‘Birther’ bill is an embarrassment to Georgians, Republicans
I don’t normally make a big deal out of loopy legislation that has just one sponsor, or maybe a couple of them. I figure that such bills are bound for a quick dead end, and that paying attention to their sponsors only encourages them.
But when there are 94 signers on a loopy bill — as is the case with the “birther” bill in the General Assembly — it’s time to speak up. And HB 401, the so-called Presidential Eligibility Assurance Act, is a farce.
The “birther” movement is a fringe movement everywhere — except, evidently, in the Georgia House Republican caucus. Although there are opinion polls that suggest “birtherism” has become more widespread, I agree with my colleague Jay Bookman that such poll results are more reflective of tribal loyalty than of a genuine belief that Barack Obama was not born in Hawaii (or that Hawaii is not in fact one of the United States).
The popular appeal of wild conspiracies — birtherism, 9/11 trutherism, Trig Palin trutherism, etc. — is a hallmark of our age. But is it too much to ask of our legislators that they not try to enshrine such conspiracies in state law?
– By Kyle Wingfield
Find me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter
Or tweet this blog post:Tweet
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
345 comments Add your comment
Some People are stupid
March 2nd, 2011
4:01 pm
I find it funny how I requested a copy of my Birth Certificate and got a certificate of live Birth from GA…and then used it to get my passport….I think someone is confused when they say that doesn’t pass federal standards.
LeeH1
March 2nd, 2011
4:02 pm
This Republican nonsense is not as bad as the miscarriage of justice that Bobby Franklin’s miscarriage bill (HB-1) is. The whole nation is laughing at Georgia over this one, who wants to put women in jail for life or execute them if they can’t prove that a miscarriage occurred naturally. Yes, the women have to prove they are innocent- the state assumes they are guilty.
See this miscarriage of justice for yourself at:
http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/display.aspx?Legislation=31965
Sheriff Lobo
March 2nd, 2011
4:07 pm
Honestly, much like Hoover had the FBI tab MLK, Bush & Cheney had the FBI and CIA delve into EVERYTHING Obama as soon as he announced he was running…LOL Trust me, his records are legit.
Real American
March 2nd, 2011
4:23 pm
Gawga – Deliverance isn’t just a movie ya know.
Gm
March 2nd, 2011
4:30 pm
Thulsa Doom : still can not address the question: I dislike Bush spending my dollars on another country, however I was not out there dis respecting the Office of the President:
Calling the President Bozo shows how immature you are, when you start personally attacking the President Obama wife which some of these hicks in Georgia do all the time makes you trailer, never mind the man has class and family values and never been caught in scandals, thats not good enough for white bigots who over looked the last President that destroyed this country, so please spare me you hate his policy crap, you and the birthers are Anti Americans and represet why this country will never be great.
Dave
March 2nd, 2011
4:36 pm
Gm,
But of course, anyone who disagrees with Obama’s agenda MUST be a racist, huh?
Goes to show why the country is turning against you leftist communist filth and the policies you push, every single one of which harms our country. If you don’t like this place, feel free to go somewhere you’d feel more at home (Venezuela? Cuba? North Korea?)
I Report (-: You Whine )-: Credible, Compelling, Complete....Bwahahahaha, just sayin...
March 2nd, 2011
4:46 pm
If it prevents another obozo in the future, who in their right mind could be against it?
Joe the Plutocrat
March 2nd, 2011
4:55 pm
Dave, no; anyone who disagrees with Obama’s policies is a political opponent. those who continue to seek “proof” of his native citizenship, often using the words “Kenyan father” are likely to be racists. of course, racism is the belief that one’s race is superior, so I don’t know that birthers are racists, so much as they are just white people who don’t like the idea of a black president. and I suppose there is a bit of unconcious or latent racism in your comment, as you have somehow attached “policy” to this debate. what does your “logic” suggest about those who agree with Obama’s policies, but believe he was born in Kenya or Indonesia, or Timbuktu?
Jefferson
March 2nd, 2011
4:59 pm
End of the day, the President is in the White House.
AmVet
March 2nd, 2011
5:01 pm
The southern, white bigots here are just updated versions of their daddies and granddaddies – the bigots who hated Jackie Robinson…
duke
March 2nd, 2011
5:05 pm
Are you kidding? To suggest that Presidential candidates must prove their constitutional eligibility is a fringe issue? It should not even be necessary to pass a law about this. It should be routine that candidates have to prove this. All Americans have to present their birth certificates in all sorts of situations. Obama has spent millions of dollars in attorneys’ fees to keep his birth records and all other records secret from the sort of review that is standard for all political candidates.
