Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A person who denies that Barack Obama was born in the United States and asserts that he therefore became president in violation of the requirements of the US Constitution.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun One who
gives birth - noun slang, pejorative, US politics A believer in one or more
conspiracy theories , holding that President Barack Obama is not a "natural born" citizen of the United States, and therefore ineligible for the presidency.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Well, I'm giving a hit to President Obama this week for releasing his long-form birth certificate and squashing the so-called birther conspiracy theory that alleged that he wasn't somehow born in the United States and thus isn't fit to hold office.
Obama's Oil Panic 2011
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The so-called birther issue has driven many of Trump's TV appearances, including a much-talked about interview with NBC's Today Show on April 7.
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Under the U.S. Constitution, only people born in the United States are eligible to become president, and so-called "birther" groups opposed to Mr. Obama continue to allege that he was born in Kenya.
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She expressed her frustration regarding what has been called the "birther" issue.
Forbes.com: News Forbes 2011
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Many were hateful, "birther"-type arguments, typed in "all caps" the electronic equivalent of screaming or simply nasty.
Gary Shapiro: President Obama Gets It Right: Regulation Hurts Innovation, So Why the Public Backlash? Gary Shapiro 2011
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In fact, if you are a "birther" - a term coined by the mainstream press to disparage those who doubt Obama's eligibility to hold office based on his citizenship - even so-called conservative icons like Ann Coulter and Glenn Beck consider you a nut.
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Larkin is very much decorated and isn't some tinfoil hat "birther" - his commendations could fill a family album.
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From "birther" - led citizen grand juries charging the president with fraud, to gun-toting protesters outside presidential events, organized opposition to the new administration and its policies has taken on a decidedly radical bent, giving rise to the unthinkable: what if some lunatic, or a group of them, decides to transition from vicious rhetoric to violent action?
AlterNet.org Main RSS Feed Christopher Moraff, The Philadelphia Tribune 2009
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One of my friends in the small community of Obama "birther" - debunkers passes on quite the discovery: a 1964 "certified copy of registration of birth" from Australia, easily available on Bomford. net, a genealogy site.
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So let’s go with this: Brown thanked the birther from the podium, which is more than Obama ever did for Ayers.
Matthew Yglesias » Maybe Ben Bernanke is a Conservative Republican 2010
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“Birthers,” for example, who promoted the easily disproven claim that Barack Obama had been born outside the US and was therefore ineligible to be president (it’s now being applied to another Black aspirant to the White House, Kamala Harris), and anti-vaxxers, who want to deny lifesaving vaccines to children, have entered the QAnon universe.
Here’s Why BuzzFeed News Is Calling QAnon A “Collective Delusion” From Now On Drusilla MoorhouseBuzzFeed News Reporter 2020
skipvia commented on the word birther
One who still believes, even in the face of overwhelming evidence, that Obama was not born on the US and therefore not a legitimate president.
"Michael Medved, a leading far-right voice, recently referred to the Birthers as "the worst enemy of the conservative movement." He added, "It makes us look weird. It makes us look crazy. It makes us look demented. It makes us look sick, troubled, and not suitable for civilized company."
-Steve Benen, Washington Monthly
As if they needed help...
July 23, 2009
bilby commented on the word birther
I've come across this term recently too.
August 1, 2009
john commented on the word birther
See also afterbirther.
April 28, 2011
gmazzarell commented on the word birther
The word birther, called by those who do not want to argue the facts but only want to ridicule, shows the foul tactic of those who have no defense and so resort to name calling. The real sorrow is that instead of tipping off the rest of us, it makes us part of a lynch mob instead of questioning the truth or falseness of the accusation.
August 7, 2011