There are continued signs that some key Republicans have had enough with the birther controversy because they realize President Barack Obama is vulnerable on many fronts and Americans know it each time they pay their bills or fill up at the gas pump — unlike rich bombastic businessmen TV stars with bad comb-overs.
First, there’s Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus talking to reporters:
“Trump and the candidates can talk about it all they want, but my position is that the president was born in the United States,” Priebus told reporters at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.
Priebus said his main priority as party chairman is winning elections.
And, as Charlie Sheen would say, the overall goal should be “Duh! Winning!”
“I don’t think it’s an issue that moves voters,” he said of the birth certificate chatter. “It’s an issue in my opinion that I don’t personally get too excited about, because I think the more important question is what’s going on in this country in regards to jobs, to debt, and the deficit and spending. Those are the things that people are worried about. People aren’t worried about these other issues.”
And then, even more adamantly, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer who tells CNN that birtherism is “leading our country down a path of destruction, and it just is not serving any good purpose.”
The interview:
UPDATE: But Charles Johnson notes there was a hudge in the RNN Chair’s statement:
Notice that Priebus never actually denounced Birtherism. He’s doing the same thing Republicans always do with this issue: trying to have it both ways. He “believes” Obama was born in the US, but he’s fine with those who don’t believe it. (And he’d better be, because that’s the majority of the GOP base, despite Priebus’ laughable attempt to brush off the Birther movement as insignificant.)
If you’re waiting for a sign of real courage from the GOP leadership on this issue, don’t hold your breath.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.