Posted on 10/30/2008 7:22:36 PM PDT by Kukai
A week after a Pennsylvania lawsuit challenging Barack Obama's right to run for president was thrown out of court, a state lawmaker has authored a bill that would force presidential candidates to prove they're a United States citizen before being placed on state ballots.
"As a veteran and an elected official who takes an oath of office, just like every past and future President of the United States, to uphold and defend the Constitutional rights of the citizens I represent, it is greatly perplexing and beyond troubling that a political candidate can ascend to the White House without providing sufficient documentation verifying his or her place of birth or American citizenship," state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler County) said in a statement. "This legislation is intended to send the message that even those candidates who are running for our nation's highest office are not above the law."
Former Chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee Philip Berg filed the suit against Obama, saying the candidate did not provide an authentic birth certificate. The judge ruled against him, saying harm from an allegedly ineligible candidate was "too vague and its effects too attenuated to confer standing on any and all voters."
In an interview with PolitickerPA.com, Metcalfe said many of his constituents came to his office asking him about the validity of the lawsuit against Obama. When he and his staff researched the issue, Metcalfe said they were shocked to find out presidential candidates in Pennsylvania don't have to prove that they were born in the United States, or that they are a citizen.
Every other elected office in the state must provide proof they are eligible to run, he said.
"I think the majority of citizens would be shocked there isn't more oversight of candidates by state government," Metcalfe said.
The lawmaker argues he is only trying to close a loophole that will put voters' minds at ease about the candidates on the ballot. Even with the intense scrutiny a presidential candidate must endure, the state must have a system of checks and balances, he said.
"It would really be the greatest hoax in U.S. history if somebody did get past the scrutiny," he said.
Still, it's almost impossible to separate his stated intention and the questions some Republicans have about Obama's origins. Rumors have spread that Obama was actually born outside the country and that his birth certificate is a fake. That birth certificate proves he was born in Hawaii in 1961.
Asked if he thinks the Democratic presidential nominee was born in the United States and is a citizen, Metcalfe didn't equivocally answer "yes."
"You would certainly think someone is, having held office as a state senator and U.S. senator," Metcalfe said. "I think every American would think that.
"This has not been a question I've been involved in trying to investigate, as far as where he was born," he added.
Metcalfe also said his bill will obviously not take effect by Nov. 4.
John McCain's right to run for president has also been challenged by some. The Republican presidential nominee has born in the Panama Canal Zone while his father was stationed there with the U.S. Navy.
A U.S. District Judge in California in September threw out a similar lawsuit against McCain, saying both his parents were U.S. citizens and recognizing a law passed a year after McCain's birth retroactively making those born in the zone "natural-born citizens."
Metcalfe is at times a controversial figure in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. During the summer he opposed a state House resolution that would have sponsored a Muslim's group's convention in Philadelphia.
His high-profile stances on positions like abortion, immigration and marriage have prompted his opponent in the 12th Legislative District to accuse him of not focusing enough on local issues.
Thank you. Sensible
So sensible I’m surprised hundreds of others hadn’t already done so.
What, start after THIS election? That should have been in from the beginning.
For some reason, Obama seems to think he is!
Way to go! This must be supported.
His high-profile stances on positions like abortion, immigration and marriage have prompted his opponent in the 12th Legislative District to accuse him of not focusing enough on local issues.
Sounds like a good guy. I can see that the press doesn't like him very much.
Sounds good. One thing though. Why not START NOW FOR CRIPES SAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is just unreal that this issue has not be resolved when all Obama needed to do is provide his original birth certificate! Why would his birth records be sealed in Hawaii?
It’s a start.
Before Obama no one would have had the gall to run fur president if they weren’t eligble.
Too little ... too late.
FTA: “Rumors have spread that Obama was actually born outside the country and that his birth certificate is a fake. That birth certificate proves he was born in Hawaii in 1961.”
What birth certificate??? He refuses to produce one!
A birth certificate is different from a COLB. Geez, the media stooges are either retarded or corrupt... or both.
Wonder how Obama’s grandma is doing. He had lots of press saying how brave he was for leaving during campaigning but haven’t heard much about her condition since. Just maybe, he wasn’t as much concern about her as he was about his faux birth certificate.
thank you so much!!
As a VET I needed a birth certificate to join the military,
If I go to Motor vehicles I need a birth certificate as a form of ID....But the leader of the free world, and commander in chief of the worlds greatest military doesn’t?
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
ps-Obama grandmom so sick and might not make it to the election......but the wife and kids stay home?
Awesome! I am forwarding this to my representatives. This is exactly what I felt should happen. It is too late for Senator Obama - his issues will have to be decided in court. However, the lack of oversight is really troubling to me.
Kudos!
Heck, you need to show a birth certificate in order to play little league, yet the Annointed One won’t show one to be commander-in-chief? Something is definately wrong here and no one who could will see that His Majesty complies with the constitution he is intending to claim he will uphold!
“...too vague and its effects too attenuated to confer standing on any and all voters.”
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What happened to “of the people, by the people, for the people”???
The reason the records are sealed now is to prevent any possible forged copies coming from Obama. Now there is a master copy to check against. The governor of HI is a Republican and a friend of Sarah's.
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