Jack & Jill Politics

Caught this over at Black Politics on the Web:

House Republicans’ reading of the Constitution was interrupted Thursday by a woman who shouted “except Obama, except Obama” to the venerable document’s words on a U.S. citizen’s eligibility to be president.

Just as Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., was reading “no person, except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the United States” is eligible for the presidency, a woman in the visitor’s gallery yelled out that it did not apply to President Barack Obama.

Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, who was presiding over the House, banged the gavel and halted the proceedings, warning that such action from members of the public was a violation of House rules. The woman was quickly removed by Capitol police.

Lawmakers took turns reciting each verse and article of the document. Republicans in charge of the chamber rattled it off with missionary zeal, as if in a school civics class. Democrats pitched in, but with seemingly less ardor.

Historians said it was the first time the 222-year-old governing document had been read in its entirety on the House floor.

So-called “birthers” claim Obama is ineligible to be president because they say there’s no proof he was born in the United States, with many of the skeptics questioning whether he was actually born in Kenya — his father’s home country.

Um…is anyone curious why this seemingly dramatic episode wasn’t covered in the mainstream media even though I’m confident there’s gotta be at least partial video about it? The fact is that even if Barack Obama had been born on Mars and was the brother from another planet, he’d still be a U.S. citizen since not even birthers dispute that his mother was a U.S. citizen.

I find the seeming reluctance of Republicans to support the notion that the elected President of the United States is a full-fledged citizen born in Hawaii not only racist but unpatriotic. This is doubly true of black Republicans.

Seriously, winking at the bigotry of your base is beyond prejudice and in the realm of indulging anti-American sentiments that divide us as a nation. It’s not a coincidence that this is a partisan problem. From Aug 2010:

“Not surprisingly, there are big partisan differences, although a majority of Republicans thinks Obama was definitely or probably born here,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “Eighty-five percent of Democrats say that Obama was definitely or probably born in the U.S., compared to 68 percent of independents and 57 percent of Republicans. Twenty-seven percent of Republicans say he was probably not born here, and another 14 percent of Republicans say he was definitely not born in the U.S.”

The mainstream media MUST begin to call the birthers what they are — people so blinded by bigotry that they cannot accept logic nor reality. It’s a widespread delusion among Republicans driven by simple fear and hate. It’s got to stop because it erodes the foundation of our union to allow these people to believe that there isn’t something deeply, deeply wrong with them — and with yelling crazy things re: Obama and interrupting proceedings on the House floor. This little pattern among Republicans — started by Rep. Joe “You Lie!” Wilson — ain’t cute and it ain’t cool.