# Trump voters: explain yourselves **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 24, 2016, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699 "2016-09-24T03:24:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/441 "2016-10-06T18:03:39Z")
After Obama released his Birth Certificate in 2008, there were a few reasons to remain in the “birther” camp: 1. You were a racist fucknugget who simply hated, HATED the idea of a black man in the Whitehouse. 2. You were a fucking clueless dork, who got all of their “news” from far-right sites run by douchebags who lied to you deliberately, knowing that you were too stupid to figure out the truth. 3. You were a deranged mentally ill sad piece of humanity, who believes every nutty conspiracy theory that floats by, because your brain is chemically damaged. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/442 "2016-10-06T18:30:03Z")
So all we’re saying is, you’ve got options. ---
**Author:** ![HeweyLogan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heweylogan/32/547_2.png) [@HeweyLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeweyLogan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/443 "2016-10-06T19:04:33Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Specifically, why you continued to doubt Obama’s birthplace after he released his birth certificate and a mountain of other evidence in 2008. There was no evidence he was born anywhere else. And yet you admit you didn’t believe it until 2011. A “mountain of other evidence”? You mean a photocopy of his short-form birth certificate. Considering what was out there before, for instance “A promotional booklet published by Barack Obama’s literary agents in 1991 states, “Barack Obama, the first African-American president of Harvard Law Review, was born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia and Hawaii.”” it seems to me it was a valid question and something that needed to be dealt with fully. After the long form was released, most gave it up and moved on. > **[Did Obama's Literary Agent Say He Was Born in Kenya?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/promotional-booklet/)** > > A 1991 literary promotional booklet identified Barack Obama as having been born in Kenya. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Further, Trump continued spreading these racist bullshit lies until 2016. Why would you support someone who spread bullshit racist lies, with no evidence, for years and years? A) I don’t and didn’t think it was “racist” to question his qualifications to be president and B) there are any number of things I don’t agree with him on. Just because I’m going to vote for him doesn’t mean I stand by everything the man ever did and said. Just the gist of what he’s saying, and accomplishing, now. On the whole I agree with it. And he’s not Hillary. ---
**Author:** ![HeweyLogan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heweylogan/32/547_2.png) [@HeweyLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeweyLogan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/444 "2016-10-06T19:13:27Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The fact that he’s now whining about not having a “discussion” and that people are being mean to him makes him a hypocrite as well as a fuckwit. He wasn’t dragged into the Pit against his will. I don’t recall saying any of that. I recall insinuating that some here aren’t all that quick on the uptake, and after repeatably answering the same questions over and over again, I was getting frustrated. > [@Colibri](#): > > Hey, I didn’t identify who he was talking about, but you’re right. From the description everyone will instantly know it was you. Yeah they will. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/445 "2016-10-06T19:18:11Z")
> [@HeweyLogan](#): > > Just because I’m going to vote for him doesn’t mean I stand by everything the man ever did and said. Just the gist of what he’s saying, and accomplishing, now. On the whole I agree with it. > > And he’s not Hillary. Th gist of what he’s saying? How can you even decipher it. The man is quite inarticulate. Do you disagree with any of this from the Atlantic this month? > [@](#): > > In its founding statement, The Atlantic promised that it would be “the organ of no party or clique,” and our interest here is not to advance the prospects of the Democratic Party, nor to damage those of the Republican Party. If Hillary Clinton were facing Mitt Romney, or John McCain, or George W. Bush, or, for that matter, any of the leading candidates Trump vanquished in the Republican primaries, we would not have contemplated making this endorsement. We believe in American democracy, in which individuals from various parties of different ideological stripes can advance their ideas and compete for the affection of voters. But Trump is not a man of ideas. He is a demagogue, a xenophobe, a sexist, a know-nothing, and a liar. He is spectacularly unfit for office, and voters—the statesmen and thinkers of the ballot box—should act in defense of American democracy and elect his opponent. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/446 "2016-10-06T19:21:21Z")
