This birther nonsense becoming a big problem for the GOP

Here’s Mike Castle, a Republican congressman from Delaware, trying to deal with the birther nonsense at a town hall meeting back on June 30. It really gets a little spooky when the woman hijacks the meeting with an impromptu demand for the Pledge of Allegiance. It’s hard to imagine a more vivid example of how easily false patriotism can trump reason and common sense.

Apparently, CNN’s Lou Dobbs — always on the lookout these days for a fringe issue to ride — is also jumping on the bandwagon.

518 comments Add your comment

DebbieDoRight

July 22nd, 2009
2:12 pm

Ooops sorry!!! Here’s the finished project:

md: What a sad, sad, fragmented little world you must live in!!!

1) The man posted his birth certificate on line, (OR what the state of Hawaii issues for birth certificates); you people go nuts screaming “CONSPIRACY!! FRAUD!!! FIRE!! FIRE!!!”

2) The STATE OF HAWAII VERIFIES the certificate as legal AND that it came from Hawaii; you people go nuts screaming “CONSPIRACY!!! LIES!!! FRAUD!!! FIRE!! FIRE!!!

3) The REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR OF HAWAII VERIFIES the legitimacy of the certificate that CAME FROM HAWAII and claims its AUTHENTIC; you people go nuts screaming ““CONSPIRACY!!! LIES!!! FRAUD!!! FIRE!! FIRE!!!

I mean if JESUS came down from heaven and said “Here ye, thou art a fool, this man was born in the US he IS a US citizen”; you people would scream “JESUS is a LIAR!!!! CONSPIRACY!!! LIES!!! FRAUD!!! FIRE!! FIRE!!!

So, what’s the point? NOTHING I could say, No FACTS that can be given to you from ANYBODY would change you mind…….so why not just go and look at a shiny object and amuse yourself for a couple of hours………….

Ken Berwitz

July 22nd, 2009
2:13 pm

tmkls = If the vault copy of Barack Obama’s birth certificate showed him to be legal, that would end the issue for me. Over and out.

Now that I’ve answered you directly, would you do the same for me? What does the fact that Mr. Obama has spent something like $1,000,000 (and counting) to prevent us from seeing that vault copy suggest to you? If all it said was what he has told us anyway would he not have provided it a long time ago and summarily ended this issue?

Dick Brandlon

July 22nd, 2009
2:19 pm

I recall a parent who took off the door to his daughter’s bedroom because “if she’s not doing something wrong, she shouldn’t have anything to hide.”
I suggest that if Bush didn’t have to prove he wasn’t a moron and Cheney didn’t have to prove he wasn’t a deranged sadist, Obama shouldn’t have to cater to the lunatic fringe of the Republican party.

DebbieDoRight

July 22nd, 2009
2:20 pm

Ken tells lies big time. Can he provide a verifiable LINK or ANY factual documentation that “Obama spent millions to hide this or that? I mean, honestly, the man was upper middle class until his books took off a year ago!!! How did he get MILLIONS to spend, (and his WIFE WOULD not have ALLOWED him to spend millions on that gibberish anyway); anyway? Remember he JUST did his taxes, his net worth BARELY hit a million this year, and last year was UNDER a million.

DUH!!!

Ken Berwitz

July 22nd, 2009
2:21 pm

This is to the room in general, not any one person in particular:

For the umpteenth time:

1. It is not a birth certificate it is a certification of live birth. They are not the same. The COLB does not prove Mr. Obama was born in Hawaii. I have shown this over and over and over again.

2. I am not challenging the COLB’s legality, I am pointing out that it does not prove he is a naturalized citizen.

3. Same answer as 2: I am not challenging its authenticity. I am pointing out that it does not prove he is a naturalized citizen.

The simplest (and I do mean “simplest”) way to get past these facts is just to ignore them and keep screaming the same points – even though they have been answered – as loudly as possible. Lamentably, that is what we are seeing here.

md

July 22nd, 2009
2:26 pm

Deb once again refers to clb’s. For your info, that is NOT verifiable documentation. So, you once again fail the fact test. Half the illegals in this country have clb’s, they can be done on any software program. A simpleton such as yourself could probably even do it.

The facst are still the same, you have as much proof as I do, which is none.

DebbieDoRight

July 22nd, 2009
2:35 pm

This is to no one in particuliar

SEE TOLD YA!! No matter what proof you give them, no matter WHAT the facts say, these people will go nuts screaming ““CONSPIRACY!!! LIES!!! FRAUD!!! FIRE!! FIRE!!!

Hey birthers, look out there a big fat FACT behind you!!! RUN FOR THE HILLS!!!!!

DebbieDoRight

July 22nd, 2009
2:42 pm

1. It is not a birth certificate it is a certification of live birth.

Even though it’s hopeless, (I mean REALLY hopeless!!); once again I’ll post the link where the Head Honcho of Hawaii explains about the Certificates of Live Birth again. I know, I know before you start, “CONSPIRACY!!!! LIES!!!! FRAUD!!! LIES!!! FIRE!!! FIRE!!! FIRE!!”; just to save time……

For all of those who are supporting the “Where’s the birth certificate” campaign, there’s a reason why the “long-form birth certificate” that is being sought has not been produced.

It doesn’t exist.

Not for President Barack Obama, not for anyone born in Hawaii.

http://www.starbulletin.com/columnists/kokualine/20090606_kokua_line.html

In other words, the document posted online during the campaign is all you’re going to get.

tmkls

July 22nd, 2009
2:50 pm

Ken Berwitz: I have not the slightest idea.

But what you are suggesting is that Obama ran for President knowing he was not eligible and hoped that he could keep the birth certificate locked away — i.e., that no one would leak it or that there was no other copy floating around somewhere (e.g., in his passport application). He had to assume or hope that his opponents in the primaries would not dig it up and that his opponent in the general election would not. Whatever you may think of Obama, he his not stupid. Does that sound plausible to you?

md

July 22nd, 2009
2:50 pm

So you agree that Barry and all the residents of Hawaii are as official as the many that have photshopped their own clb’s. Good for you.

Ken Berwitz

July 22nd, 2009
2:59 pm

tmkls – Of course it sounds plausible to me. Why? Because, in order of your points, he did run, and there is no copy floating around (reasonable enough since he is the only one who can ask to have it “floated”).

