Focusing on Barack Hussein Obama’s birth certificate is a major strategic error on the part of American conservatives.
This is not to say that the question itself has no merit. I have seen no proof one way or the other that Mr. Obama was born in the USA. No convincing-looking photostat of a 1961 Hawaiian birth certificate has yet surfaced, so I am reserving judgment on the president’s status as a natural-born citizen.
But concentrating on the issue of the birth certificate is a lose-lose proposition for American conservatives. No matter what the final outcome is, we will be at a disadvantage if the “birthers” succeed in forcing Mr. Obama to prove his status.
If they do, there are two possible outcomes:
1. The “birthers” are wrong: Barack Hussein Obama was born in the USA.
Obviously, this eventuality would be devastating for American conservatives, whether they supported the birth certificate campaign or not. They will be roundly ridiculed and written off as “lunatic fringe” people who deserve no serious voice in American politics.
The net effect will be to move the center of gravity in the Republican Party closer to the squishy middle — i.e. RINO country, the Olympia Snowe wing.
2. The “birthers” are right: Barack Hussein Obama was born outside the USA.
If Mr. Obama is revealed to be ineligible to be President, he will either be impeached and convicted by Congress, or he won’t. If the latter, his power will be greatly enhanced, and the sympathy vote will improve his chances of re-election, which are now dicey at best and getting worse every day. Once again, this would be a significant defeat for conservatives.
On the other hand, if he were convicted and removed from office, not only would we have to endure a Biden presidency (or a Pelosi administration — God help us — if Congress invalidates the entire election), but Mr. Obama would become the Eternal Martyr of the Left. He would be canonized as Saint Barack, a shining champion of the people who was unjustly struck down by vicious hateful racist wingnuts. With the help of the media, Barack Obama’s Socialist legacy would become so entrenched that it would endure for at least another generation.
We have to face up to it: There’s no way to win with the birth certificate issue.
That’s because it’s a sideshow at this late stage. If the issue had any legs, back in the election campaign his Democratic primary opponents could have concentrated on it, or John McCain (who would have had standing) could have forced the issue through the courts.
But no one chose to do that, and the election of Barack Hussein Obama was duly certified by Congress. Even if electoral fraud put him over the top, approximately half of the electorate voted for him.
We have to accept that last November is now a done deal. If we don’t, we will pay dearly for our myopic preoccupation.
And by focusing on the birth certificate, we are creating a distraction from the real issue:
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SOVIET-STYLE SOCIALISM
This is what we have to fight against, regardless of whether Obama was born in Hawaii, or Mombassa, or Riyadh, or on Venus. The imposition of a top-down authoritarian brand of Socialism on the American people is the greatest crisis we have faced since 1945, and that is what should continue to be our focus.
To go a-haring down the leafy lanes after an elusive Barry Soetoro birth certificate is to distract ourselves from the real fight. The diversion of energy weakens us and makes us that much more likely to lose the longer war.
We will continue to expose the Left’s Marxist intentions while we let the Socialist fever run its course. Since Mr. Obama is trying to impose his ideology on a damaged and debt-ridden economy, his tenure as Socialist-in-Chief is likely to be mercifully brief — as long as we do not shift our attention from this reality.
But if we put our arm into the birth certificate tar baby, we will be stuck in the black goo of Socialism for decades to come.Keep your eye on the main target. It’s not where Barack Hussein Obama was born, but what he is doing.
28 comments:
Totally right on, no use pursuing this, keep up the good fight, that's all.
Since Obama’s maternal grandmother (38 years old when Obama born) unilaterally submitted birth info to Hawaii (generating the COLB), not Obama’s ‘mother’ (then 18 years old), who’s to say Obama’s grandmother is not his mother!?!
I respectfully disagree that we should drop this issue. It concerns disregarding the Constitution.
I agree, Baron. There is no question that 0bama's mother was a US citizen. Therefore, so is he.
A more important issue concerning 0bama's past is his refusal to release any of his educational records. I would like to see what his GPA and LSAT scores were that got him into Harvard Law School. It is quite likely he was admitted over more qualified whites or Asians via racist 'affirmative action' policies.
William Tell --
I agree that this is a constitutional issue. Unfortunately for all of us, the Constitution is being abrogated every day by our elected leaders and appointed bureaucrats. We have been governed extra-constitutionally for many years.
Remember, I am recommending that this issue be dropped for strategic reasons.
If we want to take back the country and restore the Constitution, we need to let this one go. If we fight it, we will lose, and unconstitutional Socialism will probably be established in the country formerly known as the United States of America.
The "birthers" can be completely right, and we will still lose.
This is a strategic mistake.
The Baron said: "The diversion of energy weakens us and makes us that much more likely to lose the longer war."
