And to continue the all-day TNR bashing, let’s also not forget that Jamie Kirchick, who recently penned a noxious piece asserting that only liberals are interested in Obama’s birth certificate. He might want to watch this:
Again, he’s carved out a pretty nice little niche there as the “lefty” that Republicans just love, because he tells them what they want to hear. The notion that there would be no birth certificate nonsense were it not for liberals is ridiculous. Does he not have email? Has he never heard of the Free Republic or WND or Limbaugh and Beck? Does he not watch tv? has he never heard of Lou Dobbs?
NicotineJones
The only reason anybody mistakes Kirchick for a lefty is that he’s gay. He writes for the Weekly Standard, for cripes sake.
Balconesfault
Liberals are interested in Obama’s Birth Certificate in the same way that hunters are interested in a duck decoy.
Paul in KY
Agree with NicotineJones. He’s about as ‘liberal’ as Colmes. Actually, Colmes is probably more of an authentic liberal than that POS.
Once again, another installment of TRL (typical Republican Lies).
DP
Kirchick should be ignored, he is not a lefty as is noted above, and presumably the only reason he is at TNR is he shares Marty’s anti-Arab racist views.
He has the intellect and temperament of an eighth grader.
bayville
The Kirchick is a “lefty” meme is straight out of the Jonahese book of Bizarro English.
That is soooo 90ish. Kirchick is gay, likes jazz and is pro-choice so in MSM-speak – he is a liberal.
Just like Harold Ford and Doug Schoen.
Jay Andrew Allen
Of course it’s liberal’s fault. If liberals would simply cease to exist, Rush and Glenn wouldn’t have to say such hateful things.
See? Quod Erat Demonstrandum, bitchez.
JenJen
Call me overly-optimistic, call me naive, even. But I truly believe it’s partly because of video like that, and these whack-a-doodle “Hall-Raisin'” Teabaggers in general, that the President will prevail on health care reform.
SGEW
@Jay Andrew Allen:
All snark aside, this is terrifyingly close to their actual beliefs.
Bubblegum Tate
I’m honestly getting a bit conflicted about all this wingnut crazy. On the one hand, it’s great theater. These people are off the charts when it comes to unintentional comedy, and they seem bound and determined to out-crazy each other, which is pure win for non-crazy observers.
On the other hand, these people actually get taken seriously, and it doesn’t take very many of them to fuck up the country for the rest of us.
David Hunt
John Cole @Top
“The notion that there would be no birth certificate nonsense were it not for liberals is ridiculous”
Not at all. If there weren’t any liberals, conservatives wouldn’t have to make up lies about them. It’s all there fault for not going away and leaving everything to conservatives. The fact that they occasionally win elections just makes it worse.
This reminds me a bit from one of Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos books, Dragon. The military arm of the great Empire in that book is mostly made up of the House of the Dragon who have an interesting view of how wars get started: the defender is always the one who starts the war. You see when you invade your neighbor’s territory, he can either surrender, which avoids conflict, or resist…which starts a war.
So you see, it’s all the liberals’ fault for not surrendering.
SenyorDave
Didn’t know much about him so I read this piece on Wikipedia, which also linked to a couple of his articles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Kirchick#News_organizations_contributions
This guy is a liberal? He seems slightly less intolerant as the Limbaugh crowd. And no way could a liberal write for the Weekly Standard. It would take me less than a day to be arrested for assault (the first time I saw Bill Kristol’s smug face).
Brick Oven Bill
It is wrong to blame the birth certificate nonsense on the liberals, or on Glenn Beck, or on World Net Daily.
There would be no birth certificate nonsense if Orly were only granted permission to touch it, as Jim Miller was granted special permission to touch it; or grip it, as the Hidden Hand grips it.
Squeeze.
David Hunt
@David Hunt:
Arrgh. Only the word “defender” was meant to be in italics.
Napoleon
@SenyorDave:
The guy is a neocon wrapped in the facade of a neoliberal. He is all but Marty Perez’s Mini-Me.
Kevin K.
Well there’s one less opportunity for Peter Daou to land a writing gig that pays.
