“Birthers”, if you didn’t know, refers to people who think Barack Obama does not satisfy the “natural born citizen” requirement contained in the US Constitution and thus is ineligible to be President of the United States.
Some birthers think Obama was born in Kenya rather than Hawaii. They are not satisfied with Hawaii’s computerised print-out of the birth records the state holds – they want to see the “long form birth certificate”.
Others, realising they’re on a hiding to nothing with the Kenyan birth conspiracy, have gone “legal”. They point to US Code: 1401 (g) and savour their “gotcha” moment: As Mama Obama was only 18 at the time of Barack’s birth, she did not have sufficient post-14 years of age US residence to pass on her citizenship. Therefore, by their analysis, as Barack’s father was a Kenyan citizen and his mother was unable to pass on her American citizenship, Barack is not a natural born American citizen – and not eligible to be President of the United States.
On closer examination of 1401, our friends will see (g) only applies if the person was born outside the geographical limits of the United States and its outlying possessions. Born outside. If you accept baby Barack was born in Hawaii, (g) cannot apply.
This tallies with the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution, which states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside”. The plain meaning of these words should be self-explanatory.
The point of this is to show two things:
1) It’s true when they say that reading comprehension is just as important as knowing the law. You can’t apply the law to the facts properly if you’ve misunderstood one or the other (or both); and
2) Never, ever assume the other guy knows the law. Look it up yourself.
I love that they asked for “Public Defenders” (and they thought they could bring down our government), undercover FBI agent, sweet. Since their inception the Tea party crowd (not a movement since they do have the numbers or clout) because they are haters not debaters or as others have dubbed them screamers not dreamers. The simpleton Tea baggers are the same whiners that were crying when the McCain/Bailin ticket lost. Now that their yelling and screaming failed to stop the health care debate and the bill from passing they are crying again. Let’s face it the Republicans had eight years to deal with health care, immigration, climate change and financial oversight and governance and they failed. The Republicans are good at starting wars (two in eight years, with fat contracts to friends of Cheney/Bush) but not at winning wars as seen by the continuing line of body bags that keep coming home. Instead of participating in the health care debate of ideas the Republicans party turned inward to their old fashion obstructionist party. In my opinion the Republican Waterloo loss was caused by the party allowing a small portions (but very loud) of the republican party of “birthers, baggers and blowhards” to take over their party. I will admit that this fringe is very good at playing “Follow the Leader” by listening to their dullard leaders, Beck, Hedgecock, Hannity, O’Reilly, Rush, Savage, Sarah Bailin, Orly Taitz, Victoria Jackson, Michele Bachmann and the rest of the Blowhards and acting as ill programmed robots (they have already acted against doctors that perform abortions). The Tea party crowd think they can scare, intimidate and force others to go along with them by comments like “This time we came unarmed”, let me tell you something not all ex-military join the fringe militia crazies who don’t pay taxes and run around with face paint in the parks playing commando, the majority are mature and understand that the world is more complicated and grey than the black and white that these simpleton make it out to be and that my friend is the point. The world is complicated and presidents like Hamilton, Lincoln, and Roosevelt believed that we should use government a little to increase social mobility, now it’s about dancing around the claim of government is the problem. The sainted Reagan passed the biggest tax increase in American history and as a result federal employment increased, but facts are lost when mired in mysticism and superstition. Although some Republicans are trying to distant themselves from this fringe most of them, having no game plan/ vision for our country, are just going along and fanning the flames. For a party that gave us Abraham Lincoln, it is tragic that the ranks are filled with too many empty suits. But they now claim they have changed, come on, what sucker is going to believe that? All I can say to you is remember Waterloo.
Note that in the 14th Amendment it states: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside
There is a huge difference between citizens, and natural born citizens, therefore, the 14th Amendment does not apply to Obama’s case.
Speaking of reading comprehension.
As the Constitution doesn’t go on to define “natural born”, we’re stuck trying to interpret what the words mean.
I suggest the 14th Amendment made it binary (if it wan’t before) – US citizens are either born in the US or naturalised: Natural Born v Naturalised.
Obama is not a naturalised US citizen. He is not a foreign national who later swore an oath and became naturalised. BHO obtained his citizenship by way of his Hawaiian birth – so he must be a “natural born” citizen.
And because not one state Attorney General refused permission to put BHO’s name on the ballot because of lack of evidence of his natural born status, there was no need for the one and only person with standing (BHO himself) to bring a case. That’s why SCOTUS never heard the matter.