Tweet
Paul Ryan Has News For The Birthers: He’s Not One Of Them
TPM
Ryan J. Reilly
10/5/2012
Excerpt:
"Paul Ryan has figured out a way of letting the birthers down gently.
Like many of his fellow congressmen, Ryan has been bombarded for years with letters from conspiracy theorists who believe President Obama was somehow secretly born in Kenya and so is ineligible to be president. The missives began even before Ryan became one of the president’s biggest foes on budget issues and more recently as he joined the GOP ticket alongside MItt Romney.
But unlike some in his party who have been embarrassed by their own clunky and awkward responses to the birthers, Ryan has come up with an easy solution to deal with them.
He simply sends them a copy of the president’s birth certificate.
In response to questions from TPM this week, Ryan’s office provided copies of the form letters his staff has used over the years to respond to questions about the president’s citizenship. Polite and measured if not a little dry, the letters break the bad news to the birthers in the kindest possible terms.
“Since President Obama was elected, many individuals have expressed concerns regarding his citizenship and eligibility to serve as the President of the United States given the requirements delineated in the Constitution,” one of the letters says. “On April 27, 2011, in response to these criticisms, President Obama released the long form of his birth certificate, which was issued by the Hawaii State Department of Health.”
The office attaches a copy of the birth certificate to its response. The certificate shows Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961 at a hospital in Honolulu.
“I certainly understand the importance of this issue,” the letter says, “and I hope you find the information useful.”
Ryan’s answer sets him apart from prominent supporters of the Romney campaign like Donald Trump, who routinely says the birth certificate is a forgery, and birther-curious lawmakers like Rep. Steve King and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who have raised questions about the president’s birthplace but stopped short of saying they believed he was born elsewhere.
It also sets him apart from a large number of grassroots Republicans. Even as of early 2011, a poll showed nearly half of GOP voters did not believe Obama was born in the U.S. (Meanwhile Romney’s campaign says the Massachusetts Republican doesn’t doubt Obama’s place of birth, despite a birth certificate joke he made earlier this year.)
TPM reviewed years of television appearances and news articles about Ryan and found no evidence he has ever flirted with birtherism. In fact, the review found nothing to show he had addressed the issue in public whatsoever. However, his congressional spokeswoman, Smythe Anderson, said Ryan has been asked about the issue at town halls over the years. She said he always responds the same way.
“Paul has never questioned it,” Anderson said.
..................................................
View the complete article at:
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmem...a_birthers.php
TPM
Ryan J. Reilly
10/5/2012
Excerpt:
"Paul Ryan has figured out a way of letting the birthers down gently.
Like many of his fellow congressmen, Ryan has been bombarded for years with letters from conspiracy theorists who believe President Obama was somehow secretly born in Kenya and so is ineligible to be president. The missives began even before Ryan became one of the president’s biggest foes on budget issues and more recently as he joined the GOP ticket alongside MItt Romney.
But unlike some in his party who have been embarrassed by their own clunky and awkward responses to the birthers, Ryan has come up with an easy solution to deal with them.
He simply sends them a copy of the president’s birth certificate.
In response to questions from TPM this week, Ryan’s office provided copies of the form letters his staff has used over the years to respond to questions about the president’s citizenship. Polite and measured if not a little dry, the letters break the bad news to the birthers in the kindest possible terms.
“Since President Obama was elected, many individuals have expressed concerns regarding his citizenship and eligibility to serve as the President of the United States given the requirements delineated in the Constitution,” one of the letters says. “On April 27, 2011, in response to these criticisms, President Obama released the long form of his birth certificate, which was issued by the Hawaii State Department of Health.”
The office attaches a copy of the birth certificate to its response. The certificate shows Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961 at a hospital in Honolulu.
“I certainly understand the importance of this issue,” the letter says, “and I hope you find the information useful.”
Ryan’s answer sets him apart from prominent supporters of the Romney campaign like Donald Trump, who routinely says the birth certificate is a forgery, and birther-curious lawmakers like Rep. Steve King and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who have raised questions about the president’s birthplace but stopped short of saying they believed he was born elsewhere.
It also sets him apart from a large number of grassroots Republicans. Even as of early 2011, a poll showed nearly half of GOP voters did not believe Obama was born in the U.S. (Meanwhile Romney’s campaign says the Massachusetts Republican doesn’t doubt Obama’s place of birth, despite a birth certificate joke he made earlier this year.)
TPM reviewed years of television appearances and news articles about Ryan and found no evidence he has ever flirted with birtherism. In fact, the review found nothing to show he had addressed the issue in public whatsoever. However, his congressional spokeswoman, Smythe Anderson, said Ryan has been asked about the issue at town halls over the years. She said he always responds the same way.
“Paul has never questioned it,” Anderson said.
..................................................
View the complete article at:
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmem...a_birthers.php
Comment