Posted on 07/28/2009 6:20:25 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Take that, "birthers," said Eric Kleefeld in Talking Points Memo. The House of Representatives has just passed a bill recognizing the 50th anniversary of Hawaii's statehood and noting the state as President Obama's birthplace. The 378-0 vote was a "none-too-subtle jab at the Birthers"—who claim Obama wasn't really born in the U.S. and therefore isn't eligible to be president. And the real insult came when Rep. Bill Posey, sponsor of the "infamous Birther Bill," and other Republican sympathizers cast their votes for the language recognizing Obama as a natural-born citizen.
It's true that "a few misguided souls among the Right" have indulged this birther "foolishness," said National Review in an editorial, but "the birth-certificate business is not a uniquely conservative phenomenon." The claim that Obama was born in Kenya appears to have originated with a pro-Hillary Clinton blog during the presidential primaries. "Barack Obama may prefer European-style socialized health care," but "he was born in the U.S.A."
Sympathetic House Republicans and the National Review aren't the only conservatives abandoning the nutty birthers, said Alex Koppelman in Salon. Fox News' Bill O'Reilly has slammed birthers (watch), and even the infamous rightwing pundit Ann Coulter has withheld her support (watch). When even "some of the conservative movement's most notorious and recognizable media personalities" are denouncing these loonies, it must be getting pretty lonely on "the Birther crazy train."
Citizenship is through the father in 1800. Obeyme’s is Kenyan.
The constitution is what a court decides it is - thats in the constitution. Another court can overrule the first court. Thats been going on for 200 years, and the mass of elaboration on various bits of the constitution is, by now, tremendous.
US courts have been tearing up the constitution by somebodies’ definition since they started deciding constitutional questions - there are two sides to all of these, and half of them lost.
You can argue simplistically like this, but that doesn’t make the argument relevant. Its just a fact that a court in this day would find against you.
But it wasn’t in 1952, 1961, or 2008.
Original intent has its value, but not for this stuff. This is a detail that has changed in relevance since the 18th century.
That's a liberal view. And not a popular one on FR.
Only if one believes the Constitution is toilet paper.
A child born abroad with potential dual citizenship does not need to make a formal election of US citizenship at 18.
No ex-post facto laws, buwaya. It's in the Constitution. No effect whatsoever upon the specific, Constitutional term "natural-born citizen," let alone the requirement for such in order to be eligible for the office of President.
Hmm,
Then it has been toilet paper for as long as I’ve been alive then, and for a few generations before me. That, or this is a more complex matter than the way you assume.
I really don’t think that those who believe the government taking over health care is “reform” have any room to criticize. :-)
I believe he should publicly end this and show the BC and settle the issue. I would be shocked if he didn’t have a valid one though.
Er, I think you are misunderstanding the nature of ex-post facto here.
Lets put it this way - if a fellow in Kenya walked up to a US consulate today with a birth certificate and other documents showing that he had been born in the city of Mombasa in 1961 to an 18-year-old US citizen, would he have to get into the immigration line with everyone else ?
Thats the way a court would decide.
It’s relevant because it affects allegiance. Obeyme has little love for the US. He apologizes for it’s greatness at every opportunity. He lived in Indonesia until he was 10. He has stated he is a “world citizen” in foreign speeches. He campaigned in Europe. Tell me his parentage isn’t relevant.
I call conspiracy. All of Washington is afraid of the constitutional crisis his false citizenship would produce.
He was a US resident from the age of 10 to now, and if his parents and teachers had been different people he would have a very different view of the US.
Its not how or where he was born, it was to who he was born and who brought him up - the Americans, not the Kenyans or Indonesians. He was raised by Reds.
If they had been Republicans and he had gone into West Point instead of Harvard, Kenyan daddy and all, we would not be arguing this question.
The law in effect at the time of birth would govern the matter. Precedent after precedent confirms this.
Most on the Republican side likely wouldn't be, because of this mistaken "team" thinking that has set in. But, make no mistake, the issue would be getting more play under that scenario than it is now. I, personally, don't think McCain was eligible, either. Took a lot of flak for it here, too.
Oh, yes. Now it will go away as the CongressCritters have declared it so. :-)
Don't knock it. Some of the best fiction has been written by the current House. To wit, Porkulus, Crap-n-Charade, and coming soon, DeathCare.
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