Politico‘s Ben Smith writes about the lingering faction of Birthers still agitating to see Barack Obama’s original birth certificate, despite the total paucity of credible evidence suggesting any reason to doubt that he was, in fact, born in Hawaii. The focus of the story is conservatives’ fear of being associated with these folks:
“At some level, they’re not that bad to have around because it reminds people that under the mainstream conservative press there’s this bubbling up of really irrational hatred for the guy,” said former Clinton White House press secretary Jake Siewert. […]
The conservative talk show host Michael Medved recently referred to the movement’s leaders as “crazy, nutburger, demagogue, money-hungry, exploitative, irresponsible, filthy conservative imposters” who are “the worst enemy of the conservative movement.”
“It makes us look weird. It makes us look crazy. It makes us look demented. It makes us look sick, troubled, and not suitable for civilized company,” he mourned.
And yet, the comments still fill up with birthers—drawn to any discussion of the topic like moths to a flame—uttering their tribal chant: “Why won’t he just release the original birth certificate and put this to rest?” Put it to rest? Read those quotes again: Why on earth would he want to? Or as the Joker put it: “I don’t want to kill you! What would I do without you?”
9 responses so far ↓
1 Alex Knapp // Mar 3, 2009 at 5:29 pm
What really kills me is that the same certified copy of a birth certificate that’s good enough to get you a passport or prove your citizenship to get a job is somehow not good enough for these folks to prove that Obama was born in Hawaii. I wonder if THEY have copies of their original birth certificate? 10 bucks says that if you asked an average birther to “prove” their citizenship by the same standards their holding Obama to, they couldn’t do it…
2 southpaw // Mar 3, 2009 at 5:51 pm
And of course they don’t know the law. A child born to an American mother anywhere in the world is a U.S. citizen.
3 Julian Sanchez // Mar 3, 2009 at 6:47 pm
sp- For a variety of complicated reasons, that might not actually have been true in the case of Obama’s mother. At the time, at least, you apparently had to have lived a certain number of years in the U.S. as an adult to automatically pass on citizenship for foreign births where only one parent was a citizen.
4 Jim Henley // Mar 4, 2009 at 12:57 am
Medved’s right. Pam Atlas’s theory that Obama is Malcolm X’s love child is much cooler than the Kenyan-citizen theory.
5 tom // Mar 4, 2009 at 5:55 am
The local right-wing talk radio hosts here in SF are obsessed with this. They also had a new conspiracy theory this week: if Obama suffered some sort of “head wound” while president and survived, it would imply he is the Antichrist.
Their example was if he bumped his head against the desk in the Oval Office and somehow managed to survive. If that happens, we are all supposed to be very afraid.
6 bObama/b | Agroblog // Mar 4, 2009 at 8:35 am
[…] View original here: bObama/b […]
7 tp // Mar 6, 2009 at 3:31 am
Birther is to conservative as Truther is to libertarian.
8 Erstwhile // Mar 7, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Isn’t Andrew Sullivan a “Birther” when it comes to Trig Palin?
9 Richard Fisher // May 10, 2009 at 5:20 pm
My belief:The historical definition of Natural Born,
“Parents citizens, born in country”,
as recorded in the writings of John Jay in Federalist Papers, the Congressional Record March 26, 1790, the source book, ‘Law of Nations’ and numerous other places. The purpose was to exclude persons that could reasonably have divided loyalties from the Presidency and being Commander in Chief of the armed forces.
I am a concerned serious citizen who has the perspective of a person who worked overseas for a large international engineering and construction company, as a worker and supervisor of civilian expatriate employees. Had to know the customs, laws, rules and a lot of do and don’t to keep myself or others out of serious trouble. Two of the many countries were Kenya and Indonesia.
