Firedoglake's Mike Stark has spent some time on Capitol Hill recently, tracking down Republican members of Congress and trying to get them to state their position on President Obama's birth -- that is, to potentially expose themselves as closet Birthers. He seems to have gotten one, Missouri Rep. Roy Blunt, in his latest round.
I can't endorse Stark's ambush tactics, or the way some of the results have been played. The fact that some of the members Stark approached hurried away from him has been treated as evidence that the party's being held captive by the Birthers, but I just don't think it can be honestly seen that way: If you surprise a politician with a camera and haven't arranged an interview with them, they're going to want to get away immediately, regardless of the topic.
But Stark did get quite an interview with Blunt, who's also running for Senate. Here's the exchange:
BLUNT: What I don't know is why the President can't produce a birth certificate. I don't know anybody else that can't produce one. And I think that's a legitimate question. No health records, no birth certificate.
STARK: He's produced a certificate of live birth, right?
BLUNT: Not that I -- I don't believe so.
STARK: No, he has. Chris Matthews held it up on "Hardball" the other night.
BLUNT: Talk to Chris Matthews.
(One correction to note: What Obama released is actually called a "certification of live birth," not a "certificate," as Stark said. Obviously, what Blunt said was totally false as well.)
I've called Blunt's office seeking comment or clarification, but have yet to get a response.
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