Democrats’ Birther Fail of 1880
Donald Trump seems to think the birther issue is great for the GOP. Last year, when Trump was toeing the birther line, trying to get some attention for an upcoming presidential bid, I researched the origin of birther controversies. It seems that questions about President Barack Obama’s birth certificate are not the first in American history.
Back in 1880, Democrats tried to ride a birther controversy into the White House, hoping to offset a string of electoral defeats dating back to 1856. But they failed miserably, a warning to modern-day Republicans who think they’ve finally got an issue to topple Obama.
The controversy back then began when James Garfield put Chester A. Arthur on the ticket. Not long after that, a guy named Arthur Hinman became convinced that Arthur wasn’t born in America. Democrats tried to make Arthur’s birthplace an important issue in the election. But despite having a strong candidate with a better war record (Winfield Scott Hancock), the Democrats lost a close race they should have won.
How did the birther issue blow up in the Democrats’ face? And how could those same factors impact Republicans and Romney in 2012?