South Capitol Street

Various organizations representing HIV-positive residents in Michigan as well as groups representing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people statewide and nationally are slamming a plan by a Republican state lawmaker to eliminate funding from a 33 year old health fund and transfer the money to airport funding.

Michigan Messenger originally reported on the proposal last week. During interviews for the story last week, State Rep. Dave Agema (R-Grandville) claimed the money in the Michigan Health Fund Initiative was duplicated in other Michigan Department of Community Health budgets. But an investigation by Messenger reported Monday that the money Agema was targeting made up a significant portion of Michigan’s available resources to draw federal matching money for HIV programming and other public health initiatives.

“Mr. Agema is woefully ill informed and in this case it could cost some Michigander’s their lives. The fund Mr. Agema plans to raid in order to apply to airplane fuel, supports the health of Michigan’s most medically challenged populations,” says Mark Peterson from the Michigan Positive Action Coalition. “This fund pays for critical state services which are not funded in any other manner. Mr. Agema is stealing from those most at need without the slightest idea of how things are funded. Playing games and putting the health of Michigan citizens at risk, is not something the chair of the state House’s Health and Human Services Appropriations subcommittee should be doing. This is not job creation. It is picking on the people at most need and it’s cruel.”

“”It boils down to a simple ethics equation. Should the money be used to literally save lives or should it be used as a tax break?” asked Helen Hicks, chief executive officer of the Michigan AIDS Coalition (MAC). “Perhaps the best way to realign the Representative’s ethics would be to have him sit down with Ryan White’s mother who can share with him the pain her little boy suffered because people were unaware of the facts surrounding HIV and AIDS. She could tell the misinformed Representative that prevention and education are the best ways to keep people healthy. Maybe she could leave him with a photo of her son and the newspaper clippings that captured how ignorance causes nothing but senseless pain and death.”

Some of the federal money comes from the Ryan White CARE Act. The act is named after the Indiana teenager who contracted HIV through contaminated blood products. He was kicked out of school and his home vandalized in the 80s because of his HIV infection. He died in 1990.

And HIV groups are not the only ones calling foul on Agema’s plan.

“The proposal to cut this funding will jeopardize the state’s ability to access critical federal HIV funding,” says Darlene Nipper, deputy executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. “These proposed changes are deeply troubling and we urge Rep. Dave Agema, as chair of the state House Appropriations chair Human Services Subcommittee and a member of the Health Subcommittee, to use his authority to sustain vital HIV programs, not cut them. Eliminating these services in the midst of the state’s current public health crisis is unwise, unsound and should be considered unacceptable.”

“Representative Agema’s budget priorities are disconcerting and they invite disastrous results. While Rep. Agema has never attempted to pass as an ally to the LGBTQ community, he doesn’t need to be an advocate for our community to realize that tax breaks to out-of-state airlines cannot conscionably come before saving lives,” said Emily Dievendorf, policy director of the Equality Michigan. “Rep. Agema cannot allow his personal priorities to interfere with his role in providing resources that meet the basic needs of the broader Michigan constituency. Furthermore, Rep. Agema’s attack on the MHFI works in direct opposition to Gov. Snyder’s recent assertion that public health needs to be a bipartisan priority. Snyder specifically cited Michigan’s alarming obesity problem, an epidemic targeted by MHFI funds, as a critical public health threat to our state that needs to be addressed.”

Dievendorf promised the advocacy group would be monitoring budget proposals in the state “vigilantly” to make sure those cuts don’t disproportionately impact the LGBT and HIV-positive communities.

Michigan Messenger

Clip description via Andres Duque: “Speaking to reporters about efforts to bring a same-sex civil unions bill to the Peruvian Congress, homophobic Bishop Luis Bambarén tells reporters they should use the word ‘faggot’ instead of calling homosexuals ‘gay’.”

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Clip description via Andres Duque: “Speaking to reporters about efforts to bring a same-sex civil unions bill to the Peruvian Congress, homophobic Bishop Luis Bambarén tells reporters they should use the word ‘faggot’ instead of calling homosexuals ‘gay’.”

