At a Sussex County Republican fundraiser, featuring Congressional candidate Michelle Rollins, Sussex Republicans repeat birther rhetoric
“Lincoln came from Illinois. Obama comes from Illinois.
Lincoln served in the Illinois legislature. Obama served in the Illinois legislature.
Lincoln was a skinny lawyer. Obama is a skinny lawyer.
Lincoln was a Republican. Obama is a skinny lawyer.
Lincoln was born in the United States. Obama is a skinny lawyer.”
These were the lines recited Monday at the Sussex County Republican Party’s Lincoln dinner, an annual fundraiser. The dinner featured speakers such as likely Republican Congressional candidate Michelle Rollins, Republican state chairman Tom Ross, and Republican pollster Neil Newhouse. The lines, intended to draw a contrast between President Lincoln and President Obama, draw upon the “birther” conspiracy theory, that Obama was not born in the United States.
“It’s shocking that a candidate like Michelle Rolins- who would need to pull in a fair number of independent and even Democratic voters to win- would align herself with such a fringe movement,” said Katie Ellis, Communications Director for the Delaware Democratic Party. “Rollins should either repudiate these remarks immediately, or tell Delaware voters she agrees with them. Only the most extreme candidates have espoused this view. Is that the kind of Congresswoman Michelle Rollins would like to be?”
Sussex Countians made a national splash this summer at a town hall meeting hosted by Republican Representative Mike Castle, when one protester bearing her birth certificate in a ziplock bag vehemently disputed President Obama’s citizenship. The clip, which circulated widely via YouTube and which was featured on several national news segments, helped launch the birther movement into the national spotlight.
