Challenging Obama's Eligibility to be President

[Aplomb]

Finally there is something that all of us can do. We may be able to persuade the electors to take a stand and uphold the constitution. There is a plan and people are getting organized. Please just DO it.

[Aplomb]

Here's a snip from the info blurb on that to make it easy for link connect:

The citizenship issue surrounding President-elect Barack Obama remains. If you are not familiar with it, please consult these sources:

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyspCR...

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4FqVR...

3. http://www.obamacrimes.com/ (official Berg v. Obama website)

4. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.ph...

5. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.ph...

6. http://www.americasright.com/2008/11/... (judge this data for yourself. In fact, you should judge ALL of this data for yourself)

7. http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/ki...

8. http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/ki...


Join the fight to help convince the electors to the Electoral College to request a subpoena forcing President-elect Barack Obama to produce his ORIGINAL birth certificate!

1. http://americamustknow.com/ (introductory website; contact webmaster to let him know you want to volunteer. See step #4, too)

2. http://www.democratic-disaster.com/ (strategic forum; join and read key strategic posts and updates)

3. http://wethepeopleusa.ning.com/ (tactical forum; join and coordinate with other volunteers in your state)

4. E-mail the coordinator at poppop_schell@hotmail.com to let him know you want to volunteer


NOTE: I am NOT a leader of this effort; I am just a volunteer. Direct any questions to the leadership via e-mail or the forums. I am providing this information as a call to action. It cannot be done unless the average citizen gets involved, and gets involved NOW!

[samizdat]

Thanks aplomb. I like Keyes. He has standing, personal stature, and precedent statutes.
http://americamustknow.com/allenkeys.aspx
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=80931
In a silly twist- it's McCain's campaign $$ being investigated since he took low govt. funds, while bama and hilary skate despite their fraudulent bribery w/ foreign huan, rubles and euros.
here's the latest on the iman kenya baptism document and the MO tape.
http://africanpress.wordpress.com/2008/11/15/api-site-spammed-yesterday-between-2045-and-0200-by-people-assisted-by-mountain-sage/#comment-85150
africanpress Says:
November 15, 2008 at 8:37 am

The release of the tape will now be a surprise event. We will not talk about it. We do not want to enable conspirators to disturb us next time. So we will not say anything we will simply release.
Chief editor Korir

from 1 of the links-

Obama's campaign has been the most corrupt of my lifetime, surpassing even the Clinton duo. According to an investigation done by Kenneth R. Timmerman (see here): "More than half of the whopping $426.9 million Barack Obama has raised has come from small donors whose names the Obama campaign won't disclose." I predict once investigations are underway by the FBI, we will see just how much money came in from unlawful sources - especially foreign donors. Obama doesn't care at this point, he only need make it to coronation day and pay FEC fines later. After all, it's not his money.

[Aplomb]

I was able to copy this before it was removed from the petition site. It shows the level of hate we are up against:

1. Name not displayed | Anchorage, AK
2. Sat., Nov. 15, 2008 3:49 AM link Your Time is Ove R. | Whitestone, NY
   IDIOTS, REDNECKS AND BUSH SUPPORTERS. PLEASE DIE IN A HOUSE FIRE
   Report Inappropriate Content
3. This comment has been reported to the site manager. It will be reviewed and removed if inappropriate. Thank you!
4. Sat., Nov. 15, 2008 3:49 AM link Name not displayed | Anchorage, AK
5. Sat., Nov. 15, 2008 3:42 AM link Chris F. | Columbus, OH
6. Sat., Nov. 15, 2008 3:38 AM link Jennifer G. | Reynoldsburg, OH
7. Sat., Nov. 15, 2008 3:37 AM link Maureen P. | Whitestone, NY
   Wait actually i just realized this whole controversy was put to bed a long time ago. I feel really stupid now. Sorry about that. OBAMA 09!!!
   Report Inappropriate Content
8. This comment has been reported to the site manager. It will be reviewed and removed if inappropriate. Thank you!
9. Sat., Nov. 15, 2008 3:33 AM link Snooze You Loo Z. | Philadelphia, PA
   Bunch of fags typing into your laptops think you're going to do something. Why don't you just squint your eyes and pray really hard. Fucking morons hahahahahaha
   Report Inappropriate Content

