Associated Press
Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett (R)
We talked last week about Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett (R) raising questions about President Obama's citizenship and saying it's "possible" he'll exclude the president from the ballot. The nonsense isn't going away quickly.
To briefly recap, Bennett is demanding that Hawaiian officials verify that that Obama's birth certificate is authentic. The Republican has said the documents that have already been released do not meet his standards, and though he doesn't want to take the president's name off the 2012 ballot, he won't rule it out.
Did I mention that Bennett is the co-chair of Mitt Romney's presidential campaign in Arizona? Well, he is -- Romney's top ally in a battleground state is also the man responsible for overseeing the state's elections, and the official threatening to keep Romney's opponent's name off the Arizona ballot.
In any case, TPM reports state officials in Hawaii seem to find all of this rather annoying.
One of the more amusing things revealed last week when Arizona's secretary of state came out as birther curious was that Hawaii officials just simply don't believe he's qualified to investigate Barack Obama's birth certificate.
Sure, Ken Bennett says he's the man in charge of deciding whether President Obama is eligible to be on Arizona's ballot in November, but the response from people in Hawaii's government has been: Prove it. In essence, they're giving Bennett a taste of his own medicine, making him jump through a series of hoops to prove he has the legal authority to investigate the matter, much the same way the birthers have made Hawaii prove time and time again that the president is indeed a natural born citizen of the United States.
In case this wasn't already obvious, Bennett's request for more documentation is absurd. As TPM's report added, "Hawaii officials have passed laws and filed sworn affidavits to deal with the matter. The White House has even gone as far as to release a copy of the president's long-form birth certificate to the public. Yet requests like Bennett's still keep coming."
Worse, the nonsense is spreading: the new Iowa Republican Party platform is also "intentionally questioning" Obama's citizenship.
At the national level, this garbage probably isn't what GOP leaders want to talk about, but there's a deep strain of madness running though Republican politics in 2012, and there's not much the party's leadership can do about it.
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I wonder . . . is there a place where all these birther wing nuts can send off for proof that they have a conscience ? Now THAT is something I would really like to see evidence of.
Maddow, this story is short on facts..... The guy isn't asking for a copy, or even to see it. He is simply asking for an official from Hawaii to send him an email - an EMAIL! - stating they have it on file.
And nobody will.
He sent the request because he is obligated to, due to the fact that the citizens there have petitioned for verification of eligibility....As is thier RIGHT. If registered voters petition for verification of eligibility of Romney, then Mr. Bennet will be obligated to verify the eligibility of Mitt Romney. It's that simple.
He is doing his job, nothing more.
He is on record as long ago as 2009 as stating he believes Obama was born in Hawaii.
All he is requesting is a simple email.
This should be a non-story. A routine beuracratic transaction between state officials, like happens thousands of times each day.
Next thing you know, Hawaii is refusing to respond, and there's an online petition with over 300k signatures asking Mr. Bennet to not perform the duties of his office.
Obama's people are the ones making all the smoke.
Of course where there is so much smoke, rational people will look to see if there is any fire.
So you are telling me that after more than three years of documentation and verifacation that the right still refuses to believe, that he is going to take an EMAIL as absolute authentification? I have some waterfront property in AZ I want to sell you.
And who are these "citizens" who have petitioned for verification? Don't they have to be verified? They did in WI.
And I want someone to verify that these "citizens" used the correct size font!
At this point I want proof that Ken Bennett is a legal resident of the US, and that his registration to vote is not fraudulent. And I want a genealogy that proves his ancestry. I want him to prove has never been convicted of a felony, is mentally competent, has no unpaid traffic fines, is not under investigation for corruption or malfeasance in office and has never been cited for illegal parking. While we are at it, I want Mr. Ken Bennett to prove he was not born in Cuba.
Alil Common Sense. Get a clue there -- RM does not write this blog!!! A really smart guy named Steve Benen writes most of the posts on this site.
Alil Common Sense... how many emails and affidavits and proof of citizen requests do you think Hawaii should have to deal with? Wouldn't one affidavit for all be sufficient? Do you think the Hawaiian taxpayers should have to pay the burden of this cost for everybody wanting their own email or affidavit or proof of citizenship? I don't blame Hawaii for making it difficult at this point. They've done their due diligence and then some.
