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What If Obama Really Was Born in Kenya?
Slate ^ | August 3, 2009 | Brian Palmer

Posted on 08/04/2009 3:21:40 AM PDT by Zakeet

Despite a congressional resolution affirming President Obama's U.S. birth and a reaffirmation of his birth certificate's authenticity from Hawaiian officials, media outlets continue to air frivolous allegations that the president was born in Kenya, rendering him ineligible for the presidency. Let's pretend, for just a moment, that the birthers had credible evidence that Obama was foreign-born. Then what would happen?

Resignation, impeachment, or nothing. If Obama stood his ground, and Congress stood by him, then the only way to legally remove him from office would be for someone to sue. Problem is, no one would have standing to bring such a lawsuit. To establish standing, a plaintiff must show that he has suffered an injury personal to him, that the defendant caused the injury, and that the court could provide a remedy. That turns out to be an impossible task.

Average citizens could not show a personalized injury because Obama's allegedly illegitimate presidency would impact everyone in roughly the same way. Courts invariably dismiss such claims, like the 1937 case alleging that Justice Hugo Black was ineligible to serve because as a member of Congress he had voted to increase the justices' salaries. Even membership in much smaller aggrieved groups generally doesn't work. The Supreme Court rejected a suit brought by parents of African-American children challenging the IRS's lax enforcement of anti-discrimination laws and another by legislators who claimed their voting rights were diluted by the line-item veto. In both cases, the communal nature of the injury precluded standing. Thus the lawsuit of Army Maj. Stefan Cook, who argued that his pending deployment to Afghanistan by an illegitimate president constituted a particularized injury, was doomed to failure. (The case was mooted when the Pentagon canceled his deployment.)

(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: birthcertificate; birther; kenya; obama
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To: Zakeet
He would be replaced and there is nothing that these evilcrat acolytes of satan could do... they are not above the law and congresscritters must come home at some point... and they would be dealt with as needed.

LLS

81 posted on 08/04/2009 4:41:14 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (hussama will never be my president... NEVER!)
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To: All
Isn't there a principle of law which more or less states that a person cannot benefit from an illegal act?

If so, wouldn't this apply to Obozo?


82 posted on 08/04/2009 4:42:21 AM PDT by Zakeet (Obama: Always wrong, never in doubt.)
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To: cripplecreek
-- I'm sure there are plenty of republicans who would like to see that pesky natural born citizen requirement go away. --

Yep. It'd pass majority in Congress, easy. The impediment is obtaining enough inertia to get a constitutional amendment. I looked into the various proposals to relax the "natural born" requirement, and found a few Republican sponsors, Hatch being one, but also Dana Rohrabacher and Darrell Issa.

83 posted on 08/04/2009 4:43:31 AM PDT by Cboldt
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To: Truth29
That would happen... some here do not want to think it so... but they would save the Nation.

LLS

84 posted on 08/04/2009 4:44:17 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (hussama will never be my president... NEVER!)
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To: Howie

Sex deviant and professional liar. It looks just like him!

LLS


85 posted on 08/04/2009 4:45:42 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (hussama will never be my president... NEVER!)
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To: joelt

BINGO!

If Obama’s birth was found not to be in Hawaii things would quickly spiral out of control.

All military officers, starting with the Joint Chiefs, take their oaths to the Constitution. You’d have hundreds if not thousands of Major Cooks challenging deployment and other orders.Chaos would reign.

Chaos would also ensue in the civilian sector as you’d have millions who’d refuse to pay federal taxes to a government or obey laws signed by a usurper.


86 posted on 08/04/2009 4:47:25 AM PDT by Neville72 (uist)
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To: wastoute

Bill O’Reily was nearly shouting, “I don’t care where he was born.” The program was on August 3rd.

Okay, we know where O’Reily stands on the issue. He is another skirt chasing punk. We seldom tune him in.


87 posted on 08/04/2009 4:47:32 AM PDT by healy61
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To: AlexW

So be it... if it is going to happen... let it happen.

LLS


88 posted on 08/04/2009 4:47:43 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (hussama will never be my president... NEVER!)
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To: Zakeet

If Republicans ran someone born in a foreign country, dems would find a way to disqualify that person. And the MSM would be cheering them on...


89 posted on 08/04/2009 4:50:25 AM PDT by GOPJ ( Obama "the joker" creates terror by chaos and confusion - pitting people against each other-FR:KitJ)
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To: LS
"Chief Roberts has made his decision, now let him enforce it." Once again, nothing happens.

There are no circumstances under which five present USSC justices would remove Obama, not to mention that a) They lack the power to do so (and should lack such a power), and b) such a decision would never issue without a unanimous court.

90 posted on 08/04/2009 4:51:18 AM PDT by Jim Noble (Pas de'ennmis a droit)
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To: Zakeet
Isn't there a principle of law which more or less states that a person cannot benefit from an illegal act?

Unfortunately laws don't apply to politicians.

The first thing my congresscriminal did after assuming office, was pay the largest fine ever paid for campaign finance violations in the state of Michigan. He's still a congressman so it sure looks to me like he benefited from his lawbreaking.
91 posted on 08/04/2009 4:55:24 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Seniors, the new shovel ready project under socialized medicine.)
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To: samtheman

I would think, millions of people on the streets demanding his removel, would have some effect.

Not in favor of lawlessness but,........


92 posted on 08/04/2009 4:56:38 AM PDT by wolfcreek (KMTEXASA!)
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To: stockpirate
We have the reset button for the US Constitution, it’s called the violent application of the second amendment.