[Aplomb]

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.p...w&pageId=80928

Obama camp: Lawsuits by citizens are 'garbage'
Legal challenges spring up across U.S., demand proof of eligibility for office

Posted: November 13, 2008
10:30 pm Eastern

By Chelsea Schilling
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

More than a half-dozen legal challenges have been filed in federal and state courts demanding President-elect Barack [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]Obama's[/color][/color] decertification from ballots or seeking to halt elector [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]meetings[/color][/color], claiming he has failed to prove his U.S. [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]citizenship[/color][/color] status.


An Obama campaign spokeswoman told WND the complaints are unfounded.
"All I can tell you is that it is just pure garbage," she said. "There have been several lawsuits, but they have been dismissed."


WND is tracking the progress of many cases across the U.S., including the following:

Ohio
David M. Neal of Turtlecreek Township, Ohio, filed suit in Warren Common Pleas Court in October to force Ohio [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]Secretary [COLOR=blue ! important]of [/color][COLOR=blue ! important]State[/color][/color][/color] Jennifer Brunner to request documents from the Federal Elections Commission, the Democratic National Committee, the Ohio Democratic Party and Obama to show the presidential candidate was born in Hawaii, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.


Warren County Magistrate Andrew Hasselbach denied Neal's request, saying, "The onus is upon one who challenges such public officer to demonstrate an abuse of discretion by admissible evidence – not hearsay, conclusory allegations or pure speculation."

Connecticut
Connecticut resident Cort Wrotnowski challenged the authenticity of Obama's birth certificate on Oct. 31, and asked the court to order Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz to verify Obama's citizenship before allowing the candidate to appear on the state ballot. State [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]Supreme [COLOR=blue ! important]Court[/color][/color][/color] Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers threw out the case for lack of jurisdiction within a half hour of reviewing it.


"I have not seen the ruling yet," Wrotnowski told WND. "So, in reality, the case was not heard on its merits. … Currently, we are assembling information for another and better try."

Washington
As WND reported earlier, Steven Marquis of Fall City, Wash., filed suit Oct. 9 in Washington State Superior Court, calling for Secretary of State Sam Reed to determine whether Obama is a citizen before Election Day. Marquis released a statement saying the state has the authority to "prevent the wholesale disenfranchisement of voters"

who might have otherwise had the opportunity to choose a qualified candidate should records show Obama is not a natural-born U.S. citizen.


Marquis said Obama's Hawaii birth certificate isn't evidence that the president-elect is a natural-born citizen because it doesn't reveal the hospital where Obama was born, a doctor's name or the baby's footprint, the Associated Press reported.


Superior Court Judge John Erlick dismissed the lawsuit, claiming the secretary of state does not have authority to inquire about Obama's birth certificate. He also said Marquis failed to name Obama as a party to the lawsuit.


Get the book that started it all – Jerome Corsi's "The Obama Nation," personally autographed for only $24.95

New Jersey
In Leo C. Donofrio v. Nina Mitchell Wells, Secretary of State of the State of New Jersey, retired attorney and New Jersey resident Leo. C. Donofrio asked the U.S. Supreme Court for an emergency stay on Nov. 3 prohibiting three candidates from appearing on New Jersey's ballots: Republican candidate John McCain, Democratic candidate Barack Obama and Socialist Worker's Party candidate Roger Calero.


Donofrio claimed the candidates are not "natural born citizens" as enumerated in Article 2, Section 1, of the Constitution of the United States, which states, "No person except a natural born citizen of the United States, at the time of adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President."


