"A lot of people talk about Obama and his Messianic complex," joked Rush Limbaugh on his conservative talk show recently, "but he does have one thing in common with God. God doesn't have a birth certificate either" (Kleefeld 1).
Since words often have a funny etymology anyway, I figured a bit of humor was as good a way as any to introduce my new "candidate" for the OED. Besides, its inclusion on the nation's most listened to radio program shows not only how widespread this conservative "conspiracy theory" has become. And, since they have even made a splash across the pond, I thought this was further proof our OED brethren should give them a shot.
A birther is one who "rejects the legitimacy of the President of the United States citizenship and therefore his eligibility to be president." ("Barack") Although the Birther Movement was born in the blogosphere, the exact origin of the term remains somewhat murky. Most agree "the 'birther' nickname is half adapted from the 9/11 'truthers'" (Page 40) -- there is quite a difference of opinion, mainly along party lines, as to their importance or remaining relevance. Most of the birthers' claims against Obama's citizenship have something to do with his birth certificate (either due to the fact it was never seen publicly, or there is some flaw in the document that has been shown digitally) which led to speculation that Barack was born elsewhere -- most likely in Kenya, as was Obama's father. And so, while the birther's original goal was to prevent Obama from running, their current focus is to remove him from office.
Indeed, immediately after Obama announced his candidacy for the presidency, reports about his dubious birth certificate surfaced. Perhaps because Hawaiian law barred "release of a certified birth certificate to anyone without 'tangible interest'" ("Barack") the conspiracy fire began to flame into the mainstream, as respected journalists like Jim Geraghty of National Review fame declared that, while "'I do not consider myself a birther...Senator Obama should release his birth certificate to dispel the rumors'" ("Barack"). Shortly thereafter, Fightthesmears.com, a pro-Obama website, released a picture of the certificate, but this so-so replication only fueled speculation that the image was photoshopped, culminated with author Jerome Corsi's claim in his New York Times list best seller Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality that, "The campaign has posted a fake birth certificate on their Web site" (Corsi 188).
Of course, Obama survived the onslaughts of the birthers and others to become president, and many assumed the birth certificate controversy would die out after he was elected. However, lawsuits challenging the birth certificate by the likes of former Obama U.S. Senate seat opponent Alan Keyes, as well as the unflappable Russian-born, self-described "lawyer, dentist, birther" Orly Taitz ("Orly") kept the issue alive both with the media and in the court system, so that by summer, even England's well-known Guardian site, citing birther support not only from popular commentators such as Limbaugh, Lou Dobbs and Sean Hannity, but notable members of Congress like John Campbell (who said Obama was a citizen "As far as I know") and Michele Bachmann, who stated to Hannity that Obama "is planning re-education camps" declared, "The president has yet to prove he's a U.S. citizen" ("Birther"). This uproar prompted the unprecedented presidential statements by both the White House's Spokesman Robert Gibbs, "I almost hate to indulge in such fictional nonsense, but I have news for the birthers...the president was born in Honolulu, Hawaii...He's a citizen," and Hawaiian Department of Health director Dr. Chiyome Fukino, "I have seen the vital records on file verifying Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii, and I have nothing further to add" (Silva 8), in an attempt to squelch the madness.
In the end, it was probably not these official statements, but the birthers' loss of interest (not to mention ineptness) that slowed the movement down. The Limbaughs and Hannitys moved on to other topics, while the diehards like Ms. Taitz were shooting themselves in the foot. After the White House allowed FactCheck.Org to examine and photograph the certificate, stating "We conclude it meets all requirements...for proving U.S. citizenship" ("Born"). Orly released "an authentic Obama birth certificate from the Republic of Kenya" ("Barack"), only to discover Kenya wasn't a Republic at the time Obama was born. Indeed, this fraud was only compounded when just last week, not only was Taitz' latest birther lawsuit thrown out, but the judge fined the lawyer-dentist $20,000 for "misuse of the legal system" (McAffee 4881).
And so, Professor Zambreno, while your claims (especially after the recent turn of events) that my word may be too "current and specific" for the OED appear quite accurate, I can counter with the fact that the Birther Movement appeared to have died several times already, only to rise again. After all, "Oxford" seeks not only "new words," but evidence for words thought to have died out" ("Contribute") and "birther" fits that bill perfectly! If nothing else, the word could become "generalized" (Allegro 210) to mean all those opposing Obama, or extended to those who oppose certain policies (for example, pro-lifers could become "pro-birthers") or those who question Obama's biblical origins (maybe "the birth-of-the-Anti-Christ-ers?"). Either way, "birther" deserves to be included...at least until Obama actually shows that damned certificate to the Republicans...
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