Kansas panel wants more information before ruling on Obama’s ballot eligibility

[jayschool]

Source: Associated Press

Topeka — Kansas officials want more information before deciding whether to remove President Barack Obama from the state's November ballot.

The State Objections Board heard arguments Thursday on a claim from a Manhattan resident that Obama is not eligible to be president because his father was from Kenya. The resident, Joe Montgomery, also questions whether Obama has a valid birth certificate.

The president released a copy of his long-form birth certificate last year, and Hawaii officials have verified his citizenship repeatedly.

But the Kansas board — made up of Secretary of State Kris Kobach, Attorney General Derek Schmidt and Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer — said Thursday it wants certified documents from Hawaii and two other states where similar questions about Obama's citizenship have been raised.

Read more: http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2012/sep/13/state-panel-wants-more-information-ruling-obamas-b/

---

Yep. Kansas.

[WCGreen]

1. Fuck Kansas...

It's a red state anyway...

[jayschool]

2. Thanks.

We're pretty much already fucked with Sam Brownback in the governor's mansion.

And you have a nice day, too, wherever it is you're from.

[ncgrits]

22. Hey Kansas! Keep up the good fight!

And fuck all the "fuck fill-in-the-blank-with-a-broad-swath-of-humanity-and/or-geography)" posts.

[thevoiceofreason]

26. We hear that type of statement a lot down here in Texas

Keep up the fight and don't let the haters hatin' affect you.

We got your back.

[MrsBrady]

106. +1

[MrModerate]

30. It can't be easy . . .

I've lived all over, but never in a "Red" state (unless you'd consider China in the mid-1990s to be "Red&quot . Consequently, I don't really know what it might be like.

Is it patronizing for me to say I feel your pain when I haven't actually experienced it myself? Also, are the same demographic factors that are dooming the 'Licans to eventual irrelevance elsewhere in play in Kansas — i.e., is there hope?

[jayschool]

39. I moved to Kansas

I moved to Lawrence, Kan., three years ago from Colorado. Lawrence, while stuck a bit in the '70s, is a good-hearted and generally liberal place. As for the rest of the state, I'm still trying to get a handle on what makes people vote and think as they do.

Is there hope?

I'm not sure. But if reason can win the day here, it can win the day anywhere -- well, except maybe Arizona.

[WCGreen]

77. Don't take it so personal...

The state is red and it will be red no matter what president Obama does so fuck it, don't even answer the challenge.

BTW, when people get all worked up about stuff in Ohio and say Ohio sucks, because a lot of people do, I don't take it personally because I don't base my self worth or identity by where I live but what I do.

[awoke_in_2003]

82. As thevoiceofreason said...

we here in Texas get slammed a lot, too. Keep on fighting.

[cosmicone]

12. Let someone else fuck Kansas

Kansas is not my type

[Meandering1]

21. I'm trying, really trying

not to express a seriously shallow opinion of Kansans. The words "dumb rednecks" have to be caught in my mind. Prevented from being released.

Sam Brownback has a host of dumb as rocks fanatically crazy followers though. I think he gets them excited. Back when i used to haunt conservative forums for fun it used to blow my mind how happy his worthless words made the tea party shits.

Amazing.

But I gotta learn tolerance. Good thing I'm not president. If KS had a major series of tornadoes requiring government bail out?

"screw u" I'd say. Obama really is an adult. I like him.

[alp227]

66. If Obama's mother were still alive during her son's presidency...

I cannot IMAGINE the stress she would have to endure with those racist birthers telling such BS about her and Barack. Or she would have died during this presidential term. No wonder the moderate Republican state senators in Kansas are being primaried out. The modern party would make Eisenhower or Goldwater immediately re register as Democrats.

[Dont call me Shirley]

93. She was from Kansas, wasn't she?

[alp227]

97. Yep.

[peacebird]

3. His mother was an American citizen, no one doubts that , so he is a citizen.

[greymattermom]

5. insert rant

about how much federal money goes to Kansas.

[rexcat]

46. And being born in Hawaii might have something to do about it...

and if I am not mistaken Hawaii was a state when President Obama was born.

[Art_from_Ark]

51. Hawaii became a state on August 21, 1959

Obama was born almost exactly 2 years after that.

[rexcat]

52. I am aware of that...

didn't think I needed to be that specific or I should have included the thingy.