The fact that President Obama has posted certified copies (short and long form) on his web site, there's been proof of clippings from papers from the time of his birth, the Hawaii state governor and health department authority have physically visualized with witnesses and acknowledged publicly the existence of his birth certificate should be more than enough to prove he was born in the United States.
Quite frankly, the far right would ask for less proof before condemning somebody to the death penalty.
Where is Romney's birth certificate? His father was born in Mexico. Why doesn't he have to prove that he is a natural born US citizen? Where is the hulabaloo?
"He sent the request because he is obligated to, due to the fact that the citizens there have petitioned for verification of eligibility"
According to the Washington Post 1200 Arizonians have petitioned Ken Bennett, or 1/50 of 1 percent. Hardly a movement
There goes your theory Common Sense. Next ......
And, by the way, I'm getting sick and tired of these folks calling out Rachel. Steve wrote the piece and should get credit
I wonder, if these people are so sure that Obama isn't a citizen, can they please show the evidence that evidently *must* exist to show this? Where are the witnesses, the paperwork in some other country that avers that Obama is a citizen of that country? That idiot sherrif in Arizona said he had evidence that Obama wasn't a citizen, so where is it?
It seems that all the GOP can do is bear false witness against the president and show that they are indeed willfully ignorant.
Left action has a very amusing petition on the subject, asking Mitt Romney to prove he's not a unicorn.
OMG ! Hahahahahahaha. Bingo !
Stupid is as stupid does.
... and while ignorance is correctable stupid is permanent
Come on man, why not just skip the details and call this "birther" phenomenon out for what it really is: racist bigotry. My guess is that most of these birthers would just love to get up on a platform and call Mr. Obama a ni**er. But since they can't do that, they hide behind birtherism as the next best alternative.
But I bet that the N word will find a way to get out before the election is over. At the very least, we'll get a "That black man" out of 'em.
They oughta figure out how much money is being used in these efforts, and how much is coming from Arizona taxpayers. I demand that my money be used in creating jobs and improving our education system in order to help our children. I'm not sure what other Arizonans think?
The lack of evidence of a conspiracy some how proves its existence in the bizarro world of Arizona politics. This seems a continuation of the unknown-unknowns of the GWB administration. When will the electorate decide there has been enough waste of money, and more than enough ridicule heaped on their state?
This man needs to be stopped. He's crazy, just look at him! I wonder what else he is doing to help the citizens of Arizona? Has he created any jobs yet? I bet he's lining his jacket pretty nicely though. If President Obama isn't on the ballet come November this man better be prepared to expect visitors who will be camping out on his front lawn. The winter months are very nice in Arizona. Perhaps we could make a citizens arrest and throw this excuse of a man in prison for obstructing justice and for taking our money and using it for self gain. He is a racist, they should start handing out fines for being a racist. Let's say $5000,00. Maybe we could also lock up some of his friends for refusing to pay the fines. Ah, lucky number #7. Can I always be seventh?
I read this last night at TPM. What is truly great about this is that the Deputy Atty. General is asking the Secretary of State of Arizona to PROVE his credentials in asking for this information. If you THINK the President is not eligible to run in your state PROVE it. Don't be asking for information as a fishing expedition. The entire email chain is wonderful and show the 'birthers' for the idiots they are.
Dep. Assistant General is also requesting (by Hawaii Statute) for proof that this is standard practice to ask all candidates on Az. ballot for proof of birth.
Personally, I want to see Romney's birth certificate as I have been informed that he may have been born in Canada or Mexico. I also want to see Jan Brewer's birth certificate, because there is credible evidence that she is either completely alien from another galaxy, or alien hybrid.
So when do the states with Democratic election officials start questioning Romney's eligibility to be on the ballots in those states? Romney's father was born in Mexico. To American parents, yes, but still born outside the country. If having a Kenyan-born father casts doubts on Obama's citizenship, doesn't having a father born in Mexico cast that same doubt on Romney's citizenship?
Does the GOP REALLY want to go down this road?
Why not? Mitt's main selling point to the base is that he is NOT BLACK.
Romney very well may have been born in Canada. Apparently he states that he was born in Detroit, one mile from the Canadian border. I am not buying it.
It's not just Romney. If a Republican SOS can do this, so can a Dem. And there's nothing that says it has to be limited to presidential candidates. There are more than a few Dem Secretaries of State who might decide not to allow a key House or Senate candidate's name to be placed on the fall ballot.