When Obama was allegedly born in Hawaii- 1962, I think- there were four way to get a long-form birth certificate on file. One was a document signed by the doctor who delivered the baby in a hospital. That document would settle the question, unless credible evidence were presented challenging its authenticity. But at least one of the other ways merely required an adult claiming to be a family member make a statement to a low-level bureaucrat. One of the ways could be done through the mail. The long-form document would reveal which of these methods was used. The short-form document- which is all anyone has seen, and even that has not been authenticated- merely indicates that long-form certificate is on file.
But Obama is ineligible anyway. The Constitution requires that the President be a natural-born citizen. The Law of Nations, a principle reference for our founders, defines natural-born as both parents being citizens. Obama’s father, as a Kenyan, was a British citizen. The idea, according to The Law of Nations, is that a natural-born citizen is more likely to have actually absorbed the nation’s culture, and to be an actual citizen by nature as well as by law. It should be clear to anyone that Obama is not a cultural American. He is a product of the fiercely anti-American culture of Ivy League liberalism.
Because John McCain was born in Panama, a child of an American military officer, questions were legitmately raised about his eligibility; and he readily presented the necessary documentation.
dave c
March 2nd, 2011
5:05 pm
If it was a Republican President right now, the state of GA would not have brought up that bill !!!!
Sandra
March 2nd, 2011
5:16 pm
@Del, this bill IS about Obama and trying to satisfy the ‘birther’ nuts! So don’t even try to go there.
R Elliott
March 2nd, 2011
5:16 pm
Mr. Wingfield, Although I may disagree with your conclusions from time to time, I find your logic to be well-organized. In this case, I agree with all of what you said. Not only that, you have demonstrated great political courage by castigating statements that run against perceived “conservation” wisdom. In fact, this topic doesn’t even merit serious consideration by serious-thinking people. Thank you for what you have written. It shows that Georgians of many stripes can co-exist peacefully here and that not all of us drink the Koolaid of political extremists.
Gm
March 2nd, 2011
5:30 pm
Dave: To stupid to know the meaning of communist:
Please turn off the fat slob, high school drop out Rush Limbaugh and look up the word yourself.
gadawg
March 2nd, 2011
5:39 pm
AMVET you aren’t a real veteran if you were in service you were probably a cook or supply clerk. I am a Viet Nam Veteran Infantryman you are scum.
Government Union Goon Steward
March 2nd, 2011
6:07 pm
Sunday Sales and Birther Bills…
Anybody smell a smokesceen?
We need water in Atlanta !!
This is Mrs. Norman Maine
March 2nd, 2011
6:16 pm
Date: 3/2/3011
Dear Diary,
Today Kyle Wingfield did not sign on to the right wing agenda and he disputes popular wingnut talking points. Who knew this day would ever come?
AmVet
March 2nd, 2011
6:18 pm
dawg, it’s both interesting and telling that you got your panties in a wad over that post.
I presume you took it personally for good reason…
JB Clark
March 2nd, 2011
6:31 pm
My dad never had birth certificate. He was born in the USA, went to school and college in the USA, served in the Navy in World War II, started a business that grew to employ dozens. His birth certificate was either lost or possibly he was never registered, since he was likely born at home. Everyone who knew the details of his birth was long dead when he found out he did not have “official papers.” Later, the state issued him a certificate saying that, based on school and military records, he was a citizen — but he was turned down for a passport, which is bizarre since he traveled overseas at great risk to his life (Okinawa, Guadacanal) for our country.
There are thousands of people just like him in the USA. My sister has two birth certificates, one with the wrong date. The hospital where my brother and I were born burned to the ground, and the courthouse was flooded when we were children. That may explain why our birth certificates are tiny documents without much detail — just the name, father and mother, race, and weight. We were all able to get passports, but I guess no one in my family will be eligible to run for president.
cborgia
March 2nd, 2011
6:31 pm
Clearly we all need to take a loyalty oath when we get up each morning. We should also take one before meals, and before we go to bed at night. At random times during the day, national thought police should check our birth certificates and travel and work papers. Loyalty oaths administered by special agents at check points would trap those who had become disloyal since their last oath. (Thanks, J. Heller)
This will ensure our freedom and prevent unwanted government intervention into our private lives. One shouldn’t mind the occasional full body X-ray or cavity search if one has nothing to hide, should one?
itpdude
March 2nd, 2011
6:54 pm
Even Kyle Wingnut doesn’t agree with the weirdos in his party? What the crap?
