I have been wanting to write an article called “the demise of the birther movement” for almost 5 years now, but it just hasn’t happened. Still, in the chart above showing monthly visits to this web site, we see a marked decline in site visits starting with a peak around the 2012 election. A previous high point was around the release of the President’s long form birth certificate to the press and precipitated many new visitors to the site. In that month over 50% of the visits were from first-time readers of the site; today it’s about 35%. (For more details, see our Site Statistics page.)
What’s most surprising to me is much continuing interest at all following the start of Obama’s 2nd term in office. But the birthers keep birthin’ and the Obots keep poking holes in their claims, and people keep hitting the web site.
The one real mystery in this whole business is birther funding. I know, having run many web sites over the years, that web presence isn’t expensive. I spend more taking the wife out to eat one time than I spend on this web site for a month, and I spend more here than I really have to. The only significant anti-birther expense is the court document procurement for the Jack Ryan collection at Scribd.com that have to be purchased, and “Jack” pays for them out of pocket with some help from others(that’s mainly where The Fogbow donations go). Birther web sites probably cost the same or less than mine (some are even free hosting), but unlike this site, most birther sites have paid advertising and/or solicit donations. The Cold Case Posse, which actually seems to spend money on travel and expert opinions, takes donations; they say that their funding comes from private and corporate donors, but they do not file financial disclosures like other charities. The question is whether birther site donations amount to anything significant, and whether some birther sites are essentially money-making businesses. Are birthers funded by rich right-wing donors, or do they barely cover their costs from PayPal clicks. This is a question without answers beyond the occasional remark from Orly Taitz over a particular contribution.
Orly Taitz always keeps some lawsuit or other active. Most recently she sued the US Postmaster General about Obama’s Selective Service registration (registrations are done at post offices), but I can’t fathom what she could get out of that besides being designated a vexatious litigant. The Cold Case Posse keeps scheduling press events and vowing that they have the proof, but won’t release it. They’ve pretty much admitted that they are never going to try to file charges against the President, so the rationale for hiding results seems not to exist (nor probably do the results themselves).
It’s summer anyway. It’s hot and humid—rains every day here. These is the doldrums both in weather and in birtherism. I guess we’ll just muddle on and see what happens.
For listeners of the RC Radios show last night: this is the article that I mentioned with the preliminary title of “Declining returns.”
Birfer spin:
“Obots in retreat!!!!!1!!1!”
To care about what someone says, one must first respect them. I don’t care how the birthers spin my article.
The current birther activities (CCP excepted) could probably be paid off my lunch money.
The fact that big birtherism pretty much died after the 2012 elections (it has always been a swift-boat campaign anyway) may point to rich donors pulling out, but since there are enough alternative explanations, that’s still speculation at best.
I also continue to believe that there’s only a hard core of about 100-200 birthers whereas the rest are sock puppets or people who are just generally displeased with Obama, occasionally stumble upon a birther site and post “yeah he must go” (or the whacky 0.1% who are willing to believe the moon is made of cheese if it somehow helped their desires come true).
I mean, c’mon, even that ridiculous “Surprise Tea Party” can get 200 people to gather for Arpaio’s Clown Show, yet birthers can’t get close to 50, not even in big Southern cities?
who paid for lunch with bill at the hearing?? just kidding. I too have spent no money, nor do I feel the need to. same for mine website, which is a labour of love. but no matter which side of the chessboard we are on, what a great story this has been, and continues to be. bravo doc, you have been wonderfully consistent..
I’d like to know how these guys keep up the funding, myself…I can’t believe the birther core is THAT rich…these permanent teenagers in their parents’ basement must be giving away their trust funds.
I know that Eric Hunt, the bipolar kid who hassled Elie Wiesel, tracked him across country by blowing through his inheritance from his grandparents.
There have been a few other glimpses into Birther finances.
Most notable are the public filings for Article II Superpac, which identify donors, donation amounts, and expenses.
Lucas Smith identified who funded the rather substantial expense of his certified letters to Congress. And it was just Bruce Steadman, an old Birther from Georgia.
Jerome Corsi also had a couple of Fundrazr efforts on his Facebook page, but those performed rather pitifully, raising (IIRC) less than a thousand dollars.
One thing I find interesting is how few stories on ORYR’s front page are about birther issues. At the moment, it’s only half. Gives me the impression that even the birthers are losing interest in the birthers.
Birtherism led me to the PF forums, where I am a habitue now.
And Birtherism is effectively dead now. Scott keeps flogging the dead horse, but mostly is ignored by everyone now.
Everyonce in awhile there is a drive by Birther who makes the usual claims, and those get refuted and then he disappears, and there are posters there that are truly die hard Birthers but have gotten tired of the public ridicule that garners Birtherism the repect equal to that of the “Flat Earth Society”-
– even the hard core Obama haters- of which there are many- tend to focus on more current conspiracy theories rather than Birtherism anymore.
What surprises me is how little is actually going on in the Birther World. Things are so slow that Poo Poo Simmons is recycling stories like the Bill Gwatney Death foolishness.
Outside of Orly, the only action is pretty much Zullo giving another “We’re Hot On The Trail!” speech on the radio. Mario Apuzzo just regurgitates pieces of Purpura about every other month. Donofrio is probably sleeping off a drunk somewhere. Yawn.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
“Doc C calls constitutional conservatives ‘inhuman scum!'”