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Spending it out, according to President Obama. But “investment” is in. But the Senate Republican Communications Center says, and I agree with them, that investment is just another word for spending.

JUST DON’T CALL IT SPENDING…

Similar To His Failed Stimulus Package, President Obama ‘Wants To Spend More’ And Wants You To Call It An ‘Investment’

‘Investment’ – ‘Just Another Name For Spending’

“With Mr. Obama Planning To Call For ‘Investments’ Of Tax Dollars In Specific Areas Like Education, Infrastructure And Technology, Republicans Insisted That ‘Investment’ Was Just Another Name For Spending That The Nation Can Ill Afford.” (“State Of Union Near, Republicans Draw Line On Spending,” The New York Times, 1/24/11)

·         “Obama Wants To Spend More On Education, Research And Development, And The Nation’s Infrastructure – areas that many Republicans view as ripe for deep cuts.” (“Obama And GOP Clash On Spending,” The Washington Post, 1/24/11)

Obama Called The Failed $ 814 Billion Stimulus An ‘Investment’ 14 Times During The Signing Ceremony

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “Because We Know We Can’t Build Our Economic Future On The Transportation And Information Networks Of The Past, We Are Remaking The American Landscape With The Largest New Investment In Our Nation’s Infrastructure since Eisenhower built an interstate highway system in the 1950s.” (President Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The Economic Stimulus Bill, 2/17/09)

·         PRESIDENT OBAMA: “Because Of This Investment, nearly 400,000 men and women will go to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, repairing our faulty dams and levees, bringing critical broadband connections to businesses and homes in nearly every community in America, upgrading mass transit, building high-speed rail lines that will improve travel and commerce throughout our nation.” (President Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The Economic Stimulus Bill, 2/17/09)

·         PRESIDENT OBAMA: “Because We Know America Can’t Outcompete The World Tomorrow If Our Children Are Being Out-Educated Today, We’re Making The Largest Investment In Education In Our Nation’s History.”  (President Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The Economic Stimulus Bill, 2/17/09)

·         PRESIDENT OBAMA: “It’s An Investment That Will Create Jobs Building 21st-Century Classrooms And Libraries and labs for millions of children across America.” (President Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The Economic Stimulus Bill, 2/17/09)

·         PRESIDENT OBAMA: “It’s An Investment That Will Create A New $ 2,500 Annual Tax Credit to put the dream of a college degree within reach for middle-class families and make college affordable for 7 million students — (applause) — helping more of our sons and daughters aim higher, reach further, fulfill their God-given potential.” (President Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The Economic Stimulus Bill, 2/17/09)

·         PRESIDENT OBAMA: “It’s An Investment That Will Take The Long Overdue Step Of Computerizing America’s Medical Records to reduce the duplication and waste that costs billions of health care dollars and medical errors that cost thousands of lives each year.” (President Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The Economic Stimulus Bill, 2/17/09)

·         PRESIDENT OBAMA: “It’s An Investment That Will Double The Amount Of Renewable Energy produced over the next three years — think about that — double the amount of renewable energy in three years — (applause) — provide tax credits and loan guarantees to companies like Namaste, a company that will be expanding, instead of laying people off, as a result of the plan that I’m about to sign.” (President Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The Economic Stimulus Bill, 2/17/09)

·         PRESIDENT OBAMA: “The Investment We’re Making Today Will Create A Newer, Smarter Electric Grid. It will allow for broader use of alternative energy.” (President Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The Economic Stimulus Bill, 2/17/09)

·         PRESIDENT OBAMA: “This Investment Will Place Smart Meters In Homes, to make our energy bills lower, make outages less likely and make it easier to use clean energy.” (President Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The Economic Stimulus Bill, 2/17/09)

·         PRESIDENT OBAMA: “It’s An Investment That Will Save Taxpayers Over $ 1 Billion, by slashing energy costs in our federal buildings by 25 percent; save working families hundreds of dollars a year, on their energy bills, by weatherizing over 1 million homes.” (President Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The Economic Stimulus Bill, 2/17/09)

