Posted on 12/07/2008 6:36:30 PM PST by Red Steel
Five weeks after the state of Hawaii vouched for the authenticity of President-elect Barack Obama's birth certificate, the controversy over allegations that Obama is not eligible to take office next month has reached the Supreme Court, which is expected to announce Monday whether it will consider the matter.
The fight is unusual because it thrives outside the so-called mainstream media, far beyond the oak-paneled offices of $700-an-hour lawyers and a world away from the 535 individuals whose surnames are preceded by Representative or Senator.
This is a different army at work, in an environment increasingly influenced by the Internet.
"It's only being mentioned by a relative few, by the real die-hard, anti-Obama crowd," said Michael Harrison, editor and publisher of Talkers magazine, the trade bible of the talk radio industry. "On mainstream talk radio, it's not a big deal right now. I think it's run its course."
"But," Harrison added, "we live in a time that, because of the Internet, all points of view can live forever."
Just as there is a split on the legitimacy of the legal claims, there is also a split within the media on the merits of the story. Is it the last gasp of opposition from fervent opponents of Obama who have a found community of like-minded believers on the Internet, or is there a legal question to be resolved? The court will answer the latter question thisweek.
The campaign challenging the legitimacy of Obama's 1961 birth certificate or the legality of his taking office is chronicled by WorldNetDaily, a popular, politically right-leaning site that was the 26th most-visited news and media Web site during November, according to Hitwise, which monitors Net traffic.
"If this [Obama taking office] happens, the question of eligibility for the highest office in the land will no longer even be a matter for concern," wrote Joseph Farah, founder and editor of WorldNetDaily.
"Precedent will have been established. Arnold Schwarzenegger will suddenly be eligible to run for the office in 2012," Farah wrote, referring to the Austrian-born California governor and film star.
An Obama spokesman declined to comment for this story.
The lawyers who, in at least six states, have argued Obama is not a natural-born citizen and cannot be president include one who supported Hillary Clinton's presidential bid, one who has thundered for decades against the legality of the federal government collecting income tax, and one who argues that Sen. John McCain, by virtue of his birth 72 years ago in the Panama Canal Zone, would be banned from moving into the Oval Office, had he won last month's election.
Leo Donofrio is a New Jersey lawyer who tried to get Obama and McCain stricken from the New Jersey ballot in November. Donofrio's case was presented Friday to justices of the Supreme Court. Another case challenging Obama's eligibility, this one from Pennsylvania, has not yet been presented to the full court for its consideration.
"My question is on a pure constitutional ground," said Donofrio. "He [Obama] is a citizen of the United States. I just don't believe he's a natural born citizen."
This is the thrust of the attack, picked up by people like Bob Schulz, an upstate New York lawyer who purchased two full-page ads in the Tribune this month that called Obama "a usurper" who "would be entitled to no allegiance, obedience or support from the People."
Schulz has challenged the federal government on issues including the Iraq War, the Patriot Act and the income tax. "I have a long history of petitioning the government for redress of grievances for violations of the constitution and the law," said Schulz, who said he and his wife live on Social Security checks. Schulz said the ads cost "tens of thousands of dollars" and were paid for with more than 500 private donations from individuals who support the effort. He said there were "no financial angels" behind it.
If the Supreme Court decides not to consider the case, Donofrio said there "won't be any beating on the drums saying there wasn't any justice."
But that will not be the end of the matter, Farah vowed.
"It'll plague Obama throughout his presidency. It'll be a nagging issue and a sore on his administration, much like Monica Lewinsky was on [President Bill] Clinton," Farah said. "It's not going to go away and it will drive a wedge in an already divided public."
That may underscore a landscape change in the media, where the Internet is playing a bigger role in setting the agenda. In 2004, the so-called swift boat campaign against John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, began on the Internet. In fact, the co-author of "Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry," Jerome Corsi, also wrote "Obama Nation," a book critical of Obama, published earlier this year.
Brendan Nyhan, a political scientist at Duke University, said the Internet's role in forming public opinion is gaining strength. WorldNetDaily, for instance, has one of the faster-growing audiences on the Internet, up 62 percent in the past year, according to Hitwise.
Nyhan co-authored a study this year that said journalists' attempts to correct misinformation is unlikely to sway public perceptions because many people want to believe the misperception.
"People often have a strong bias for believing the evidence they want to believe and disbelieving what they don't believe," Nyhan said. "There is less of a sense that we all have a common set of facts we can agree on. There's a polarization and we can't even agree on the basic factual assumptions to have a debate."
I am going to call and email Fukino and Okubo tomorrow to ask for clarification.
That should put them on the spot.
I wish Cheney would have run. I think we had a chance with him!
I posted this on a similar thread for review and discussion:
I found this earlier today:
“Does this mean Obama was born in Hawaii?
“Yes,” said Hawaii Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo, in both email and telephone interviews with the Tribune. “That’s what Dr. Fukino is saying.”