Which is what the Leftists want you to think. There are no public records released for this person. Why? That is the real question.
A couple of points:
- "...or John McCain (who would have had standing) could have forced the issue through the courts."
But he lacked a couple of other essential things. Look down. Those. Yes, those (if D has let you keep them tonight.) [grin] Mine are in 'Battle Commands' possession currently.
- "We have to accept that last November is now a done deal. If we don’t, we will pay dearly for our myopic preoccupation."
Nope. Already a done deal. IFF (If and only if) he is not a citizen then the Constitution became moot the moment he was sworn in which is what the Leftists wanted. The coup occurred on 11/4/08 and you must have missed it. I have been waiting for the world to catch up and realize this for months now. The Commies won and are now dividing the spoils. It is over.
IOW, I will be gobsmacked should there even be elections this time next year.
I'm amazed,apparently there's a constitutional prohibition of a foreign-born US president? This provision seems bizarre in a nation of immigrants.
Or, have I misinterpreted the article and comments?
mace --
The paragraph in question is from Article 2:
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; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.
This provision is obviously intended to prevent foreign agents from being elected President.
The Founders were not as warm and fuzzy about immigrants as we are today. The romanticization of the "wretched refuse" is a relatively recent phenomenon.
The definition of Natural Born is to be born in country to two citizens of the country. Even if Obama was born in the US (He was born in Kenya. His place of birth is honored in Kenya) he does not fit the definition of having two parents who are of country. This was written into the Constitution to insure that any American President, no matter how evil, at least had American Instincts.
Baron/chanan dov,
Thanks for the info., I can understand the provision in an 18th century context.
(Not all of us,outside the US, are "warm and fuzzy" about mass immigration either).
The key issue is not where he was born but the definition of natural born citizen used by the founding fathers and defined in "the law of nations" by Vattel. Both parents need to be citizens for the child not to have dual allegiances. The 14th amendment issue is a misdirection. I would really like for all of you to get educated on this issue. Google Leo Donofrio.
"Barack Obama, by legal definitions going back to the 1600’s is not, was not, and never has been a Natural Born Citizen. It does not matter where Barack Obama was born; he was a dual American/British/Kenyan citizen. He could have been born on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. itself, and it would not matter. The basic fact of Barack Obama’s parentage remains the same. A Dual Citizen cannot ever be a Natural Born Citizen.
There is absolutely no doubt."
Barack Obama and State of Hawaii on the ropes
With regard to citizenship; it depends on where the child is born and what status the parents have in the country. Our oldest son was born in West Germany; the SOFA had changed so that his citizenship went with me as his mother. Had I been a German national, he would have had dual citizenship until age 18.
In the former case, the birth of a US citizen abroad is registered in Washington DC, and no state birth cert is issued. However, in the early 1960s, that may not have been the case.
While I think that it is a Constitutional issue, it is rather annoying because of the attitude of the Left about Pres. Bush's election: They think he stole it, when the evidence was more on the side of the Democrats trying to do it!
Makes one think that the fluffing of the Presidential Oath by Chief Justice John Roberts, was realy a matter of conscience or even divine intervention?
Baron
One is a Natural born citizen if one is born in the United States or is the child of a US citizen.
The Presidents mother was a US citizen and a permanet resident of the US before and after his birth.
No mater where the world he was born he is a natural born US citizen.
Hank, et al. --
Thanks for the additional information about Obama's eligibility (or lack thereof).
However, that's not my main point. My main point was, and remains, that continuing to pursue this birth certificate issue is a MAJOR STRATEGIC ERROR.
Even if the birthers succeed and unseat him, it will be a pyrrhic victory. St. Barack will continue to rule from afar for many years to come, and his Socialism will remain.
Attack him on his policies: that's what could at least conceivably bring him down.
Baron, I disagree with you respectfully. This is a constitutional issue. You cannot ignore what the Constitution says. It is of paramount importance. It is the duty of American citizens and their elected representatives to uphold the Constitution. This duty trumps everything else. We cannot have an usurper in power. If we allow the Constitution to be destroyed, we are not the United States anymore. This is not about Barack Obama. This is not about Republicans and Democrats. This is about the founding principles of the United States.
Now I repeat for everyone who has missed my first two comments. Forget about the birth certificate. It doesn't matter where Obama was born. He is not a "natural born citizen" because his father was not a US citizen. NOT A NATURAL BORN. NOT. THIS IS IRON-CLAD.
For some reason, some people are under the mistaken impression that anyone born on the American soil is a "natural born" American citizen. THIS IS NOT THE CASE.Forgive me for shouting. This is an enormous misunderstanding by the public that needs to be corrected.
Baron,
You are right.
Brilliant analysis.
It can be seen you are an engineer...
This is my fourth comment, so this will have to do for this post.