He wrote, Obama is not eligible for the presidency "even if it were proved he was born in Hawaii, since … Senator Obama's father was born in Kenya and therefore, having been born with split and competing loyalties, candidate Obama is not a 'natural born citizen' …"


"Republican candidate John McCain was born in Panama," the request states. "Socialist Workers Party candidate Roger Calero was born in Nicaragua. And the birthplace of Democratic candidate Barack Obama has not been verified by Respondent."


Donofrio said Panama has never been considered U.S. soil, and that McCain is merely a citizen at birth by statute, and not a "natural born citizen."


With three ineligible presidential candidates on ballots, Donofrio warned, New Jersey voters will "witness firsthand the fraud their electoral process has become."


Justice David Souter denied Donofrio's application on Nov. 6. However, his case is still pending as an emergency stay application. Donofrio is resubmitting his request for an emergency stay of the national election results and Electoral College meeting to Justice Clarence Thomas.


Pennsylvania
As WND reported earlier, prominent Pennsylvania Democrat and attorney Philip J. Berg filed suit in U.S. District Court three months ago claiming Obama is not a natural-born U.S. citizen.


Berg claimed that by failing to respond Obama has legally "admitted" to the lawsuit's accusations, including the charge that the Democratic candidate was born in Mombosa, Kenya.


U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick dismissed Berg's argument on Oct, 24, ruling that he lacked standing to bring the case. He said Berg's allegations were "too vague and too attenuated."


"This is a question of who has standing to uphold our Constitution," Berg told Jeff Schreiber of America's Right blog. "If I don't have standing, if you don't have standing, if your neighbor doesn't have standing to question the eligibility of an individual to be president of the United States – the commander in chief, the most powerful person in the world – then who does?"


Berg filed a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct.30, to force Obama to produce his birth certificate. Justice David Souter rejected an emergency appeal on Nov. 3, for the court to halt the tabulation of the 2008 presidential election results until Obama documented his eligibility to run for office. However, Souter set a schedule for a response from Obama, the DNC and all co-defendants on or before Dec. 1.


"I look forward to receiving Defendant Obama's response to the Writ and am hopeful the U.S. Supreme Court will review Berg v. Obama," Berg wrote in a Nov. 7 statement.



"I believe Mr. Obama is not a consitutionally-qualified natural-born citizen and is ineligible to assume the office of the President of the United States."

Georgia
Rev. Tom Terry of Atlanta, Ga., appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court the day before the election to determine authenticity of Obama's original birth certificate and his qualifications to be president.


"I bear no personal ill will against Barack Obama," Terry, an independent, said in a statement. "In fact, his election solely on the basis as the first African-American president-elect is a very positive thing for our nation. However, as an American, I have very grave concerns about Mr. Obama's possible divided loyalties since he has strenuously and vigorously fought every request and every legal effort to force him to release his original birth certificate for public review and scrutiny. I think that is significant."


On Oct 24, Georgia Superior Court Judge Jerry W. Baxter denied Terry's request for an injunction against Secretary of State Karen Handel.


"I don't think you have standing to bring this suit," he said. "I think that the [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]attorney [COLOR=blue ! important]general[/color][/color][/color] has argued the law. I think he is correct. I think you are not a lawyer."


Terry is appealing his suit even though Obama didn't win Georgia because he said he wants to set an example for other states. He is asking the court to direct Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel to decertify all votes for Obama.


"Hopefully, this action will be noticed by other states and they will also take a serious look at the meaning of Georgia's Supreme Court's actions," he said. "It is apropos that the Latin motto in the Georgia Supreme Court is interpreted: 'Let justice be done, though the heavens fall.' I think if the Court rules in my favor, that motto will come alive with meaning and impact."

Hawaii
On Oct. 17, Andy Martin filed a writ of mandamus in Hawaii's Supreme Court to compel Gov. Linda Lingle to release a certified copy of Obama's vital statistics record. His request to expedite the circuit court was denied on Oct. 22.


