Clyburn: GOP Congress will swamp White House with subpoenas

[Perd Hapley]

Playing to an African-American audience, the House Majority Whip claims that a GOP Congress would "distract" the White House with subpoenas on the President's citizenship. Isn't that kind of an admission that the "birthers" have at least half a leg to stand on? 

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/121059-rep-clyburn-gop-majority-will-issue-birther-subpoenas-against-ob

[TommyGunn]

Playing to an African-American audience, the House Majority Whip claims that a GOP Congress would "distract" the White House with subpoenas on the President's citizenship. Isn't that kind of an admission that the "birthers" have at least half a leg to stand on? 

Nah, it's desperate election time fear-mongering ...... 

[Boomhauer]

Playing to an African-American audience, the House Majority Whip claims that a GOP Congress would "distract" the White House with subpoenas on the President's citizenship. Isn't that kind of an admission that the "birthers" have at least half a leg to stand on? 

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/121059-rep-clyburn-gop-majority-will-issue-birther-subpoenas-against-ob

Dude, blacks are his whole constituency. That's all he panders to...and they faithfully vote Democrat no matter what...he's as bad as Ted Kennedy and Jesse Jackson combined, IMHO.

[Waitone]

Since agenda won't drive the kool aid drinkers to the polls in November, the backup plan is to scare'em.  Birthers with subpoenas is only the first.  Next up is government shutdown followed by a TEA party kristallnacht (sp?). 

[taurusowner]

Honestly, at this point, finding out the President for the past 2 years wasn't really President would be such a shake up of our nation an its laws, I really don't know what the US would look like when it's all settled.  I'm not sure it would even be worth it.

[grampster]

If the R's take control of the congress and does this investigation crap, then they truly deserve the label Stupid Party.
Americans don't give a *expletive deleted*it hoot about the last few years except to deconstruct the nonsense that has passed as governance since 2006.  And Oh, by the way, when a D tells you it's all W's fault, remind them that the economy was growing and we had 4% unemployment when the D's took over congress in 06, and housing crisis was initiated by Jimmah and Clinton and sealed up and mailed by Fanny and Freddy who were being run by D's.  As for the auto industry, nobody was buying cars because they were too damn durn expensive.

[kgbsquirrel]

Honestly, at this point, finding out the President for the past 2 years wasn't really President would be such a shake up of our nation an its laws, I really don't know what the US would look like when it's all settled.  I'm not sure it would even be worth it.

Hmm, doesn't seem like it would be such a shake up. Fairly simple actually. Anything that Obama signed would automatically become nullified as he wouldn't have had the authority to sign things in law, with retroactive effects on anything/anyone that was subject to the effects of those laws (ie. getting their gorram money back if it was a tax he made law), and the person with the second highest votes for president (McCain) would then become The Man(tm). As President and Vice-President are voted upon separately, Emperor Palpatine (Biden) would still be the veep. Looots of paperwork for the bureaucratic functionaries and cubical rodents, but it doesn't really seem as drastic (OMGWTFBBQ teh estados unitas is defunct!!!1!) as some would make out.

[De Selby]

Birthers do not have a leg to stand on.  Clyburn is implying that the country will be run by simpletons, who spend their time doing things like searching for Obama's nigerian birth certificate.  That is the fear-mongering.  Like what happened to GW and his pronunciations of "nucular" and his command of the "mexican" language.

[HankB]

Birthers do not have a leg to stand on.  Clyburn is implying that the country will be run by simpletons, who spend their time doing things like searching for Obama's nigerian birth certificate.

The offical "long form" from Hawaii would be enough. And could probably be produced immediately upon the subpoena's issuance.

But at least Tea Party simpletons won't be holding hearings so comedians can testify that most dirt is at ground level . . . 

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

how are folks gonna react to obama being white on the long form?

[De Selby]

The offical "long form" from Hawaii would be enough. And could probably be produced immediately upon the subpoena's issuance.

But at least Tea Party simpletons won't be holding hearings so comedians can testify that most dirt is at ground level . . . 

Yeah right - the certified copy wasn't enough, but the long form will be why? If you can fake one you can fake the other.  Nothing works with the birther conspiracies for the same reason as with any: the conspiracy just gets bigger to explain all the evidence against it.

[Jamisjockey]

Hmm, doesn't seem like it would be such a shake up. Fairly simple actually. Anything that Obama signed would automatically become nullified as he wouldn't have had the authority to sign things in law, with retroactive effects on anything/anyone that was subject to the effects of those laws (ie. getting their gorram money back if it was a tax he made law), and the person with the second highest votes for president (McCain) would then become The Man(tm). As President and Vice-President are voted upon separately, Emperor Palpatine (Biden) would still be the veep. Looots of paperwork for the bureaucratic functionaries and cubical rodents, but it doesn't really seem as drastic (OMGWTFBBQ teh estados unitas is defunct!!!1!) as some would make out.

Lawsuits, riots, marches....I think it would be quite ugly. Imagine a sitting Black president refusing to leave the oval office...Jackson and Sharpton would have the mob whipped into a serious frenzy...

[HankB]

Yeah right - the certified copy wasn't enough, but the long form will be why? If you can fake one you can fake the other.  Nothing works with the birther conspiracies for the same reason as with any: the conspiracy just gets bigger to explain all the evidence against it.

