Slog
News & ArtsSunday, October 23, 2011
2012 Rick Perry Doesn't Quite Believe in President Obama's Birth Certificate
Posted by Paul Constant on Sun, Oct 23, 2011 at 10:14 AM
In what is possibly the most interesting interview published in Parade in the last twenty-five years, Rick Perry seems to be outing himself as a birther. And—I don't really understand this bit—part of his reasoning is that President Obama has never seen Rick Perry's birth certificate.
Governor, do you believe that President Barack Obama was born in the United States?
I have no reason to think otherwise.That’s not a definitive, “Yes, I believe he”—
Well, I don’t have a definitive answer, because he’s never seen my birth certificate.But you’ve seen his.
I don’t know. Have I?You don’t believe what’s been released?
I don’t know. I had dinner with Donald Trump the other night.And?
That came up.And he said?
He doesn’t think it’s real.And you said?
I don’t have any idea. It doesn’t matter. He’s the President of the United States. He’s elected. It’s a distractive issue.
Does anyone have an Idjit-to-English dictionary?
1
And we thought GWB was a stupid ass! What is wrong with Texas? I mean, does logic and reason have any worth anymore with these people?
3
It really pains me that there's enough dumb people in this country to make these candidates considered to be electable.
5
Yo know, quite honestly- is it possible he sees the stupidity of the questions, and is truly tired of this issue reoccurring? Read his very last statement again: "It doesn't matter. He's the President...He's elected. It's a distractive issue."
Because every rational person has concluded that the birther bullshit is a distraction, and this may include Perry.
So consider that he was giving the sort if tired, flip answers any normal person would give when being pestered by inane questions that just don't need to be asked any more. "I don't know (and I don't care)". His rejoinder that "...he's never seen my birth certificate." could be just that... a flip answer that highlights the fact that *anyone's* citizenship is in doubt until we see a birth certificate, even Perry's. But nobody doubts anyone's citizenship except the fanatic birthers, and Perry was trying to use a flip, sarcastic answer to make that point- that if birthers are right, then nobody's citizenship is affirmed until we see a birth certificate, not even Perry's. So refuting Birther logic by carrying it to its ultimate silly conclusion was the point he was trying to make.
And sadly, in a text-only reading, that meaning of his comments just doesn't come out.
Of course, Perry is still an idiot, but not for that reason.
Because every rational person has concluded that the birther bullshit is a distraction, and this may include Perry.
So consider that he was giving the sort if tired, flip answers any normal person would give when being pestered by inane questions that just don't need to be asked any more. "I don't know (and I don't care)". His rejoinder that "...he's never seen my birth certificate." could be just that... a flip answer that highlights the fact that *anyone's* citizenship is in doubt until we see a birth certificate, even Perry's. But nobody doubts anyone's citizenship except the fanatic birthers, and Perry was trying to use a flip, sarcastic answer to make that point- that if birthers are right, then nobody's citizenship is affirmed until we see a birth certificate, not even Perry's. So refuting Birther logic by carrying it to its ultimate silly conclusion was the point he was trying to make.
And sadly, in a text-only reading, that meaning of his comments just doesn't come out.
Of course, Perry is still an idiot, but not for that reason.
6
I wonder... Was it always like this? I think back to when I was in high school and Clinton was President and I wonder if there was the same divide there is now. Sure, they tried to impeach him, yet even so there didn't seem to be the same level of mean-spiritedness. Same with Bush v. Gore. It was bad, but not like this. Are things actually getting more vicious, or am I more aware of it, or is it getting reported more in the age of instant information?
7
Oh, it took me a while. But I think he's saying, "Obama's never seen my birth certificate, but I'm running for president..." Kind of like saying you take a lot of things on face value. That was rough, though.
8
@6, viciousness is outing itself. It was there during Clinton; in fact, his impeachment was viciousness's coming-out party. It was there back in the Nixon days, and even in the Roosevelt days, but more underground.
The real difference is that even as recently as Reagan and Bush I there were smart Republicans -- evil, but not dim-witted. They're all gone now. I'm not saying the Democrats are geniuses -- for the most part they are thicker than two planks -- but they're clearly smarter than the Republicans now (as well as continuing to be less evil).
The real difference is the new prominence of the self-aggrandizing moron, not just in politics but in every aspect of American life. Donald Trump is the exemplar here, not Rick Perry. Basically we have a Kardashian society now.
The real difference is that even as recently as Reagan and Bush I there were smart Republicans -- evil, but not dim-witted. They're all gone now. I'm not saying the Democrats are geniuses -- for the most part they are thicker than two planks -- but they're clearly smarter than the Republicans now (as well as continuing to be less evil).
