Why Boehner Doesn't Stand up to Birthers

I would argue that birtherism hurts our nation more than the national debt. But John Boehner, and other GOP leaders, refuse to take a stand against birtherism. They cite not wanting to tell the American people how to think, which doesn't make logical sense. If that were true, then they would stop telling us how to think about the nation's budget and deficit. Here is the logical reason: 50% of GOP primary voters are birthers. From PPP:

Birtherism is alive and well within the GOP ranks, and their 2012 nominee preferences tell a story about the difficulty Mitt Romney faces in trying to appeal to an electorate that's a whole lot further out there than he is.

Birthers make a majority among those voters who say they're likely to participate in a Republican primary next year. 51% say they don't think Barack Obama was born in the United States to just 28% who firmly believe that he was and 21% who are unsure. The GOP birther majority is a new development. The last time PPP tested this question nationally, in August of 2009, only 44% of Republicans said they thought Obama was born outside the country while 36% said that he definitely was born in the United States. If anything birtherism is on the rise.

I don't think Mitt, a Mormon, stands a chance of winning the republican nomination because of the GOP base's prejudices against Mormons. Ironically, all else aside, Romney would have better luck getting the nomination if he were a democrat.