Posted on 07/01/2009 6:08:43 PM PDT by Red Steel
A group of House Republican lawmakers want all future aspirants for the White House to produce a U.S. birth certificate to prove they meet constitutional requirements to be president.
The legislators this week waded into a controversy that has roiled the conservative talk-show and blogging fringe since the hottest days of the presidential election campaign -- when the validity of the citizenship of both Barack Obama and John McCain were questioned.
McCain was born to U.S. citizens on a military installation in the Panama Canal Zone. Obama was born in Hawaii, the son of an American mother and a Kenyan father.
Court cases challenging both candidates' citizenship sputtered. So have the accusations about McCain.
But, on the political right, suspicions that President Obama was actually born in Africa -- fueled by the absence of Obama's certified "long-form" birth certificate -- rage on. One of the most vocal advocates of that point of view is aging singer Pat Boone.
The GOP House members sponsoring the birth-certificate resolution -- which has gained the nickname of the "birther bill" -- are Reps. Bill Posey of Florida; John Campbell of California; Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee; Bob Goodlatte of Virginia; and Randy Neugebauer, John Culberson, and John Carter, all of Texas.
"Most Americans are probably surprised that they don't" have to document meeting the requirement, said Blackburn spokesman Claude Chafin. "A lot of people expressed surprise to her since (last year's presidential campaign) that people don't have to actually document anything."
Neugebauer's support for the bill and comments about Obama's status as a natural born citizen drew fire from MSNBC "Countdown" host Keith Olbermann, a liberal pundit, who pronounced the congressman's constituents "idiots" for electing him.
Does Neugebauer in fact doubt Obama's citizenship? "I don't have the documentation one way or the other," Neugebauer said this week. "And so my assumption is that he is a natural born citizen, that hopefully the appropriate people checked that."
Neugebauer and the bill's author, Rep. Bill Posey of Florida, contend there's nothing partisan or politically motivated about House Resolution 1503.
"It's not about President Obama," Posey said. "It's not about me. It's not retroactive."
A Texas government professor isn't buying it.
"I think some of them are milking the situation for the upcoming election," said Laurence "Casey" Jones of Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas.
He said it was frightening that the lawmakers are trying to legitimizing assertions of rightwing "birthers" who question Obama's citizenship, said Jones, who teachers classes on the Constitution.
He sees no legitimate need for the bill.
"Anyone in Washington knows what's already required to be president," Jones said. Intelligence officials conduct extensive background checks before presidents take office, he added.
Posey said he's building on his history of election reform begun as a Florida state senator after the rancorous 2000 presidential election.
Posey thought legislation requiring presidential candidates to produce a birth certificate would be a simple solution to citizenship issues.
"Most of the public thinks it's the law now," Posey said.
He said he, too, has taken heat, but from the liberal end of the blogosphere. "Tin hat" and a "wing nut" are some of the names he's been called by liberal bloggers.
"Some people have just taken it as an opportunity to create this warfare that I guess makes them look like a reporter or something, that they have created an issue," Posey said. "But none of the articles that you read were objective."
On Wednesday, pundit Olbermann awarded Neugebauer a bronze "Worst Person in the World" award Wednesday.
"The people that elected you are obviously idiots," Olbermann said on his show. "That does not mean everybody else is."
Olbermann's dander was up following Neugebauer's answer to Lubbock radio host Chad Hasty's query: Did the congressman believe Obama is a U.S. citizen? "You know, I don't know," Neugebauer told Hasty last week. "I've never seen him produce documents that would say one way or the other."
"Congressman Neugebauer has full confidence in the intelligence of the residents of the 19th Congressional District," Neugebauer spokeswoman Michelle Ozanus said. "He knows they can make up their own minds regarding this legislation.
FUTURE PRESIDENTS? LETS START WITH THE FRAUD WE HAVE IN OFFICE TODAY ARE YOU KIDDING, THEY’RE GONNA LET THIS ONE SLIDE?
"I don't have the documentation one way or the other," Neugebauer said this week.
Cloud over the Obama presidency.
Congress cannot kill term limits that are part of the Constitution. To repeal a Constitutional amendment would take 75% of State Legislatures to ratify and that is not going to happen. It would mean our OK legislature would have the same power as CA. Terms limits are not going away and I cannot believe that Limbaugh when he talked about a 3rd term didn’t mention the Constitution and what it takes to repeal a Constitutional amendement. Then I read the thread on here and also didn’t see it.
Congress has no authority to repeal any part of the Constitution.
Mr Jones, that's horse manure and you know it!
First, intelligence officials are not responsible for upholding the law of the Constitution, which states that a presidential candidate must be natural born! That responsibility falls under the DOJ and the United States Attorneys.
Isn't it convenient? The President appoints the Attorney General and the US Attorneys who would question whether said President is qualified to hold the office????
Thought so ... but there’s always some Dem out there wanting to create a crisis that has to be solved by Zer0 ... can he rule by executive order???
It should be for every living past and present president. They receive benefits from being in that office, so let’s see proof that they are indeed qualified to continue to receive them. This group of House Republican lawmakers were too weak to include that.
He cannot do it by Executive Order — SCOTUS would have his head — lot of Dems in Congress getting nervous as well.
Clinton wanted it repealed and it went no where so they came up with the phoney chad deal in FL to keep Pres Bush from have the necessary time to get his people in place.
Some people with money need to hire lawyers and start challenging some of this stuff going on in this Administration. Now they want a Government bank for road money. That does not seem legit.
"OH YEA?! Well ... well ... NO NEXT TIME!!! SEE?! SEE?! NYAY! NYAY! NYAY!
0 was born in Kenya. Why does the state media trouble itself with lying about it?
Well the way some people are all ‘tinglie legged’ over Zer0 who knows what sort of media tricks can happen ... popular ground swell????
Born in Hawaii, says Governor. Delayed Certificate filed
Schwarzenegger: "I was adopted by Austrian couple."
"Copy of my birth certificate is on Arnie2012," said Governor.
But do they pay attention to those requirements?
Just surreptitiously slip the provision into one of 500+ page spending bills.
LoL! Yes, an outright boldface lie.
Simply run for President against obama... then presto you have standing.
You don't have to have any intention of winning, The whole and only purpose for running would be to gain the standing needed to take him to court.
Well, Bob Barr did - he has standing, according to your theory, but I think he’s more of a rat than a true Independent.
Alan Keyes has tried that.
“to produce a U.S. birth certificate”
They better choose the wording carefully or the short-form, tampered with, fake BC could be submitted. Nah, nobody would stoop that low....would they???
They need a Law to behead any Kenyan who pretends to Be an American.
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