The real difference is the new prominence of the self-aggrandizing moron, not just in politics but in every aspect of American life. Donald Trump is the exemplar here, not Rick Perry. Basically we have a Kardashian society now.
10
People who think the birther issue is ridiculous say so right out of the gate and refuse to discuss it further.
People who perform incoherently in debates and are eager to claim whatever slice of Dumbfuckistan they can, will keep nudging and winking and bragging about having dinner with Donald Trump.
People who perform incoherently in debates and are eager to claim whatever slice of Dumbfuckistan they can, will keep nudging and winking and bragging about having dinner with Donald Trump.
11
Well at least there wasn't a Texas government agency commissioned scientific report on Obama's birth certificate that was censored to remove any information that stated the birth certificate was real, like what happened with a report that (tried) to mention climate change. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/20…
12
@6: Political mudslinging and character assassination have been with us since the beginning of the Republic. Take a look at some of the language used against John Adams in the 1800 election, when the incumbent was called: “a repulsive pedant,” a “gross hypocrite,” and “a hideous hermaphroditical character which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensiblity of a woman.”
Even by today's considerably more debased standards of rhetoric, that last one in particular is pretty vituperative.
Even by today's considerably more debased standards of rhetoric, that last one in particular is pretty vituperative.
13
He said he has no reason to believe otherwise, then explains why he has reason to believe otherwise: Doesn't know if the birth certificate he saw was real. Had lunch with Donald Trump who doesn't believe it was real. The answer should have been yes, and that would have been the end of it.
14
@12, that was 200 years ago, and was restricted to the gutter press. Today it's not restricted to the press at all; the candidates themselves say this stuff. And the gutter press is the mainstream press; 200 years ago there was no mainstream press, but 100 years ago there was.
What's really happened is an opening up to democracy of classes of people who were not previously admitted in. A lot of these people are hateful, superstitious scum.
What's really happened is an opening up to democracy of classes of people who were not previously admitted in. A lot of these people are hateful, superstitious scum.
17
Whenever I see Rick Perry I start thinking about Texas politics and Tom DeLay.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/…
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/…
18
@6,8,12 The ancient Romans were good at political mudslinging and would paint filthy slogans on walls against their opponents. If the system is one on which votes and not violence decides the winner, than it stands to reason that mudslinging will occur. Sad but true.
19
Perry's statements are pure dog-whistle. All the "there are some who say..." weasel-words are meant to lend credence to the birther viewpoint while affording a degree of personal remove.
And of course, Perry's right that we haven't seen his own Birth Certificate, but that's because nobody's asking to see it, and that's because nobody is alleging he was born in another country, and that's because he's white.
And of course, Perry's right that we haven't seen his own Birth Certificate, but that's because nobody's asking to see it, and that's because nobody is alleging he was born in another country, and that's because he's white.
20
I'm not entirely sure I could produce my own birth certificate, if required. I don't have a copy. I know what date and city I was born in, but don't know the hospital. Presumably there are records of it somewhere in the city archives, I suppose, but I've never actually checked.
21
never give your opponent any credit. attack everything he does or says or is. dispute every accepted fact. sacrifice the well-being of the nation to harm your opponent if necessary.
22
It sure is a distractive issue, and so the Republicans have been milking it for everything they can. Can't let the voters realize that Obama's been damn good at foreign policy (getting us in and out of Libya, killing Osama) and that the American Jobs Act will actually help the middle class!
23
@5: Your benefit-of-the-doubt interpretation of Perry's comments is undermined by Perry himself bringing up the topic of Trump. I think the problem all Republican candidates face is that if, come November 2012, every American birther stays home from the polls, Obama wins by a bigger margin than in 2008. No party can afford to flip the bird to one-third of its supporters. So they develop code phrases -- a sly reference to Trump, say, or "who cares what I think -- the voters elected him in 2008". In the 1970s and 80s the code word was "states rights". If you own a special crackerspeak decoder ring, you hear him say "Listen, I've got to be cool since I'm on the national stage, but you know I've got your back, friends."
24
@8 Even harder to believe is that, once upon a time, there used to be Republicans who weren't evil, at least here in the Northeast. Jacob Javits, Lowell Weicker, and even Nelson Rockefeller come to mind. Although the latter was clearly misguided on some issues, he was clearly liberal by today's standards. In those days, it made sense to vote for the best candidate, and return the incumbents who had done the most for your state. These days, I wouldn't give the Republican Party the satisfaction of voting for one of their candidates if the Democratic opponent was an undead brains-eating zombie.
25
If Perry was elected, at least SNL could bring back Will Ferrel to play him on occasion. He would basically be doing George Bush in a black wig.
29
@24, By today's standards, both Nixon and Reagan when they were president would be pinko liberals.
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