Martin now has a pending case seeking access to Obama's original 1961 typewritten birth certificate. The circuit court hearing is set to begin Nov. 18.

The saga continues …
Several unconfirmed reports also indicate that citizens of Utah, Wyoming, Florida, New York, North Carolina, Texas, California and Virginia have also filed lawsuits or requested court orders to verify Obama's citizenship status.


As reported earlier, WND senior investigative reporter Jerome Corsi traveled both to Kenya and Hawaii to investigate issues surrounding Obama's birth.


But his discoveries only raised more questions.


The governor's office in Hawaii said he had a valid certificate but rejected requests for access and left ambiguous its origin – leaving some to wonder if the certificate on file with the Department of Health indicates a Hawaiian birth or whether it was generated after the Obama family registered a Kenyan birth in Hawaii.


The Obama campaign posted a certification of live birth, a document stating the baby was born on Aug. 4, 1961. However, according to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, there is a difference between the two documents. A certification of live birth is not an authentication of Hawaiian birth, and critics say the procedure could have allowed Obama's mother to have the baby elsewhere, return to the U.S. and obtain the document in Hawaii.


The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands makes a distinction between the two:

In order to process your application, DHHL utilizes information that is found only on the original Certificate of Live Birth, which is either black or green. This is a more complete record of your birth than the Certification of Live Birth (a computer-generated printout). Submitting the original Certificate of Live Birth will save you time and money since the computer-generated Certification requires additional verification by DHHL.

However, Andy Martin has specifically requested verification of the original 1961 type-written certificate of live birth – or, as the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands describes it, the "more complete record" of Obama's birth.


Further adding to complications, Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro, has named two different Hawaii hospitals where Obama could have been born. In a November 2004 interview with the Rainbow Newsletter, Maya told reporters her half-brother Sen. Barack Obama was born on Aug. 4, 1961, at Queens Medical Center in Honolulu; then in February 2008, Maya told reporters for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that Obama was at the Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children.


But a video posted on YouTube features Obama's Kenyan grandmother Sarah claiming to have witnessed Obama's birth in Kenya.


Seeking to settle the issue, Hawaii Department of Health Director Director Chiyome Fukino released an Oct. 31 statement saying, "State law (Hawai'i Revised Statutes §338-18) prohibits the release of a certified birth certificate to persons who do not have a tangible interest in the vital record. Therefore, I as Director of Health for the State of Hawai'i, along with the Registrar of Vital Statistics who has statutory authority to oversee and maintain these type of vital records, have personally seen and verified that the Hawai'i State Department of Health has Sen. Obama's original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures."


The statement does not clarify whether "the record" is a certification of live birth or a Hawaiian certificate of live birth.


Before the election, WND retained a top private investigator in Hawaii with extensive [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]FBI[/color][/color] training and tasked him with visiting both the Queens Medical Center and the Kaliolani Medical Center to investigate claims that Obama birth certificates existed at either hospital.


However, the private investigator reported that sheriff's deputies were stationed at both hospitals to fend off press inquiries about Obama's birth certificate.


When WND asked the Obama campaign spokeswoman why Obama simply hasn't released the original 1961 certificate of live birth to make the lawsuits go away, she replied, "I have no idea. I think they released what they chose to release, and Hawaii has confirmed that he was born in Hawaii, so I don't know what else you want."

[Aplomb]

Excellent news:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.p...w&pageId=80931

CHANGING OF THE GUARD
'Constitutional crisis' looming over Obama's birth location
Alan Keyes lawsuit warns America may see 'usurper' in Oval Office

Posted: November 14, 2008
8:40 pm Eastern

By Bob Unruh
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

The [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]California [COLOR=blue ! important]secretary [/color][COLOR=blue ! important]of [/color][COLOR=blue ! important]state[/color][/color][/color] should refuse to allow the state's 55 Electoral College votes to be cast in the 2008 [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]presidential [COLOR=blue ! important]election[/color][/color][/color]
until President-elect Barack Obama verifies his eligibility to hold the office, alleges a California court petition filed on behalf of former presidential candidate Alan Keyes and others.


