Friday, September 14, 2012

Birther Kobach Wants Obama Off the Kansas Ballot

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From TPM
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, an informal advisor to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, said on Thursday he and his fellow members of a state board were considering removing President Barack Obama from the Kansas ballot this November.
. . . The board will send records requests to Hawaii, Arizona and Mississippi for more documentation of Obama’s birth. They plan to meet again on Monday to discuss the matter. Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett questioned Obama’s birth certificate earlier this year and also briefly considered removing him from the ballot.

From the Kansas City Star
The issue was raised Thursday afternoon by a Manhattan, Kan., man who appeared before a state panel that decides eligibility questions about who should be on the ballot in this incredibly red state.

In this case, Joe Montgomery, 51, is objecting to Obama being on the ballot, arguing that the president isn’t a natural-born U.S. citizen because he wasn’t born to two parents who were both citizens. He said Obama’s father wasn’t a citizen.

“I am here to uphold the rule of law and the Constitution of the United States. I think somebody needs to do it,” Montgomery said.

The Obama campaign blasted the argument, calling it a “tired” allegation that is “utterly baseless” and “without merit,” pointing out that 100 years of Supreme Court precedent contradicts Montgomery’s claim.

From the Southern Poverty Law Center:
[Kobach] served as president of the Harvard Republican Club and found a mentor in the late Samuel Huntington, an influential political science professor who came to see Latino immigrants as a scourge on American culture.

With Huntington as his advisor, Kobach earned the Harvard prize for the best student thesis in 1989. He analyzed how the South African business community functioned within apartheid and took the unpopular position that investors should not divest their holdings in that country but rather remain as agents of change. A year later, he published the thesis as a book.

In 2001, Kobach was awarded a prestigious White House fellowship. He reported for duty at the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Sept. 1. Ten days later, the United States suffered the worst-ever terrorist attack on American soil. Though he was not a specialist in immigration law or policy, Kobach became Attorney General John Ashcroft's chief advisor on immigration and border security.

He stayed on with Ashcroft after his one-year fellowship expired and helped create the controversial National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, which required tens of thousands of Muslim and Middle Eastern visa holders to register with the government and be fingerprinted. Outraged, civil liberties and Arab-American groups argued the policy amounted to racial and ethnic profiling.

. . . In Arizona, he worked with state Senator Russell Pearce to draft S.B. 1070, and he was also retained by Maricopa County in 2006 to defend a law that made immigrant-smuggling a state crime. That measure was spearheaded by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose heavy-handed tactics against prisoners and immigrants have been the target of numerous lawsuits and a DOJ investigation. Kobach successfully defended the measure in court, then went on to train Arpaio's deputies in federal immigration enforcement.

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Make no mistake, Kansas is a largely Republican state. The Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, will get the electoral votes from Kansas. But there is still a very active Democratic base in the state.
First of all, they kicked out another case just like this back in April. The board said no. Also, the United States Supreme Court has refused to wade into these waters. So this would be a highly unusual move if a major party candidate were not allowed on the ballot in November. It's just not happened before.
~ Wichita State University Poly-Sci professor Jeff Jarman on KSN.com

I think that the three stooges live in Kansas and are all republicans. How can you not put a sitting president on the ballot. After reading some of these comments I think this state has more than three stooges.
~ comment by juds5 on KSN.com

He should be off the ballot in Kansas. I can not apply for a job without a birth certificate. I work for half the wages I made 10 years ago. I do not have a free cell phone, the government does not pay my rent or buy me groceries. I see many Hispanics driving vehicles that are worth 3 times my vehicle and at Quick Trip they go in and buy 50 dollars worth of junk food and pay with a VISION card. I have paid Federal taxes, State taxes, Medicare Taxes and SOCIAL SECURITY taxes for 45 YEARS.... Where a are my government benefits. Wait I remember, I am white and I and a citizen who pays taxes to support the illegal immigrants and the others who refuse to work for a living.
~ comment by opinionz on KSN.com

People, it doesn't matter if Obama was born in the US or not, his mother could not pass down her citizenship to Barack because she was not 18 and under law at the time, she was not old enough. Blame it on the law at the time but the law is the law. It really is not that hard. Pretty clear actually. Now, it is up to those who are deciding whether or not they should follow the law. My guess is that they will all wimp out.
~ comment by Michelle on The Kansas City Star

Michelle-check your facts. The president's mother was born Nov 29, 1942 and he was born Aug 4, 1961. That's 18 years, 8 months and 7 days which is over your 18 threshold. So based on your reasoning I'm not a citizen because I was born in 1961 (same year as the President) to a 17 year old. Guess if I'm not a citizen I have foolishly been paying taxes all these year. I'm going to ask for a refund. Will finally be able to buy that little island in The Bahamas I've been wanting.
Please provide the appropriate statues in place in 1961 that indicate that someone under 18 couldn't pass along their citizenship.
~ comment by johnlocke on The Kansas City Star

It's not the house Obama was born in that's causing America a problem, it's the house he's living in now.
~ comment by figmoe on Huffington Post

Eh, let Kansas keep their pathetic 6 Electoral votes Obama won't need them. Then cut them off Federally completely. Let that board deal with that. :)
~ comment by Patrick L. on Huff Post

Looks like the Scarecrow received the last of the brains in Kansas.
~ comment by bump00000 on Huff Post

I wonder what would actually happen if Kansas went ahead and refused Obama a place on the ballot? First I think the lawsuits would fly, and quite possibly create a huge problem come election day. If Kansas removal of Obama from the ballot is unconstitutional, then Kansas must be allowed to vote. If Kansas is stupid enough to pass this an remove him, the citizens of Kansas will find their one man/one vote right has been taken away.
Secondly, since Obama is the President of the United States, and this is a Presidential election, does Kansas even have the right to remove him? It isn't a state election. It's a national one.
All Republicans on the board? I think it could be fairly pointed out that removing the President's name from the ballot long after he has been vetted by the state of his birth, the only reason for the removal is racism. Racism is unconstitutional.
So please, Kansas- go ahead. And then sit back and enjoy the blowback. Go ahead- make Kansas the state run by imbeciles.
~ comment by bklynsparrow on Huff Post

Kris Kobach is a national disgrace. I guess being the main author of Arizona's "papers please" law wasn't enough for him nor was putting extreme anti-immigrant planks in the GOP platform.
I feel bad for the sane residents of Kansas for having jokers like him in their government.
~ comment by pistolSO on Daily Kos

Birther Bonfire of Stupid burns out of control in Kansas
~ comment by xxdr zombiexx on Daily Kos

"Bonfire of the Insanities"
~ comment by Dood Abides on Daily Kos






















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