What is the primary motive behind the birthers?

[Onlooker]

[Ohio Joe]

1. They are racists.

Well... that and batshit crazy... and stupid... I could go on but you get the idea.

[ccharles000]

2. yup

[RDANGELO]

3. Most of them are very insecure with the fact that America is a

diverse country. The fact that a black man is President of the United States makes them delirious.

[Saturday]

4. Other....they're stupid people. I know some of them. nt

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

5. Some combination of all of the above.

I don't think they're all racists, though most probably are. And being racist, in my opinion, qualifies as mental illness.

On edit: Excluding, of course, the upstanding citizen one. That they are not.

[POAS]

6. Combination of 1,2 & 3 n/t

[Perky]

7. I am not sure it is is as simple as race or partisan politics

Absolutely there is a racial element from many and its their primary motivation and absolutely there are some who are just hard partisans who just don;t like Obama and see this as a way to denigrate his authority.

But I also suspect that at the heart of it for many is hegemony. The most ardent birthers would take the same tact if the president was of Asian or Hispanic sescent.

It is a fear laden response to being swallowed up by a culture that is not like what they have always known.

You cant really assign that wholly to racism.

[Aloha Spirit]

9. I agree... remember the general election footage of Palin supporters claiming Obama would subjugate

whites?
That was pretty revealing, I thought.

[Spazito]

12. "The most ardent birthers would take the same tact if the president...

was of Asian or Hispanic sescent (sic)." Yes, they would BECAUSE they are racists. Racists are against anyone who is NOT white.

Is there a reason you don't capitalize "president" as you did not in your post? I noticed you did use capitalization wrt Asian and Hispanic so it can't be that you just choose not to use capitals at all.

[baldguy]

8. Teabaggers, birthers, snuffers - They're all racists.

and they're all the same people.

[invictus]

10. What are "teabaggers" and "snuffers"? n/t

[ellie]

11. Teabaggers

are the dummies who got together to wave tea bags at God knows who to protest the expiring tax cut for the rich. Snuffers are dummies who say that a government run health care proposal will allow the government to euthanize the elderly.

Insanity.