The legal action today is just the latest is a series of challenges, some of which have gone as high as the U.S. Supreme Court, over the issue of Obama's status as a "natural-born citizen," a requirement set by the U.S. Constitution.


WND senior reporter Jerome Corsi even traveled to Kenya and Hawaii prior to the election to investigate issues surrounding Obama's birth. But his research and discoveries only raised more questions.


The biggest question is why Obama, if a Hawaii birth certificate exists, simply hasn't ordered it made available to settle the rumors.


The [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]governor's[/color][/color] office in Hawaii said there is a valid certificate but rejected requests for access and left ambiguous its origin: Does the certificate on file with the Department of Health indicate a Hawaii birth or was it generated after the Obama family registered a Kenyan birth in Hawaii?


Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro, has named two different Hawaii hospitals where Obama could have been born, while a video posted on YouTube features Obama's Kenyan grandmother Sarah claiming to have witnessed Obama's birth in Kenya.


The California action was filed by Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation on behalf of Alan Keyes, the presidential candidate of the American Independent Party, along with Wiley S. Drake and Markham Robinson, both California electors.


"Should Senator Obama be discovered, after he takes office, to be ineligible for the Office of President of the United States of America and, thereby, his election declared void, Petitioners, as well as other Americans, will suffer irreparable harm in that (a) usurper will be sitting as the President of the United States, and none of the treaties, laws, or executive orders signed by him will be valid or legal," the action challenges.


The petition is a request for the Superior Court of California in Sacramento County to issue a peremptory writ barring Secretary of State Debra Bowen "from both certifying to the governor the names of the California Electors, and from transmitting to each [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]presidential[/color][/color] Elector a Certificate of Election, until such documentary proof is produced and verified showing that Senator Obama is a 'natural born' citizen of the United States and does not hold [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]citizenship[/color][/color] of Indonesia, Kenya or Great Britain."


It continues with a request for a writ barring California's electors from signing the Certificate of Vote until documentary proof is produced.


An Obama spokesperson interviewed by WND described such lawsuits as "garbage."
The popular vote Nov. 4 favored Obama over Sen. John McCain by several percentage points. But because of the distribution of the votes, Obama is projected to take the Electoral College vote, when it is held in December, by a 2-to-1 margin.


Named as defendants in the action are Bowen, Obama, vice president elect Joe Biden and the long list of California party electors.


Citing the constitutional requirement that a president be a "natural born" citizen, the case discusses other state and federal court cases regarding "aspects of lost or dual citizenship concerning Senator Obama. Those challenges, in and of themselves, demonstrate Petitioners' argument that reasonable doubt exists as to the eligibility of the Democratic Party’s nominee for President," the case said.


Get Brad O'Leary's blockbuster book detailing the agenda for the upcoming Obama White House, "The Audacity of Deceit."


"There is a reasonable and common expectation by the voters that to qualify for the ballot, the individuals running for office must meet minimum qualifications as outlined in the federal and state Constitutions and statutes, and that compliance with those minimum qualifications has been confirmed by the officials overseeing the election process," the complaint said, when in fact the only documentation currently required is a signed statement from the candidate attesting to those qualifications.


"Since [the Secretary of State] has, as its core, the mission of certifying and establishing the validity of the election process, this writ seeks a Court Order barring SOS from certifying the California Electors until documentary proof that Senator Obama is a 'natural born' citizen of the United States of America is received by her," the document said.


"This proof could include items such as his original birth certificate, showing the name of the hospital and the name and the signature of the doctor, all of his passports with immigration stamps, and verification from the governments where the candidate has resided, verifying that he did not, and does not, hold citizenship of these countries, and any other documents that certify an individual’s citizenship and/or qualification for office.


"To this date, in this regard, SOS has not carried out that fundamental duty."