Let me,again, try the high hard one down the middle of the plate. If there is no problem with his original birth certificate, why has he gone this far for this long to prevent it from being made public?

Let me also say that I don’t claim to know for certain what his citizenship status is. But I do know that the harder he tries to prevent us from seeing anything decisive the less confident I am that he has nothing to hide. I would hope you agree.

DebbieDoRight

July 22nd, 2009
3:01 pm

md – If JESUS came down from heaven and said “Here ye, thou art a fool, this man was born in the US he IS a US citizen”; would you scream “JESUS is a LIAR!!!! CONSPIRACY!!! LIES!!! FRAUD!!! FIRE!! FIRE!!!???

tmkls: Does that sound plausible to you?

OF COURSE IT DOES!!! Where have you been?!? They even believe the CIA and the FBI was in on it too!!! Because, as you know, a person has to submit their application to run for President and be checked out by one of the two entities. OBVIOUSLY, since Obama ran and won, they’re all in this too!!!

tmkls

July 22nd, 2009
3:05 pm

Ken: As to your middle of the plate question — I have no idea.

md

July 22nd, 2009
3:07 pm

Deb, is Jesus one of them illegals that photoshopped his clb? If not, there is also a 50/50 chance that the guy you speak of exists as well.

tmkls

July 22nd, 2009
3:13 pm

I have not followed this all too closely — I have a job and family to occupy most of my time. But as I understand it, the question is whether Obama meets the standard of being a “natural born citizen.” The difficulty is the Constitution itself does not define what a nbc is. There is no legislation passed by Congress that clearly defines it. And the Supreme Court has never provided a definitive definition. One needs to tease it out of various regulations, common law and some related but not clearly defintive court decisions. Even if this matter made it to SCOTUS, it would almost certainly rule it a nonjusticable political question to be settled by the other branches (as it often does on war powers issues).

tmkls

July 22nd, 2009
3:19 pm

And while Ken might let the matter rest if the birth certificate was produced, I am sure there are many others who would not. I would bet every penny to my name that within days You-tube would be filled with experts demonstrating that it was forged, produced by Obama supporters in the Bureau of Engraving and put forward by democratic allies in Hawaii. That is the way these things work.

Ken Berwitz

July 22nd, 2009
3:21 pm

tmkls – Maybe this will clear things up. This is verbatim from the Department of State:

Acquisition of U.S. Citizenship By a Child Born Abroad

Birth Abroad to Two U.S. Citizen Parents in Wedlock: A child born abroad to two U.S. citizen parents acquires U.S. citizenship at birth under section 301(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). One of the parents MUST have resided in the U.S. prior to the child’s birth. No specific period of time for such prior residence is required.

Birth Abroad to One Citizen and One Alien Parent in Wedlock: A child born abroad to one U.S. citizen parent and one alien parent acquires U.S. citizenship at birth under Section 301(g) INA provided the citizen parent was physically present in the U.S. for the time period required by the law applicable at the time of the child’s birth. (For birth on or after November 14, 1986, a period of five years physical presence, two after the age of fourteen is required. For birth between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986, a period of ten years, five after the age of fourteen are required for physical presence in the U.S. to transmit U.S. citizenship to the child.

So the issue of whether Mr. Obama is a citizen rests on whether or not he was born in Hawaii. If he was, there is no issue and he is a naturalized citizen. If he wasn’t, there is no issue, he is not a naturalized citizen.

Now: Where is the birth certificate?

John Bryans Fontaine

July 22nd, 2009
3:22 pm

DebbieDoRight

July 22nd, 2009
3:22 pm

md: You’re funny!!! At least you have a sense of humor!!! Let’s see, since Jesus was born in the Middle East AND because he “probably” never set foot in America, (although many have seen him in clouds, bread crumbs, toast, etc.); he could, by definition, be termed an “illegal”. The only problem with that is that Jesus, since he’s the son of god and helped make mankind, yadda, yaddda, yadda, would probably get upset with anyone calling him an “illegal alien” and would probably bring death and destruction to the person who even intimated at it.

So, NO Jesus is not an alien; he is a Citizen Of The World, and that includes America.

Disgusted

July 22nd, 2009
3:24 pm

I am embarrassed to be a citizen of the same country that spawned these ignorant morons called Birthers.

tmkls

July 22nd, 2009
3:29 pm

Ken:But I have read others claiming that the issue is not where he was born, but whether his father was a citizen. And I thought this issue is not whether he is a “naturalized citizen,” but whether he is a “natural born citizen.”

John Bryans Fontaine

July 22nd, 2009
3:31 pm

tmkls

July 22nd, 2009
3:32 pm

Did Obama have to produce his birth certificate to get a passport, which I assume he has? I did.

Mark Davis

July 22nd, 2009
3:34 pm

These are some ignorant and scary people. This is also the result of political dirty tricks that have taken place (on both sides) during campains and which sadly have been believed by people who accept such nonsense when it serves their cause. They are woefully ignorant and a disgrace to America It amazes me. By the way, my birth certificate reads “Certificate of Live Birth” signed in 1956.

Ken Berwitz

July 22nd, 2009
3:34 pm

tmkls – I have no idea where you would have seen that. I don’t think anyone here – even the people whose only contribution is insults and sarcasms – are claiming that Obama’s father was a US citizen.

If Obama’s father were a citizen, it would mean that both parents are citizens and would end the issue right there. The fact that he was not a citizen makes Obama’s citizen status subject to the rules governing one-parent citizens I just put up a few minutes ago. As you can see, for births between 1952 and 1986 (that would include Obama) his mother would not meet the requirement and therefore he wouldn’t be a naturalized citizen.

These aren’t my rules, they’re the country’s rules. And (this is not directed at you tmkls) calling someone who points it out an “ignorant moron” isn’t contributing anything but mindless name-calling.

John Bryans Fontaine

July 22nd, 2009
3:34 pm

Mike

July 22nd, 2009
3:38 pm

How many of you idiots have two birth certificates?

md

July 22nd, 2009
3:39 pm

The Jesus I know is from Mexico/Latin America. Many named that actually. As for the other guy, that is even a bigger debate than a birth certificate. And I don’t think that guy looks to kindly on people following a party that believes in taking the life of “his” young.

