Dept of "And the Scales Fell from His Eyes": Townhall.com Lets Itself & Marc Ambinder Down

Marc Ambinder is clearly pained that Town Hall is "spot-lighting" a certain questionable fund-raising plea "from a foundation that wants to prove, in court, that Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States and is therefore ineligible to be president and therefore wants to do a whole lot of bad things involving amnesty, illegal aliens and the United Nations. Obama'd be the "Usurper in Chief.""

"The birth charge is specious and has been convincingly refuted," he points out severely, furrowing his digital brow more in sorrow than in anger. 

The problem is that he apparently believes that Townhall.com "is a mainstream, legitimate, comprehensive, informative, and entertaining conservative news and opinion magazine and website."  He adds, conscientious as ever, "To liberals and non-conservatives, their content can sometimes be edgy."

No, not quite right.  To liberals and non-conservatives, their content can sometimes be a laughable diversion and a never-ending parade of easy targets for ridicule. 

Here at IDLYE, we regularly partake of the even-toned and temperate political prose of the admirable Ambinder.  But...really, Marc Ambinder?  Really?

To be fair to him, he does disclose that Town Hall has written nice things about him. 

That's part of his problem, right there:  that he views this with satisfaction rather than alarm, consternation, and despondency.

Instead, he is surprised and shocked---yes, shocked!---at the lack of line-drawing and common decency.  But though pained, he's willing to give them the benefit of the doubt:

I assume that the ad content doesn't represent the editorial opinion of Townhall, but there's no disclaimer, and the "Spotlight" box seems to suggest the opposite, leaving the impression that Townhall endorses the claims. (Ambinder)

Yes, it does leave that impression, doesn't it?

And yet they haven't even bothered to return his calls or emails.

On the subject of the fund-raising organization, Thresher at Wheat. Not Chaff remarks on the evolving Obama Derangement Syndrome.

Marc notes that the claims of this organization have been “convincingly refuted,” and they have.  But that hasn’t stopped huge sums of money from flowing into this group, enough to buy not just ads on Town Hall but major newspapers, as well.  I’ve seen two full page ads from the group in the Chicago Tribune, and I’m sure there are more I’ve missed.

These are the same type of, if not actually the same, people for whom Clinton Derangement Syndrome is named.   They take half-truths and outright lies, twist them to support their desired outcomes, then buy ads and appear on radio and TV talk shows to make their claims without challenge.   Like the CDS people, they are sore losers and will stoop to virutally any depth to undo an election.

And, like the CDS people, many of them can be found at Townhall.com.

Ron Chusid, also---considering everything--- temperately, points out:

I have previously noted the evidence against the claims that Obama is not a natural born citizen in posts including here and here. The second post includes a report that Hawaii’s Department of Health director has verified the legitimacy of Obama’s birth certificate..... Snopes has also debunked the claims being circulated by the right regarding Obama’s birth certificate. Of course facts never seem to have any impact upon the ridiculous claims spread by the right wing.

UPDATE:  IDLYE is very grateful to Whiskey Fire for the link.

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Comments

[NoMoreBlatherDotCom]

Now, for those who deal in the truth and facts, where exactly BHO was born has not been definitively proven. Linking to *Snopes* should be the first clue.

See this for the details:

http://24ahead.com/blog/archives/008184.html

Note that after I posted that the state of HI did *not* verify BHO's supposed cert. They only said he had a cert on file. That's all they said.

If anyone disagrees, provide *definitive proof*. And, no, JPEGs at some website are not *definitive proof*.

[Ted]

This is NOT rocket science:
Since the Constitution’s Article II requires our President to be a “natural born citizen” (not merely “citizen” as allowed for those living when the Constitution was enacted) meaning both parents were US “citizens” when the child was born (parents not necessarily “natural born” citizens), there’s NO WAY Obama can be President — regardless of being born in Kenya OR Hawaii. Obama’s dad was NOT an American citizen. He was a citizen of the UK (ruling Kenya at the time). Case closed.

[Redshift]

Really, Ted? "Natural born citizen" means precisely that both parents were U.S. citizens? Gee, and here I thought the exact meaning was still the subject of lively debate. Got a citation? A reference?

(I ask from the relative safety of knowing that there is not yet a URL protocol for referencing "pulled it out of my ass.")

[Shoe]

I welcome Ted and NoMoreBlather to bring their arguments to court. He-he-he.

[Bhaal]

Ted:
Thomas Jefferson's mother, Jane Randolph Jefferson, was born in the Tower Hamlets of Shadwell, a neighborhood of London. That's, um, in England.

[David]

To say that I am conservative is like saying the sun is a bit warm. Having said that, it galls me that the conservatives are being represented by know-nothings such as Ted stating that both parents had to be citizens in order to be considered "natural born". LEARN TO READ! I did not vote for President-elect Obama. I did not and do not care for many of the objectives he put forth on the campaign trail. The election is now over. The American people have spoken. I will continue to be the voice of the loyal opposition. Emphasis on "loyal".

Let me further state, however, that the liberals of our fair land have been a bit on the venomous side of arguments. We can disagree with respect. People who do not share our opinions, whether liberal or conservative, are not evil. They both have a right to their opinions. Let us all show a modicum of respect to each other when deal with these differences of opinion.