The case said a simple attestation from the candidate or his party isn't sufficient.


"Historically, California Secretaries of State have exercised their due diligence by reviewing necessary background documents, verifying that the candidates that were submitted by the respective political parties as eligible for the ballot were indeed eligible. In 1968, the Peace and Freedom Party submitted the name of Eldridge Cleaver as a qualified candidate for President of the United States. The then SOS, Mr. Frank Jordan, found that, according to Mr. Cleaver's birth certificate, he was only 34 years old, one year shy of the 35 years of age needed to be on the ballot as a candidate for President. Using his administrative powers, Mr. Jordan removed Mr. Cleaver from the ballot. Mr. Cleaver unsuccessfully challenged this decision to the Supreme Court of the State of California, and, later, to the Supreme Court of the United States."


Similarly, in 1984, the Peace and Freedom Party candidate Larry Holmes was removed from the ballot.


The "certificate of live birth" posted by the Obama campaign cannot be viewed as authoritative, the case alleges.


"Hawaii Revised Statute 338-178 allows registration of birth in Hawaii for a child that was born outside of Hawaii to parents who, for a year preceding the child’s birth, claimed Hawaii as their place of residence," the document said. "The only way to know where Senator Obama was actually born is to view Senator Obama's original birth certificate from 1961 that shows the name of the hospital and the name and signature of the doctor that delivered him."


The case also raises the circumstances of Obama's time during his youth in Indonesia, where he was listed as having Indonesian citizenship. Indonesia does not allow dual citizenship, raising the possibility of Obama's mother having given up his U.S. citizenship.


Any subsequent U.S. citizenship then, the case claims, would be "naturalized," not "natural-born."


"Based on all of the above, it is the duty of the SOS to obtain proper documentation of Senator Obama's citizenship to confirm his eligibility for the office or the President of the United States," the case said.


Just this week, WND has reported on more than half a dozen other legal challenges have been filed in federal and state courts demanding Obama's decertification from ballots or seeking to halt elector meetings, claiming he has failed to prove his U.S. citizenship status.


Among the states where cases are being tracked are Ohio, Connecticut, Washington, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Hawaii, and there were reports of other cases being developed in Utah, Wyoming, Florida, New York, North Carolina, Texas, California and Virginia.

[Backstop]

Just to re-emphasize an important point:

According my research, the only thing the Hawaii Dept of Health has stated is that they have Obama’s birth cert on file.

They have never confirmed where he was born.

If anyone has any info that contradicts that, please post it.

[Aplomb]

Anybody who can get to Kenya and has some great people and investigative skills may be in for a one million dollar treat as well. Of course, you'll need to use some of that to get some good body guards...

[samizdat]

This guy has a particular tint or shade on the bama birth saga, since he knew Odinga personally and is a Kenyan. He was also instrumental in the transfer of the bama islam blessing scan document.

Chief Editor Korir to jet in Canada and join MBOs during the launch of the original Michelle Obama tape.
Posted by africanpress on November 16, 2008

[Ryan Ruck]

Sorry, sami but API fully discredited themselves when they claimed they had reached a deal with Fox News to air the supposed Michelle Obama tapes before the election and then they never aired. In fact, Fox came out and said they were full of crap. I've no longer kept track of them nor do I believe anything they say. I'm sure they managed to come up with some convincing excuse as to why the tapes never aired to keep stringing people along. There are plenty of other more reliable sources to go to for the real scoop on Obama.

[Malsua]

API lol.

It's some guy in Norway releasing pressers. I wish I could pull of such a stunt...it'd be rolling in dough.

[American Patriot]

Well... here's the deal. If his momma was an American Citizen, this whole thing is irrelevant.

The fact is, even if only one parent is a citizen, then the child is an American Citizen...

Therefore, don't matter what name he was born with, where, or by what method, he's an American.