·         PRESIDENT OBAMA: “And It’s An Investment That Takes The Important First Step Towards A National Transmission Superhighway that will connect our cities to the windy plains of the Dakotas and the sunny deserts of the Southwest.” (President Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The Economic Stimulus Bill, 2/17/09)

·         PRESIDENT OBAMA: “And Just As President Kennedy Sparked An Explosion Of Innovation When He Set America’s Sights On The Moon, I Hope This Investment Will Ignite Our Imagination Once More, spurring new discoveries and breakthroughs, in science and in medicine and in energy, to make our economy stronger and our nation more secure and our planet safer for our children.” (President Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The Economic Stimulus Bill, 2/17/09)

·         PRESIDENT OBAMA: “Now, While This Package Is Composed Mostly Of Critical Investments, it also includes aid to state and local governments, to prevent layoffs of firefighters or police recruits in — (applause) — recruits, recruits like the ones in Columbus, Ohio, who were told that instead of being sworn in as officers, they were about to be let go.” (President Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The Economic Stimulus Bill, 2/17/09)

·         PRESIDENT OBAMA: “What I’m Signing, Then, Is A Balanced Plan With A Mix Of Tax Cuts And Investments. It’s a plan that’s been put together without earmarks or the usual pork barrel spending. It’s a plan that will be implemented with an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability.” (President Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The Economic Stimulus Bill, 2/17/09)

Technorati tags: politics Barack Obama Obama economy politics news business

Marathon Pundit

The global union movement is reaffirming its strong support for the General Tunisian Workers’ Union (UGTT) and the Tunisian people in their courageous struggle for equality, social justice, political freedom and democracy.

The popular revolt was triggered by the Dec. 17 suicide of a young street vendor in Sidi Bouzid after authorities confiscated his merchandise. The revolt has spread rapidly throughout the country and has led to the departure of former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

In a statement, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), which includes the AFL-CIO, said it welcomes the fall of the dictatorship in Tunisia and fully supports UGTT ’s call for an end to corruption and nepotism and a genuine transition toward a true democracy. Read the entire ITUC statement here.

The ITUC also expressed serious concern at the recent increase in attempted suicides among young unemployed men in other countries in the region, such as Algeria, Egypt, Mauritania and Yemen, to protest social injustices, poverty and the lack of freedom. In other countries, there also has been a surge in street protests against the huge rise in the prices of basic commodities and in support of the people of Tunisia.

ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow said:

The events in Tunisia are the logical outcome of the absence of civil liberties, the repressive authoritarianism and social injustice. The governments of this region must take urgent stock of their people’s needs and aspirations [and] open a real dialogue with the unions regarding the introduction of new social policies and show respect for fundamental freedoms, which is key to good governance.

AFL-CIO NOW BLOG

Doug J wraps up the winger position on global climate change:

You know the drill: global warming isn’t happening, if it is happening then it’s not caused by human behavior, if it is caused by human behavior then we can’t do anything about it, if it is caused by human behavior and we can do something about it, then that something is too expensive, if it is caused by human behavior and we can do something about it that is not too expensive, then that something is not what Democrats are proposing. And Al Gore is fat, he flies too much, look at his electricity bill, and sometimes when he goes somewhere it snows there, which is very ironic.

Meanwhile 2010 was a record high temp year tied with 2005 and we need to take another century to study it because the science isn’t settled.

Zandar Versus The Stupid

By Michael F. Cannon

It would appear that I am the Liar of the Year.

The fact-checking journalists at PolitiFact.com gave their 2010 Lie of the Year award to the notion that ObamaCare is “a government takeover of health care,” and in 2009 gave the same award to Sarah Palin’s “death panels” claim.  But as I explain in my latest column for Kaiser Health News, the fact-checkers left out a few facts.  Read the column to find out what PolitiFact missed.  Here’s my conclusion:

From my vantage point, the evidence shows that ObamaCare is a government takeover of health care, and Sarah Palin’s “death panels” claim was essentially true. If that makes me Liar of the Year, so be it.

But another way to look at it is this: PolitiFact has now misappropriated this award for two years in a row.  Not only is each of these “lies” factually true, but — and this is more important — the people who made those statements believe them to be true, which means they fall short of the dictionary definition of a lie: “An assertion of something known or believed by the speaker to be untrue with intent to deceive.“ There is simply no factual basis — and no excuse — for calling them lies.