I hope the bill passes. The wackier and wackier the GOP shows itself the be, the less and less relevant that stinking and corrupt party becomes. Let all their crappy bills get through and drive the country into the ground so we may be rid of them soon enough.
Mike
March 2nd, 2011
7:12 pm
When the Bush Administration failed to protect our country and 9/11 happened, when they put is into trillions of dollars of debt (yeah, they did), and when they started a ridiculous war with no exit strategy… that is what I call RUINING THE COUNTRY. Health care for all people is not even close you delusional wackjobs! And it isn’t communist!
Maybe you should look back at all the freedoms we lost during the Bush Administration and the freedom we continue to lose in our own state of Georgia! Why do these Republicans at least at the state level keep getting elected??? Why?
td
March 2nd, 2011
7:14 pm
dave c
March 2nd, 2011
5:05 pm
If it was a Republican President right now, the state of GA would not have brought up that bill !!!!
You are corrct. Vermount, Calf., NY or Mass would have.
Still Waiting For the Trickle Down
March 2nd, 2011
7:15 pm
When it was Clinton, it was his immorality and the humdingers he procured in the Oval Office.
With Obama, it’s all about his birthright.
When will you folks just admit you’d say anything derogatory about any Democrat holding that office? We know how you think. You don’t have the power of intention concealment in your miserly arsenal.
Yllwjckt1
March 2nd, 2011
7:27 pm
I do not see anything wrong with the bill and am behind it 100%. A long time ago, I applied for a government job and underwent a background check that included interviews of family and friends, credit checks, fingerprinting, and a slew of other things. Requiring each and every candidate to prove they meet the requirements of an elected position seems just a basic law and I’m surprised that it hasn’t been previously enacted.
The law does not deny any right and seems only to ensure that other existing laws are properly followed. It is intended to apply to all candidates and thus is fair to all.
Kyle, I generally agree with you on most things, but you missed it on this one. Any right-minded Georgian would welcome this and any similar legislation. Only those loonie lefties find fault with this bill.
Mary Elizabeth
March 2nd, 2011
7:32 pm
Kyle,
I want to thank you for this post today. My perspective often differs from yours, but I know that if Georgia is ever to move forward, progressives must join with enlightened conservatives to overcome
the thinking of generations of Georgians still mired in their past.
Bull Durham
March 2nd, 2011
7:44 pm
This is another poll tax and literacy test. I find it strange no one is going to Germany to check out John McCain’s birth credentials. I was born at home in Georgia and my birth certificate probably wouldn’t pass the muster test of this bunch. Good Grief!
George
March 2nd, 2011
7:50 pm
The thing is that the representatives who support this bill don’t really care…none of these “birthers” care. They just don’t like Obama’s politics and they just want to stir the…..! It really cast doubt on their ability to make real decisions about anything important that effects the average Georgian..
Bull Durham
March 2nd, 2011
7:52 pm
AND BTW any candidate running for congress is fully vetted by NSA, DIA, FBI. I think those agencies have more experience and resources than the state of Georgia in determining basic citizenship. Its sad Georgia politics focus so much on ensuring 2nd class status for those that don’t fit the basic profile of what they think an American should look like. How about coming up with some ideas on how to jump start Georgia’s economy instead of this pathetic nonsense.
Grob Hahn
March 2nd, 2011
8:16 pm
This is nearly as stupid as admitting you won’t allow Sunday alcohol sales for religious reasons, when you’re an elected official. Leave your church at the door and do your JOB.
Grobbbbbbbbbbbb
JM
March 2nd, 2011
8:31 pm
I’m convinced that video of Don Ho serenading Obama by his full name as his mother expels him from her birth canal wouldn’t be sufficient evidence to convince the fringe Right he’s a U.S. citizen.
HJP
March 2nd, 2011
8:36 pm
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Has there ever been an election lost in Georgia
by appealing to the basest of instincts?
And so many people in this state believe
education is the answer. Or do they?
Shame on you, Stephen Allison, for sponsoring this
exercise in idiocy.
La_chat
March 2nd, 2011
8:54 pm
Shouldn’t they also be required to take a blood test to prove their relationship to the “parents” listed on the birth certificate? You never know, some jihadist might have switched the babies…
td
March 2nd, 2011
9:09 pm
Bull Durham
March 2nd, 2011
7:44 pm
This is another poll tax and literacy test
How in the world did you come to that conclusion?
td
March 2nd, 2011
9:16 pm
Bull Durham
March 2nd, 2011
7:52 pm
AND BTW any candidate running for congress is fully vetted by NSA, DIA, FBI
Where did you come up with that nonsense from? Candidates for Congress are not vetted by any federal agency unless they are elected and want to serve of the intelligence committee. If they are considered a risk they are not allowed on the committee and not kicked out of office.
independent thinker
March 3rd, 2011
7:58 am
100% agree with you Kyle. To raise needed funds for the state budget lets have the legislature sell tickets for appearances at Phillips Arena and get a few more circus acts to go along with these clowns.
