WASHINGTON – Would you like to see those "Where's the birth certificate?" billboards in your hometown?
Residents of Dallas, Texas, will have just such an opportunity in the next 30 to 45 days.
The billboard campaign that is credited with popularizing the issue of Barack Obama's constitutional eligibility for office over the last year is now targeting specific markets in advance – giving residents a chance to help fund the efforts in advance, explains Joseph Farah, editor and chief executive officer of WND, who "birthed" the drive out of frustration with what he calls a "media blackout" of the issue.
"We've been asking WND readers to help us defray the costs of this effort for more than a year," said Farah. "It occurred to me we could give residents of specific areas of the country a chance to fund billboards in their own community. Dallas has always been a very strong market for WND, so I am optimistic that we will get some support for billboards to go up there later this summer."
The latest sign can be found on Interstate 78 Eastbound before exit 29 (Route 61) that leads to Cabelas from Hamburg, Pa.
Billboard near Hamburg, Pa. |
The campaign that raises a question fundamental to the constitutional eligibility of President Barack Obama started in May 2009 and touched off a furor in media and political circles.
- Three major billboard companies banned the campaign;
- Local media outlets have covered the billboards wherever they are erected;
- Since the campaign began, national opinion polls show more and more Americans questioning Obama's refusal to release his long-form birth certificate and other papers that would answer questions about his schooling, his college career, his travels, his Selective Service registration, his health and his Social Security records.
"I have to admit, this campaign has accomplished more than I imagined it might," said Joseph Farah, editor and chief executive officer of WND, who came up with the idea and has been supported with contributions from all over the country. "There's no stopping this campaign now unless Obama resigns, is impeached or is defeated for re-election in 2012."
One of the highlights of the campaign came just two weeks ago when an electronic billboard was erected in Florida hours before Obama's motorcade passed by it on his way to inspect damage at the Gulf Coast.
Billboard near Navarre, Fla. |
The campaign has been boosted by local TV coverage – intended or unintended – in markets all over the country. One Las Vegas anchor team seemed shocked when the billboard at the Mandalay Bay Resort flashed on screen immediately following a clip of Obama speaking. Other news shows have used the billboards to debate the controversy openly and honestly – something, Farah says, that has not happened on any major national television networks despite polls showing half the country is suspicious about what Obama might be hiding.
"There's no denying it," says Farah. "No matter how hard my colleagues try to make the public forget about this issue, no matter how hard they attempt to ridicule anyone who wants to see the proof, no matter how much they demean even decorated military officers who take their own oaths seriously, this issue will not go away. It's going to be around in 2012. It may even be the defining issue in 2012."
Farah says he could not have pulled off the campaign without the support of WND's visitors. The cost of the billboards has been offset by donations – and Farah says he wants to step up the campaign because it's winning.
Billboard near Talledega, Ala. |
 "I'm quite sure based on our own polls that if those people were asked whether they would like to see Obama release his birth certificate, more than half the country would say 'yes' – and all the other personal papers he has refused to disclose," Farah said.
Farah says the billboards have had a lot to do with changing popular opinion – even if the media don't get it.
"People simply shouldn't have to conjecture about where they think their president was born," he says. "It ought to be a matter of public record – and it clearly is not."
Aside from the billboard campaign, WND has devoted more investigative reporting to the issue of eligibility than "all other media outlets combined," says Farah.
In addition, the billboard campaign was rejected by three major billboard companies, all owned by major media outlets – CBS, Clear Channel and Lamar.
"What I need Americans to understand is that this billboard campaign is working," said Farah. "There is no shortage of billboards available to us. The only thing there's a shortage of is the money to erect them. We need to raise tens of thousands of dollars a month just to keep them in place."
"The impact of the billboards is magnified by local television and talk-radio shows in every market they enter," explains Farah. "It's not just the billboard. It's the earned media that comes along with it. It's astounding. We have turned millions of people around on this issue with the billboards. It's just that simple."
In addition to the billboard campaign, Farah has:
- produced a video-documentary primer on the issue called "A Question of Eligibility";
- produced a 40-page special report on the subject;
- manufactured yard and rally signs to bring attention to the topic;
- pledged to donate at least $15,000 to any hospital in Hawaii or anywhere else that provides proof Obama was born there and given you an opportunity to raise the amount;
- created a line of T-shirts you can wear to appearances by the president to raise visibility of the issue;
- created a fund to which you can donate to further the kind of investigative reporting into this matter only this company has performed over the last two years;
- launched a line of postcards you can use to keep the issue alive;
- distributed thousands of bumper stickers asking, "Where's the birth certificate?";
- perhaps most notably, gathered more than 500,000 names on a petition demanding any and all controlling legal authorities in this matter take appropriate action to see the requirements of the Constitution of the United States are followed;
- gathered another 25,000 names on a second petition attempting to rally state officials to make presidential candidates prove their eligibility before getting on ballots.
"There are all kinds of things we need to do right now to get our country back on track, but I can think of nothing more important than for us to see that our Constitution is observed, followed, adhered to and honored, especially when it comes to such simple, straightforward matters as the eligibility of the president of the United States," says Farah. "Please help me bring this matter to a head right now."
See birth-certificate signs around the country.
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