McClatchy investigation gives lowdown on birthers

A McClatchy Newspapers investigation on the birther movement includes a brief passage about Rep. Ed Emery, R-Lamar, who attended a birther meeting in Missouri.

The people who are behind the movement are profiled and almost every one of them is someone who has peddled ludicrious conspiracy theories before:

Marked by accusations and backstabbing, it's the story of how a small but intense movement called "birthers" rose from a handful of people prone to seeing conspiracies, aided by the Internet, magnified without evidence by eager radio and cable TV hosts, and eventually ratified by a small group of Republican politicians working to keep the story alive on the floors of Congress and the campaign trails of the Midwest.

It's a powerful story about what experts call political paranoia over a new face in a time of anxiety and rapid change — the sort of viral message that can take hold among a sliver of the populace that's ready to believe that the new president is a fraud, and just as ready to angrily dismiss anyone who disagrees as part of the conspiracy.