Birthers are A Racist Xenophobic Ploy - Let's Talk Taxes

Last night, I was relaxing with my parents drinking a glass of Addamo Syrah and The Ed Show came on the television. They were talking about Birthers, the conspiracy theorists contesting Obama's citizenship.  Listening to the discussion got me thinking about what I had learned regarding our presidential elections.

When I was going through high school, and then into college there were several accepted facts that politicos made regarding the American presidency.

1. You have to be tall.
2. You have better chances if you went to Harvard or Yale for something.
3. You do better if you're from the South or the middle of the country, but don't even try if you're from New England (exceptions exist, but are a small percentage).
4. The more closely related to the Royal family you are, the more likely you are to win.
5. Your name needs to be suitably WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) - a notable exception is of course, JFK.
6. You have to get New Hampshire.

Well, Obama doesn't follow the rubric, which by my estimation is a good thing. He's broken barriers we weren't sure when they would come down.   The problem is of course, he's black.

Not only is Obama black (gasp!) but he also has a foreign sounding name.  Many people have said that Birtherism is actually just a trumped up form of racism, and I think that is true.  But more than that, Birtherism is another avenue for middle-American xenophobia.

Yes, Birthers are racists who are afraid of cultural difference.

So why would the Republican party be so keen to allow this to continue even though the theory has been proven universally false?  It's a distraction and it's completely on purpose.

With people so riled about the racist Birthers, they aren't pushing as hard on things that really matter - like Ryan's budget proposal, or the revenue problems we have that could be fixed by corporate tax reform.

So, for the last time.  Get your heads out of your butts! Obama is absolutely an American citizen and we ELECTED him. He's got his faults, but being black or having a Kenyan father ARE NOT FAULTS. He's a brilliant man who is one of the best orators we've had in the white house for years.  Give the guy a break.

Instead, let's get talking about how tax holes and loops need to be closed in order to fix our revenue problem.  I want to talk about THAT.