PolitiFact’s Lie of the Year award has proven as  conducive to civil discourse as Rep. Joe Wilson’s, R- S.C., dyspeptic “You lie!” outburst during one of President Obama’s previous addresses to Congress. Rather than continue to poison the well by dispensing another award this year, PolitiFact should just let it lie.

PolitiFact should also revisit its evaluations of those two claims.

Just Call Me ‘Liar of the Year’ is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

Cato @ Liberty

(CNN) – As you will see in our TED talk, Beverly and I have spent enough time in the bush with lions to understand that we have a problem — rapidly declining big cat populations.

The real miracle is that we do still have this last remnant of lions at all. Just 50 years ago there were 450,000; today there are possibly as few as 20,000. These are the last lions. 

Editor’s note: TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to “Ideas worth spreading,” which it makes available through talks posted on its website. Beverly and Dereck Joubert, who are National Geographic explorers in residence based in Botswana, have filmed and photographed wildlife and nature for nearly 30 years. They have received five Emmys, as well as other awards. 

Two experts in the field  are saying we could see the last of the lions in our lifetime.  This video is sobering and sad.  I honestly had no idea the numbers had dwindled down to this degree.  

Zandar Versus The Stupid

Ferrah Merali shines a light on Palestinian rap:

Rap in Israel-Palestine is its own animal, tied up in all the complexities of the region’s larger conflict—including, for example, discrimination against Palestinians from Arab countries. The Middle East’s Arab nations have historically been loath to allow Palestinians to settle on their soil, in an effort to force Israel to recognize the refugees’ right of return to their ancestral lands. Arab-Israeli artists complain of another prejudice: Middle Eastern record companies won’t sign them because they hold blue Israeli identity cards and passports.

“Living in occupied Palestine, having the blue ID, we feel like we don’t have an identity,” says Safa Hathoot of Arapiat, the first all-woman Palestinian hip hop act. “Here in Israel people treat us like a Palestinian, and outside Israel, they treat us as Israeli.”

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

This morning on NBC’s Meet the Press, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) repeatedly refused host David Gregory’s invitation to call questions about President Obama’s citizenship illegitimate, and he also declined to call such rhetoric “crazy,” saying “I don’t think it’s nice to call anyone crazy, ok?” After several prompts from Gregory, Cantor eventually said he believes the president “is a citizen of the United States”:

GREGORY: This is a leadership moment here. There are elements of this country who question the president’s citizenship, who think that his birth certificate is inauthentic. Will you call that what it is, which is crazy talk?

CANTOR: [laughs] David, you know, a lot of that has been an issue sort of generated by not only the media but others in the country. Most Americans really are beyond that and they want us to focus —

GREGORY: Is somebody who brings that up engaging in crazy talk?

CANTOR: David I don’t think it’s nice to call anyone crazy, OK?

GREGORY: Alright. Is it a legitimate or illegitimate issue?

CANTOR: I don’t think it’s an issue that we need to address at all. I think we need to focus on trying –

GREGORY: His citizenship should never be questioned in your judgment, is that what you’re saying?

CANTOR: It’s not an issue that even needs to be on the policymaking table right now.

GREGORY: Because it’s illegitimate? Why won’t you just call it what it is? Because I feel like there are a lot of Republican leaders who don’t want to go as far as to criticize those who –

CANTOR: I think the president is a citizen of the United States.

Watch it:

Cantor’s first attempt to deflect blame for birther conspiracies onto the media and “others in this country” is a dishonest denial of the fact that birth certificate conspiracies have distinctly right-wing origins, as Gregory notes. The theories frequently bubble up at Tea Party rallies and on popular conservative websites like World Net Daily. Fox News also frequently traffics in conspiracy theories about the president’s birth certificate.

