Republican Birther Under Fire For Chimp 'Joke' Against President Obama

Orange County Republican Committee member Marilyn Davenport is in hot water after distributing an email that features President Obama as the child of a family of chimpanzees. In the email, which was widely-distributed, the long-standing committee member sent out the picture with the caption, “Now you know why – No birth certificate!”



County GOP Chairman Scott Baugh has called for Davenport’s resignation, saying that the picture was "dripping with racism and is in very poor taste." He also referred the matter to the GOP Ethics Committee.


Davenport, however, seems to think that the email has nothing to do with racism. Instead of taking responsibility for her insulting actions, she described the email as a “joke” and wanted to find out who leaked the email, writing “Anyone brave enough to come forward?”


"I’m sorry if my email offended anyone, I simply found it amusing regarding the character of Obama and all the questions surrounding his origin of birth," said Davenport. "In no way did I even consider the fact he’s half black when I sent out the email. In fact, the thought never entered my mind until one or two other people tried to make this about race. We all know a double standard applies regarding this president. I received plenty of emails about George Bush that I didn’t particularly like, yet there was no ‘cry’ in the media about them."


When watching the reaction that our nation has had to having its first black president, I often have what are described on the Internet as “SMH moments.” President Obama has received far more death threats than any president before him, the Republicans have made it their mission in life to obstruct anything he tries to do, he’s received a level of hatred and animosity that seems to accuse him of working to destroy the free world, and no one seems to think there’s anything odd about this.


Obviously, Republican leadership must own up to what happened here, especially Ms. Davenport. But the Republican Party and the Birther Movement can’t easily detach themselves from the actions of Davenport and other extremists. The reality is that much of the activity surrounding the Birther Movement is driven by racism and the perception that President Obama is somehow less American, less patriotic, and less ethical than the rest of white America (remember, President Obama is half-white, though our society defines him to be a black man). This truth can’t be disconnected from the fact that black men are typically perceived as being more criminal, irresponsible and socially deviant than everyone else (that’s why black men are more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested and incarcerated than white Americans). By working overtime to undermine the Obama presidency on a meaningless technicality, the Birthers, Tea Partiers and all the other Republican political militias remind us that the racial hatred in America is far deeper than we want to admit. America has a lot of growing up to do when it comes to race, and that growth is being stunted by denial.