An embarrassing time to be Republican—well, more embarrassing than usual. Of Trump & Birthers

[KittyWampus]

Donald Trump soars to top of GOP field
byDavid Nir

(Josh Roberts, Reuters)
Public Policy Polling (PDF) (4/4-7, Republican primary voters, no trendlines):

Donald Trump (R): 26
Mike Huckabee (R): 17
Mitt Romney (R): 15
Newt Gingrich (R): 11
Sarah Palin (R): 8
Ron Paul (R): 5
Michele Bachmann (R): 4
Tim Pawlenty (R): 4
Someone else/Undecided: 10
(MoE: ±4.9%)

It's an embarrassing time to be a Republican—well, more embarrassing than usual. An abrasive reality-show host and real-estate "faux-gul" with one of the worst comb-overs in American history is now soaring to the top of the GOP's contender list, and it's all for one reason: the "b" word. Trump's fetish for just about every wild birther conspiracy theory might make supposedly civilized beltway Republicans (if there even is such a thing) wince with chagrin, but it's rather endeared him to the party's base.

So maybe you're saying, Trump won't run—this is just a stunt, none of this is going to matter. I disagree. First off, every day that birtherism is in the news just makes the Republican Party look more ridiculous, fires up Democratic partisans, and alienates independents. Republican leaders know this, with Karl Rove going so far as to blame Obama himself for propagating this mind-virus. If The Donald is simply the host organism, then it's a role he should understand well, since he's spent his whole life as a parasite.

snip

Q: Would you be willing or unwilling to support a candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination who firmly stated they believed Barack Obama was born in the United States?

Willing to support non-birther: 38
Unwilling to: 23
Unsure: 39

http://www.dailykos.com/

[bullwinkle428]

1. K&R for "real estate faux-gul"!

[Raschel]

2. Look at that line up. How embarrassing.

[Drale]

3. Does Trump think he can take the country into bankruptcy to fix all our problems

basicly the way he lives life everyday?

[DCKit]

4. Not everyone knows that's how he made his money.

Besides, it worked for Argentina, right?

[hootinholler]

7. Why not?

His Hairness thinks that rug looks good.

-Hoot

[Renew Deal]

5. Should there be a birther question in the debates?

Do you believe that President Obama was born in Hawaii? First up, Congresswoman Bachmann. :crazy:

[Love Bug]

6. Embarrassing to whom? They don't care what we think.

I've been on DU for ten years and quite often Bush or some other neo-con would do something outrageous which would cause a flurry of posts here decrying the event and claiming "The People will see the truth now!!"

No they won't. The People aren't interested in what politicians do until two weeks before the next election when they decide (if they vote at all) who they will vote for. The People have such a short memory they will make their decision based on what crap is being spewed in TV ads and never give their decision a real thought.

I've given up expecting The People to wake up. Sure, there are small pockets of awareness like those who protested in Wisconsin but that still didn't stop their recent election from being so close. It shouldn't have been, not by a mile, but The People are not interested in the truth, just their conception of the truth. If they were interested in the truth, all of this birther nonsense would have never gotten any traction.

So, their pundits and wingnutty politicians rile up their base by claiming Obama is Kenyan or whatever and our pundits, like this one, rile up our base by pointing them out. And The People remain stuck in their ignorance, striving to keep food on the table but not understanding how their blindness helped bring about their woes.