“Historian” David Barton is either very gullible or thinks everybody else is.
Barton — Glenn Beck’s favorite “historian” and head of the Texas-based history revisionist organization WallBuilders — is promoting a list of executive orders a right-wing website suggests President Obama has issued so that our nation’s elected leader can destroy our freedom. But “historian” Barton apparently didn’t bother to do any basic fact-checking — President Obama issued none of the executive orders on the list.
“Historian” Barton posted on his Twitter page a link to an essay called A Comprehensive List Of Obama’s Worst Executive Orders, which appears on a website for an outfit called The Western Center for Journalism (WCJ). Despite the authoritative name, the Western Center for Journalism is a creation of far-right conspiracy promoter Joseph Farah. Farah also founded World Net Daily, a wack-a-doodle website worshipped by birthers who insist that Obama is lying about being born in the United States.
The “Comprehensive List” essay suggests that President Obama is issuing executive orders to lay the groundwork for taking over the country and overthrowing freedom:
“It is more than clear that Obama is planning for the total control and takeover of America via Martial Law. Food, energy, transportation, work, banking, and health…he has it covered.”
The essay lists 13 executive orders supposedly backing up the claim. But 11 of those executive orders were issued five decades ago, during the administration of President Kennedy. The other two were issued by Presidents Johnson and Carter. You can see a list of executive orders by president here, dating back to FDR in the 1930s.
A reader posted a comment on the WCJ website, calling out the error. Apparently in response, WCJ added an “Editor’s correction”:
This is a list of executive orders in force that outline Emergency Powers. Some of these were signed by prior US Presidents going back all the way to JFK. Obama specifically has signed executive orders starting with the number EO-13489 and forward. But these all reference powers Obama could use to limit your freedoms. Here is a full list of Obama Executive Orders.
“Some” of the executive orders in the list were signed by previous presidents? No. ALL of them were. But the article is still headlined “A Comprehensive List of Obama’s Worst Executive Orders.”
What a joke. But “historian” David Barton apparently swallowed it hook, line and sinker — or, at least, he hoped his own Twitter followers would:
UPDATE: Barton now appears to have removed the post from his Twitter page. But like the bogus zombie quotes that Barton has attributed in the past to famous Americans, you’ll probably see the bogus “comprehensive list” of President Obama’s executive orders live on in right-wing propaganda. In fact, 10 people had already retweeted Barton’s post before we captured the above screen image.
Barton is an opportunist, nothing more. Follow the money and you’ll follow Barton. Hey, if you can fleece the sheep by saying that Franklin was a commie, go for it!
What? No comparision of Obama to Hitler? Somebody doesn’t have their “A” game today.
And kudos to Warren Throckmorton for his most excellent “Getting Jefferson Right”, his refutation of the garbage spewed by Barton in “The Jefferson Lies”. Each and every conclusion reached by Barton in his book is, of course, false. And two thumbs down to the filthy little coward Barton for refusing to debate Throckmorton.
That would be the latter.
Class A con man.
All hat no cattle.
While it is clear that Mr. Barton is nowhere near a historian the fact remains that his perverse pleasure in prevaricating is something that cannot be denied. Chris Rodda destroys his premise of a “founding Christian Nation,” when in fact most of the founding fathers were of the persuasion of deists and some were I daresay atheistic in their ideals. Thomas Jefferson even edited the Bible to suit his lack of enthusiasm for the miraculous and fantastic in the Bible. We must stand against this type of revisionist history being perpetrated under our very noses. Please inform whomever you speak with that Mr. Barton is unworthy of being listened to for the prevarications that he uses on an almost minute to minute bases.
If Barton’s frivolous libel suit survives the defendants’ anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss – and I expect the suit will survive, thanks to three GOP courts (trial, Ct of Appeals, & S Ct) & the usual sloppy statute-drafting by the Tx Lege – then it will go to trial in Parker County, once the home of Jim Wright but now so Republican that even the Johnson grass is red. If so, my hope is that counsel for the defendants will be able to totally and publicly debunk this fraud. Oh, as in the Scopes “monkey trial”, Barton may get a verdict, all right, given the jury pool and presiding judge – but if it comes at the cost of his being made to look as ridiculous as Darrow made Bryan look, then a war will have been won at the cost of one battle.
“Wallbuilders” is a telling name for Barton’s organization. That shoul leave lots of room for those of us who would rather build bridges.
Unlike the Great Wall of China, the building blocks in his wall are fruitcakes.
Barton is a prime example of what the GOP wants our school systems to turn out. A non
logical, close minded Biblical literalist.
Scary guy.
Chris Rhodda does an excellent job in destroying the very latest book by David Barton. His work is nothing but sham and scam and should not be considered history by anyone the least bit concerned about truth and justice. David Barton is an oxymoron in the making, history needs a factual basis on which to base one’s premises David Barton has no such basis.