FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan

February 27, 2013
Contact: Jessica Tramontana, jessica@progressmichigan.org, 517-974-6302

Politician insists President Obama “didn’t produce” birth certificate

LANSING – Yesterday evening, State Sen. Tom Casperson (R-Escanaba) doubled down on comments he made earlier in the day questioning President Barack Obama’s birth certificate. Last night Casperson told MIRS News, “People who are conspiracy theorists, they’re saying they’re hiding it, because they don’t dig into it and bring it up… What I was told is that he produced a copy — he didn’t produce the actual document.”

“It’s clear the Michigan Senate has a bona fide birther among its ranks,” said Zack Pohl, Executive Director of Progress Michigan. “At a time when Michigan still has one of the worst unemployment rates in the nation, it’s shocking to think that a State Senator who represents over 250,000 citizens is wasting any time questioning the President’s birth certificate. Sen. Randy Richardville and Michigan Republican Party Chairman Bobby Schostak should repudiate Casperson’s extreme comments. We need Republicans in Lansing to get their priorities straight and focus on creating good jobs instead of pandering to the Tea Party fringe.”

During a radio interview with Michael Patrick Shiels yesterday morning, Casperson was asked, “Do you think the President was born in the United States?” Casperson replied by saying, “Don’t know.”

In case you missed it, here is a collection of news stories about Casperson’s birther comments:

Iron Mountain Daily News: Casperson’s not sure about Obama’s birthplace – What’s strange, actually, is Casperson’s reluctance to accept Obama’s birth certificate as Obama’s birth certificate. The president has offered up the certificate not once, but twice. Each time a new birther conspiracy twist fizzles, it recycles again, only to be debunked once more. Earlier this year, former Secretary of State Colin Powell advised fellow Republicans to loudly reject “birther nonsense.” Apparently, Sen. Casperson is choosing “don’t know” as an alternative. And that’s disappointing. http://ow.ly/i64vV

Huffington Post: Tom Casperson, GOP Lawmaker, Questions Obama’s Birthplace – A Republican lawmaker questioned President Obama’s birthplace on Tuesday, joining the ranks of conservative “birthers” who have raised doubts about the validity of the president’s birth certificate. http://ow.ly/i648u

Deadline Detroit: U.P. State Senator Tom Casperson Is Some Kind Of Birther – Casperson, whose name might sound familiar to Metro Detroiters as a co-sponsor of regional transit authority legislation, just plum doesn’t know where Obama was born. (SPOILER ALERT: Hawaii.) His confusion and ignorance, according to Sheils, is shared by 74% of Michigan Republican Party convention delegates.  http://ow.ly/i64jh

Salon: GOP lawmaker doesn’t know if Obama was born in the U.S. – Shiels said he saw a poll showing that only 26 percent of delegates at the Michigan Republican Party Convention believed Obama was born in the U.S. Casperson said that number did “not really” surprise him. http://ow.ly/i65V7

Asian News International: Another Republican raises doubt over Obama’s birthplace – Another Republican lawmaker has joined the ranks of conservative ‘birthers’ who have raised doubts about the validity of the President Barack Obama’s birth certificate.  http://ow.ly/i65iN

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