In addition, there are several elected officials who have raised questions about Obama’s real birthplace, including several Republicans in the House of Representatives that Cantor leads. For example, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) has said “I really don’t know” if Obama was born in the United States. Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) has also said he doesn’t know if the president is a citizen. In fact, a tally kept at World Net Daily claims that the following members of Cantor’s caucus doubt the president’s citizenship: Reps. Bill Posey (R-FL), Dan Burton (R-IN), Ted Poe (R-TX), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Campbell (R-CA), John R. Carter (R-TX), John Culberson (R-TX), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Randy Neugebauer (R-TX), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), and Kenny Marchant (R-TX).

Gregory offered Cantor a “leadership moment” to repudiate the “crazy talk” coming from many members of Cantor’s caucus, and his reluctance to do so was unfortunate particularly in the wake of President Obama’s calls for a more civil discourse. Instead, Cantor sheepishly claimed it’s not “nice” to call people crazy. But he’s less restrained when it comes to liberals. During a June 2009 appearance on Morning Joe, he called the Democrats’ health care plan “crazy talk.”

ThinkProgress

This morning on NBC’s Meet the Press, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) repeatedly refused host David Gregory’s invitation to call questions about President Obama’s citizenship illegitimate, and he also declined to call such rhetoric “crazy,” saying “I don’t think it’s nice to call anyone crazy, ok?” After several prompts from Gregory, Cantor eventually said he believes the president “is a citizen of the United States”:

GREGORY: This is a leadership moment here. There are elements of this country who question the president’s citizenship, who think that his birth certificate is inauthentic. Will you call that what it is, which is crazy talk?

CANTOR: [laughs] David, you know, a lot of that has been an issue sort of generated by not only the media but others in the country. Most Americans really are beyond that and they want us to focus —

GREGORY: Is somebody who brings that up engaging in crazy talk?

CANTOR: David I don’t think it’s nice to call anyone crazy, OK?

GREGORY: Alright. Is it a legitimate or illegitimate issue?

CANTOR: I don’t think it’s an issue that we need to address at all. I think we need to focus on trying –

GREGORY: His citizenship should never be questioned in your judgment, is that what you’re saying?

CANTOR: It’s not an issue that even needs to be on the policymaking table right now.

GREGORY: Because it’s illegitimate? Why won’t you just call it what it is? Because I feel like there are a lot of Republican leaders who don’t want to go as far as to criticize those who –

CANTOR: I think the president is a citizen of the United States.

Watch it:

Cantor’s first attempt to deflect blame for birther conspiracies onto the media and “others in this country” is a dishonest denial of the fact that birth certificate conspiracies have distinctly right-wing origins, as Gregory notes. The theories frequently bubble up at Tea Party rallies and on popular conservative websites like World Net Daily. Fox News also frequently traffics in conspiracy theories about the president’s birth certificate.

In addition, there are several elected officials who have raised questions about Obama’s real birthplace, including several Republicans in the House of Representatives that Cantor leads. For example, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) has said “I really don’t know” if Obama was born in the United States. Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) has also said he doesn’t know if the president is a citizen. In fact, a tally kept at World Net Daily claims that the following members of Cantor’s caucus doubt the president’s citizenship: Reps. Bill Posey (R-FL), Dan Burton (R-IN), Ted Poe (R-TX), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Campbell (R-CA), John R. Carter (R-TX), John Culberson (R-TX), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Randy Neugebauer (R-TX), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), and Kenny Marchant (R-TX).

Gregory offered Cantor a “leadership moment” to repudiate the “crazy talk” coming from many members of Cantor’s caucus, and his reluctance to do so was unfortunate particularly in the wake of President Obama’s calls for a more civil discourse. Instead, Cantor sheepishly claimed it’s not “nice” to call people crazy. But he’s less restrained when it comes to liberals. During a June 2009 appearance on Morning Joe, he called the Democrats’ health care plan “crazy talk.”

ThinkProgress

This morning on NBC’s Meet the Press, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) repeatedly refused host David Gregory’s invitation to call questions about President Obama’s citizenship illegitimate, and he also declined to call such rhetoric “crazy,” saying “I don’t think it’s nice to call anyone crazy, ok?” After several prompts from Gregory, Cantor eventually said he believes the president “is a citizen of the United States”:

GREGORY: This is a leadership moment here. There are elements of this country who question the president’s citizenship, who think that his birth certificate is inauthentic. Will you call that what it is, which is crazy talk?

