Reason Writers Around Town: Matt Welch Debates Andres Martinez on NATO Expansion, Health Care, and Birthers

At Bloggingheads.tv, Reason Editor in Chief Matt Welch tangled with the New America Foundation's Andres Martinez over Joe Biden's awfulness, U.S. relations with Russia, President Obama's eroding numerical credibility, and how the Birther movement affects U.S. politics. Roughly one hour, and available at this link should the embedded image fail to load.

Comments

[Canter]

"Birther movement"

It's a movement? Who writes this crap?

[PbP]

What would you call it? The sad part is, I know birthers, I know some who don't know what to think... you know... partial birthers.

[Canter]

The civil rights movement was a movement.

Birthers? Not so much.

"What would you call it?"

How about: Those StupeFuck Birthers?

[Canter]

I mean come on. Do we speak of the Reptialian Shape Shifters Movement? Or the Freegans Movement?

A Reason site search of "Libertarian Movement" only produces 10 hits and Libertarians have put up candidates for president.

When the birthers field a birther presidential candidate and get them on the ballot in all fifty states, then and only then can you finally call it a movement.

[Matt Welch]

A Reason site search of "Libertarian Movement" only produces 10 hits and Libertarians have put up candidates for president.

Maybe that's because when movements coalesce into parties, people then refer to the "Party"?

Also, though I don't know how often it plays out in our pages, I have heard libertarians talk of simply "the movement" probably more than a thousand times.

[R C Dean]

Guys, I think you're missing the joke, and I say this as someone who finds the birther kerfuffle endlessly entertaining.

Birther "movement." Think about it.

[T]

Matt Welch tangled with the New America Foundation's Andres Martinez over Joe Biden's awfulness

Wait, there's someone out there who's prepared to debate this? WTF? Joe Biden is assassination insurance for Obama. Anybody contemplating assassination thinks "President Biden" and has to go have a stiff drink and lie down for a bit.

Damn, now I need one.

[Paul]

In my opinion the Republican Party has been taken over the most extreme religious right (people who love to push their beliefs on others while trying to take away their rights) and that's who they need to focus on if they real want to win. Good Luck, because as they said in WACO, "We Ain't Coming Out".

In the same vein, to all the birthers in La, La Land, it is on you to prove to all of us that your assertion is true, if there are people who were there and support your position then show us the video (everyone has a price), either put up or frankly shut-up. I heard Orly Taitz, is selling a tape (I think it's called "Money, Lies and Video tape"). She is from Orange County, CA, now I know what the mean when they say "behind the Orange Curtain", when they talk about Orange County, the captial of Conspiracy Theories. You know Obama has a passport, he travel abroad before he was a Senator, but I guess he fooled them too?

[hmm]

I haven't watched the whole feed yet, but you guys frame your web shots better than your filmed shots.

Yes I'm harping on what seems to be a silly arbitrary thing. But half assing something so easily solved as proper framing of a video shot is not acceptable!

[Brandybuck]

The birfers are a movement because they've been eating plenty of fiber.

[Tim Cavanaugh]

I could swear the guy on the left is Hugh Frederick.