Birtherism and Political Smears
No One Candidate or Party Is Solely Responsible
The issue of President Obama’s place of birth is back to cause controversy in the 2016 campaign. Birtherism, as the theory that Obama was not born in the U.S. has been labeled, was an issue that was inarguably championed by Donald Trump in years past, with Trump demanding that Barack Obama release his long-form birth certificate to certify he was born in America. What Trump’s motivations were for making such demands and elevating the story, no one can be sure. Democrats jump to racist motivations to explain his behavior, but the real motivation could have been anything, including self-promotion which is an art Trump has mastered. Regardless, the issue of birtherism is one with ugly connotations to be sure. Trump should take serious steps to reconcile his past actions and seriously consider apologizing to the President. That said, the art of the political smear is not bound to one party or one candidate in particular. As far as smearing other candidates goes, the Democrats have significant experience in using nasty tactics.
A brief review of political smears championed by Democrats against fellow Democrats and Republicans in recent years reveals some startling trends: using religion as a line of attack, and deliberately lying about one’s actions.
In 2012, during the election between incumbent-President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) told a deliberate lie on the Senate Floor about Romney not paying taxes. Sen. Reid subsequently admitted to lying and was unfazed by his striking lack of morals. In fact, “Romney didn’t win, did he?,” was Senator Reid’s only defense. Shameful.
Democrats have a recent history of using religion to smear opponents from their own party. Over the summer, right at the start of the Democratic National Convention where Hillary Clinton would accept the nomination for president, internal emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee showed DNC staffers plotting to use the religious background of Bernie Sanders against him in various primary races. “Does [Sanders] believe in a God. He had skated on saying he has a Jewish heritage. I think I read he is an atheist. This could make several points difference with my peeps. My Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist,” read one DNC email written by Chief Financial Officer Brad Marshall. Put in context, the Democratic Party did not want Bernie Sanders as their nominee. The DNC was with Hillary, and religious affiliation was discussed as a potential smear.
In previous elections, Hillary Clinton used religion as a political smear tactic. It wasn’t the “vast right-wing conspiracy” talking, it was Hillary herself using the question of religious affiliation against then-candidate Obama, albeit in a subtle manner. Hillary was asked if she thought Obama was Muslim. Her answer, “No. No. Why would I? No, there is nothing to base that on. As far as I know.” Her intent was clear.
Going back to the issue of birtherism, Donald Trump now acknowledges that President Obama was born in the United States, but he does hold Hillary Clinton and her campaign responsible for starting the rumors. Speaking at the Trump Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., Trump held a press conference where he said, “Hillary Clinton in her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy. I finished it. President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period. Now we all want to get back to making America strong and great again.”
The origins of birther conspiracies do not link directly to a comment Hillary Clinton made, but fact-checks of the origin do reveal attempts to raise questions on Obama’s background and identity. A CNN report on the matter states that on March 19, 2007 “then-Clinton adviser Mark Penn wrote a strategy memo to Clinton about Obama. It did not raise the issue of Obama’s citizenship. But it did identify Obama’s ‘lack of American roots’ as something that ‘could hold him back.’”
What is clear is that Trump has in the past led the charge to obtain Obama’s birth certificate, and this fact is a problem the Trump campaign must confront, explain and avoid. By now, the campaign has confronted the issue. The words have been said by Trump that he does believe Obama is an American citizen. The explanation part is a bit tricky since there are faint signs the origin could be found within the 2008 Clinton campaign, but that ambiguity is one way Trump has ensured the issue would be avoided during the upcoming presidential debate.
It’s doubtful Hillary Clinton will raise the birther issue during the debates. Polls show definite gains for Trump, including a Bloomberg poll showing a 5 point lead in Ohio over Hillary, and Hillary knows about this concerning trend. She is a very calculated politician, and there is just too much at stake. Trump doesn’t apologize for anything, and Hillary has no chance of getting him to do so on live television during the first presidential debate on September 26. Even if Hillary raises the birther issue at all, Trump will pounce, only to blame her and her campaign. This muddy-the-water tactic will render the issue unresolved and won’t be a win for Clinton. Yet, if Trump fires back in a way that leaves Hillary in a vulnerable position, defending her campaign’s questioning of Obama’s “lack of American roots,” it could do damage to her. So it seems that at this stage, Trump successfully diffused the situation, and this wacky campaign rolls on.
Finally it is important to say that after the debates and before Election Day, Trump should issue a formal and sincere apology to President Obama. No big production. Just do it. It would be the right thing to do.
