According to House Republican Whip Eric Cantor the Birther story is actually being fueled by
....those most eager to talk about the President’s citizenship are in fact some of his biggest cheerleaders–whether it’s Chris Matthews or others on MSNBC, the Huffington Post, or camera toting liberal bloggers chasing people through the streets of Washington.”
That must be news to Andrea Mitchell who asked a similar question today of two pundits. Namely, who is responsible for this continuing nonsense and why Republicans are much more likely to believe the conspiracy theories surrounding Obama's place of birth than the clear majority of 77% of Americans who do not.
A stuttering, stammering Republican strategist Susan Molinari couldn't explain it very well, comparing the fringe elements of 9/11 conspiracy theorists in the Democratic party with the 58% of all Republicans who said "no" or weren't sure if Obama is American-born just wasn't all that helpful. And an equally embarrassed David Bonior for the other side downplayed it as a product of "some, but not all" rightwing talk radio and television, and said it would soon go away.
One aspect not commented on from the poll cited by Mitchell was just how Southern these Birther conspiracy theorists really are. Jon Perr has more.
In reality the Birthers are merely a symptom of the Republican Party itself now devolving into a much smaller regional party, instead of a truly national one.
