Birthers Say They Can Arrest President Obama

[RivkahChaya]

OK...as a right-ponder I assume a "birther" is someone who believes that President Obama, by virtue of foreign birth, doesn't qualify to be a US President?

It's not my nation, so why the hell should I care, but factual or not, how pathetic...qualification should surely depend on better criteria than just place of birth? How about ability for example?

As a disqualifier, how about minimum intelligence? (in which case George Dubbya surely fails) or corruption (Grant, Harding or Nixon)...or whatever

It's required by the constitution. Presidents must have been citizens at the time the US was formed (so Alexander Hamilton was eligible, but not until the second presidential election, because he wasn't old enough the first time 'round), or naturally born citizens. It's in the body of the constitution, not an amendment. It would take an amendment to change it. So far, no one has wanted to.

ETA: Nixon would certainly have been removed from office had he not resigned after the Watergate scandal; there is no minimum intelligence, because how would one measure that? it's a question for voters. I didn't vote for either Bush, and I couldn't stand the second one, and yes I thought he wasn't very bright, but he wasn't mentally retarded, and at any rate, if he got on the ballot, and people voted for him, that's how it works. His non-brilliance was apparent before each election. His "win" the first time was very fishy, and I was unhappy about it (but that's another post); it's questionable circs have nothing to do with GWB's intelligence, or lack thereof.

[sdreid]

So hard to keep the paranoid delusions straight....

All that ELF is also enhancing the effects of the fluoride in our water.

[sdreid]

It's not my nation, so why the hell should I care, but factual or not, how pathetic...qualification should surely depend on better criteria than just place of birth? How about ability for example?

I agree. Since you have to be 35 to be President, if you've been a citizen 35 years that should be good enough no matter where you were born. Unfortunately that isn't how the law reads at present.

[Cogidubnus]

I didn't vote for either Bush, and I couldn't stand the second one, and yes I thought he wasn't very bright, but he wasn't mentally retarded

He wasn't?

Bloody ******* hell!

Dave

[curious]

For some reason the law says you have to be born on US Soil, so either Stateside or at a US military base. I don't know why.

Personally, I think that a woman who has a choice between choosing to give birth in Kenya or Hawaii is going to pick Hawaii every time. There don't seem to be a lot of mothers in the Birther movement, and I think it's because even if they were tempted, they picture giving birth in Kenya and come to the same conclusion I did.

Hi, Errata,
I was taught in school that the U.S. Soil, but not in the U.S. proper was because one of this country's founders (and I don't recall which one) wanted to one day be president, so the extension was made.

I was thinking it was Alexander Hamilton, but he was born in Nevis, British West Indies, so it was probably someone else.

There was also some question of whether Andrew Jackson met the qualifications for president.

It was rumored he was not born in America, but I think North Carolina says he was born in that state. Both of Andrew Jackson's parents were born in Ireland, for example.

curious

[Cogidubnus]

So George Washington, wasn't constitutionally approved? Because when he was born, the ground certainly wasn't US soil...

All the best

Dave

[sdreid]

There was also some question of whether Andrew Jackson met the qualifications for president.

It was rumored he was not born in America. Both of Andrew Jackson's parents were born in Ireland, for example.

curious

I've heard there was a claim that Jackson was born on a ship at sea that was apparently not under an American flag. I have no idea if there was any evidence in that regard - evidently not enough if any.

[Cogidubnus]

Perhaps the law is somewhat selective though?

Every good wish

Dave

[sdreid]

I've heard there was a claim that Jackson was born on a ship at sea that was apparently not under an American flag. I have no idea if there was any evidence in that regard - evidently not enough if any.

Actually, he was born in 1767 so it couldn't have been an American flag. Maybe the ship (as the story goes) didn't have its home port in the colonies or something like that - who knows. At any rate, he was President for two terms and actually got the most votes in another, earlier, Presidential election.

[sdreid]

The Vice President Regent is the one in charge anyway.

[RivkahChaya]

US Constitution: Article II, Section 1:

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States. [emp. added]

I think the 14 year residency requirement may be what confuses people. They half-remember it, don't look it up, and confabulate it with the "natural born citizen" to get "born within the borders."

I was thinking it was Alexander Hamilton, but he was born in Nevis, British West Indies, so it was probably someone else.

A lot of people think Alexander Hamilton wasn't eligible to be president, and this makes its way into a lot of trivia quizzes, including one done by Ken Jennings a couple years ago. Since Hamilton was one of the delegates, it's pretty unlikely he would agree to an article that left him out, and he's in fact, probably the reason for the bit about "citizen at the time of the adoption," rather than something about having been born a resident of one of the colonies at the time of the adoption.

There was also some question of whether Andrew Jackson met the qualifications for president.

Same situation as Hamilton, I assume. Also, Benjamin Harrison was born in what is now the State of Indiana. It was a US territory at the time, and he considered eligible, so someone born in Puerto Rico or Guam, even to non-citizen parents, would be eligible, I assume.

It was rumored he was not born in America, but I think North Carolina says he was born in that state. Both of Andrew Jackson's parents were born in Ireland, for example.

Pretty much, anyone living in what became the US on adoption of the constitution, who did not specifically turn down citizenship to remain British, got citizenship.

So George Washington, wasn't constitutionally approved? Because when he was born, the ground certainly wasn't US soil...

Ha ha. See above.

[RivkahChaya]

The Vice President Regent is the one in charge anyway.

Very doubtful. That would mean the J. Danforth Quayle was in charge during the Bush, pere administration, and he was even dumber than Bush, fils. Seriously. Quayle got accepted to law school under a special program for people who got bad grades in college. I'm going to assume the fact that his family was capable of paying full tuition probably had just a little to do with it as well.

The mystery of why Bush, pere picked Quayle was solved when the country got a look at fils. Quayle reminded his running mate of someone close to him.

We have had stupid presidents, and barely alive presidents (I said for years that we'd find out Reagan was dead for part of his second term, and they either stuffed him, or propped up a wax dummy for his press conferences, and it turned out to be frighteningly close, because he had Alzheimer's, and his advisers just prepped the hell out of the old actor, then poured him into bed), and the country didn't tank, because every president has an official cabinet, and a phalanx of other advisers. We almost tanked under Bush, fils, because he tried to ignore them, and go with his gut a few times, but then, he'd take another vacation, and everyone would fix stuff again.

And no, Cheney wasn't running the country. He was getting drunk and shooting his hunting partners.

[sdreid]

And they're parachuting in millions of cut little baby raccoons so our brains will be taken over by Baylisascaris procyonis.

[RivkahChaya]

You know, I'm no expert on what is required to make a citizens arrest, and personally hope never to make one, but I'm pressty sure you have to catch someone with their hand in the cookie jar, so to speak, and pretty much all you can do is detain them without threat of injury, in the spot where you caught them, until the actual police get there. So if some non-police birther expects to make an arrest, good luck. This is a crime that needs a warrant. It even says so in the article. An arrest by warrant has to be done by police of sheriff (or maybe by FBI), but not by citizens.

So, even if they manage to get someone to take their complaint, the warrant is going to sit some place until the next time Obama visits Connecticut, because I very much doubt there will be an extradition for this "crime." They'll be extraditing people for not licensing their dogs first.

[Robert]

Natural born? Does this rule out Caesareans?