation).
I was tracking them for awhile – up through early 2011, but eventually stopped bothering, because the whole point was already clear by then – that the GOP no longer served as a serious party at the state levels and was rife with willful delusion and excessive cynical propaganda. …So there are many new names that came up since then (especially as the 2012 election cycle geared up) that I never even bothered to track.
I have an old XLS with 82 names at the state & federal GOP level that fit those patterns. If you email me, I can send it to you.
Louie Gohmert, Republican U.S. Representative from Texas’s 1st congressional district
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2009/ … ?mobile=nc
Orly Taitz, vanity candidate for U.S. Senate and vanity candidate for California Secretary of State.
(No link necessary but here’s her Senate campaign website: http://www.orlytaitzforussenate2012.com/.)
Mark Hatfield, former Georgia state representative
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/0 … 30354.html
Mae Beavers, Tennessee State Senator
http://rcradioshow.blogspot.com/2011/02 … ee-is.html
Tim Jones, Missouri State Representative
http://www.firedupmissouri.com/content/ … cy-lawsuit
U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn (R) (TN)
http://www.nashvillescene.com/pitw/archives/2009/07/02/blackburn-dons-clown-shoes-joins-the-obama-birther-cause
A bunch of New Hampshire representatives:
Harry Accornero, Susan DeLemus, Al Baldassaro, William Tobin, Moe Villeneuve, Laurie Pettengill, Larry Rappaport, Lucien Vita and Carol Vita. (That’s a cut-n-paste from a Salon article.)
http://www.salon.com/2011/12/05/nine_nh … her_cause/
Arizona GOP Chairman Tom Morrissey, Gila County AZ GOP Chairman Don Ascoli, former Graham County AZ GOP Chairman John D. Rhodes
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/17/arizona-electors-barack-obama-birth-certificate_n_2318228.html
AZ SoS Ken Bennett, (in the Backtracking GOP Birfer Category)
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/ken_bennett_apologizes_obama_birther_hawaii_arizona.php
I’d like to thank members of the Fogbow forum for the following suggestions. I think there may be some duplicates with the list above, but I don’t have the time right now to go through it all.
Louie Gohmert, Republican U.S. Representative from Texas’s 1st congressional district
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2009/ … ?mobile=nc
Orly Taitz, vanity candidate for U.S. Senate and vanity candidate for California Secretary of State.
(No link necessary but here’s her Senate campaign website: http://www.orlytaitzforussenate2012.com/.)
Mark Hatfield, former Georgia state representative
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/0 … 30354.html
Mae Beavers, Tennessee State Senator
http://rcradioshow.blogspot.com/2011/02 … ee-is.html
Tim Jones, Missouri State Representative
http://www.firedupmissouri.com/content/ … cy-lawsuit
U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn (R) (TN)
http://www.nashvillescene.com/pitw/archives/2009/07/02/blackburn-dons-clown-shoes-joins-the-obama-birther-cause
A bunch of New Hampshire representatives:
Harry Accornero, Susan DeLemus, Al Baldassaro, William Tobin, Moe Villeneuve, Laurie Pettengill, Larry Rappaport, Lucien Vita and Carol Vita. (That’s a cut-n-paste from a Salon article.)
http://www.salon.com/2011/12/05/nine_nh … her_cause/
Arizona GOP Chairman Tom Morrissey, Gila County AZ GOP Chairman Don Ascoli, former Graham County AZ GOP Chairman John D. Rhodes
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/17/arizona-electors-barack-obama-birth-certificate_n_2318228.html
AZ SoS Ken Bennett, (in the Backtracking GOP Birfer Category)
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/ken_bennett_apologizes_obama_birther_hawaii_arizona.php
One of the interesting aspects of the Birther charade was that of the two presidential candidates that ran in 2008, one was actually born outside the US, and no one disputes this. I am referring of course to John McCain who was born in Panama in 1936 in the former unincorporated territory of the Panama Canal Zone. However, it was not regarded as a US territory at the time of his birth. To correct this exact problem, in 1937 Congress retroactively conferred citizenship on certain classes of persons, like McCain, born within the Panama Canal Zone (Title 8 Sec. 1403 of the US Code). But that was in fact eleven months after McCain was born. So I ask you: if citizenship is retroactively conferred by act of Congress after you are born, are you a “natural born citizen?” Common sense says no. But who am I to judge, after all, I am a mere lawyer. Mega-lawyers former Solicitor General Ted Olsen and Harvard law professor Lawrence Tribe have opined that McCain was eligible for the presidency, while University of Michigan law professor Gabriel Chin has written quite forcefully that he wasn’t. http://www.michiganlawreview.org/articles/why-senator-john-mccain-cannot-be-president-eleven-months-and-a-hundred-yards-short-of-citizenship
What’s utterly crazy is the vehemence of these fanatical and outrageous Tea Baggers, while their own candidate was very likely ineligible to serve as president on the basis of his place birth. Ironic, isn’t it?
Correction on the above post: Gabriel Chin is a law professor at UC Davis in California. His article appeared in the Michigan law review.
Michigan state Sen. Tom Casperson
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/26/michigan-republican-strange-no-one-is-looking-into-obamas-birthplace/
Again with the diatribe on conspiracy? These blogs really ought to go in reverse chronological order. In this way, I would have read the previous post prior to the–dare I say it–post post.
There is a saying in Mexico: “Si el rio suena es porque agua/piedras trae” For those not familiar with Spanish, it means something akin to “if the river murmers, it is because it carries water/stones.” Hence, no water no murmuring brook; no conspiracy, no murmur of conspiracy. The implication is that rumor does not tend to just create itself of thin air. If there are conspiracy theorists out there, it is doubtless because there are conspirators out there.
That said, consider this: I am an evil ruler, say Hitler, the Imperial Shrub president, or the devil incarnate, Obama. I want to do something truly evil right under the marching moron’s piggy little noses, so I do it and then draw attention to it as a conspiracy theory, thus negating any serious investigation or scrutiny. If I want to do something bad, what more effective way than hiding it in plain sight where no one will take it seriously? This is precisely what I would do, and I am not have as bright–or evil–as many of those in power around the world.
Think about this the next time you go down the “conspiracy theory” route.
Interesting comments about conspiracism and Republican politics. As individuals, I always try to distinguish between traditional Republican conservatives, amoral Rebublican opportunists and the libertarian right racist fringe. But there is ample evidence of GOP tolerance of fringe woo.
On the subject of Van Jones and petitions, signing a petition is easy. By itself it means nothing more than the individual was flim-flammed. I myself am in the process of getting my name removed from one of these fraudulent petitions.
I believe you’ve visited my old blog sometime last year. It’s no longer public because idiots still try to link to it to start trouble. While you don’t seem to be as active these days at International Skeptics, generally I’ve found your insights intelligent and fair. Good work, sir.