[Aplomb]

That's not correct, Rick. With regard to the U.S. Presidency the person must be "natural born" and as of now Obama has not proven himself to be natural born nor has he released school records which all points to hiding evidence that he was foreign born.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/...titutions.html

October 29, 2008 Who Enforces the Constitution's Natural Born Citizen Clause?

By Mark J. Fitzgibbons

If you believe in individual rights and the notion that our Constitution is a document granting enumerated but limited powers to the federal government, then you have reason to be troubled by the recent dismissal in Berg v. Obama et al.

Philip Berg, Democrat and former Assistant Attorney General for Pennsylvania, brought suit alleging that under the Natural Born Citizen Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Barack Obama is ineligible to be President. Federal Judge R. Barclay Surrick recently granted the motion to dismiss filed by Senator Obama and other defendants, including the Democratic National Committee, on grounds that Berg lacked standing to sue as a mere voter.

The judicial doctrine of standing is important. It is a requirement that plaintiffs have a real stake in the outcome of a real controversy. This prevents, among other problems, persons bringing lawsuits simply to harass defendants. The judicial doctrine of standing is one of many judicial doctrines designed to limit the courts from being overloaded with cases that aren't properly resolvable by the courts, such as ripeness (case brought too soon), mootness (case brought too late), lack of jurisdiction, etc.

When constitutional rights are at stake, courts have tended to give wider latitude to the standing of plaintiffs. The theory is that another person's loss of constitutional rights may indeed affect one's own constitutional rights.

Judge Surrick's carefully worded opinion cites to cases where standing was at issue, including a similar case in which the eligibility of John McCain to be President was challenged. In deciding that "a candidate's ineligibility under the Natural Born Citizen Clause does not result in an injury in fact to voters," Judge Surrick writes in a footnote of potentially considerable consequence:

If, through the political process, Congress determines that citizens, voters, or party members should police the Constitution's eligibility requirements for the Presidency, then it is free to pass laws conferring standing on individuals like Plaintiff. Until that time, voters do not have standing to bring the sort of challenge that Plaintiff attempts to bring . . .

Here's where I believe Judge Surrick's decision breaks down from a constitutional perspective.

The enumerated powers of the respective branches of government are set forth in the first three articles of the Constitution. Article III states that the judicial power is vested in the courts, and "shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution . . ."

A case about whether a candidate is a natural born citizen seems quite clearly to arise under the Constitution, and thus within the exclusive domain of the courts. Under the language of the Constitution itself, there appears to be no need for Congress to pass a law authorizing individuals to file suit, or for courts to hear such challenges. In fact, there may be a separation of powers issue if Congress were to attempt to legislate broader or narrower access to the courts to hear constitutional challenges. That could infringe on the jurisdiction of the courts "to all Cases . . . arising under this Constitution."

Secondly, the enumerated powers of Congress under Article I do not extend to dictating who may have standing to sue under the Constitution. One may argue that Judge Surrick relied on what some believe to be the catch-all "Necessary and Proper Clause" in Article I, Section 8[18]. That authorizes Congress:

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

Judge Surrick, however, never cites to that clause as his reason. Indeed, it would be inherently dangerous to our freedoms if Congress could dictate who can and cannot sue to enforce the Constitution.

So if the Framers established that courts "shall" hear cases arising under the Constitution, and failed to authorize Congress to otherwise establish who may sue to enforce the document, then where might we find conclusively that Berg has standing to sue?

The 10^th Amendment to the Constitution states that the powers not delegated to the federal government, nor prohibited to the states, remain with the states or the people. Therefore it seems that any state or any person has standing to sue to enforce not just the Natural Born Citizen Clause, but other constitutional requirements and rights, absent some expressly written bar within the Constitution itself.

Disputes under the Natural Born Citizen Clause are few and far between, so Judge Surrick couldn't have been worried about his court being flooded with new cases. In this presidential election, however, both candidates of the two major parties were faced with similar challenges. Both filed motions to dismiss for lack of standing.