BW
March 3rd, 2011
2:10 pm
The larger issue is that one state challenges the official document another state releases. That precedent simply cannot be allowed. I think this bill will die but would certainly be overturned in the courts. Could you imagine if every state got to dictate how they would provide air traffic control in their airspace?
middleoftheroadandtiredofit
March 4th, 2011
5:02 pm
If a Hawaiian birth certificate is not acceptable proof of citizenship why would a Georgia birth certificate be? Would all births be videotaped with women giving birth in front of state capitols so it could be captured in a single frame? Or would there be cries of photoshopped every time a Democrat or minority was elected with such a picture? Seriously, what would constitute proof or would it be up to individual representatives’ interpretation? It’s like the requirements made for voting in the last few years by Republican controlled state houses; there has been no documented attempt by illegals to vote and is just another iteration of the poll tax once used to keep “Negroes” from voting. If Obama were not biracial and considered African-American there would have been no such hue and cry. We elected who we elected and have gotten what we deserve. We look like the dumb, hick, uneducated, prejudiced state the rest of the country sees us as! And unfortunately many of us are stuck living here.
middleoftheroadandtiredofit
March 4th, 2011
5:42 pm
Hey, NRBD2, your rhetoric about government not creating jobs, etc., etc., is as ill thought out as your other arguments. The Republicans, Georgians too, forced the extension of the tax cuts for the wealthy and business claiming it was necessary for these entities to have the wherewithall to create jobs. That was government intervention. And this was one of the biggest entitlement programs of all times. How much of an increase in your pay did you see? Did your company grow so that massive hiring was necessary? I didnt’ think so. But the tax cut extension did provide for outrageous bonuses and salaries and perks for people who cannot show us a single real thing they did to earn this largesse. You purposely misstate that people want to be given something for not doing anything and that is just not so. Maybe if you get “laid off” and lose everything you will have some comprehension of what is happening to millions of our fellow citizens. Through no fault of their own and with no way to fix things. And idiots like you call them moochers who don’t want to work and want handouts. And I get that we provide our birth certificates to get passports, etc. And that’s what Obama did. His certificate is just like yours and mine except from a different state. So what makes his unacceptable and makes him have to somehow come up with more proof than the rest of us, including Bush and Reagan? I don’t Huckabee, Gingrich, Brown, Romney rushing to publish their birth certificates. And Palin should be held to equal scrutiny with the President as she was born in one of the newest states. Nothing will ever satisfy you because it’s about race and people feeling they can have a different opinion than you. Your kind has put a lot of folks who are doing tremendous harm to this country and to its citizens in power. Hopefully we will take back this country before it is destroyed.
middleoftheroadandtiredofit
March 4th, 2011
5:49 pm
Hey Yllowjacket1, do you really think your background check exceeded that undergone by Obama and his wife? Of course, you don’t object. But how about the next time you go to get a driver’s license your birth certificate is demanded and someone in DMV questions it, repeatedly and repeatedly, even after the State of Georgia says it is legitimate, you don’t get a license until, say, the janitor in the DMV office says it’s legitimate. And suppose that janitor doesn’t like you so he refuses to accept your certificate. Obama has a passport, he was in state politics, has had a driver’s license for years, probably even registered with selective service. But it’s still not enough and never will be.
Sensibility
March 4th, 2011
7:49 pm
@NRBD2: “Yes, liberals really do want to “persecute” anyone who speaks out. Censorship and persecution, the liberal way.”
Sure that’s why they were against the civil rights movement, don’t support Planned Parenthood and are against a woman’s right to choose…go figure
Sensibility
March 4th, 2011
7:51 pm
@middleoftheroadandtiredofit well put my friend
Sensibility
March 4th, 2011
7:54 pm
What kills me is that “birthers” can’t be honest and admit that this all about Obama’s race. If your racist at least have the guts to admit it. Don’t hide behind phantom technicalities, take Sarah Palin’s advice and “grow a pair”
Sensibility
March 4th, 2011
7:57 pm
@Grob Spot on. The right claims they want “smaller government”, but they want to be involved in everything from telling a woman what she can do with her body, when we can drink alcohol, who we can prank call etc. It’s ridiculous!