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"Birther" Label Overshadows a Real Issue

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
diversion, who's created it, and why?

"Birther" Label Overshadows a Real Issue
August 7, 2009

I have always been one to say that I cannot know the answer to the “birthers’” question of whether Mr. Obama is eligible to hold the Presidency. I can’t answer the question because I am being kept from examining the only documents that do exist to prove the point. To date, I have heard all the arguments and seen all the propaganda – from both sides of the issue – and for all the uproar there is only one way to know who is right and who is mistaken. But the “birther” issue is a literal smoke-screen issue and one that is covering up a much more serious one; one that threatens to produce a constitutional crisis.

In examining this subject in the days after it first presented, our non-profit organization, BasicsProject.org, tasked with educating and informing the citizenry on matters that include constitutional literacy, began to ask questions in an effort to honestly understand the facts of the matter. As our examination progressed it became abundantly clear that there exists no mechanism for the enforcement of Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution, which states:

“No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.”

During our examination of the issue we contacted each of the State Boards of Election and/or Secretary of State’s offices to ask whether they or another organization within their jurisdiction required candidates for the Executive Branch offices to present first-source, vaulted proof of their prerequisite satisfaction of Article II, Section 1. They shared with us that their candidacy filing requirements for any elected office includes:

▪ A Statement of Candidacy – This form (this link is an FEC form but it encompasses the requirements of every state) requires each candidate to provide his name, address, party affiliation, office sought, the state and district of the contest, a designation of a principle campaign committee, the designation of other authorized committees and a declaration of intent to expend personal funds. Lastly, it requires a potential candidate to “attest” that he or she is “qualified for the office specified.” At no place in the official guide or paperwork is a birth certificate or other form of verification of natural born citizenship required.

▪ A Loyalty Oath (Ironically, this is optional)

▪ Receipt for filing a Statement of Economic Interests (This is not required for Federal Office or political party offices).

▪ Completed Nominating Petitions – These petitions must be correctly filed out, notarized and contain a sufficient number of original signatures as set forth by the election commission.


When pressed about verifying documents that prove prerequisite satisfaction of Article 2, Section 1 of the US Constitution, they responded, in total, that it wasn’t their job. Here are some of the responses:

Florida
"Under Florida law, the way in which a major party’s candidate is placed on the ballot is that the state executive committee of each political party submits its slate of presidential electors for its candidate before September 1st of each presidential election year; then, by law, the names of candidates are printed on the ballot. Those candidates are not required to provide any documents to the State that they meet the qualifications for office."

North Carolina
"The North Carolina State Board of Elections has accepted the nominations for President from the Democratic, Libertarian and Republican Parties as presented by those parties. The North Carolina State Board of Elections does not have jurisdiction to hear a challenge to the eligibility of these Presidential candidates."

California
"While the Secretary of State certifies candidates for the ballot, each political party is legally responsible for choosing the candidate they wish to place on the ballot."

Michigan
"Please be advised that the state central committee of each political party qualified to appear on the ballot certifies the names of its nominees for U.S. President and Vice-President to the Secretary of State under the signatures of the chairperson and secretary of the committee. (See MCL 168.686) Copies of the nominees' birth certificates or birth records are not required."

When the RNC and DNC were contacted they both implied that they had no mechanism in place to require such documentation and that even if they did they had no provision authorizing them to share that information with the public.

It should be noted that the Federal Election Commission does not oversee prerequisite requirements for candidates and is solely interested in the financial aspect of the election process.

So, a candidate for the Executive Branch of the US government does not have to present proof of his eligibility to any person, any organization or any government entity prior to being placed on the ballot in every state in the Union. The only piece of paper required – and this is required by only some states – is an affidavit signed by the candidate stating that he or she satisfies the requirements for the office for which he or she seeks.

In the end, this issue is not about the “birthers” or their quest to have President Obama’s long-form birth certificate – now sealed by the State of Hawaii – made available for examination. In reality, it is less about President Obama’s eligibility than it is about protecting the US Constitution and the sanctity of Fundamental Law. In fact, if it were to be proven that President Obama was ineligible to hold office it would throw our country into a constitutional crisis the likes of which has never been seen. There is no provision for removing someone from the office of President or Vice President of the United States who has been deemed – after the fact – ineligible to have run for the office. The only tool available – impeachment – would be a practical impossibility given the viciously partisan atmosphere in Washington DC, and even then there are technical legal issues:

▪ If someone is not technically the President of the United States how does the Legislative Branch remove him or her from the position?

▪ Because the Commander in Chief would not technically exist and the Vice President wouldn’t be technically seated as the President, would the military be prohibited from executing any order to remove the usurper? And who would give that order?

▪ If the Supreme Court ruled that Article 2, Section 1 was not satisfied, where in the Constitution does it authorize them – or any other body – to nullify a federal election?

▪ What would be the constitutional procedure for validating that the usurper was indeed ineligible to hold office and for removing him or her from control of the US military, the Executive Branch departments and the United States’ nuclear arsenal?

The list of technical legal issues goes on and on...