DebbieDoRight

July 22nd, 2009
3:42 pm

Again, Ken tells lies. He claims the above ^^^ info was taken from the State Department yet, he won’t give the link of the State Department where the info supposedly came from. Why? Does he have something to hide? I mean, how could Ken even REMEMBER VERBATIM the info he just quoted? Why won’t he provide the LINK to where he got this info? Was it REALLY the State Department’s link or was it “We Are Wack Jobs Hatchet People.com:” links?

I can provide the link to the US Constitutuion that states unequivocally everything that I’ve pasted in the blog concerning citizenship. I didn’t make it up out of thin air…..unlike Ken. He knows what he’s saying are lies, but just like Satan himself, he feels if he keeps saying it he’ll turn a lie into the truth.

US Constitution Link: Website: http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_citi.html

Ken SHOW US THE LINK

md

July 22nd, 2009
3:44 pm

” By the way, my birth certificate reads “Certificate of Live Birth” signed in 1956.”

Unless its stamped/sealed, its worthless.

and for the 2 birth certificates – I have 2 after having to send of to my State of birth for a certified/stamped/sealed one to get a passport and car tag. After standing in very long gov’t run lines, they would not accept my “certificate of live birth”.

Ken Berwitz

July 22nd, 2009
3:47 pm

Indulging the childishness one last time: I haven’t refused to provide the link, no one asked me to.

The link is http://travel.state.gov/law/info/info_609.html

Now I won’t even answer her third-person. Why waste energy on someone like this.

tmkls

July 22nd, 2009
3:57 pm

How about this. In order to obtain a U.S. Passport, one needs provide one of the following:

1. Previously issued, undamaged U.S. Passport
2. Certified birth certificate issued by the city, county or state*
3. Consular Report of Birth Abroad or Certification of Birth
4. Naturalization Certificate
5. Certificate of Citizenship

Since I assume Obama has a passport, he needed to provide one of these to get it. I used my birth certificate, as I assume most people do. Anyone know what Obama used to get his passport?

DebbieDoRight

July 22nd, 2009
3:58 pm

Went to the Oh so Wise one’s link and again he has lied. He only posted HALF of the story folks!! that’s why you gotta READ IT FOR yourself and don’ depend on these whack jobs to TELL YOU what it says!!! This isn’t a 3rd world country!! Everyone in America SHOULD be able to read!!

Birth Abroad Out-of-Wedlock to a U.S. Citizen Mother: A child born abroad out-of-wedlock to a U.S. citizen mother may acquire U.S. citizenship under Section 301(g) INA, as made applicable by Section 309(c) INA if the mother was a U.S. citizen at the time of the child’s birth, and if the mother had previously been physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for a continuous period of one year.

It doesn’t say anything about that “five years rule” it says that she had to have been a citizen AND physically present in the US for at least one year and since his mother was 18 when he was born….well……you do the math!!!

Basically it says IF Obama was born out of the country and his mother was a US citizen, then HE IS A US Citizen. But that’s beside the point because Obama was born in the US!!!!

md

July 22nd, 2009
3:59 pm

For one, your assuming he has a passport. Second, does anyone actually stop him coming off AF-1 and ask for one?

tmkls

July 22nd, 2009
4:03 pm

md: No, but he travelled overseas many times before he flew on AF-1.

John Bryans Fontaine

July 22nd, 2009
4:06 pm

Hmmm, somebody isn’t bringing up the Obama’s-grandma-says-he-was-born -in-Kenya argument since that canard was blown to bits. I wonder if this troubles him??

Ken Berwitz

July 22nd, 2009
4:10 pm

Oh for god sake. This idiot (sorry, that’s the only word that fits) did not post what it says. Here is what it says, verbatim – pay special attention to the last sentence (Obama was born in 1961).

Here is what it says:
——————————————————-
Birth Abroad to One Citizen and One Alien Parent in Wedlock: A child born abroad to one U.S. citizen parent and one alien parent acquires U.S. citizenship at birth under Section 301(g) INA provided the citizen parent was physically present in the U.S. for the time period required by the law applicable at the time of the child’s birth. (For birth on or after November 14, 1986, a period of five years physical presence, two after the age of fourteen is required. For birth between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986, a period of ten years, five after the age of fourteen are required for physical presence in the U.S. to transmit U.S. citizenship to the child.
————————————————————-

If you doubt me, read it for yourself at http://travel.state.gov/law/info/info_609.html

End of story.

Nelle261

July 22nd, 2009
4:15 pm

I think that the same people screaming that he’s not a citizen would be the same people that would want the constitution changed for the Cheney Bush Regime to get a third or fourth term!!! They would be also into ethnic cleansing if was sanctioned by the govt. They would also probably not say a word to change the constitution for someone like Schwartzeneger to be able to run.! They probably think it’s OK to tap our phones, read our mail, etc. etc. because they think everyone’s a terrorists or gay or something. They’d take a women’s right to choose away but not want anything to do with unwanted children. They say they believe in God and think Obama’s the anti-christ!! (they are the real anti-christs!) They also trying to bring on the rapture! Guess what? They are a bunch of Facists neo nazi like people! We should fear them and what they could do the stability of this country!

My father and uncle (from the racist South) also fought in WWII. My father spent 4 years in the Pacific and disarmed unexploded bombs dropped by the Japanese and my uncle won the Distinguished Flying Cross for sinking NAZI Uboats. (THAT TOOK REAL COURAGE!!) If my dad had just lived a little longer he would have tears of pride in his eyes that this country had finally rose above ignorance and racism and elected someone as intelligent and capable as Obama for the content of his character and not the color of his skin. I know he and my uncle would have proudly voted for him. These people are just a bunch of racists and poor losers. When Al Gore had the presidency stolen from him and us he did not carry on so hatefully. That women wants “‘HER” country back, I guess it’s not my mine or ours it’s their’s. As a white person racists think they can make any racist remark in my presence and it’s ok. Well I don’t want to be around such people but I know they are all over the place!!!!They can say their not racists but I know different!!!!!

tmkls

July 22nd, 2009
4:24 pm

Ken: I am trying hard to understand this. Didn’t Obama have to prove to our government’s satisfaction that he was a citizen to acquire a passport? And since one his parents was not a citizen (his father) when he was born, he had to prove that was born in the U.S.. Thus, he must have proven already to our government’s satisfaction that he was born in Hawaii, no?