From:
Obama Hawaiian-born: Citizen for sure:
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/11/obama_hawaaianborn_citizen_for.html
His name on the ballot would have caused liberal heads to explode, too, and that's a good thing don'tchaknow.
We’ve seen it on this thread. Read posts 55, 56, 58, 65, 66, 67, and 81.
They are forced to cover this story. It's only a lawsuit trying to depose a President-elect of the most powerful nation on Earth. They've kept it under wraps as long as they possibly could for their candidate.
I think it is the exact opposite. They have no time left to cheerlead from the sidelines. They are anticipating something coming and feel that they need to get out in front of it so they can act like real journalists bringing the "breaking news" to John Q. Public.
http://investigatingobama.blogspot.com/2008/12/donofrio-dual-citizenship-natural-born.html
Also the Hawaii officials have reiterated that the Obama Birth Records are sealed by court order. Those who work in vital statistics in Hawaii cannot access the records. Obama MADE SURE that there could be NO LEAKS.
Obama has also spent over a million bucks in defending these cases filed in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, using the same law firm that CAIR uses.
The press somehow has missed these details. What a bunch of press idiot losers they are.
Obama will never be my president, and in a few months 50% of the country will feel the same way.
Just as Bush was never the president of the Dems who tried to cheat on Bush's elections, I will not obey any of Obama's executive orders, or any law that he signs into effect. Millions of Americans feel the same way, and will have a perfect defense when prosecuted under Obama's laws and orders.
This will never go away......no matter how hard shill journalists try to make a joke out of the Constitution.
No Hawaiian offical has ever vouched for the authenticity of the birth certificate Obama provided via the web in June. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
NOT ONLY THAT FREEPER Polarik proved the web version was a forgery:
www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2136816/posts
“Does this mean Obama was born in Hawaii?
“Yes,” said Hawaii Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo, in both email and telephone interviews with the Tribune. “That’s what Dr. Fukino is saying.”>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
No Hospital in Hawaii has a birth record of Obama being born there.
Thats been VERY thoroughly checked.
Obama was either born in Kenya or British Columbia, Canada.
Obama was NOT born in Hawaii.
The media worked to get Obama elected and they are now a de facto part of his government.
Remember that.
I hope to God you’re right!
Exactly, it is precedent. If Obama is not required to release his Vault copy of BC then anyone with a COLB may run for the office of President and usurp the Constitution.
Wow Obama must have something serious to hide on that vault copy not to want it made public. Wonder what it is? America has the Right to know and for legal precedent sake Obama has the Responsibility to release it.
You know you would think that Obama didn’t understand U.S. Law either that or he has some nefarious reason to act like this. Constitutional Law Scholar my butt.
The most over-rated restaurant in the world, IMHO.
Please ping me when you find out. I am very curious as to what her explanation is going to be for her reported statement.
Time to watch “V” again folks.
The press is in league with the fascist totalitarians.
The fascists will soon be looking for scapegoats that also happen to be threats to their power.
If Thomas, Scalia, Roberts, and Alito all say that he is qualified but they are not going to release the vault copy for privacy reasons, would you accept that?
(Just as an explanation, “Constitutional Law” doesn’t mean what most people think it means. It means “study of court rulings having to do with the Constitution”. It does NOT mean “study of what the Constitution means”.)
This is my email to Janega today - he has not replied yet..
You claim that Janice Okubo claimed that Dr Fukino was confirming that 0bama was born in Hawaii.
Okubo has previously made inappropriate and risible statements about the “authenticity” of the scanned image of 0bama’s COLB placed on Fightthesmears.com so when she puts words in Dr Fukino’s mouth that could put the Dr in legal jeopardy are you not just a little bit skeptical?
Perhaps you would comment on this exchange I had with the Dept of Health in Hawaii about your claims..
-—— Original Message -——
From: Redacted
To: vr-info@doh.hawaii.gov
Sent: Friday, December 05, 2008 8:45 PM
Subject: Alleged statement by Janice Okubo
The Chicago tribune published the following on Nov 3rd:
“Does this mean Obama was born in Hawaii?
“Yes,” said Hawaii Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo, in both email and telephone interviews with the Tribune. “That’s what Dr. Fukino is saying.”
Can you please confirm the accuracy of this statement?
Is Dr Fukino categorically stating that Barack Obama was born in Hawaii?
-——Original Message-——
From: vr-info [mailto:vr-info@doh.hawaii.gov]
Sent: Sunday, December 07, 2008 8:21 PM
To: Redacted
Subject: Re: Alleged statement by Janice Okubo
Thank you for your inquiry. Hawaii State law protects the birth records of all individuals born in our state under all circumstances. State law prohibits the Department of Health from disclosing any information about a Hawaii vital record unless the requestor has a direct and tangible interest in the record. This includes verification of vital records and all the information contained in a record. Direct and tangible interest is determined by HRS-338-18(b)
Aloha,
vr-info
Department of Health
State of Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
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