Aren't there "psychological fitness" tests? And can we use them on every GOP'er currently holding office? I mean what these people are doing isn't "normal" it actually borders between delusion & pathological. Simply incredulous...
Another Republican trying to worm through the non-existent birther loophole. Give it up already. Ken Bennett, you do not have that kind of power over the standing President of the United States. Get over your bad self, and stop trying to get your guy to win by cheating. It's sooo obvious, even to the most casual observer.
There's an easy way to find out how much these birther's really believe the Obama's-not-American-born meme: Somebody, anybody, should CLAIM to have Obama's birth certificate issued by the State of Kenya and notarized by an official of the USSR. Offer to sell it to the highest bidder. I'd be shocked if the highest bid is over $3.
My point being that if someone had proof of Obama's non-citizenship, they'd have embraced American capitalism and sold said info to US Magazine long before now. And I seriously doubt any birther--even the Trumpster--would have bothered to pony up the money for the political equivalent of a Chinatown Prada bag. They don't believe this birther mess any more than you or I. It's just a convenient and less direct way to channel their racism.
Is that Bi-Curious for short?
Yeah, ewww.
Ken Bennett has a clear conflict of interest here, and his behavior says that he is going to do all he can to prevent a fair election. As Secretary of State he is required to assure fair elections. Contact his office http://www.azsos.gov/info/contact_us.htm and tell him to resign.
Heavens, where have you been. Those kinds of conflicts of interest have never bothered Republicans before. Just remember Florida in 2000 or Ken Blackwell of Ohio in 2004.
and dont forget Ken Blackwells's IT guy is the same as ROVE's IT guy and the same IT guy who made the 3 million whitehouse emails from 2003 disappear. Then a few weeks after the 2008 Election, when he was just about to enter into protective custody, he died, mysteriously in a small plane crash. Not dissimilar to Paul Welstones plane Crash and Mel Carnahan's plane Crash. Kind of Amazing that all of Roves enemies, are DEAD!
Seriously? This should have been the case way before he was ever elected.
We might as well elect Arnold Schwarzenegger President, at least he doesn't associate with terrorists.
Obama has proven his American birth more than any other presidential candidate in American history. Go back to your home planet you dirty alian.
I don't really see what Bennett has to gain by this politically.
Obama is virtually assured a spot on the AZ Ballot. When that happens, watch what the birthers do to Bennett. I've seen it before. It's not pretty.
Can we sell Arizona back to Mexico please?
Department of Health and Human Services
Office of Inspector General
BIRTH CERTIFICATE FRAUD
OEI-07-99-00570
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
FINDINGS
Fundamental, Irreconcilable Conflicts Surround Birth Certificate Purposesand Uses
A certified copy of a birth certificate is proof only that a birth occurred and was recorded.
ex animo
davidfarrar
A certified copy of a birth certificate is proof only that a birth occurred and was recorded.
What this means is, all the other information on Obama's two birth certificates must be "proven" the old fashioned way: by a preponderance of evidence.
ex animo
davidfarrar
In what parallel, head-up-the-ass version of reality is anyone, let alone the president of the country, required to provide proof of the contents of their birth certificate? And for what? The benefit of racist cretins like davidfarrar?
Would anyone here like to list the other independent (independent of Hawaiin Health Department records), corroborative pieces of evidence that could be used to prove Barack H. Obama Jr., is an Article ll natural born Citizen by a prepondance of the evidence?
Come on! Dont be shy.
Please note: the two contemporaneous newspaper birth announcements do not count. They were abstracts from Hawaiian Health Department records.
ex animo
davidfarrar
Would anyone really like to engage another racist birther cretin in yet another pointless debate over an issue that was settled years ago?
Nah, didn't think so. Go pull your tinfoil hat over your ears and sit in the sun until your head catches fire.
Why Rachel the only journalist to reveal that AZ SS -- and ballot eligibility decider -- (R) Bennett is co-chair of team Romney in AZ.
Why is Rachel the only journalist to reveal that AZ SS -- and ballot eligibility decider -- (R) Bennett is co-chair of team Romney in AZ.
“Dear Arizona Secretary of State Bennett,
If I am a registered voter in Arizona, do I need a U.S. Passport to visit Hawaii?”
He’s looking into that for you…
I just do not understand why these "government officials" in Arizona and Iowa can get away with this kind of theater! Can the DOJ or FBI or some higher power give them the fear of something? They sure do it to the 99% and OWS and NATO G8 protestors to chill their free speech activities!