DebbieDoRight

July 22nd, 2009
4:26 pm

Anyone who believes ANYTHING that that repuglican thug posts on this site is a damn fool!!! Hey, ya’ll don’t believe me, well then GO TO THE WEBSITE YOURSELF AND READ IT FOR YOURSELF!!

That’s their greatest fear, the fear that you’ll find out the real info yourself!!! THat’s how they get over on people, they post lies and conjecture and count on the fact that most people are too dang lazy to read it for themselves!!!

tmkls

July 22nd, 2009
4:33 pm

What is wrong with this logic:

1. To get a passport, one needs to prove citizenship.

2. Since Obama’s father was not a citizen at Obama’s birth, Obama could only be a citizen if he was born in the U.S..

3. Obama was granted a U.S. Passport (long ago).

4. Therefore, he has already proven to our government’s satisfaction that he was born in the U.S. (since that is the only way he could be a citizen).

Ken Berwitz

July 22nd, 2009
4:33 pm

tmkls – Sure he did. But you’re not dealing with the same standard. You don’t have to be a naturalized citizen to get a passport. And neither of your parents have to have been born in the USA.

DebbieDoRight

July 22nd, 2009
4:41 pm

Also, Obama was NOT born overseas. No one can prove that he was!! However, there is DOCUMENTED PROOF that he was born right here in the good ole USofA!! DOZENS of people, including the Republican governor of Hawaii, have seen the OFFICIAL birth certificate and can attest to this.

There are those of you who would look at the real birth certificate and STILL claim that it’s false; so no matter WHAT anyone says you’re gonna cry “FOUL!!” So, have your sick, twisted, little fantasies. Waste your money on legal fees, (hey, as someone who’s studying law, I’d be more than happy to take your money — gotta pay those tuition fees); waste your sanity on a non-issue; cause, and get this, it’s all for NOTHING. Nothing is gonna change!!!

So cry, lament, bang your empty heads against the wall, scream at the wind; it doesn’t matter!! NOTHING is gonna change!!! But hey, I’d be more than happy to represent you once I get my law degree, (even though I’m studying to become a tax attorney); because lawyers’ gotta eat too!!!

Enjoy your madness!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0ET4iIpDpo&feature=related

Ken Berwitz

July 22nd, 2009
4:42 pm

Incidentally, has Mr. Obama madfe his passport available for perusal? The answer to that is “no” as well.

We can’t see his birth certificate, only a “Certification of Live Birth” which does not prove his citizenship status. We can’t see his college records. We can’t see his passport.

You would think there has to be some point at which even a skeptic sits back and says “Why is all this being hidden? Why would he prolong this controversy which doesn’t do him any good, if all he has to do is make documents available that say nothing other than what he has told us”? What is on those documents that would cause him to withhold them?”

For some folks that point will never come. They’re satisfied to pump out personal insults and assorted other invective – and occasionally speeches about racism, which have exactly nothing to do with the issue of Barack Obama’s citizenship status, but are a dodge to deflect the discussion away from it.

For others, however, I get the sense that they are getting past the reflexive attack-responses and wondering why he is hiding this information. One recent convert is Lynn Samuels, a hard-left radio show personality, who is now calling Obama “a liar” about his citizenship status.

John Bryans Fontaine

July 22nd, 2009
4:42 pm

http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/blog/index.blog?start=1229785467

WND’s investigator is Jorge Baros, “the in-house senior investigator for Elite Legal Services, LLC, in Royal Palm Beach, Fla.” Interestingly, he appears to be a director of something called the Association of Christian Investigators. Baro also has apparent ties to a group called Godly Men of Integrity, a Georgia-based men’s ministry born out of the Promise Keepers.

It’s clear that Baro lacks a notable piece of integrity, because he buys into false right-wing conspiracy theories about the birth certificate:

“This raised the question in my mind as to whether the ‘Certification of Live Birth,’ which is the only document that has been produced and as previously stated solely handled by the representatives of factcheck.org outside Obama’s campaign, is a certification of a live birth or a late birth,” Baro stated in his affidavit.

“I am left with the conclusion that a simple request from Senator Barack Obama to produce the ‘long form’ (redacted if necessary) would end any speculation or question as to his birthplace,” Baro’s affidavit continued. “His continued denial to do so is suspect, in my professional opinion.”

Baro also pointed out that factcheck.org is funded by the Annenberg Foundation, which “is at the center of the ongoing Obama-Bill Ayers controversy – hardly an unbiased source for information in my view.”

Neither Corsi nor Baro make mention of the fact that Walter Annenberg, whose money supported the foundation, was a prominent Republican )as we’ve noted). If Corsi and Baro want a less “unbiased source” for this claim, how about … WorldNetDaily?

A separate WND investigation into Obama’s birth certificate utilizing forgery experts also found the document to be authentic. The investigation also revealed methods used by some of the bloggers to determine the document was fake involved forgeries, in that a few bloggers added text and images to the certificate scan that weren’t originally there.

Baro’s an private investigator, and he couldn’t find this? Maybe WND’s paying him to hush it up. That might explain why WND won’t talk about now.

Will WND disclose to its readers how much it’s paying Baro for such paltry results? If Baro is accepting money to further WND’s increasingly dishonest anti-Obama jihad, he can’t be much of a “Christian investigator,” can he?

P.S. If WND is so eager to hire private eyes to gather negative information on those who it perceives as its enemies — Corsi wrote that “Baro sent a team of investigators to Honolulu” — isn’t that unseemly for an alleged news organization? And does that mean that we’re next?

John Bryans Fontaine

July 22nd, 2009
4:45 pm

“They’re satisfied to pump out personal insults…”

like calling someone an idiot

tmkls

July 22nd, 2009
4:46 pm

Ken: But according to the State Dept website first time applicants for a U.S. Passport must “submit evidence of U.S. citizenship.” One has to be a citizen, and there are only two types of citizens — natural born (a citizen at birth) or naturalized (citizenship acquired through legal process after birth).

tmkls

July 22nd, 2009
4:48 pm

Has he made his passport available? Now this is silly. He travelled abroad as an adult and he would not have been admitted into foreign countries without a valid passport. Does anyone seriously doubt that Obama has a valid U.S. Passport? Please.

