The following is an op-ed penned by Dr. Paul E. Rutledge, assistant professor in UWG's Department of Political Science and Planning.
As I read and write about the “birther bill” that is apparently scheduled to appear before the Georgia Legislature’s Government Affairs subcommittee, I am struck with a few responses. First, I agree with columnist Kyle Wingfield of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, a conservative ironically, that the bill is an embarrassment to Georgia and to conservatives in general. Coming from a faculty member at a university I am sure this surprises no one, but those same sentiments being expressed by a conservative columnist I feel debunks the notion of ideological bias this response is likely to illicit.
Since the “birther” movement began, evidence has been readily available documenting that President Obama is an American citizen. Further, the argument made by so called “constitutionalist,” Rep. Mark Hatfield (R-Waycross) carries little weight. He argues that it is not just about this president, but rather about enforcing a constitutional responsibility to make sure that future presidents and vice presidents are eligible to serve. If you buy that, I have a bridge and some stock options in this great company called Enron I would like to sell you. This is totally about Obama, and anyone who does not see that is a fool.
Perhaps the biggest problem with this bill is that there are so many other problems that will be put off because the Government Affairs committee will consider this bill. There are plenty of issues the state could devote scarce attention to that are policy specific, rather than personal. Does anyone remember the health care law? Come on Republicans, surely you are capable of better than this? Surely the state did not elect you to codify conspiracy theories? Surely you are capable of putting aside personal loathing of a president, even on policy specifics mind you, to address such problems as a severely damaged economy? Maybe we should substitute discussion about the draconian cuts to education, particularly higher education that directly threaten the future of Georgia?
Maybe I am expecting too much. After all, this is the Georgia Legislature, where important problems go to die, and anything short of a narrated video of Barack Obama’s birth is probably insufficient.
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Exactly! The Georgia Legislature's main and only concerns right now should be the economy of Georgia and education, as we are still 48th place in the nation in education. However, is a shame to see that the state government is so oblivious to the problems in their face that they instead try to make-up for it by considering the "birther bill." This is just one of the many reasons why I am moving out-of-state.
ReplyDeleteI want to thank you professor for this well written piece. I am more embarrassed than anything about this bill, and upset that instead of addressing the issues facing the state such as economic turmoil and the Hope Scholarship our representatives find this more important. Politics have gone such a sad way in the past few years.
ReplyDeleteSince the Democrat Party didn’t certify their candidate when President Obama ran for the POTUS I think the responsibility falls on the State Legislature to certify the candidate before the State of Georgia places President Obama on the ballot for his reelection. All I can say is it’s about time.
ReplyDeleteOur state should certify all candidates before allowing their names on any ballots.
ReplyDelete