When I moved to the State of Oregon and went to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get a license, I had to produce my birth certificate to prove my identity. Not a copy - the real McCoy.
The Constitution of the United States reads as follows:
“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;...” (Article II). This is a requirement of the Constitution - not a suggestion nor a guideline. A requirement.
Who cares? Only those people who expect to keep their Constitutional Rights. You know, like Free Speech, Freedom to choose your religion or lack thereof, Freedom to not have your home searched without a warrant, the Right to a Jury Trial, the Right to not be Tortured, etc.
What do these have to do with anything? The Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land. It is THE DOCUMENT which guides what is okay, and not okay, in America. Begin ignoring certain sentences in it, allow that to happen, and all the sudden, precedent has been established. First, a President gets by without proving his citizenship. Next, another one decides he or she has powers not specified to their office. Another one runs, deciding not to take the oath of office because it offends his religious convictions. Chip away at the integrity of the Constitution, and pretty soon, it’s just a piece of paper. Not only is it no longer the anchor that holds the country in place, it has become a joke, and nobody really knows what the ground rules are and what they can expect. Rights can be removed at the drop of the hat.
You think I exaggerate? This is exactly the reason for having a Constitution in the first place. It was so leaders could not remove the Rights of the People. Without it, each and every leader could determine what is “right” in his or her mind.
The Constitution of the United States has been the envy of people around the world, and since its inception, it has served as the model for many countries which wanted to enjoy the stability and freedom of America.
The miracle of the Constitution is that it is a living document. Although written in 1787, it has stood the test of time by serving as the bedrock that holds our country together. The Framers designed it in such a way that it can be just as relevant to people living over 200 years later than when it was written. How? By allowing it to be changed if the People determined that change was really necessary. The Constitution can be changed by Amendment - and it has been. BUT, it is only changed when the People determine a change is necessary. If it is not changed, the US Supreme Court acts as the watchdog for making sure the Constitution is fully understood and obeyed. If not, it is the duty of the (guess who) PRESIDENT to enforce the Law of the Land.
Does it bother anyone that our Constitution is just being set aside? How is that we are still having controversy over President Obama’s citizenship? Whether you like President Obama or don’t like him isn’t the issue. What is critical is that we don’t allow any leader, I repeat ANY LEADER, to ignore the requirements of the Constitution.
If the President truly is a US Citizen, it is an easy manner to set straight. Just like when I took my birth certificate to the Department of Motor Vehicles. As President, the man or woman who takes the oath of office, makes a promise to uphold the US Constitution. The Constitution clearly states that the President must be a US Citizen by birth. It is the President’s duty to set the record straight.
By keeping this matter shrouded in “privacy,” this issue serves as a divisive matter that make the People suspicious. What is there to hide? Why must I show my birth certificate to get a license when it’s not a requirement of the Constitution, but the President doesn’t need to show his when it is a requirement to become President? Wouldn’t he want to clarify this for the sake of the People? Isn’t his duty to uphold the Constitution (which he promised to do) more important than insisting that we move on and allow him to have privacy?
Allowing this action to stand leads America down a very slippery slope. In our country, all elected leaders are supposed to receive their power from the People. The purpose of a government, as stated in the Declaration of Independence, is protect the Rights of the People. By allowing this leader, or any leader - Democrat, Republican, Independent, etc - to ignore, and not uphold, the Constitution, we are guilty of allowing whatever course that person decides to take.
I urge you, contact your members of Congress; tell them this must be clarified (http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/).
Contact the White House (http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/).
Write to the Justices of the Supreme Court (visit this site for directions: http://libertynjustice.wordpress.com/2008/11/14/write-to-us-supreme-court-justices-regarding-obama-birth-certificate-etc/)
At the point when the Declaration of Independence was written and signed, the men who signed it pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor for the sake of an America that would rise above corrupt government. Within that document, they specified that when government does not respond to the will of the People, “... it is their Right, it is their Duty...” to defend their Rights by correcting the problem.
We cannot sit by and remain passive, hoping government will do all the right things. As citizens, it is our job to hold the government accountable. Please join me in protecting our Constitution from being ignored.
Re: "When I moved to the State of Oregon and went to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get a license, I had to produce my birth certificate to prove my identity. Not a copy - the real McCoy."
ReplyDeleteObama has in his possession, and posted online, and has shown to FactCheck and Polifact, the only birth certificate that Hawaii now issues. The Certification of Live Birth IS the official birth certificate of Hawaii. (http://www.starbulletin.com/columnists/kokualine/20090606_kokua_line.html)
The Hawaii Certification of Live Birth is accepted by all the departments in Hawaii including motor vehicles for a driver's license, and it is accepted as proof of birth in Hawii by the US State Department.
This is what the Wall Street Journal wrote about this issue on July 30:
Quotes
The birthers have also misrepresented the law in the claims they have made about Obama’s birth certificate. In truth, Obama has proved that he is a native of Hawaii, and this proof would hold up in any legal or administrative proceeding.
In order to explain the birthers’ deception on this point, it is necessary to delve into the arcana of Hawaiian vital records. The document that Obama has released, which carries the title “certification of live birth,” confirms that the president was born in Honolulu. It is a legal birth certificate, and, as the Honolulu Star-Bulletin notes, it is the only kind of birth certificate the state of Hawaii issues.
FactCheck.org has a close-up photo of the certificate, which states clearly at the bottom: “This copy serves as prima facie evidence of the fact of birth in any court proceeding.” If a court were somehow to take up the question of Obama’s eligibility, then, the birth certificate would almost certainly be sufficient to resolve the question in his favor. The opposing side would have to provide serious evidence calling into question the veracity of Hawaii’s official state records. Innuendo and hearsay would not be admissible.
Further, if Congress were to pass the so-called birther bill, Obama would be able to comply easily. The bill would require presidential campaigns to submit “a copy of the candidate’s birth certificate” to the Federal Election Commission. The certificate Obama has released publicly would meet this requirement.
End Quote
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204619004574320190095246658.html
I would agree that readers should follow your link to the Wall Street Journal link. It is an excellent article that leaves questions unanswered. After covering the convoluted situation that Hawaii has posed, it simply dismisses the question as closed.
ReplyDeleteAs far as reliability of FactCheck.org, let the reader be cautioned that is in the "child" of the Annenberg Foundation which has murky ties to Obama, Bill Ayers, and possibly George Soros.
Remember - this was the candidate who promised transparency. He led us to believe that he was going to do everything possible to let the voters ask questions and seek the truth. So why not go public with this? Obama has had more press releases on television than any President in my lifetime; why not devote a session to providing the proof to put this to rest. In the WSJ article you cite, it suggests that Obama could obtain from Hawaii the original document. But instead, there has been a veritable media blackout on this issue. Why?
Today, in Virginia, President Obama said that he really didn't want to hear from those opposing National Health Care (referring to the public outcry at town hall meetings). This is a socially acceptable tone of telling Americans to shut up. This doesn't sound at all like the campaign speeches of encouraging all sides to thoroughly explore their differences before passing any legislation.
Acorn and Seiu are now attacking protestors who seek to freely express their dissatisfaction with the government's actions. Pelosi is referring to those questionning representatives at town hall meetings as "mobs" and their efforts as an astroturf "grass roots" movement.
There is a movement afoot to crush political opposition. It is not coming from conservatives. We are witnessing a movement from the far Left to silence their opponents. Hardly transparency nor reaching across the aisle.