> [@HeweyLogan](#): > > A “mountain of other evidence”? You mean a photocopy of his short-form birth certificate. I mean his birth certificate, contemporary newspaper announcements from 2 different Hawaiian newspapers announcing his birth, statements by Hawaiian state officials confirming that he was born in Hawaii (and that his birth certificate was legitimate), and the statements of him and his family. Several journalists went to Hawaii and personally looked at and photographed his birth certificate on file in 2008 and publicized it. > [@](#): > > Considering what was out there before, for instance “A promotional booklet published by Barack Obama’s literary agents in 1991 states, “Barack Obama, the first African-American president of Harvard Law Review, was born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia and Hawaii.”” it seems to me it was a valid question and something that needed to be dealt with fully. That bullshit literary promotion (which was false, of course) didn’t come up until 2012, even after the long-form birth certificate was released. It wasn’t in the discussion at all in 2008. There was no shred of evidence he was born anywhere else in 2008. Again, why didn’t you accept the mountain of evidence in 2008, including his birth certificate and statements from Hawaiian officials who confirmed state records? > [@](#): > > After the long form was released, most gave it up and moved on. > > [Did Obama's Literary Agent Say He Was Born in Kenya? | Snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthers/booklet.asp) Not Brietbart, which found that bullshit literary promotion thing in 2012 – long after even you say you were convinced. Why bring up a piece of bullshit like that from 2012 if you were convinced in 2011? > [@](#): > > A) I don’t and didn’t think it was “racist” to question his qualifications to be president What reason was there to question his qualifications after 2008? There wasn’t a shred of evidence he was born anywhere else, and a mountain of proof he was born in 'Hawaii. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/447 "2016-10-06T19:27:29Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > …Not Brietbart, which found that bullshit literary promotion thing in 2012… Wanna dance? Do the Blightbart Boogie! > [@](#): > > …Andrew Breitbart was never a “Birther,” and Breitbart News is a site that has never advocated the narrative of “Birtherism.” In fact, Andrew believed, as we do, that President Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on August 4, 1961. > > … [W]e discovered, and now present, the booklet described below — one that includes a marketing pitch for a forthcoming book by a then-young, otherwise unknown former president of the Harvard Law Review. > > It is evidence — not of the President’s foreign origin, but that Barack Obama’s public persona has perhaps been presented differently at different times. (Emphasis added, same Snopes cite as above) Damning indeed! OK, darning to heck! ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/448 "2016-10-06T19:27:48Z")
> [@HeweyLogan](#): > > A) I don’t and didn’t think it was “racist” to question his qualifications to be president… Why single out Obama, then? You didn’t question John McCain’s qualifications to be president; didn’t even bother to find out where he was born. Did Mitt Romney have to show you his birth certificate; and would a photocopy of the short form have been sufficient, or would you demand the long form from the state of his birth (Michigan, if you’re suddenly curious)? Have you seen Donald Trump’s birth certificate, Hillary Clinton’s, Mike Pence’s, Tim Kaine’s, Paul Ryan’s, Joe Biden’s? All those people have to meet the same qualifications as Obama, so why demand it only from him? And please don’t say it was only an issue with Obama, because it was you, and people like you, who chose to make it an issue. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/449 "2016-10-06T19:28:21Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Th gist of what he’s saying? How can you even decipher it. The man is quite inarticulate. This is his articulate ignorance on display: [Donald Trump Flubs ‘Nevada’ Pronunciation While Teaching Reno Crowd How to Say It](http://time.com/4521256/donald-trump-nevada-reno-pronunciation/) > [@](#): > > Donald Trump mispronounced the word “Nevada” while trying to teach a Reno crowd how to say the name of their home state. > > At a rally Wednesday night, Trump said, “Nevada. Ne-vahhhh-da… Nobody says it the other way, it has to be Ne-vah-da. And if you don’t say it correctly,” Trump joked, “it didn’t happen to me but it happened to a friend of mine, he was killed.” > > Reporters in attendance noted that some members of the crowd yelled back the proper pronunciation, Neh-VAD-ah. Trump was also criticized on Twitter for the flub. But Trump will probably say he was pronouncing it correctly and everybody who lives in the state has been saying wrong all along. ---
**Author:** ![HeweyLogan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heweylogan/32/547_2.png) [@HeweyLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeweyLogan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/450 "2016-10-06T19:45:05Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Again, why didn’t you accept the mountain of evidence in 2008, including his birth certificate and statements from Hawaiian officials who confirmed state records? What difference does it make, now, after all this time? I believe he’s a citizen. Issue closed. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/451 "2016-10-06T19:49:33Z")
> [@HeweyLogan](#): > > What difference does it make, now, after all this time? > > I believe he’s a citizen. Issue closed. “_IGNORE THE BIGOTRY BEHIND THE CURTAIN!!_”, the mysterious voice said. ---
**Author:** ![HeweyLogan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heweylogan/32/547_2.png) [@HeweyLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeweyLogan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/452 "2016-10-06T19:54:08Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Why single out Obama, then? You didn’t question John McCain’s qualifications to be president; didn’t even bother to find out where he was born. Did Mitt Romney have to show you his birth certificate; and would a photocopy of the short form have been sufficient, or would you demand the long form from the state of his birth (Michigan, if you’re suddenly curious)? Have you seen Donald Trump’s birth certificate, Hillary Clinton’s, Mike Pence’s, Tim Kaine’s, Paul Ryan’s, Joe Biden’s? All those people have to meet the same qualifications as Obama, so why demand it only from him?. I don’t recall any of those people listed above standing idly by as others touted them being born in Kenya, raised in Indonesia and Hawaii. If they had I would have paid as much attention to it as I did with Obama. Or at least been curious to see a definitive answer. