GOP majority will issue birther subpoenas

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) warned Republicans will investigate President Obama's birthplace if they take over Congress.

Clyburn, the third-ranking Democrat in the House, said Republicans will grind the government to a halt by issuing subpoenas against the Obama administration over a number of issues if they take power. He predicted that "gridlock" in Congress would "define" Obama's first term if Republicans win the House, but expressed confidence his party would prevail.

Clyburn noted that Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the ranking Republican on the House Oversight panel, has said will will issue "subpoenas everywhere" if Republicans win the majority.

"The White House will be full-time responding to subpoenas about where the president may or may not have been born, whether his mother and father were ever married, and whether his wife's family is from Georgetown or Sampit," Clyburn said in an interview published Monday on TheGrio.com, an African-American news website. "That will define the next two years of the president's administration.

Issa has promised to ramp up his probes into the Obama administration, but his spokesman said he would not pursue the "birther" controversy and that the congressman has not spoken about the issue.

"The Democratic Caucus doesn’t take Jim Clyburn seriously – Americans shouldn’t take his ridiculous claims seriously either," said Issa spokesman Kurt Bardella in an e-mail. Bardella noted that Issa has already released his "blueprint for oversight" that focuses on investigating the expansion of government.

Clyburn spokeswoman Kristie Greco called Bardella's point a "nervous overreaction."

"Perhaps he [bardella] would like us to forget that the former Chairman of Government Oversight, Rep. Burton [R-Ind.], is a co-sponsor of the birther bill and Reps. McHenry [R-N.C.] and Fortenberry [R-Neb.] have raised question about the origin of the President’s birth. Does Darrell Issa take his fellow committee members seriously?” Greco wrote in an e-mail.

Some Republican congressional candidates and lawmakers have raised questions about Obama's country of birth and citizenship since he took office. Activists who have expressed skepticism of Obama's American citizenship have been labeled "birthers."

The so-called birther bill, or H.R. 1503, is a measure that would require proof of citizenship from presidential candidates. It was introduced by Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) in March 2009.

Obama was born in Hawaii, and the White House released a digitally scanned image of his birth certificate. But that has failed to silence arguments that he was not born in the U.S.

In the minority, Issa has gone after the administration on several issues including their alleged intervention in the Pennsylvania and Colorado Democratic Senate primaries.

But Clyburn suggested that those investigations will turn from political issues into Obama's personal life if the GOP takes over the House.

Clyburn blamed conservative media for the phenomenon and said others could rebut those views if the Fairness Doctrine, a government policy abolished in the 1980s that required broadcasters to give both sides equal time on political programs, was still in place.

"Twenty-five years ago, we didn't have Rush Limbaugh spewing hate all day, every day, and others on the radio, and we didn't have a TV station dedicated to misrepresenting the facts and people making $20 million to go out and say what they know not to be true," he said. "This has created an atmosphere of toxicity."

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

[Darnell 8,478]

Republicans will investigate President Obama's birthplace if they take over Congress.

why is this an issue?

The Party in Power

can do whatever it wants, as long as its within the Rules of The House.

An Inquiry would be within the Rules of The House.

Why to be alarmed?

Our tax dollars at work, you betcha !

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Clyburn = chop****!

[Dan J 277]

Technically it really doesn't matter where he was born if at least his mother was a US citizen. For all legal purposes, acquiring citizenship through blood or soil are both considered natural born.

[mawilson 2,133]

Technically it really doesn't matter where he was born if at least his mother was a US citizen. For all legal purposes, acquiring citizenship through blood or soil are both considered natural born.

Not really. You should really look into it before you make statements like that.

"The laws governing whether or not a child born outside of the United States acquires

U.S. citizenship from parents have changed several times. You'll need to look at the law

that was in effect on the date of the child's birth (and the parents' birth, if

grandparents were U.S. citizens) for guidance. These laws differ for the following

time periods:

prior to May 24, 1934

May 25, 1934 to January 12, 1941

January 13, 1941 to December 23, 1952

December 24, 1952 to November 13, 1986, <------ applies to Barack Obama

and November 14, 1986 to present."

December 24, 1952 to November 13, 1986

If at the time of your birth both your parents were U.S. citizens and at least one had

a prior residence in the United States, you automatically acquired U.S. citizenship

with no conditions for retaining it.

If only one parent was a U.S. citizen at the time of your birth, that parent must

have resided in the United States for at least ten years, at least five of which had

to be after the age of 16. <------- not true for Obama's mother who was 19 when she gave birth to Barack

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

December 24, 1952 to November 13, 1986

If at the time of your birth both your parents were U.S. citizens and at least one had

a prior residence in the United States, you automatically acquired U.S. citizenship

with no conditions for retaining it.

