The Hewitt Blog

Congressman Bill Posey’s (R, Fla) proposal to require Presidential candidates to submit proof of citizenship seems to be gaining steam now that eleven of his fellow House members have signed on as co-birthers. It’s a promising bill, but it doesn’t go nearly far enough. As Rep. Posey points out, we require documentation for all kinds of things in this country. Apply for a passport, a driver’s license, or a credit card and you have to prove who you are. If you want to be appointed a Supreme Court justice you go through a rigorous intellectual, moral, financial, and political strip search. Even if you want to be a Block Captain in the Neighborhood Watch program the Sheriff does a background check. So what’s the problem with Posey’s bill? For starters, it doesn’t include candidates for the United States Senate or House of Representatives. You don’t have to be native born to serve in Congress, but you do have to be a citizen. Those folks ought to be required to provide proof of citi...

I’ve been thinking a lot about the right wing crazies lately — the folks who are convinced that global warming is a myth, that President Obama isn’t a citizen, or that the government should keep it’s hands off Medicare. How did they become the base of the GOP? Why are there so many of them? What rock did they crawl out from under? The explanation, it turns out, is genetic. They cavort in a gene pool with demonstrable origins in the far depths of American history. It all goes back to Anne Hutchinson and her demon spawn. You remember Anne Hutchinson, right? A heroic woman of 17th century New England? Key figure in the the antinomian controversy of 1636-37? Banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony? Later killed by Indians? OK, maybe you’re a bit rusty on the details, so let’s review. Hutchinson had the temerity to presume that as a female she could interpret the bible — yes, I know, it’s hard to believe — hold discussions in her house unsupervised by clergy with both men and w...