The released copy was not the birth certificate, but a "certification of live birth" which was available for babies that were not actually born in Hawaii at the time. It's NOT the same as a birth certificate. Release of that document would have killed the issue for 99% of birthers a long time ago - but perhaps it serves Obama's purpose not to resolve it.

Maybe he wants the criticism to become more shrill - and in 2012, he'll unveil the long form and say "See! I TOLD you those birthers were nuts all along!"

Maybe there's something embarassing - could be he's listed as "white", could be the long form states "father unknown," could have been born with six toes on one foot. We just don't know.

Maybe he figures "Hey, I won the election, I don't have to prove anything to you. So UP YOURS, birthers!"

And there's a possibility - very tiny, but not zero - that he wasn't born in Hawaii.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

Yeah right - the certified copy wasn't enough, but the long form will be why? If you can fake one you can fake the other.  Nothing works with the birther conspiracies for the same reason as with any: the conspiracy just gets bigger to explain all the evidence against it.

the long one contains quite a bit more info  much harder to fudge.  says the guy who was born same place and hospital and has both types of certificate.  it would have docs name and sig  one other sig and the fateful "race" block as well as time etc

[roo_ster]

how are folks gonna react to obama being white on the long form?

I would laugh heartily  at our white devil president.

IIRC, some birth certs also have religion blocks.  I'd likely strain a muscle laughing if it did and it had something other than Christian.  Which is likely, since neither hippy-chick mother nor runaway daddy were.

All the birther fuss is asinine since BHO's mom was a US citizen.  I'd still like to see the original cert.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

mine from that hospital does have my religion on it  i was born there 22 months before him

[Jamisjockey]

I would laugh heartily  at our white devil president.

IIRC, some birth certs also have religion blocks.  I'd likely strain a muscle laughing if it did and it had something other than Christian.  Which is likely, since neither hippy-chick mother nor runaway daddy were.

All the birther fuss is asinine since BHO's mom was a US citizen.  I'd still like to see the original cert.

Both of which are very likely the reasons why the long form has been withheld. 

[BReilley]

All the birther fuss is asinine since BHO's mom was a US citizen.  I'd still like to see the original cert.

Yuuup.  It doesn't matter to me whether or not he is a legitimate citizen.  The fact is that he is being coy and skating around the issue, and using the distraction for his own purposes... which makes him appear(in my eyes) untrustworthy and disrespectful of the electorate.  If the man had any credibility, he would release his birth record, college transcript, etc. if only to a few established news outlets, and that would have an enormous positive effect on his public image(well, at least on the perception of his character... probably not on the perception of his qualifications).  Furthermore, it would embarrass the true-believer birthers by putting them more toward the fringe.  It would not, however, result in any more votes or support for him.

As we already know, he's just not interested in debating on issues, and the more people he can distract - who would not vote for him anyway - the better.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

Both of which are very likely the reasons why the long form has been withheld. 

at the time of his birth there is some question as to whether his mom could over rule poppa as to citizenship

[Jamisjockey]

at the time of his birth there is some question as to whether his mom could over rule poppa as to citizenship

Even if....given the anchor baby mentality of the left...he'd just be considered an American by default anyways. 
I still think its just something embarrasing on the long form.  Religion: Muslim.  Sex: Hermaphrodite.  Father: unkown? It might even be something that he's lied about.........

[kgbsquirrel]

Even if....given the anchor baby mentality of the left...he'd just be considered an American by default anyways. 
I still think its just something embarrasing on the long form.  Religion: Muslim.  Sex: Hermaphrodite.  Father: unkown? It might even be something that he's lied about.........

Such as his statement on the Illinois bar exam that he has never used any other alias'?

[230RN]

Citizenship?  Pardon my iggerince, but I thought the problem in question was "natural-born citizen."

"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."

Did they pass a Schwarzenegger Amendment while I was taking a nap?

[Perd Hapley]

What do you mean?  Do you think he was naturalized, rather than "natural born"?

[230RN]

Fistful said,

"What do you mean?  Do you think he was naturalized, rather than "natural born"?"



I am pointing out that after the adoption of the Constitution only one kind of citizen was eligible to be President: a "natural-born" citizen.  Thus, being born in the United States makes one automatically a citizen.   That's why we have the problem of the so-called "anchor babies," where folks come to the US to have their babies in order for the babies to be natural-born citizens --automatic citizens, if you will.

I myself did not say anything about naturalized citizens or the naturalization process --you brought it up.  And naturalization does not confer "natural-born" status on a person.

My comment was directed toward some the above posters who simply used the term "citizen" or "citizenship." rather than "natural-born" citizen --in other words,  having citizenship by virtue of him/her being natural-born.

Wanted to point that up in my post.  As you are of course aware, naturalized citizens are not natural-born citizens, and are thus ineligible for the Presidency. 

For myself, I have no position on President Obama's eligibility for the Presidency based on doubt as to whether he is a natural-born citizen.  This, since I myself do not know whether the documents so far seen endows him with a "natural-born" type of citizenship.

[Perd Hapley]

I myself did not say anything about naturalized citizens or the naturalization process --you brought it up.  And naturalization does not confer "natural-born" status on a person.

No, of course you didn't say he was naturalized. I asked about that, because it was the only other option to "natural born." And since Obama was never naturalized, his citizenship would be of the natural born type. Presuming he was.  So I guess that's why I didn't understand what you were trying to say. Sorry.

So far as I know, it is actually the fourteenth amendment (or its misinterpretation) that has given us the anchor baby issue.