The Birther Plan To Block Obama's Reelection

[Emit]

The Birther Plan To Block Obama's Reelection

Yes, they have a plan—and it may not be crazy.

— By David Corn

Mon Jan. 31, 2011 3:00 AM PST
The birthers have a plan to end Barack Obama's presidency—and in Arizona, they're making progress.

Last week, Arizona state Rep. Judy Burges, a Republican, introduced a bill that would bar presidential candidates who do not prove they were born in the United States from appearing on the ballot in the Grand Canyon state. And state Rep. Chad Campbell, the top Democrat in the GOP-controlled Arizona House of Representatives, tells Mother Jones that the bill is likely to pass. It was introduced with 25 co-sponsors in the House and 16 co-sponsors in the state Senate; the measure needs 31 votes in the House and 16 in the Senate for approval. "Will it matter?" asks Campbell. "We've started a tradition here of passing legislation that is political grandstanding or that sets up litigation."

But the birthers—those ardent Obama foes who believe the president was not born in Hawaii and, thus, is not constitutionally qualified serve as president—see this measure as more than symbolic. For them, it's part of a well-orchestrated campaign to deny Obama reelection.

It's not that Obama necessarily requires Arizona's 10 electoral votes to win reelection in 2012. In 2008, he lost there to John McCain, Arizona's senior senator (though in 2012, Obama could make a play for the state). More important, Burges' bill—which would establish a strict standard for proving natural-born citizenship (which the birthers presume Obama could not meet)—is a model for other states, and similar efforts are under way in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Montana, Georgia, and Texas. (Obama won Pennsylvania in 2008 and lost Missouri by less than 4,000 votes.) Arizona may be where this birther ball gets rolling.

~snip~

Yet the birthers are charged up about this new battle plan: using GOP-dominated state legislatures to pressure Obama to produce a long-form birth certificate. A win on this front in Arizona will not in and of itself scuttle Obama's reelection (assuming no such document for Obama can be produced). But it will certainly encourage birthers in other states to follow suit—and to keep their hope, and conspiracy theory, alive.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/01/arizona-birther-bill-deny-obama-reelection?page=1

[sakabatou]

1. And people wonder why the world laughs at us.

[Emit]

3. Honestly,

I can't believe so much time and effort are being spent on this.

[katnapped]

15. Do these idiots realize

That their "savior" McCain was technically a "furriner"?

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

2. They're also trying to do this in CT - but we have Democratic

legislature and a Democratic governor so its going nowhere.

[muntrv]

4. I see the fact that the previous governor of Hawaii certified his birth certificate

doesn't matter.

[Tesha]

14. Why would facts matter to nutters? (NT)

[uppityperson]

5. Didn't Hawaiin officials say they'd send one off to people who sent in a bunch of money?

[msanthrope]

6. No--they are currently charging $100 to deny the application.

It's a good strategy.

[uppityperson]

12. ah, that is even funnier. thanks.

[bluestateguy]

7. I am paying no attention to this

[HockeyMom]

8. Remind me not to run for President

since my BC has even LESS info than Obama's; not even the names of my parents. All the originals of my parents, and mine, were lost over half a century ago.

[Retrograde]

16. Mine has even less

When I sent for a copy of my birth certificate, I got back a small piece of paper from the city of Buffalo stating that I was born there on my birthday. Doesn't even list my sex, let alone parents. I also have the official one they gave my parents, but it's not embossed so I had to use the mini one to get married and get a passport. AFAIK there's some official form in Albany but I doubt it's on paper.

Suppose Obama does manage to produce this mythical "long form" (I'm conveniently ignoring the fact that states all have different formats, and that those change over time): someone will then demand proof that it's not forged, or that Obama really is Obama. It won't stop.

[muntrv]

9. Doesn't the "full faith and credit clause" apply here?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_faith_and_credit

[msanthrope]

11. Yes. It's also what's gonna pull the issue into Federal Court, not

Arizona State court.

I hope these assholes do this...

[msanthrope]

10. So, when the Secretary of State certifies the candidate, what are the birthers gonna do?

Or have none of these assholes ever read the Full Faith and Credit Clause?

I hope the birthers push this--and I hope the Republican candidate of 2012 has to keep answering the questions of these morons.

[PoliticAverse]

13. Dupe - previously posted and discussed...

In the thread here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x324099

[Hugabear]

17. Since when did state law trump the Constitution?

The Constitution already spells out who may run for President. Wasn't aware that states could interfere with that. Although with our SCOTUS, can't say I have much faith in them, we may wind up with yet another rethug installed by the Supreme Court.