If only one parent was a U.S. citizen at the time of your birth, that parent must

have resided in the United States for at least ten years, at least five of which had

to be after the age of 16. <------- not true for Obama's mother who was 19 when she gave birth to Barack

Only matters if you can prove he wasn't born on US soil though. If you're agreeing that he was born in Hawaii when she was 18/19 then you agree that he was born on US soil and thus is a natural born US Citizen...

Don't get me wrong, I wish it was true and he could be imprisoned for his "crimes" but alas Faux-bama does meet the requirement.

[mawilson 2,133]

Only matters if you can prove he wasn't born on US soil though. If you're agreeing that he was born in Hawaii when she was 18/19 then you agree that he was born on US soil and thus is a natural born US Citizen...

That's the whole point. Dan is saying it doesn't matter even if he was not born in Hawaii.

But it DOES matter, because if he was not born in the US in 1961, technically he's not a citizen.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Don't get me wrong, I wish it was true and he could be imprisoned for his "crimes" but alas Faux-bama does meet the requirement.

Seriously? It's one thing to disagree with his policies, but to even fantasize about him being imprisoned because you don't like him personally is peculiar. Unless you actually believe he has committed a crime while in office. This I'd like to hear.

Edited September 28, 2010 by El Buscador

[one...two...tree 2,762]

If only one parent was a U.S. citizen at the time of your birth, that parent must

have resided in the United States for at least ten years, at least five of which had

to be after the age of 16. <------- not true for Obama's mother who was 19 when she gave birth to Barack

from Snopes:

Claim: Barack Obama does not qualify as a natural-born citizen of the U.S. because his mother was too young.

Status: False.

.......

The Fourteenth Amendment states that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." Since Hawaii is part of the United States, even if Barack Obama's parents were both non-U.S. citizens who hadn't even set foot in the country until just before he was born, he'd still qualify as a natural-born citizen.

Some have claimed that Barack Obama's Hawaiian birthplace doesn't qualify him as a natural-born citizen because Hawaii was not yet a state when he was born. This claim is wrong: Hawaii was admitted as the 50th state almost two years before Barack Obama's birth there (21 August 1959 for statehood vs. 4 August 1961 for Obama's birthdate).

[mawilson 2,133]

from Snopes:

Claim: Barack Obama does not qualify as a natural-born citizen of the U.S. because his mother was too young.

Status: False.

Er... his mother's age is irrelevant if he was born in the US.

If, however, he was born in another country, it is most certainly relevant.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Er... his mother's age is irrelevant if he was born in the US.

If, however, he was born in another country, it is most certainly relevant.

The item quoted above posits that Barack Obama does not qualify as a natural-born citizen of the U.S. because the law in effect at the time he was born specified that "If only one parent was a U.S. citizen at the time of your birth, that parent must have resided in the United States for at least ten years, at least five of which had to be after the age of 16." Since Barack Obama only had one U.S. citizen parent (his mother), and his mother had not been residing in the U.S. for at least five years after the age of 16 when Barack was born (because she herself was only 18 at the time), then he's not a natural-born citizen.

A few facets of this claim immediately jump out as being far-fetched: ... that U.S. law would essentially penalize someone who would otherwise qualify for natural-born citizenship status simply because his mother was too young.

[mawilson 2,133]

The item quoted above posits that Barack Obama does not qualify as a natural-born citizen of the U.S. because the law in effect at the time he was born specified that "If only one parent was a U.S. citizen at the time of your birth, that parent must have resided in the United States for at least ten years, at least five of which had to be after the age of 16." Since Barack Obama only had one U.S. citizen parent (his mother), and his mother had not been residing in the U.S. for at least five years after the age of 16 when Barack was born (because she herself was only 18 at the time), then he's not a natural-born citizen.

The item quoted above does not apply to people born on US soil.

If Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, as he claims, then everything's good.

If, however, he was not born in Hawaii, then according to the above, he's not a

natural-born US citizen, or indeed, a citizen.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The item quoted above does not apply to people born on US soil.

If Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, as he claims, then everything's good.

If, however, he was not born in Hawaii, then according to the above, he's not a

natural-born US citizen, or indeed, a citizen.

If, hypothetically speaking, he was not born on U.S. soil, he is not going to be punished from birth of citizenship simply because he mother was too young to meet the 5 years beyond age 16. To even entertain such a possibility is asinine.

[luckytxn 2,264]

This is going to be good. I think he is a citizen but would like to know why he has sealed his transcripts. In fact it was his first official act as president to have them sealed. Then we can find out how much he benefited from that real estate deal.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

The item quoted above does not apply to people born on US soil.

If Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, as he claims, then everything's good.

If, however, he was not born in Hawaii, then according to the above, he's not a

natural-born US citizen, or indeed, a citizen.

Right, and then he would do the honorable thing and resign.

I hope they investigate him, just because they should check things out like this. Should be very quick and easy and we can probably get an answer for less than $1,000,000. Cheap. Besides we can use the "Democrats out of Power" dividend to pay for it or maybe some of the stimulus funds. Why not?