There would need to be sufficient theoretical and Constitutional praxis to, at a minimum, split the commissioned officer class, or that would never work.

As John Adams said after his political career was over, "the war for independence did not constitute the true American Revolution. The war was only a consequence. The real revolution began 15 years before a shot was ever fired as an intellectual and moral revolution in the minds and hearts of the people."

Without an intellectual and moral revolution in the minds and hearts of the people, you can reload all the .308 Winchester you can get your hands on and accomplish nothing.

93 posted on 08/04/2009 4:58:50 AM PDT by Jim Noble (Pas de'ennmis a droit)
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To: Neville72

I haven’t researched it, but I’ll bet that the Secret Service and the U.S. Marshals take their oaths to the Constitution as well.

To continue your point about taxes, I can see a number of states withholding their taxes from D.C. to a usurper. Talk about a mess!

Obama is making one critical mistake that all despots and egomaniacs make: He believes his personal charisma and “presence” will trump everything with everyone. This is wrong. He has seriously underestimated how much Americans love that whole goofy Constitution thing. If he didn’t know it before, he knows it now, watching the Tea Parties and public protests. Even if he wins this battle, he loses the war, because he’ll have a whole new Congress in 2010.

He reminds me of the guy who batted .335 one single time and then filed for free agency, believing that he’ll be paid like A-Rod. Only to learn his employers are going to view his history and decide that he should be paid like Alvaro Espinoza.

LOL


94 posted on 08/04/2009 4:58:57 AM PDT by Daisyjane69 (Michael Reagan: "Welcome back, Dad, even if you're wearing a dress and bearing children this time)
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To: SE Mom
Surely the author jests...


95 posted on 08/04/2009 5:01:13 AM PDT by Miss Didi ( "After all...tomorrow is another day." Scarlett O'Hara, Gone with the Wind)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

He’d probably appoint himself to fill any vacant federal appeals court seat to insure himself a lifetime opportunity to screw this country.


96 posted on 08/04/2009 5:04:43 AM PDT by mathurine
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To: LS
Me: First, they [Congress] believe that persons born of dual citizenship are eligible for the office of president, and that the only constitutional requirement is that the mother be in the country (probably legally, but perhaps not), even if only for the days surrounding the birth.

I want to expand on that a bit. What is the loosest definition of "natural born," as expressed by various legal scholars and politicians? "Born in the USA or territory under control of the USA."

In Congressional hearings on the eligibility of McCain, Theodore Olson and Lawrence Tribe opined that all persons born in the Panama Canal Zone would be natural born US citizens, that is, that the citizenship of the parents was irrelevant; as long as the territory was under US control.

See debate at Congressional Record, Pages S3645-3646, April 30, 2008 for a copy of the letter.

If the Panama Canal Zone was sovereign U.S. territory at the time of Senator McCain's birth, then that fact alone would make him a "natural born" citizen under the well-established principle that "natural born" citizenship includes birth within the territory and allegiance of the United States.

Notice that - NO requirement at all that either parent be a citizen, or that the child be raised with allegiance to the US. Only that the birth take place on US or US territorial soil, and under the constitution, the person reach 35 years of age and have 14 years of US residency before taking office.

And under current law, children born to illegal aliens, a mother in the country illegally, are also "natural born" citizens of the US, at least in the vernacular of statute.

I think these conclusions are in conflict with the "natural born" requirement in the constitution. That is to say, even though a person may be labeled "natural born" for immigration purposes, I do not think that person necessarily meets the constitutional "natural born" requirement for holding the office of president.

I don't think a dual citizen at birth is qualified.

97 posted on 08/04/2009 5:04:53 AM PDT by Cboldt
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To: Cboldt

This is not and will not be treated as a political matter. If he is ineligible, this is a LAW ENFORCEMENT matter.

With respect to an amendment to the constitution, remember this is NOT a matter for the Congress, no matter how they try to convince you otherwise.

And this will never get through 3/5 (or whatever) of the states. Congress is completely impotent on this, no matter how they blow hot air.

To amend the Constitution, figure it taking about 5 years, state by state.

Never happen. They started the equal rights amendment when I was a high schooler. I have a birthday tomorrow. And I’ve had a few in between.

:)


98 posted on 08/04/2009 5:05:31 AM PDT by Daisyjane69 (Michael Reagan: "Welcome back, Dad, even if you're wearing a dress and bearing children this time)
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To: Zakeet

Said it once, say it again: You want this to go away? Produce and publish, and allow experts to handle, the original document. End of problem. If you won’t, then why not?


99 posted on 08/04/2009 5:05:33 AM PDT by 50sDad (The Left cannot understand life is not in a test tube. Raise taxes, & jobs go away.)
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To: giotto
The joint chiefs of staff come to Obama and tell him it's time to go.

They have no such authority. Precisely, they cannot issue binding orders to combat commands to protect or enforce such an action.

And, presuming that they did, seemingly valid orders from the chain of command would follow immediately to effect their arrest and imprisonment.

This is a much bigger problem than you appreciate.

Under such a scenario, EVERY SINGLE COMMISSIONED OFFICER would have to take sides. Most of them, thankfully, score high on loyalty and respect for civilian authority, and know perfectly well that JCS is not in their chain of command.

100 posted on 08/04/2009 5:05:51 AM PDT by Jim Noble (Pas de'ennmis a droit)
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