New AZ Conspiracy Theory ~ Obama Used Fake Kenyan Status To Win Scholarships

Now, I know there’s a lot of people that are very skeptical as to whether he was born in Hawaii. Personally I believe that he was. I actually believe he was fibbing about being born in Kenya when he was trying to get into college and doing things like writing a book and on and on and on...
So if there was weird stuff going on, I actually think it was happening back in his college days because I think he has spent $1.5 or $2 million through attorneys to have all of the college records and all of that stuff sealed. So if you’re spending money to seal something, that’s probably where the hanky panky was going on.”
~ Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennet Via TPM



Okay, come on people, say it with me: "You can't spell 'crazy' without AZ."
~ comment by Su Leabu on TPM

I think Ken Bennet is in love with the president.
~ comment by dika_wali on TPM

So, let me get this straight...Obama lied about being born in Kenya so he could write a book saying he was born in Hawaii?
~comment by Steven McCluer on TPM

Fibbing and hanky-panky are terms clearly focus-grouped to appeal to young voters. In 1952.
~ ~comment by Christopher Dazey on TPM

Lord help us!
It's like the state has a "kick me" sign taped to our back!
~ comment by JustKurt on Arizona Central

For the love of more than just a functioning brain stem ... when will this end??
~ comment by Aware_and_Scared on CBS News

I see, he lied about being from Kenya so he could get into college. Because being a black man from the US is not considered enough of a minority?
~ comment by mfa123 on Political Wire

Did Romney lie about being a 2nd generation Mexican Immigrant in order to get into college? Does he also have to disprove the negative?
~ comment by Michael by Political Wire

This represents an enormous step forward for Bennett. I don't think he is merely trying to save face by suggesting that Obama is still a liar. I just think that acknowledging that Obama was born in Hawaii is about as much reality as this man can handle at this time. He is at a crucial juncture as he struggles to deal with the enormous personal embarrassment of being a national laughing stock for attempting to exclude Obama from the Arizona ballot, and if we push him too hard now he could suffer a full-blown psychotic break.
~ comment by Ritorna Vincitor on Political Wire

AZ SOS goes meta birther: He now believes Obama fraudulently claimed to be born in Kenya so he could get into college. maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/…

— Alexandra (@aliemalie) June 20, 2012

Very loud dog whistle RT @tpm: Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett has a new conspiracy theory about Obama's birth: tpm.ly/M6YvuP

— William Patrick Wend (@wpwend42) June 20, 2012

AZ Sec. of State Ken Bennett now says @BarackObama lied about his birthplace to get into college! #edshow #birther ed.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/…

— Ed Schultz (@edshow) June 20, 2012

Ken Bennett is out with a new birther conspiracy. His loose grip with reality is an embarrassment to our state. tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/06/ken_be…

— David Schapira (@dschapira) June 20, 2012

Reverse birther? AZ election official now says Obama WAS born in Hawaii but claimed born in Kenya--to get into college. bit.ly/MEWJzB

— Greg Mitchell (@GregMitch) June 20, 2012

Ken Bennett: Birther-Curious Conspiracy Theorist fb.me/FQh009O3

— Dry Heat Democrat (@DryHeatDem) June 20, 2012

GOP Official Makes Shocking Birther Claim huff.to/KNDTsn via @HuffingtonPost WACKO TEABAGGERS. LOL

— Sharon (@TexianLife) June 20, 2012

Attack of the Birther Zombies

So, if you were from another planet, say, Nut-tron, and you were circling the earth in your saucer looking for a place to land, where would you touch down?
OK, besides New Hampshire.
Arizona, right?
I mean, you'd want to hook up with beings that were on your same wavelength. And judging from the continuing popularity of the "birther" movement in Arizona, you would be welcomed there with open arms … um, provided, of course, you didn't come in through Mexico.
~ from an article in The Hartford Courant by Jim Shea titled: "Arizona Birthers From Outer Space."

I really can't understand the controversy when you are doing a fraud investigation and looking into the possible forgery of government documents...
We feel that document is a forgery. We’re trying to figure out who did it. That’s good police work....
It's one deputy, so what? We have security issues, too, that I can't got into.... He's not going to make any arrests...I didn't say we're going to keep using him. We're not going to use him constantly. He's not assigned to it. For this trip I feel it's important to have a deputy there. He's just a liaison to give advice if needed. He's not doing anything. The posse's been doing the research....
We did visit the Department of Health yesterday and as predicted we were stonewalled...
~ Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, explaining why he dispatched Mike Zullo, a member of his Cold Case Squad, as well as a taxpayer-funded policeman to Hawaii to confront the Hall of Records about Obama's birth certificate, quoted Here and Here and Here.




I think we have long since passed the point at which I’d find this story believable in a fictional setting, so, sure, why not have two crack detectives flashing their worthless Maricopa County badges at the Hawaii Department of Health. (I just can’t decide if they should be hard-bitten noir characters or Clouseau-esque bumblers.) But yes a completely crazy person who is in charge of law enforcement for the most populous county in Arizona is probably going to attempt to arrest Barack Obama at some point.
~ Alex Pareene on Salon.com in an article called "Arpaio Goons Sent to Hawaii for Important Birther Investigation."

If I embarrassed the state, I apologize, but that certainly wasn't my intent. I don't think there's anything embarrassing about doing everything I can to help Arizonan's have confidence that the ballot is correct and the people that are on it are entitled to be there. . . . What is so sacred or untouchable about this question that you can't even ask the question?
~ Birther Ken Bennett, Secretary of the State of Arizona, telling radio listeners that he has decided Obama could be on the November ballot after all, but explaining why he was harassing the state of Hawaii over the President's birth certificate.

I don’t know whether Barack Obama was born in the United States of America. I don’t know that. But I do know this, that in his heart, he’s not an American. He’s just not an American.
~ Mike Coffman (R-Colorado) last week

I misspoke and I apologize...I stand by my statement that I mispoke and I apologize. I mispoke and I apologize. I stand by my statement that I mispoke and I apologize. I stand by my statement that I mispoke and I apologize...
~ Mike Coffman last week, when asked by a Denver reporter if he had any other excuse for his birther opinion besides saying that he mispoke.

If I had to do it over again I think I would have said, ‘Let’s move from this birther question, the president was born in the United States, period. . . Let’s just move on and let’s focus on the issues that are going to win this election. And secondly, let’s not ascribe this to those who oppose us that they’re any less Americans than we are.’
~ Ken Coffman (R-Colorado) this week