Crackpot Conspiracists Love Chelsea Pregnancy

Timing is staged, they think, or maybe she's ... faking?
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 23, 2014 2:22 PM CDT
Crackpot Conspiracists Love Chelsea Pregnancy
This 2013 photo released by Barbara Kinney shows Hillary Rodham Clinton posing with Chelsea at a Clinton Global Initiative America event in Chicago.   (AP Photo/Barbara Kinney)

If you thought it was laughable when Rush Limbaugh suggested Hillary Clinton staged that shoe-throwing incident, wait until you hear the latest conspiracy theory related to the Clintons: Some pundits on the right-wing fringe are suggesting Chelsea Clinton is faking her pregnancy—or, at the very least, that she purposely timed it so that her mom would be a new grandma during her potential 2016 presidential campaign. "Even the idiocy of shoe trutherism pales in comparison to the latest so-insane-it’s-funny accusation against the former First Family," writes Scott Bixby at the Daily Beast. "Fortunately, unlike rumors about nano-thermite at ground zero and long-form birth certificates, this one is easily debunked: We’ve only got to wait nine months to prove it wrong."

He adds, "The most obvious root of this Rosemary’s Baby-esque speculation is the idea that Clinton couldn’t possibly be both a grandmother and a leader of the free world." And in the Guardian, Hadley Freeman agrees that sentiment is indeed behind some of the "Clinton birtherism," citing numerous examples of the mainstream media wondering whether Clinton's impending grandmotherhood will have an impact on her hypothetical campaign (or presidency). The uproar "is really just code for 'Holy hell, we can't possibly have a woman as president, and an OLD one to boot!'" But remember, many past presidents have managed to juggle grandfatherhood and leading the free world. Click for Freeman's full column, or Bixby's. (More Chelsea Clinton stories.)

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