Doug Mataconis · · 28 comments

The mainstreaming of insanity inside the GOP seems to be nearly complete:

Donald Trump’s birther crusade could be a boon in Iowa, and “Romneycare” could dog the former Massachusetts governor in the first-in-the-nation caucus, a new poll shows.

A whopping 48 percent of Iowa Republicans said they don’t believe that Obama was born in the United States, according to the automated survey by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling out Tuesday. Another 26 percent said they weren’t sure whether or not the president was born in America as the Constitution requires to be eligible to serve in the nation’s highest office.

Trump has driven the widely discredited “birther” issue into the national spotlight as he flirts with an entry into the White House race, placing at the front of the pack in several national polls.

In Iowa, Trump comes in third with 14 percent of the vote, just two points behind Mitt Romney with 16 percent. Mike Huckabee is currently leading in the state, with 27 percent support from Iowa Republicans.