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/453 "2016-10-06T19:55:20Z")
> [@HeweyLogan](#): > > What difference does it make, now, after all this time? > > I believe he’s a citizen. Issue closed. Because it was so damaging to the country – a huge portion of the electorate didn’t think he was a legitimate president for years, and many _still don’t_, and it’s entirely based on lies. _It’s very bad for the country_ if millions don’t think the President (any President!) is legitimate because of lies spread about their birth, no matter their policies. I want to know why someone accepted those lies from '08 to '11 despite the overwhelming evidence he was born in Hawaii. > [@HeweyLogan](#): > > I don’t recall any of those people listed above standing idly by as others touted them being born in Kenya, raised in Indonesia and Hawaii. Obama didn’t do this either. He released a mountain of evidence for his birth when it was questioned in 2008. Why are you still spreading lies about him? ---
**Author:** ![HeweyLogan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heweylogan/32/547_2.png) [@HeweyLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeweyLogan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/454 "2016-10-06T20:09:07Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Because it was so damaging to the country – a huge portion of the electorate didn’t think he was a legitimate president for years, and many _still don’t_, and it’s entirely based on lies. _It’s very bad for the country_ if millions don’t think the President (any President!) is legitimate because of lies spread about their birth, no matter their policies. I want to know why someone accepted those lies from '08 to '11 despite the overwhelming evidence he was born in Hawaii. Because I’m racist, obviously. Just like I’m a sexist when it comes to being critical of Hillary. Or it could be I was as curious as the others who were asking the question, wanting a definitive answer and wondering why that was so difficult to produce (ie the long form. Not birth announcements and photocopied records). Was I right at the time? No. So what. It wasn’t a deciding factor in why I’d vote for or against Obama, back then. But I wasn’t going to then (or now) take the excuse that it’s because I’m a racist I ask the question, shut the fuck up, fool. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/455 "2016-10-06T20:15:34Z")
> [@HeweyLogan](#): > > Because I’m racist, obviously. Just like I’m a sexist when it comes to being critical of Hillary. > > Or it could be I was as curious as the others who were asking the question, wanting a definitive answer and wondering why that was so difficult to produce (ie the long form. Not birth announcements and photocopied records). > > Was I right at the time? No. So what. It wasn’t a deciding factor in why I’d vote for or against Obama, back then. But I wasn’t going to then (or now) take the excuse that it’s because I’m a racist I ask the question, shut the fuck up, fool. I didn’t say you were a racist. But if you bought those bullshit lies that had no evidence for 3 years then you’re an idiot. Same as people who buy the moon landing or 9/11 conspiracies. Have you learned anything from this? Do you recognize how foolish you were being for giving any credence to all those evidence free lies? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/456 "2016-10-06T20:23:48Z")
> [@HeweyLogan](#): > > Because I’m racist, obviously. Just like I’m a sexist when it comes to being critical of Hillary. > > Or it could be I was as curious as the others who were asking the question, wanting a definitive answer and wondering why that was so difficult to produce (ie the long form. Not birth announcements and photocopied records). > > Was I right at the time? No. So what. It wasn’t a deciding factor in why I’d vote for or against Obama, back then. But I wasn’t going to then (or now) take the excuse that it’s because I’m a racist I ask the question, shut the fuck up, fool. No, no, being a racist was only ONE of the options I gave you above. You could also have been a gullible fucking moron who believed the pack of lies that was shoveled at you after 2008, or you could have some kind of brain illness that makes you easily susceptible to insane conspiracy theories. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/457 "2016-10-06T20:28:46Z")
Can’t even say for sure the people pushing this shit were racists. They might simply have seen an easy way to backstab Obama. So, not so much racist as ruthless. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/458 "2016-10-06T21:54:07Z")
I’m sure republicans would have (and probably will soon) come up with some reason to pretend Hillary Clinton wasn’t eligible for the presidency had she won in 2008 as well. It might even make sense, to them. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2016, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/459 "2016-10-07T00:36:24Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Because it was so damaging to the country – a huge portion of the electorate didn’t think he was a legitimate president for years, and many _still don’t_, and it’s entirely based on lies. _It’s very bad for the country_ if millions don’t think the President (any President!) is legitimate because of lies spread about their birth, no matter their policies. I don’t think the publicized claims actually _fooled_ anyone; only people who already suffered from anti-Obama paranoia gave them any credence. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699/460 "2016-10-12T22:23:09Z")
What he said: [I Can’t Stand Donald Trump. But I’m Voting for Him.](https://medium.com/@tgiovanetti/i-cant-stand-donald-trump-but-i-m-voting-for-him-d4738ee5812e#.us8wftp5v) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-explain-yourselves/766699.md?page=24)