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Hardball host Chris Matthews was on MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports where he brought up an interesting point about the GOP’s motivation behind their pushing of the conspiracy theory that Obama isn’t a citizen. Matthews said that the GOP is using an old nasty trick to de-Americanize a guy with a different name.

Here is the video courtesy of Media Matters:

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Matthews said, “I think it is an old nasty trick to de-Americanize a guy who has a different name, like Barack Obama. To de-Americanize a guy like Mike Dukakis, who is a totally American guy. To try to build the notion that there is the American party, the Republican Party, and there is the un-American party, the Democratic Party. It’s nasty terrible divisive politics. It’s not e pluribus unum. It’s not us all getting together and agreeing to argue politics, which we should do. It’s saying some of us aren’t even eligible to argue politics. They’re not even eligible to run for office. It’s nasty un-American business.”

I think Matthews has nailed the Republican reasoning for fueling these loony conspiracy theories. The Republicans are trying to delegitimize Obama. The more they keep the Internet conspiracy theories going, the better chance they have to play into the fears of Republicans about Barack Obama. It is a sleazy smear job.

If Barack Obama’s skin was white, would people be spreading these conspiracy theories about his birth certificate? I have always thought that it isn’t just that Obama has a different name, but that his skin is a different color from all the previous presidents. It is clear that the Republicans are still trying to play post 9/11 politics by trying to de-Americanize Obama.