A fair amount of conservatives are denouncing the Birthers, or at the very least shying away from them. But some Republican elected officials are still reaching out to the movement that questions whether President Obama was born in Hawaii and is eligible for the presidency.
A "Birther bill" was introduced in the House earlier this year by Rep. Bill Posey, R-Fla. It requires candidates for president to produce "a copy of the candidate's birth certificate, together with such other documentation as may be necessary to establish that the candidate meets the qualifications for eligibility to the Office of President."
Posey's bill has been slowly gaining co-sponsors since its introduction. The latest is Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, who signed on Tuesday, bringing the total number of co-sponsors in addition to Posey to 10. (Hat-tip to David Weigel.)
Unofficial Birther headquarters World Net Daily, displaying its remarkable talent for complete and total inaccuracy, had an article Wednesday that for some reason trumpeted the addition of a different co-sponsor, Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Texas. According to the Library of Congress, though, Marchant added his name as a co-sponsor to the bill almost three weeks ago.
The irony of this bill is that there's nothing in its language to indicate that -- if it were ever to become law -- the certification of live birth Obama has already produced wouldn't be considered acceptable proof. It does, after all, contain this notation: "This copy serves as prima facie evidence of the fact of birth in any court proceeding."
Shares