New video of a February town hall shows Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) pandering to birthers and raising questions about the legitimacy of President Obama’s birth certificate.

When Stearns met with constituents on February 25 in Belleview, one of the first questions came from an elderly gentleman who insisted that Obama was not born in the United States and ought to be impeached. Rather than correcting the man and informing him that the president is indeed a natural-born American citizen, Stearns coddled the conspiracy theory by implying that Obama’s birth certificate may be a forgery — “is it legitimate?” Stearns wondered aloud.

The Florida congressman noted that there is a “general consensus” that Obama “produced a birth certificate,” but gave no indication that he agreed with this sentiment. He also advanced an phony conservative meme, debunked by Dave Weigel and others, that Hawaii’s governor was incapable of locating the birth certificate:

STEARNS: All I can tell you is that the general consensus is that he has produced a birth certificate. The question is, is it legitimate? That’s where we stand now. I’ve seen a copy of it on television. But you know the Governor of Hawaii couldn’t get what he felt was an original of the birth certificate. He tried to do it and gave up on it. So I think what Obama’s showing is a facsimile, but I think that debate probably is not enough, shall we say, just to impeach him. We’re going to have an election in five or six months so we can change the course of history by electing someone other than Obama. That’s what elections are all about. If we started impeachment this time of year, very difficult in terms of time and strength.

Watch it, via Youtube user FlaPolActCoop.:

The next questioner asked if there was a grand jury looking into the veracity of Obama’s birth certificate.

While Obama’s full birth certificate has been online for nearly a year, questioning Obama’s citizenship may be a politically expedient move for Stearns, unfortunately. A recent PPP poll in nearby Tennessee found that a plurality of GOP voters (45 percent) do not believe Obama was born in the United States.

Stearns isn’t the only prominent conservative figure coddling birthers. Earlier this month, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio — who has become somewhat of a national GOP kingmaker –announced the finding of his investigation into Obama’s birth certificate, concluding it was a “forgery and fraud.”

Stearns’ name has been in the news lately after a Republican primary challenger accused the Congressman of offering a bribe to withdraw from the race. He is also the Congressman spearheading the GOP’s efforts against Planned Parenthood, opening the investigation into the women’s health organization that led the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation to temporarily drop cut funding.

Freshman Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) told a town hall gathering Monday that “the whole purpose” of the meeting “is to hear from you.” But apparently Herrera Beutler isn’t interested in hearing from everyone.

The congresswoman’s Communications Director Casey Bowman called the Centralia Chronicle Friday to ask them not to publish a notice of the town hall, out of fear that people would come and say “whatever’s on their minds,” the paper reports:

The Chronicle refused [Bowman's] request and published an announcement in Saturday’s paper.

The reason for not publishing an advance notice of the meeting was the fear that people from outside the immediate area could come and “just yell” at the congresswoman “whatever’s on their minds,” Bowman said Friday.

“When word gets in the paper, you get a certain set of people,” Bowman said.

Bowman later said that while the office doesn’t “screen” invitees, it does select people to invite via telephone, rather than mass media, calling everyone in “a certain ZIP code.” At least one couple felt slighted after having called the congresswoman’s Washington office and being told there were no town halls scheduled.

The last time Herrera Beutler held an open town hall in May, she was confronted by attendees who asked “hostile questions” about the House GOP budget, which would have effectively eliminated Medicare.

A number of Republican lawmakers have used techniques to avoid facing constituents with tough questions, including banning cameras, charging fees, holding meetings in remote locations, or even threatening to kick out constituents.

Freshman Tea Party Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA) was one of several Republicans who refused to hold free and open town hall meetings this summer, choosing to meet only with those who were willing to pay a fee. After a contentious town hall meeting in Hazleton yesterday, it’s not hard to understand why Barletta wanted to avoid his angry constituents.

The Standard Speaker reports that protesters grilled Barletta on everything from jobs to Social Security:

Emotions ran high during Barletta’s fifth stop on his “Home to House” town hall tour at Hazleton City Hall, with a handful of attendees who packed Council Chambers questioning the congressman’s voting record on free trade, health care and jobs.

“You’re not doing your job, Mr. Lou,” said Stroudsburg resident Jennie Schaefer. “Stop treating people like we’re the dogs waiting under the table for some scraps.”

Watch a clip of the town hall, distributed by Pennsylvania Democrats:

Schaefer was essentially asking Barletta to support policies that would help average Americans instead of consistently siding with corporations. Another constituent kept yelling “that’s a lie” when Barletta tried to justify his position on jobs and the economy. Allentown resident Jody Weidrich asked whether the eligibility age for Social Security and Medicare would increase if Barletta had his way. He replied that he supported the Paul Ryan budget, which would drastically cut entitlement services.

Roxanne Pauline, a coordinator with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Area Labor Federation, called on Barletta to “tax the rich.” Barletta responded that he didn’t think that approach would improve America’s financial standing.

At one point, Barletta defensively asked the protesters whether they had questioned their previous representatives, noting that he has only been on the job nine months. This isn’t the first time Barletta has treated constituents’ concerns dismissively and suggested that those who challenge his positions are part of a coordinated Democratic campaign.

At a town hall meeting in April, Barletta literally laughed at constituents who questioned his vote to maintain billions of dollars in subsidies for Big Oil. Another constituent told him, “You’re our congressman, don’t laugh at us!” At another event he was rebuked by a 64-year-old woman who wanted to know why he backed “a plan that will destroy Medicare.” The congressman’s office brushed aside the complaint and tried to smear the woman.

During the August recess, a number of conservative members of Congress have gone to great lengths to avoid being questioned by their constituents or holding town halls altogether. In Ohio, Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) even had video cameras confiscated from his constituents so that they could not film what their congressman was saying.

Now, Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH) is following Chabot’s lead. The Ohio congressman’s staff barred a cameraman from the Democratic-allied American Bridge organization from filming a town hall in his district that took place yesterday:

Despite a nationwide controversy that erupted last week after Cincinnati GOP Rep. Steve Chabot refused to allow video cameras at a town hall meeting, organizers of a public meeting last night with Wadsworth GOP Rep. Jim Renacci followed suit by barring a Democratic organization’s cameraman from recording the event. The newly-established American Bridge 21st Century Super PAC has recorded speeches by public officials and political candidates around the nation, including events held by GOP U.S. Senate candidate Kevin Coughlin of Cuyahoga Falls, and Urbana area GOP Rep. Jim Jordan, who chairs the House Republican Study Committee. “We are making sure politicians are held to account for their record and the comments they make to their constituents,” said the group’s spokesman, Matthew Thornton.

While Renacci stopped American Bridge’s cameraman from filming, his staff did allow a woman to film at the event on behalf of him. The footage recorded by her shows Renacci’s staff stopping the American Bridge cameraman from using his video camera. Watch it: