An embarrassing time to be Republican—well, more embarrassing than usual. Of Trump & Birthers [View All]

[KittyWampus]

Donald Trump soars to top of GOP field
byDavid Nir

(Josh Roberts, Reuters)
Public Policy Polling (PDF) (4/4-7, Republican primary voters, no trendlines):

Donald Trump (R): 26
Mike Huckabee (R): 17
Mitt Romney (R): 15
Newt Gingrich (R): 11
Sarah Palin (R): 8
Ron Paul (R): 5
Michele Bachmann (R): 4
Tim Pawlenty (R): 4
Someone else/Undecided: 10
(MoE: ±4.9%)

It's an embarrassing time to be a Republican—well, more embarrassing than usual. An abrasive reality-show host and real-estate "faux-gul" with one of the worst comb-overs in American history is now soaring to the top of the GOP's contender list, and it's all for one reason: the "b" word. Trump's fetish for just about every wild birther conspiracy theory might make supposedly civilized beltway Republicans (if there even is such a thing) wince with chagrin, but it's rather endeared him to the party's base.

So maybe you're saying, Trump won't run—this is just a stunt, none of this is going to matter. I disagree. First off, every day that birtherism is in the news just makes the Republican Party look more ridiculous, fires up Democratic partisans, and alienates independents. Republican leaders know this, with Karl Rove going so far as to blame Obama himself for propagating this mind-virus. If The Donald is simply the host organism, then it's a role he should understand well, since he's spent his whole life as a parasite.

snip

Q: Would you be willing or unwilling to support a candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination who firmly stated they believed Barack Obama was born in the United States?

Willing to support non-birther: 38
Unwilling to: 23
Unsure: 39

http://www.dailykos.com/