Ken Berwitz

July 22nd, 2009
4:59 pm

tmkls – Yes, of course he has used his passport to travel (I don’t know how much he used it before becoming President, it may have been a long time). And I acknowledge that his CURRENT passport probably would not yield any decisive information about citizenship status, other than that he is a citizen per se (not how/when/under what circumstances).

I was thinking more of his passport when he was shuttling to Indonesia and then back to the USA.

tmkls

July 22nd, 2009
5:01 pm

Ken: But at any point in one’s life one needs to prove citizenship to acquire a U.S. Passport. Thus, at some point Obama (or his mother)proved to the U.S. government’s satisfaction that he was a citizen by producing the necessary documentation, no?

Ken Berwitz

July 22nd, 2009
5:01 pm

Again, at some point I would hope that, as a matter of simple logic, some of Mr. Obama’s defenders would wonder why every way of checking his citizenship has been made unavailable to us.

Ken Berwitz

July 22nd, 2009
5:03 pm

tmkls – I have no doubt whatsoever that Barack Obama is a citizen of the USA. The issue is not whether he is a citizen, it is whether he is a naturalized citizen who meets the requirements necessary for eligibility to be President.

tmkls

July 22nd, 2009
5:09 pm

But only “natural born” citizens are eligible, not “naturalized” citizens — Kissinger is a naturalized citizen but is ineligible to be President. Since there is no record of Obama having gone through a naturalization process to become a citizen, the only way he can be a citizen (which he had to prove to get a Passport) is to be a natural born citizen — i.e., born in the U.S. to at least one U.S. citizen parent.

Clark

July 22nd, 2009
5:11 pm

I LOVE this Ken Berwitz fella! The more wing-nuts like him drag mainstream Republicans into their camp, the better it is for Democrats.

I eagerly await Guilianas appearance on Hardball the evening. I’m hoping he gives the birthers his full throated support!

Crossing my fingers!

Good Luck

Ken Berwitz

July 22nd, 2009
5:17 pm

Clark – was there a point of some kind in there? Maybe a fact to dispute anything I said?

Your post is illustrative of what I’ve been shaking my head (and occasionally laughing out loud) about.

An exchange of views needs views from both sides. Your post begins and ends with sarcasm, no facts of any kind.

I hope for your sake that you do better than that in the real world.

tmkls

July 22nd, 2009
5:17 pm

Ken: But I am at least glad you admit that Obama is a citizen. Some, such as the woman in video at the congressman’s press conference, claim that Obama is NOT even a citizen.

This has been fun (well, sort of)….kind of like my old law school debates. But I must leave my computer to pick up the kiddies.

Ken Berwitz

July 22nd, 2009
5:18 pm

tmkls – I don’t know for sure how to answer you. The Certification of Live Birth may have been enough to get him the passport. That’s just a guess.

tnvret

July 22nd, 2009
5:24 pm

Jonathan Taylor wrote

“Give me A BREAK!! President elects are HIGHLY vetted before they become presidents folks. They are scrupulously gone over (all their records) by the FBI! There is no way they would hide something so obvious as this!”

Show us proof that he or any other president is vetted by any agency. What I can show you is all the name calling when a few congressmen have proposed legislation that would require candidates submit at least birth credentials. The Democrats scream racist, wing nut, etc. Further, I will add this excerpt from Wikipedia – which can be referenced and verified.

“In 2004, Róger Calero was the SWP candidate for President of the United States and received 3,689 votes,[5] with Arrin Hawkins running for Vice President. Because he is not a natural born citizen of the United States, Calero is ineligible to become U.S. president under the United States Constitution, and so James Harris, the Socialist Workers’ Party presidential candidate from 2000, stood in on the ticket in nine states where Calero could not be listed, receiving 7,102 additional votes.[6]

In 2006, Róger Calero appeared on the ballot in New York as the Socialist Workers Party candidate for US Senate. He received 5,127 votes [7].

Róger Calero again ran for President of the United States representing the SWP in the 2008 presidential election, together with Alyson Kennedy for vice-president.[1] Again, James Harris stood in for Calero in several states.[8] In the 2008 presidential election, Calero was on the ballot in five states, where he received 7,209 votes. Coupled with the 2,424 votes received in the five states where Harris was on the ballot. [7].”

If, in fact, candidates were vetted and if the state Attorneys General even minimally verified credentials, how was it possible for Calero to appear on the same ballot as Obama and McCain? Obviously not all candidates are vetted, but are any vetted? Why would you wait until someone was president elect to vet him or her and raise the ire of those who elected him or her? Can you actually show a working mechanism that challenges the candidate’s credentials – emphasis on “working”? If not, why the outcry over legislation that does put a mechanism in place. This legitimacy issue should never have happened and certainly should never happen again in the future.

Clark

July 22nd, 2009
5:27 pm

Dammit! Guiliana is alas NOT a birther.

Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!

You birthers better start flooding his e-mail account.

Good Luck

Clark

July 22nd, 2009
5:31 pm

Ken-

I dispute ALL your “facts”!

But I support your silly cause all the way.

Crazy people need to find something to occupy their time. Beats coloring books or basket weaving, right?

Good Luck

tnvret

July 22nd, 2009
5:33 pm

With one exception the comments that Ken Berwitz has made (and I have read) are accurate. McCain’s parents were not “naturalized” citizens they were in fact US citizens from birth. They were not foreign born; therefore, they did not require the naturalization process to become citizens. Both McCains’s father and grandfather were US Navy admirals.

Ken Berwitz

July 22nd, 2009
5:43 pm

tnvret – Yes they were. That was what I meant to say and I’m sorry if it came out wrong. Mr. McCain’s mother, at age (I believe 96) is still alive, apparently in full possession of her faculties, and would give some of the folks in congress a pretty good run for their money

Ken Berwitz

July 22nd, 2009
5:45 pm

I’ve found that when someone says “I dispute all your facts” they aren’t saying anything. That usually is just a flip-off comment which substitutes for inability to put up a reasonable argument.

If Clark had any facts to dispute what I’m posting, do you doubt you’d see them? Instead he tosses out the invective (I’ll add “crazy” to the growing list) and that’s supposed to settle the issue.