But, in the rush to condemn the “birthers” as a fringe group and a group detrimental to the conservative cause, conservative talk radio and television show hosts – including Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck and Michael Medved, to name just a few – have ignored this very real and very serious issue and are helping to sweep it into the dust bin. This is not only irresponsible, it is the antithesis of what they say they provide the public: media entities acting as serious governmental and constitutional watchdogs. Can this possibly be what they intended or have they not thought the issue through completely before forming their opinions?

Our organization has facilitated the formation of an independent volunteer group, The New Sons of Liberty Society, to achieve – on both a state and federal level – legislation to require candidates for elected office of the Executive Branch to present first-source, vaulted proof of their eligibility to hold said office as mandated by Article II, Section 1 of the US Constitution. Should we successfully achieve this goal, hopefully, the next step would include the ratification of a constitutional amendment, establishing the requirement as Fundamental Law.

But the organization needs your grassroots activism to achieve this goal. We need you to contact those in elected office and in the media, especially in the conservative media, and explain this constitutional vulnerability and ask that they pledge to protect the fundamental law of our country, The Charters of Freedom, and that they actively and pro-actively support this initiative.

Only when we provide a solution to this constitutional vulnerability will this issue pass into history. Only when we enact this solution can we effectively safeguard the 2012 Presidential Election. To believe that this issue can be talked or smeared into obscurity is pure folly given the political climate in our country today.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Mr. O’Reilly (I have even appeared on his program), Mr. Beck and Mr. Medved, but truth be told, we can look out for ourselves, thank you very much. What we need is for the conservative media to honestly look out for the Constitution...and right now, they are not.

http://www.newmediajournal.us/staff/fsalvato/2009/08072009.htm
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
It appears as tho Obama and the Dems did exactly what was required of them and that thru precedence and historical acceptance has become the common practice....
Until this new age of the conspiracy nuts....

It would appear to me that if anyone wanted to make an issue of it- they will have to change/make about 50 state laws (which ain't going to happen and won't work with 50 different variations of laws and certifiers) or the Feds will have to take away more states rights and pass one all encompassing law....
Maybe the rightwingernut crazies can succeed in their mission of creating more Federal authority and another Federal bureaucracy....

During our examination of the issue we contacted each of the State Boards of Election and/or Secretary of State’s offices to ask whether they or another organization within their jurisdiction required candidates for the Executive Branch offices to present first-source, vaulted proof of their prerequisite satisfaction of Article II, Section 1. They shared with us that their candidacy filing requirements for any elected office includes:

▪ A Statement of Candidacy – This form (this link is an FEC form but it encompasses the requirements of every state) requires each candidate to provide his name, address, party affiliation, office sought, the state and district of the contest, a designation of a principle campaign committee, the designation of other authorized committees and a declaration of intent to expend personal funds. Lastly, it requires a potential candidate to “attest” that he or she is “qualified for the office specified.” At no place in the official guide or paperwork is a birth certificate or other form of verification of natural born citizenship required.

▪ A Loyalty Oath (Ironically, this is optional)

▪ Receipt for filing a Statement of Economic Interests (This is not required for Federal Office or political party offices).

▪ Completed Nominating Petitions – These petitions must be correctly filed out, notarized and contain a sufficient number of original signatures as set forth by the election commission.
 

CattleArmy

Well-known member
hypocritexposer said:
maybe, but even for that reason, it is disingenuous and should be verified.

It was a "red flag".

should have been a red flag sooner.

He's in office now and yet no power makes him just give it up. I know I wonder why? Do You?
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
hypocritexposer said:
50 State laws?

It will only take 1 or 2 to make him cough up the documents, 2012.

Congress also has a bill on the table requiring it.

But each state has its way of issuing birth certificates, and types- and of certifying...And what if one certifier in one state says everything is OK (like Hawaii did)- and the next doesn't agree (like the rightwingernugs)....You're right back where you were before with conflict, conspiracy, and courts...

Nope we need for the rightwingernuts to follow in the true footsteps of their leader GW, the bureaucracy builder - and create a new National Dept of Birth Certificates- with one person in charge of the registrying and certifying...Should create a couple hundred thousand new bureaucratic jobs- and put people back to work....

We can call it the Rightwingernut crazies "Birther" Stimulus and Jobs Law.... :wink:
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Hawaii did not say anything of the sort.

They said they had seen his vital records and refused to verify the authenticity of the COLB shown online.

Does each State not have the right to ask for proof of eligibility for elections?

It will only take one or two to ask.

Even Hawaii is asking to see it now. These problems would not even have crept up, if it had been done previously.

Hawaii state Sen. Will Espero, a Democrat, has confirmed plans to introduce legislation through which the state's lawmakers would force the public disclosure of all President Obama's birth documents held by the Hawaii Department of Health, including President Obama’s long-form original birth certificate.
 

TexasBred

Well-known member
CattleArmy said:
I still think at this point Obama not providing the document is a power play.

Showing it should be worth several million votes....if it shows he's legally qualified to run for President again.
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Texasbred, I think that the time for a strategic move like that has passed.

If that is his intention, he should have played that card, before now.

It's a contributing factor in his loss of credibility, by an amount he cannot regain now. He let it go too long.

I would have played it before the townhall meetings. Healthcare is one of his biggest goals this term.
 
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