Spokane7
65°
April 28, 2011 in City, Idaho
Wash., Idaho officials: Other issues trump birth controversy
Republican officials in Washington and Idaho say neither state’s party is deeply concerned about President Barack Obama’s citizenship and both think the nation has far more important issues to address, like jobs, the economy and $4-per-gallon gasoline.
But “birtherism” – a term for the belief that Obama was not born in the United States and is thus ineligible to be president – has been a subject of some debate in the states.
A handful of Washington voters filed suit before the 2008 election to bump Obama’s name from the ballot because they questioned his citizenship; they failed. They came back a few months later with a lawsuit to keep the state’s Electoral College from giving its votes to Obama. Same reason; same result.
In March 2009, Moscow, Idaho, was the scene of an interesting moment in the growth of the birther movement. Orly Taitz – a California dentist, lawyer and real estate agent who might be considered one of the leading voices in the controversy – traveled to the University of Idaho, where U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts was delivering a speech on Abraham Lincoln and the law.
When Roberts finished his prepared remarks and opened the floor to questions, Taitz was first at the microphone. She asked Roberts to comment on a motion she filed in U.S. Supreme Court declaring “Barack Hussein Obama aka Barry Soetero” not a legal citizen.
Roberts replied that obviously this was an issue that she wanted to have pending before the court, so he couldn’t comment on it. If she’d like to leave her documents, he’d look at them, Roberts said. The moderator suggested Taitz hand them to one of the security guards converging on her from several directions.
Taitz later said on her website that she confronted Roberts and he promised to review the case.
In 2009, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers told an interviewer for the Huffington Post that “we’re all going to find out” if Obama, who’d been in office about eight months at that point, was a natural born citizen.
“I’d like to see the documents,” she said in a video of GOP members of Congress who were asked about the birther controversy.
When she arrived back in Washington state for the summer recess, however, McMorris Rodgers said she’d seen a copy of Obama’s birth certificate – the short form, released during the 2008 campaign, not the long form released Wednesday – and she no longer had doubts.
“There’s a reality that it’s been in the courts, the courts have ruled that he is indeed a legal citizen, born in this country, and I think it’s a nonissue,” she said. “It’s settled. We need to move on.”
McMorris Rodgers was traveling Wednesday and not available to comment on Obama’s release of his long-form birth certificate, her staff said.
Kirby Wilbur, Washington state GOP chairman and a former Seattle radio talk show host, said Wednesday he occasionally got calls from people who believed strongly in the birther issue, but never thought much of it himself.
“I’ve never doubted that he was born in the U.S.,” Wilbur said. “I think it’s a distraction and a waste of time.”
People who do believe Obama is a foreigner probably won’t be convinced by this latest document, Wilbur said, and will find some misspelling or some mistake to talk about.
He doubts the results of polls that say 40 percent of Republicans believe Obama wasn’t born in the United States. But he does think some Republicans have questions and they may be one reason Donald Trump is currently leading the list of potential GOP presidential candidates. But not the only reason.
“Donald Trump’s a celebrity. He’s got flash … but I think he’s a flash in the pan,” Wilbur said.
Idaho GOP Chairman Norm Semanko said party officials in that state haven’t even discussed the birther issue at their meetings. “It’s not something I get phone calls or emails about.”
Supermajority for taxes unconstitutional, judge rules 
Marksman on April 28 at 8:45 a.m.
Too bad GOP; unfortunately for you, that is the real issue behind the birther issue. Obama may not be a “natural born citizen” according to US law. For him to attain the status of “natural born citizen” both of his parents had to be US citizens at the time of his birth;just like my nieces and nephews who were born in Germany to American parents serving in the military. Obamas daddy was a Kenyan citizen at the time of his birth. He may not a natural born citizen and therefore ineligible to hold the office. Evber heard of vetting candidates qualifications?
CougarGold on April 28 at 10:14 a.m.
Marksman: You are incorrect about the requirement that both parents be U.S. citizens at time of birth. Please read the link that discusses various cases brought before the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue. In short, if a person is born within the jurisdiction of parents either naturalized or of no other foreign allegiance, that person is a Born Citizen. There is no further story here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_Born_Citizen_Clause
The real story isn’t Obama’s race, birth place, question of citizenry. It’s the point that he’s a poor leader with a trail of damage that will take a great deal of time to unwind. Some will argue, perhaps rightly so, that a significant portion of the damage is due to Bush’s cause. However, I don’t buy it as the explanation for Obama’s failing presidency. I think Obama’s policies have been quite damaging in and of themselves. Further, without the ‘shellacking’ the Congress took in mid-terms, his desired policies would be even more damaging. Thankfully we have a Congress now that will at least gridlock much of what he would otherwise impart on us.
The other point that is interesting is that many of the left feel he will hammer any Republican opponent in 2012 with the outpouring of the youth vote. I don’t see it. For one thing, the far left are pretty disappointed too in that he has left a pile of broken campaign promises that won’t appeal to many youth and those on the far left:
Close Gitmo - Not
End our involvement in Iraq - Not
Afghanistan as the only valid war but reduce our presence - Not
Keep the U.S. out of conflict in foreign lands - Not (Libya? What the heck are we doing in the midst of someone else’s civil war?)
Cap and Trade - Not (absolute economy killer - no discernable positive impact on carbon footprinting if not abided to by other countries)
Single-payer Healthcare - Not (forcing medical insurance onto young people who can’t afford it won’t fly and won’t be appealing to the youth vote)
On an on it goes. I don’t care if Obama is black, white, green or any other shade. The cause of the Birthers is a sideshow and distracts from the real story: A bad presidency. I think Obama is probably a pretty good guy, maybe a guy I would be happy to have a beer with. But I think he’s a lousy president and this whole birth certificate issue is a very distracting story with no real merit or worth in a policy discussion. He’s not up to the job that he was elected to do and needs to go. My only question is who within the GOP is going to go against him? So far, I’m not enamored with any of the currently discussed choices, particularly Trump who is another sideshow onto himself. We don’t need a Donald Trump as our GOP candidate. We need another Ronald Reagan. I’d love to see one emerge from the current sea of possibilities.