A serious tactical rift within conservative ranks exists over the anomalies in Barack Obama's documentary record. The establishment insists that voters like Obama, so that campaign attacks should focus on his policies. Much of the base, a handful of publications, as well as what we might call a few intellectual dissidents, insist that a president who presents a fraudulent document on his birth is probably lying about much else, and is not to be trusted.

One of the bravest of the dissidents, with a syndicated column whose prosperity depends on acceptance by editors,  Diana West, discusses the presidential election battle and the remarkable situation where evidence of an opponent's fraud is shunned by the rival camp. In other words they buy into the campaign-generated "narrative" ("By narrative, I mean propaganda," she avers.).  She focuses on:

...the relative power of "evidence" vs. "narrative." By evidence, I mean the facts and clues that support an argument or hypothesis. By narrative, I mean propaganda. For example, there is evidence of fraud in Obama's identity documents, but such evidence does not fit the narrative that Obama's identity documents are authentic. In the face of narrative, We the People are supposed to ignore the evidence. All of our officials and elites do.

She predicts:

...unless voters come to view Barack Obama as a "socialist" - even a "democratic socialist" - and, as such, an existential threat to our (in theory) constitutional republic, President Obama, funny papers and all, will be re-elected in November.

Lest we be afraid of the label socialism, a very helpful explanation of what really is at issue is provided. An argument that could be made by the nominee, since it makes sense and resonates with a majority of the public: the push toward centralization and collectivism.

Even if the GOP establishment and nominee refuse to engage at this level, the base witll not be silent. In the era of Super PACS, the arguments can be made if enough conservatives want them made.

That gives me encouragement.