Me, I prefer facts.

Clark

July 22nd, 2009
5:53 pm

Ken-

Simply put, I’m a normal person of reasonable intelligence. When this issue first arose, last year, it seemed plausible that there could have been an issue about his citizenship since his father wasn’t a US citizen. But the birth certificate was posted by his campaign, and PLEASE KEN I think it’s a REAL birth certificate and I don’t care about your “live birth” argument, that settled it for me. It seems a little far fetched that a major presidential candidate for the most powerful country on earth would be able to successfully pass off a forged birth certificate. No? McCain accepted it, I accepted it.

Every piece of evidence since then confirms him to me as a citizen. The Haawiaan Official confirmed it, the Governor confirms it, the fact his birth announcement was in two local papers confirms it, factcheck.org confirms it, snopes confirms it. The only people who don’t confirm are wacky right wing web sites, and propeller heads like yourself.

Your tilting at windmills, my friend. I support your right to do it, and I’m glad it keeps you off the streets.

Good Luck

tnvret

July 22nd, 2009
6:12 pm

DebbieDoRight,

Your reference to citizenships states “Birth Abroad Out-of-Wedlock to a U.S. Citizen Mother”. Ken’s references “Birth Abroad to One Citizen and One Alien Parent in Wedlock”. You do recognize the difference? Obama’s parents were married; therefore the “in Wedlock” provision (with the five year clause) applies. If he was born in Hawaii, neither applies. However, he would have been born with dual citizenship – the British (Kenya was a colony) have similar clauses about births abroad, and his father was very definitely of British not US citizenship.

Clark

July 22nd, 2009
6:21 pm

Ken, just so you know where I’m coming from:

I don’t believe in UFOs, or Bigfoots (or is it Bigfeets?), I think Lee Harvey Oswald did it alone, Marilyn Monroe died of an accidental drug overdose, their are no chemtrails, the flouride in our water is to strengthen our teeth not poison us, we WENT to the moon and came back and the DaVinci Code is a work of fiction.

I assume you are on the opposite side of me on all those issues. It’s a clinical diagnosis—-paranoia.

Good Luck

DebbieDoRight

July 22nd, 2009
6:31 pm

tnvret: DebbieDoRight, Your reference to citizenships states “Birth Abroad Out-of-Wedlock to a U.S. Citizen Mother”. Ken’s references “Birth Abroad to One Citizen and One Alien Parent in Wedlock”. You do recognize the difference? Obama’s parents were married; therefore the “in Wedlock” provision (with the five year clause) applies.

I picked that reference because his parents could not have been legally married if his father was already married to another woman. Unless of course, they were mormons.

If he was born in Hawaii, neither applies. However, he would have been born with dual citizenship – the British (Kenya was a colony) have similar clauses about births abroad, and his father was very definitely of British not US citizenship.

Yes, he would’ve been born with dual citizenship however at the age of 21 Kenyan law states that he had could not hold dual citizenship. So, at 21 he had the choice to denounce his American Citizenship (which he did not do), to become a Kenyan citizen. Therefore, from 21 to present he is NOT a citizen of Kenya. Kenya was freed from British Rule in 1963.

Ken Berwitz

July 22nd, 2009
6:40 pm

Clark – thank you for that litany of opinions you assume I have. And the diagnosis.

When (if) you ever have a fact to discuss do let me know.

Ken Berwitz

July 22nd, 2009
6:43 pm

Incidentally, two of my posts (one of which answers every “point” Clark tried to make in his “propeller head” post) are, for some reason that I can’t tell, still waiting to be moderated. I expect both will be visible at some point in the near future.

tnvret

July 22nd, 2009
7:41 pm

DebbieDoRight,

Most references say that Obama’s parents were married, but you are right about the possibility that they weren’t. We haven’t actually seen those documents. If his father was a bigamist, who knows where that puts the marriage status, but I will stay with the “in wedlock” provision.

Again I agree with the dual citizenship issue, but that is even more clouded by the issue of Indonesian citizenship. I’ll accept that he probably is a US citizen, but we’ve never seen those documents either. Which is the point that a lot of us are making; too much is placed on word, supposition, and innuendo, and too little on documented fact.

The real essence is how “natural born” is legally accepted. John Jay was specific “Permit me to hint, whether it would be wise and seasonable to provide a strong check to the admission of Foreigners into the administration of our national Government; and to declare expressly that the Commander in Chief of the American army shall not be given to nor devolve on, any but a natural born Citizen.” (born was underlined). Which is the reason the term was inserted in the Constitution. “Natural born” is not defined there, but based on British law (the legal foundations that most knew at the time) the term referred to a child born of British subjects (plural meaning both). That’s why many claim “natural born” children have to be born of parents who are both citizens. The real question is how you interpret terms in the Constitution – according to the definition and usage of the time or current definition and usage. It would seem perverse to change the meaning of the Constitution based on current usage rather than original intent – such as “natural born” for “natural birth” vs Cesarean delivery. We could change the Constitution any time without dealing with those nasty amendment procedures by just reinterpreting the words. The issue needs to be investigated and resolved – not trashed on the altar of “standing”; that is the cowardly path the courts have taken. If no one has “standing” then no one has legal rights to challenge a perceived wrong. And some cases were rejected well before the elections.

DebbieDoRight

July 22nd, 2009
8:20 pm

tnvret: The real essence is how “natural born” is legally accepted.

Natural-born citizen

Who is a natural-born citizen? Who, in other words, is a citizen at birth, such that that person can be a President someday?

The 14th Amendment defines citizenship this way: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” But even this does not get specific enough. As usual, the Constitution provides the framework for the law, but it is the law that fills in the gaps.

Currently, Title 8 of the U.S. Code fills in those gaps. Section 1401 defines the following as people who are “citizens of the United States at birth:”

* Anyone born inside the United States *
* Any Indian or Eskimo born in the United States, provided being a citizen of the U.S. does not impair the person’s status as a citizen of the tribe
* Any one born outside the United States, both of whose parents are citizens of the U.S., as long as one parent has lived in the U.S.
* Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for at least one year and the other parent is a U.S. national
* Any one born in a U.S. possession, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for at least one year
* Any one found in the U.S. under the age of five, whose parentage cannot be determined, as long as proof of non-citizenship is not provided by age 21
* Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is an alien and as long as the other parent is a citizen of the U.S. who lived in the U.S. for at least five years (with military and diplomatic service included in this time)
* A final, historical condition: a person born before 5/24/1934 of an alien father and a U.S. citizen mother who has lived in the U.S.