CANTOR: [laughs] David, you know, a lot of that has been an issue sort of generated by not only the media but others in the country. Most Americans really are beyond that and they want us to focus —

GREGORY: Is somebody who brings that up engaging in crazy talk?

CANTOR: David I don’t think it’s nice to call anyone crazy, OK?

GREGORY: Alright. Is it a legitimate or illegitimate issue?

CANTOR: I don’t think it’s an issue that we need to address at all. I think we need to focus on trying –

GREGORY: His citizenship should never be questioned in your judgment, is that what you’re saying?

CANTOR: It’s not an issue that even needs to be on the policymaking table right now.

GREGORY: Because it’s illegitimate? Why won’t you just call it what it is? Because I feel like there are a lot of Republican leaders who don’t want to go as far as to criticize those who –

CANTOR: I think the president is a citizen of the United States.

Watch it:

Cantor’s first attempt to deflect blame for birther conspiracies onto the media and “others in this country” is a dishonest denial of the fact that birth certificate conspiracies have distinctly right-wing origins, as Gregory notes. The theories frequently bubble up at Tea Party rallies and on popular conservative websites like World Net Daily. Fox News also frequently traffics in conspiracy theories about the president’s birth certificate.

In addition, there are several elected officials who have raised questions about Obama’s real birthplace, including several Republicans in the House of Representatives that Cantor leads. For example, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) has said “I really don’t know” if Obama was born in the United States. Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) has also said he doesn’t know if the president is a citizen. In fact, a tally kept at World Net Daily claims that the following members of Cantor’s caucus doubt the president’s citizenship: Reps. Bill Posey (R-FL), Dan Burton (R-IN), Ted Poe (R-TX), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Campbell (R-CA), John R. Carter (R-TX), John Culberson (R-TX), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Randy Neugebauer (R-TX), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), and Kenny Marchant (R-TX).

Gregory offered Cantor a “leadership moment” to repudiate the “crazy talk” coming from many members of Cantor’s caucus, and his reluctance to do so was unfortunate particularly in the wake of President Obama’s calls for a more civil discourse. Instead, Cantor sheepishly claimed it’s not “nice” to call people crazy. But he’s less restrained when it comes to liberals. During a June 2009 appearance on Morning Joe, he called the Democrats’ health care plan “crazy talk.”

ThinkProgress

This morning on NBC’s Meet the Press, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) repeatedly refused host David Gregory’s invitation to call questions about President Obama’s citizenship illegitimate, and he also declined to call such rhetoric “crazy,” saying “I don’t think it’s nice to call anyone crazy, ok?” After several prompts from Gregory, Cantor eventually said he believes the president “is a citizen of the United States”:

GREGORY: This is a leadership moment here. There are elements of this country who question the president’s citizenship, who think that his birth certificate is inauthentic. Will you call that what it is, which is crazy talk?

CANTOR: [laughs] David, you know, a lot of that has been an issue sort of generated by not only the media but others in the country. Most Americans really are beyond that and they want us to focus —

GREGORY: Is somebody who brings that up engaging in crazy talk?

CANTOR: David I don’t think it’s nice to call anyone crazy, OK?

GREGORY: Alright. Is it a legitimate or illegitimate issue?

CANTOR: I don’t think it’s an issue that we need to address at all. I think we need to focus on trying –

GREGORY: His citizenship should never be questioned in your judgment, is that what you’re saying?

CANTOR: It’s not an issue that even needs to be on the policymaking table right now.

GREGORY: Because it’s illegitimate? Why won’t you just call it what it is? Because I feel like there are a lot of Republican leaders who don’t want to go as far as to criticize those who –

CANTOR: I think the president is a citizen of the United States.

Watch it:

Cantor’s first attempt to deflect blame for birther conspiracies onto the media and “others in this country” is a dishonest denial of the fact that birth certificate conspiracies have distinctly right-wing origins, as Gregory notes. The theories frequently bubble up at Tea Party rallies and on popular conservative websites like World Net Daily. Fox News also frequently traffics in conspiracy theories about the president’s birth certificate.