When Obama was elected to the U S Senate there were reports he was not a citizen of the US and that he was born in Kenya, where I worked on a refinery project for Royal Dutch Shell. People, who I worked with long enough to know them to be reliable, quoted publish articles in which his paternal grandmother bragged that her grandson, the Senator, being born in Mombasa, she further stated that she and his 1/2 sister were present at the birth. There was also an article in the same local weekly newspaper quoting from the Mombasa Coast Hospital birth records.
Did not think to much about it, figured if true, it would come out.
Later, I had a chance to examine his books, “Dreams from My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope.” and I found numerous things damaging to U S citizenship claims, and now that he occupies the Presidency, the Constitutional requirement to be Natural Born.
1. He went to school in Indonesia at a time when it was my understanding that it was necessary to be a citizen of Indonesia to go to school there.
2. He was adopted by his Indonesian stepfather, Lolo Soeotoro, as I understand the adoption law at that time, this law made him an Indonesian citizen when adopted, loosing all other citizenships, dual citizenship was not allowed.
3. In the adoption procedure his prior sir name was lost and his sir name was legally changed to Soetoro, and his parents gave him the first name Barry according to available written records.
4. He said he traveled to Pakistan during a period of martial law. My experience was no person with a U S passport could get a Visa or would be permitted entry (except diplomatic). I could not get in with a U S passport. I conclude that he used some other passport, logically an Indonesian passport since he was legally an Indonesian citizen due to the adoption law in Indonesia.
The only logical conclusions I can draw from the above:
His legal name is Barry Soetoro, and a citizen of Indonesia.
He is not U S Citizen, Therefore could not be a Natural Born US Citizen either.
I believe his place of birth was Kenya, but points 1. through 4. above make it mute plus there are several other reasons, below are two of these:
His father, Barrack Obama, Sr. was a British (Kenya) citizen, under the historical definition of Natural Born, having a non citizen parent is disqualifying.
Also his father, Barrack Obama, Sr. being a British (Kenya) citizen, made Obama,Jr. a British citizen at birth regardless of where born according to an 1948 English law . Ever if he was born in the U. S. he had dual citizenship which also is disqualifying.
A side issue:
His Mother’s age at his birth, caused a Title 8 US Code legal impediment for filing a request for “Certificate of Live Birth”. This would suggest that this is the reason that such a request has not been released or the original hospital record released.
In order to fully resolve his eligibility question all of the following records must also be released. “Full Transparency” as guaranteed during the Presidential campaign is required, if there is nothing to hide why have they not been released, should be released immediately.
1. Occidental College records, 2. Columbia College records, 3. Columbia Thesis paper, 4. Harvard College records, 5. Selective Service Registration, ( not the forged record released), 6. Medical records in US, 7. Illinois State Senate records, 8. Law practice client list, 9. Certified Copy of original hospital (vault) Birth certificate, 10. Copy of the request for the “Certificate of Live Birth” , 11. Claimed Harvard Law Review articles published, 12. Claimed University of Chicago scholarly articles, 13. Record of Christian Baptism or Muslim blessing at birth in Kenya hospital by attending Inman (who I think I met while there and I can not find now), 14. Adoption documents from Indonesia, 15. Indonesian passport , 16. Mombasa Kenya hospital records that are specifically sealed by Kenya government.
If these had been released all questions past and the growing flood of law suits would go away.
I am not an attorney or a part of any legal action against him or the DNC.
I am plain ordinary independant citizen who has questions, the same questions that millions of other informed citizens are now asking.
A growing number of people believe that he is an unconstitutional usurper of the Presidency of the United State and therefore guilty of many criminal acts.
He should release the documents or resign admitting gross fraud, being ineligible to hold or run for any government elective office in the United States.
Now ! Keep in mind as you consider these questions and observations. I voted for him and wish him well. The above are legitiment questions that are festering and will continue to permit people to ask questions that are not answered. We need the documents.
The longer they remain secret the more it appears that there is someting very serious to hide. If these documents are really a danger there is a possibility that some unscrupulus person could get copies and use them for blackmail.