It's a shame these cases didn't get more attention and scrutiny based simply on how the candidates handled them. When faced with the potential for public reprobation before either acquired the ominous powers of the Presidency, both candidates chose a path indicating preference for their own power over the rights of individuals.

Although the merits of the Berg case weren't reached, Senator Obama has raised concerns in other contexts about his obscured and under-scrutinized views on "collective" rights as opposed to rights of individuals. His motion to dismiss for lack of standing doesn't portend well for how he would view individual rights under the Constitution if he were elected President.

Chief Justice John Marshall, writing in Marbury v. Madison, said that judges have a duty to decide cases under our paramount law, the Constitution. I have lamented previously about how some judges tend to evade their duty to decide constitutional matters by resorting to court-made doctrines. Judge Surrick's reliance on case law to dismiss Berg's suit for lack of standing is reasoned from a lawyer's perspective, but not heroic and perhaps evasive of his larger duty.

His decision to "punt" the matter to Congress creates, I suggest, a dangerous, longer and perhaps more painful constitutional quagmire than had he heard the evidence in the case. Even had the case lacked merit, the Constitution would not have been harmed.

Mark J. Fitzgibbons is President of Corporate and Legal Affairs at American Target Advertising, Inc., Manassas, VA.

[samizdat]

1. reached a deal with Fox News to air the supposed Michelle Obama tapes before the election and then they never aired
Fox is largly owned by a saudi prince and bama dude.

2. Korir also claims to have been bribed by bama's campaign mngr.

3.don't matter what name he was born with, where, or by what method, he's an American. - So if he was born in Kenya, he should be tried for fraud in the US, not UN courts? lol.

I don't like the racial tint of the purported tape contents, but the EC and perhaps the SCOTUS will be "reviewing" this natural-born business, and the "foreign campaign funds"? Perhaps api (MO tapes) is a scam, but I doubt it.

I just don't "see" bama making it to inaug. Even if he did, imho- it would be invalid.
So I'm hoping, a switch could be an educational process in public awareness and constitutional respect. Bama appears to have no respect for authority.

He can still pull off a Biden or Hilary switch now. I've met Biden and NOW, and it would be inappropriate to remark my sentiments. If mega-MAL info spreads between 10 to 15 Dec., McCain could win- or it's a house election.







3.

[Ryan Ruck]

Well... here's the deal. If his momma was an American Citizen, this whole thing is irrelevant.

The fact is, even if only one parent is a citizen, then the child is an American Citizen...

Therefore, don't matter what name he was born with, where, or by what method, he's an American.

Rick,
Here's what I posted in response to a similar question from Toad over in the 2008 Election thread:

It is a little bit complicated Toad but here is the scoop straight from the Department of State:

Birth Abroad to One Citizen and One Alien Parent in Wedlock: A child born abroad to one U.S. citizen parent and one alien parent acquires U.S. citizenship at birth under Section 301(g) INA provided the citizen parent was physically present in the U.S. for the time period required by the law applicable at the time of the child's birth. (For birth on or after November 14, 1986, a period of five years physical presence, two after the age of fourteen is required. For birth between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986, a period of ten years, five after the age of fourteen are required for physical presence in the U.S. to transmit U.S. citizenship to the child.

One of the bones of contention (among several) in the argument that Obama isn't eligible to hold office is that Obama's mother, though a US citizen, was not in the US for the sufficient period of time prior to his birth. Obama's mother, was 18 when Obama was born so she wouldn't have met the requirement of five years after the age of 14.

[Aplomb]

Again, with regard to the office of President and Vice President it comes down to the natural born clause in our U.S. constitution. No other type of American citizen will do.

[samizdat]

http://2008.keyesarchives.com/issues_list.php#spp

[samizdat]

btw, api has been censored.
http://africanpress.wordpress.com/

[Aplomb]

http://www.f2a.org/NewsStory.cfm?Story_ID=2794

[Aplomb]

When I find it again I'll repost the upcoming ad that will be in the New York Times.