* There is an exception in the law — the person must be “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States. This would exempt the child of a diplomat, for example, from this provision.

Anyone falling into these categories is considered natural-born, and is eligible to run for President or Vice President. These provisions allow the children of military families to be considered natural-born, for example.

http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_citi.html

tnvret

July 22nd, 2009
8:52 pm

DebbieDoRight

Your reference came from this website http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_citi.html

The specifics regarding the site are as follows:

“Web site designed and maintained by Steve Mount.
© 1995-2009 by Steve Mount. All rights reserved.

Common Name: Steve Mount

Formal Name: Stephen J J Mount

Title: Webmaster and researcher for USConstitution.net

Degree: Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, 1989, University of Vermont

Other formal learning: Constitutional Law, Community College of Vermont, 1999 (audit)

Relevant Experience:
Reporter, Vermont Cynic, 1986-1987
News Editor, Vermont Cynic, 1987-1988
Managing Editor, Vermont Cynic, 1988-1989
Webmaster/Editor-in-Chief, USConstitution.net, 1995-Present
Columnist, The Williston Observer, 2007-Present

Military Experience:
Vermont Army National Guard 1987-1992; tank loader, driver, gunner (M60A3). Stationed: Det. 1 1/172nd HHQ, Swanton, Vermont; Basic training and AIT at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Honorable Discharge 1992.

All research done for the USConstitution.net site was done by me. All opinions are mine and mine alone, with the exception of messages posted by others in the Message Board. A bibliography is available.”

It contains fact and opinion. According to Mount citizen and “natural born” citizen are the same; that is not universally accepted. Again, this issue needs to be heard and settled. I don’t know how you feel about it, but I am not ready to welcome an anchor baby as a presidential candidate, and that is exactly what Mount’s opinion accepts.

Teacher 35 Years and Conservative

July 22nd, 2009
9:44 pm

Actually the reason someone is Democrat thanks to ‘more education’ is that they have been exposed to more liberal tripe than anyone else. Our public system is illegal and rife with bias and taken over by the Goalie 2000 crowd…instilling liberal values about Marxism.

Just look at the mess this creep Obama has made in just 120 days.. whew.

Teacher 35 Years and Conservative

July 22nd, 2009
9:47 pm

There is just one question that haunts you all — why does the president sign a PDD the first day of his office that essentially bans his birth record from public view? Similarly why did he spend $1M on hiding it? Seems to me if it’s that easy to prove he would have done it by now.

tmkls

July 22nd, 2009
9:55 pm

The public (education?) system is illegal?

DebbieDoRight

July 22nd, 2009
10:00 pm

tnvret do you trust Cornell Law University’s online Law Library? If so, here’s another link to Cornell’s law library:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/search/display.html?terms=citizens%20of%20the%20US%20at%20birth&url=/uscode/html/uscode08/usc_sec_08_00001401—-000-.html

You can click on it….it’ll say the exact same thing. I tried to get into Harvard Law’s library Lexis Nexis system but I can’t from home. However, they have an EXTENSIVE Constitutional law and Immigration Law library online.

John Bryans Fontaine

July 22nd, 2009
11:36 pm

What this birther thing is really about is the wack-job THEOCRATIC FASCIST Joseph Farah, his WND underlings and groupies spreading this disinformation.

John Bryans Fontaine

July 22nd, 2009
11:49 pm

John Bryans Fontaine

July 23rd, 2009
12:13 am

John Bryans Fontaine

July 23rd, 2009
1:26 am

Clark

July 23rd, 2009
2:43 am

Ken,

Buddy. You are the crazy wing of your party.

No-one in your party is really, save the radio wackos, sticking up for your silly opinions. I actually wish they would and you would bring a Senator down with you. So far they have been pretty quiet. Republicans, these days, have to twist themselves in knots to keep the nutty vote. It’s at least 30% of the party.

You, Ken, are a member of that 30% and you are dragging your party down.

Congratulations!

Good Luck

PS I’m am not going to spend my whole night refuting every idiotic point you make. Keep looking at borders, driving yourself crazy over 401k’s and paragraph 4, item 7, of the Hawwiaan(sp) citizenship code. It’s funny to watch a moron get blinded by the trees when their is a forrest burning down right in front of him.

Clark

July 23rd, 2009
3:02 am

Ken,

What you should really be doing, if you are a proper Republican, is fight with all all your effort against the socialist, communist medical care being foisted upon you.

But you waste hours on the Hawiaan(sp) citizen code. I think that says a lot about your character.

You like to waste a lot o time on nonsense. Good for you!

JMO.

Good Luck

Ken Berwitz

July 23rd, 2009
9:16 am

I’m back at my computer and I just saw the last two comments from Clark (who stayed up until 3AM eastern time, long after I was asleep, to post them).

Since they are loaded with insults and invective, and they make assumptions about me (party affiliation, what I think of the health care issue) that he doesn’t know a thing about, I won’t respond to them.

If he, or anyone else, wants a discussion of facts, I have no problem with that. But insults and assumptions (wrong, by the way: I’ve never registered with either party and vote for both Democrats and Republicans) are useless.

Clark

July 23rd, 2009
11:35 am

Good for you Ken. You shouldn’t respond to “crazies”. You’re the bigger.

On Hardball last night even the hard right partisan Tony Blankley wouldn’t defend the “birthers”.

It’s a lost cause Kenny Boy.

Good Luck

Clark

July 23rd, 2009
11:42 am

I just thought of this one Kenny:

The “birther” movement is stillborn. Get it? Stillborn! Ba-dum-bum chee!

This is a tough crowd!

Good Luck

Ken Berwitz

July 23rd, 2009
12:01 pm

Ken Berwitz

July 23rd, 2009
12:03 pm

Incidentally, for anyone here who cares, I don’t know about this “birther” thing. I’m someone with an opinion on an issue. I don’t belong to a group or cult or anything associated with this or any other issue.