Félicie --
This is a constitutional issue. You cannot ignore what the Constitution says. It is of paramount importance.
I agree. Read what I said in my comment above.
I’m not arguing that is not a constitutional issue, but simply that continuing to pursue it will not help us to defeat Obamanism.
We can be completely correct, and yet still not win using this strategy.
If we allow the Constitution to be destroyed, we are not the United States anymore.
My point exactly. But this has already happened. This country has been governed unconstitutionally for almost a hundred years.
Federal tax withholding is unconstitutional.
Kelo was unconstitutional.
McCain-Feingold was unconstitutional.
Cap-n-Trade is unconstitutional.
The list goes on and on. The Constitution already doesn’t mean a tinker’s dam to any of our three branches of government. What makes you think the Supreme Court will rule against having an alien as president? Why would they object to ripping out one more clause and burning it?
This is a fool’s errand, because we will lose, even if we are right.
I’ll repeat it one more time:
IT DOESN’T MATTER WHETHER THE BIRTHERS ARE RIGHT OR WRONG. WE WILL FAIL IF WE CONTINUE TO PURSUE THIS. IT IS A LOSING STRATEGY.
Attack the Socialism, not the birth certificate.
Baron
I agree with you. In politics as in war (the same actually), a direct attack is just too obvious.
Better an attack from the wings - on his policies.
BB wrote: Keep your eye on the main target. It’s not where Barack Hussein Obama was born, but what he is doing.
If Barak's policies can be stopped, then his eligibility for the POTUS wont matter. His failure to deliver, will leave his supporters bitter and vengeful. It is then that the final coup de grace can be delivered, which then destroys any hope he has of a lasting legacy.
I respectfully disagree (I say respectfully, because you guys gave me a home after being bounced by LGF). I don't think the "birther" issue will have much effect at all.
I don't think "the Messiah" will reveal a fascimile of his long form birth certificate either because he was not born in Hawaii or if he was born in the U.S., he is such a punk narcissist that he won't release it so he can say eff you to those who don't agree with him.
If it turns out the "birthers" are right -- Orly Taitz points out an AP article saying "the Messiah" was Kenyan born, it still won't matter much. "The Messiah" will not be impeached from office; i.e., convicted, unless there is a substantial Republican majority and, perhaps, even not then. The Democrats don't care about the law or the Constitution and they may even be afraid of having race riots start (a fear I do not share btw...) if they remove "the Messiah" for being ineligible.
The success or failure of "the Messiah's" attempts will be measured in the 2010 elections. Not in whatever way this "birther" issue turns!
The TRUTH is not racist, facscist, feminist or any other -ist, it is merely the TRUTH and we are entitled to know it (and the Constitution endorses this).
What we DO with that knowledge is another matter entirely.
@Underzog--
You are agreeing with us.
As you say:
The success or failure of "the Messiah's" attempts will be measured in the 2010 elections. Not in whatever way this "birther" issue turns!
That is the point.
I do find both arguments fascinating. He IS a "dual citizen", and therefore legally ineligible. Why this was not argued pre-election I do not know.
The Baron is correct in that the distraction, and the results of even what lies beyond Obumbles removal could be even more traumatic.
What we must do is win a decisive victory next year in the election of true Constitutional scholars to rebuild this nation as it was intended to be.
THEN we get his butt convicted of espionage and put him against the wall.
Sorry, Baron, but you are the one making the strategic error: first, you are are looking for THE MAGIC BULLET: the one holy issue that will remove the Big O; no other issue is to be pursued except the one that is GUARANTEED to take him out; and, of course, that issue must meet your strategic concepts - they are yours aren't they? Second, you and your fellow anti-birthers are not, or do not seem to be, cognizant of the political concept of fire power: the more issues which your opponent has to defend against, the more he has to spread out precious resources to defend himself; there is even the strong chance one or two issue might be completely unseen by an overwhelmed opponent. Now where have we seen such examples of political firepower?; oh yeah, the Left excels at this; maybe you should consider this option as well.
Thirdly, the birther issue is a tactic not a strategy; other tactics would be to question his true citizenship via Indonesia: when did he restore or reacquire his "American" citizenship; would he then be a naturalized citizen?, what is his real name; where are the documents indicating a name change from Barry Soetoro to Baraq Obama?
Another tactic: attack the institutions of leftist learning in regards to their cooperating with the sealing of the Big O's records.
Gee, there we have several fronts tight there to open up and wage war against the usurpers.
And as for his birth: his mother was too young to pass on her American citizenship as the law indicated at that time.
Totally agree with the Baron.
This whole thing is just so damned silly. A moment's thought proves that Obama is a space alien.
Look beyond the birth certificate issue! There's way more going on that people should be concerned with .....
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