David Hunt
@Brick Oven Bill:
Bill, whether you’re a spoof or not you should make your attacks more consistent. Ms. Taitz has stated that whether or not Obama was born is Hawaii is irrelevant. It is her position that only a person who is the child of two U.S. citizens can be a “natural born citizen” regardless of there place of birth. This is not my understanding of the law regarding such things, but it is her stated position.
If she were given access to whatever she wanted and given irrefutable proof that Obama was born in Hawaii which she then (publicly) accepted. It would still not alter her position.
I will also note that I have done the extremely great favor (in my opinion) of discussing her positions in a serious matter. My true opinion of her shenanigans is that she is simply trying to stir up trouble and profit by it.
Corner Stone
@JenJen: Overly-optimistic. Naive.
JenJen
@Corner Stone: Yeah. That’s pretty much what I thought.
Skepticat
Has he never heard of the Free Republic or WND or Limbaugh and Beck? Does he not watch tv? has he never heard of Lou Dobbs?
Sounds like a blissful situation, doesn’t it? Would that none of us had.
Brick Oven Bill
If that is Orly’s position, she is wrong David Hunt. In the scenario that Barack was born abroad, he would have been a natural-born Citizen, in my opinion, if his mother had resided in the US for 5 years after her 14th birthday (she could not have as she was 18). Link to State Department rules. Barack would also clearly be a natural born Citizen if he were born in Hawaii.
So in the scenario that the birth certificate is legitimate, Orly might still be complaining, but those with rational doubts like me about the Administration’s claim that the controversy is ‘not about that piece of paper’, would be silenced.
cleek
i’d have never heard of Kirchick if it wasn’t for lefties linking to him in disgust.
Rick Taylor
Actually, the last I saw Glenn Beck talking about it, he was disparaging the calls for Obama to show his birth certificate. He even kicked a caller off the air on his radio program because she wouldn’t let it go. It is scary to me that there is a movement out there that is too crazy even for Glenn Beck to take part in.
Balconesfault
@Brick Oven Bill: So in the scenario that the birth certificate is legitimate, Orly might still be complaining, but those with rational doubts…
That last bit says all you need to say.
But I’ll add – if they put Obama’s certificate of birth on display in the National Archives next to the Declaration of Independence, and you let all the birthers file past for a look, the percentage who would accept its “legitimacy” would be smaller than Bush’s approval rating upon leaving office. Hell – probably in the Cheney approval rating category.
But there would be “x” new conspiracy theories born from the exercise, x = the number of birthers who show up to take a look.
max hats
How the fuck is Kirchick considered a lefty compared to anyone up to and including Mussolini? The only thing that guy hates more than the Muslims is liberals.
Is it because he writes for the “liberal” New Republic? Because I have shocking news on that front as well.
Sour Kraut
Ah, yes–the “Stop Punching Yourself” school of diplomacy…
Specter seems determined to out-Lieberman Joe Lieberman, and he’s off to a roaring start.
Sour Kraut
“So you see…” should have been part of that blockquote.
anonevent
@bayville: When I had a subscription to TNR online, I never saw anyone actually agree with Kirchick. His posts were either derided or generated enough hate that you could feel it through your monitor. During the campaign last year even Marty disagreed with him. I generally treated a Kirchick post the same way I treat a BOB post here: I skipped his writing and read what people wrote in response to him.
Bill
Yea, Kirchick is pure 90’s contrarian bullshit. The only notable thing about him is the way our media indulges such poseurs.The Boston Globe once gave up valuable space to Kirchick so he could whine about not getting dates because intolerant liberal gays wont date “conservatives” (no,seriously,they did).I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that he’s an obnoxious, dishonest asshole.
Given such indulgence, is there any reason for the Kirchicks of the world to feel any shame or change their ways?
Bender
Agreed. Now, can we get back to discussing how Sarah Palin wore a fat suit to fool people into thinking she was pregnant when Trig was really her daughter’s baby?
You know, like you sane people discuss?
You guys are forgetting the cardinal rule of intertron politics: They think you’re every bit as crazy as you think they are.
Batocchio
Kirchirk is a suck-up little toady, but he’s not even a good liar. Krauthammer and others bring a little quality to hackdom. Kirchirk’s at the kiddie table at the League of Evil meetings.