The House resolution to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Hawaiian statehood — which included language recognizing the state as President Obama’s birthplace, in a none-too-subtle jab at the Birthers — passed this evening by a 378-0 vote.
Among the Yes votes: Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL), the lead sponsor of the infamous “Birther Bill” to require presidential candidates to present their birth certificates, and who had previously said he wouldn’t “swear on a stack of Bibles” that Obama is a natural-born American citizen. Several other co-sponsors of the Birther Bill also voted yes: Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Dan Burton (R-IN), John Culberson (R-TX), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Randy Neugebauer (R-TX), and Ted Poe (R-TX).
On a side note, some suspicions were raised against Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) for blocking the passage of the resolution by voice vote earlier today, noting the absence of a quorum. However, as Salon reported, Bachmann’s move was an entirely normal procedural motion to pave the way for a roll call vote later on — indeed, she’d made similar motions today on other non-controversial resolutions — and she in fact voted for the resolution when the vote was held.
I will also say as a long-time Bachmannologist that I’ve never seen any probable cause to suspect her of Birtherism. She’s certainly said a lot of interesting stuff against Obama, but she hasn’t trodden on this particular ground.