It is a hallmark of people who don’t have very much intelligent to say, that they try to “classify” people into groups that they can then demonize. It’s a lot easier than trying to discuss facts.

tmkls

July 23rd, 2009
12:41 pm

I thought about this overnight and have reached the following argument. Anyone want to tell me what its weak link is?

Here is my argument:

1. We know that Obama has a valid US Passport — he travelled abroad as an adult to countries where he would not have been admitted without one.

2. To obtain as Passport one must provide documentation that one is a citizen. So we know that Obama has proven to the satisfaction of the US government that he is a citizen.

3. Of course, this is not enough to be eligible to be president. There are two types of citizens — natural born (a citizen at birth) and naturalized (became a citizen after birth through a legal process of naturalization). Only natural born citizens can be president (e.g., Kissinger could not).

4. If one is a naturalized citizen there is a record of the application for citizenship and the process of naturalization. To date, no one has provided a single shred of evidence that Obama ever went through a process of naturalization, and there would be evidence.

5. If there is no evidence of a naturalization process and Obama has proven citizenship (which we know because he has a passport), the only option is that he or his mother provided the State Department with the necessary documentation to prove he was a natural born citizen.

The only alternatives to this are:

1. He did go through a naturalization process but no one has found any evidence of it yet.

2. The State Dept screwed up and gave him a passport by mistake.

3. Obama or his mother gave the State Dept forged documents to aquire his passport.

Ken Berwitz

July 23rd, 2009
12:47 pm

tmkls – it would not surprise me if the Certification of Live Birth was enough to generate a passport. That said, however, I don’t know for sure what the answer is.

But it still – and always – begs the question of why he will not make his actual birth certificate available. If it says what he claims it says, why in the world would this be any problem at all? Is there some secret about which hospital he was born in or what the doctor’s name is?

Common sense – not adherence to any group or philosophy, just plain common sense – tells me that if the birth certificate was what he claims, he’d have done so long ago, and the only reason he has not is that it isn’t what he claims.

Clark

July 23rd, 2009
12:48 pm

I’m not demonizing you Ken, I think you’re funny as hell!

Your, ahh, “facts” are hilarious! I think he’s an American, fairly elected. You don’t.

Good for you. I think you should start making signs and take it to the streets. I LOVE that you are commited to this silly cause. It’s adorable.

Good Luck

tmkls

July 23rd, 2009
12:51 pm

But then that means that the U.S. government accepts a certificate of live birth as sufficient evidence of citizenship. Someone has told me, however, the a CLB is not accepted by the State Dept, only a “certified birth certificate” (though I have not been able to verify this). If a CLB is not accepted, then other sufficient documentation must have been provided.

tmkls

July 23rd, 2009
12:55 pm

And Ken, yesterday you admitted that you had no doubt that Obama is a citizen. That means he is either a natural born citizen or a naturalized citizen. If he is the later and not the former, that begs the question of why no one has been able to produce a single shred of evidence of Obama going through a naturalization process.

Clark

July 23rd, 2009
1:07 pm

Maybe I’m being a little unfair to you Ken. Let me see if I understand the jist of your argument.

You’re saying that Obama’s mama gave birth to him in Kenya, then went to Hawaii and pretended that his birth happened there. The problem that you have is not whether his mother was an American, she was, but that he, meaning baby Obama, was not born on American soil. So this is a soil problem. It’s not about the election, it is about soil. Kenyan soil.

Maybe his mother did do that. Who knows? Obama henchman faked his birth certificate, err, I’m sorry, Certificate of Live Birth, and is perpetratin’ a fraud. That Son Of A Bitch!

I’m with you Kenny Boy. I’m marchin’ to Washington, brother!

Good Luck

Ken Berwitz

July 23rd, 2009
1:07 pm

tmkls – I’m only speculating, of course. But I also speculate that there is far less concern over issuing a passport than putting a President in office.

Why can’t we see his actual birth certificate? Why is he doing erything he can to keep it from public view?

tmkls

July 23rd, 2009
1:30 pm

Ken:

1. He has already proven to satisfaction of the US government that he is a citizen, and since there is not a single shred of evidence that he went through a naturalization process, the reasonable presumption is that he (or his mother) has already provided documentation that he is natural born citizen.

2. Releasing the “vault copy” (if that is what one calls it) will end nothing. You may be satisfied, but the internet and you-tube will be filled with charges of FAKE! FORGERY! It will NOT end the controversy.

3. I would not give a small minority of people who do not want me to be president anyway the satisfaction of caving into their demands. If he is legally required to show his full birth certificate, make a court order him to do so.

4. He wants the controversy to continue and consume the GOP because it makes the GOP base look silly to the vast majority of Americans.

Clark

July 23rd, 2009
1:43 pm

“4. He wants the controversy to continue and consume the GOP because it makes the GOP base look silly to the vast majority of Americans.”

Egg-sactly!

Good Luck

Bob Smith

July 23rd, 2009
1:46 pm

“It is a hallmark of people who don’t have very much intelligent to say, that they try to “classify” people into groups that they can then demonize.”

True, a conservative would NEVER classify or demonize anyone.

John Bryans Fontaine

July 23rd, 2009
1:53 pm

Clark

July 23rd, 2009
2:24 pm

Per John Stewert:

“Barack O’Bama is running the old Kenyan birth announcement scam. Here’s how it goes: You want to destroy America from the inside, but you can’t, because you’re a foreigner. So first you gotta find a good ole American willing to reproduce with you. Then you HAVE that child on foreign soil while simultaneously placing the birth announcement in one our “fringe” states local newspapers; your Hawaiis, your Alaskas, your Pennsylvanias. And then…and then…you wait until this baby is a middle-aged man. Now the trap is set! You just sit back and let that child win the election for president of the United States. Now here’s where the scam gets tricky: They can’t just win the popular vote, he’s also got to win the electoral college—that’s what trips up most grifters. But if you pull it off, you and your puppet child can just sit back and destroy the fabric of the country you hate so much. It’s almost too easy.”

Good Luck

Ken Berwitz

July 23rd, 2009
2:47 pm

Bob = How exactly do you know I’m a conservative?

See, this is exactly what I’m talking about. You see me take one position on one issue and you know my entire agenda. That is classifying someone into a group – and then we have the sarcasms about conservatives.

I’ll give you this — you made my point with crystal clarity.