In addition, there are several elected officials who have raised questions about Obama’s real birthplace, including several Republicans in the House of Representatives that Cantor leads. For example, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) has said “I really don’t know” if Obama was born in the United States. Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) has also said he doesn’t know if the president is a citizen. In fact, a tally kept at World Net Daily claims that the following members of Cantor’s caucus doubt the president’s citizenship: Reps. Bill Posey (R-FL), Dan Burton (R-IN), Ted Poe (R-TX), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Campbell (R-CA), John R. Carter (R-TX), John Culberson (R-TX), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Randy Neugebauer (R-TX), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), and Kenny Marchant (R-TX).

Gregory offered Cantor a “leadership moment” to repudiate the “crazy talk” coming from many members of Cantor’s caucus, and his reluctance to do so was unfortunate particularly in the wake of President Obama’s calls for a more civil discourse. Instead, Cantor sheepishly claimed it’s not “nice” to call people crazy. But he’s less restrained when it comes to liberals. During a June 2009 appearance on Morning Joe, he called the Democrats’ health care plan “crazy talk.”

ThinkProgress

This morning on NBC’s Meet the Press, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) repeatedly refused host David Gregory’s invitation to call questions about President Obama’s citizenship illegitimate, and he also declined to call such rhetoric “crazy,” saying “I don’t think it’s nice to call anyone crazy, ok?” After several prompts from Gregory, Cantor eventually said he believes the president “is a citizen of the United States”:

GREGORY: This is a leadership moment here. There are elements of this country who question the president’s citizenship, who think that his birth certificate is inauthentic. Will you call that what it is, which is crazy talk?

CANTOR: [laughs] David, you know, a lot of that has been an issue sort of generated by not only the media but others in the country. Most Americans really are beyond that and they want us to focus —

GREGORY: Is somebody who brings that up engaging in crazy talk?

CANTOR: David I don’t think it’s nice to call anyone crazy, OK?

GREGORY: Alright. Is it a legitimate or illegitimate issue?

CANTOR: I don’t think it’s an issue that we need to address at all. I think we need to focus on trying –

GREGORY: His citizenship should never be questioned in your judgment, is that what you’re saying?

CANTOR: It’s not an issue that even needs to be on the policymaking table right now.

GREGORY: Because it’s illegitimate? Why won’t you just call it what it is? Because I feel like there are a lot of Republican leaders who don’t want to go as far as to criticize those who –

CANTOR: I think the president is a citizen of the United States.

Watch it:

Cantor’s first attempt to deflect blame for birther conspiracies onto the media and “others in this country” is a dishonest denial of the fact that birth certificate conspiracies have distinctly right-wing origins, as Gregory notes. The theories frequently bubble up at Tea Party rallies and on popular conservative websites like World Net Daily. Fox News also frequently traffics in conspiracy theories about the president’s birth certificate.

In addition, there are several elected officials who have raised questions about Obama’s real birthplace, including several Republicans in the House of Representatives that Cantor leads. For example, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) has said “I really don’t know” if Obama was born in the United States. Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) has also said he doesn’t know if the president is a citizen. In fact, a tally kept at World Net Daily claims that the following members of Cantor’s caucus doubt the president’s citizenship: Reps. Bill Posey (R-FL), Dan Burton (R-IN), Ted Poe (R-TX), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Campbell (R-CA), John R. Carter (R-TX), John Culberson (R-TX), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Randy Neugebauer (R-TX), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), and Kenny Marchant (R-TX).

Gregory offered Cantor a “leadership moment” to repudiate the “crazy talk” coming from many members of Cantor’s caucus, and his reluctance to do so was unfortunate particularly in the wake of President Obama’s calls for a more civil discourse. Instead, Cantor sheepishly claimed it’s not “nice” to call people crazy. But he’s less restrained when it comes to liberals. During a June 2009 appearance on Morning Joe, he called the Democrats’ health care plan “crazy talk.”

ThinkProgress

Academic rabble rouser claims victim status.
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