[Art_from_Ark]

54. Usually, "if I am not mistaken" implies a bit of doubt on the part of the speaker

"Paradoxically, while 'If I'm not mistaken' is logically or tautologically true, it also tacitly acknowledges fallibility. It says I could be mistaken. It says I may be wrong. In the cliche's emotional aspect, it represents a small admission of vulnerability. "If I'm not mistaken" gives us a way to save a little face if we turn out to be wrong about something."

http://open.salon.com/blog/danagram/2012/06/22/iinm_if_im_not_mistaken

It's difficult to take it as sarcasm just from reading it in print.

[SemperEadem]

107. you needed to add the "sarcasm" thingy

it wasn't obviously sarcastic... it looked like a question needing clarification.

no need to get snarky about it. it was your bad.. keep it moving.

[olddad56]

62. what if he was born before Hawaii became a state, if he were a ciizen of Hawaii,

wouldn't the people of Hawaii all have become citizens of the US when the Hawaii became a state.

[olddad56]

63. Why are the people in Kansas worried about it, they don't live the US.

Oh, Kansas is actually part of the US? never mind.

[Jim Lane]

102. Citizens of Hawaii were citizens of the U.S. even before statehood.

That was Goldwater's situation. He was born in the Arizona Territory, a few years before Arizona became a state.

IIRC some fringe types made noises about eligibility in 1964, but nobody in either major party took them seriously. Goldwater was eligible, as are people born in Hawaii after the U.S. annexed it.

[rexcat]

111. Irrelevant since he as born after Hawaii became a state...

and the fact that is mother was a US citizen would be enough.

[alp227]

67. See my reply 66.

[MichiganVote]

6. State Objections Board??? My God, they're Monty Python!

[former9thward]

29. What an ignorant post.

Enjoy your stay.

[sa2968]

59. I have enjoyed my stay and will continue to do so.

[nmbluesky]

8. What hell? His mother's family from Kansas

Insult to his Mother's family where they raise in kansas... Fuck you GOPERS FUCK YOU RED.. YOU ASSHOLE. TEA PARTY.

[ellie]

9. How embarrassing for Kansas.

[liberal N proud]

10. Meanwhile, we have a possible tax dodger that they are willing to allow on the ballot

INSANE and ASININE!

[EverHopeful]

37. A tax dodger and possible felon

who, despite his multiple mansions, lived in his son's unfinished basement. Sheesh. Insane indeed.

[beac]

40. And whose father was BORN IN MEXICO... giving him

the EXACT SAME "problem" that they claim Obama has!

The stupid burns with the red-hot fire of one thousand suns.

[SemperEadem]

108. precisely

the fact that mittiot's father is white is the factor that makes it all ok for them. They can overlook that.

[Bozita]

11. More Kansanity!

[chuckstevens]

13. George Romney

By that logic, Mitt is also ineligible because Romney's Dad was born in Mexico to a polygamist family. Just Saying............

[Liberalynn]

35. Hey I think some Kansas Dem should file a similar request to have Romney,

removed from the ballot on that basis! Hoist them on their own petard!

[amerciti001]

14. These People, These People...

...Just the Minds of These People.....show they have pretty much "Lost It". I mean, just what planet or alien world that they are really from? Can't be from this planet-Earth-because I know that there is better Intelligence on this planet, (Scotty,...beam me up....there is no Intelligent Life Form on this planet!?!?) These Poeple have lost their frigging Minds...

[Smilo]

15. Kansas has a State Board of Objections?

May be they should do an internal review.

[Sky Masterson]

16. None dare call it racism.

Kansas is stupid. I can say that because I live here. Mostly though it's because Kansans are educated in the most part by an alternative set of facts. It will change for the better eventually

[Fuddnik]

19. That's why Kansas City moved to Missouri.

[jmowreader]

48. Part of it did...

The Missouri River separates the rational part of Kansas City from the other side...

[RC]

105. Yeah, and the bigger part too.

KCMO is much bigger than KCKS. I feel like a fugitive every time I cross the State Line, which is actually a street. And each time I expect to see manned check points on the other side. So far there are none.

[LibGranny]

17. I live in Kansas and I say FUCK KANSAS and Kobach and all the

other idiots (repugs) in this state! Their stupidity is ALWAYS on display!

[nmbluesky]

20. Go protest!!!

I don't care GOP and tea party think. We votes and we right to vote.. Fuck GOP and fuck you tea party... Being protest now.

[octoberlib]

74. I grew up in Kansas...

Even though I haven't been back there in years, this doesn't surprise me at all.

[Tikki]

113. Hey octoberlib...WELCOME to DU...

Exciting times now and exciting times ahead...




Tikki

[RKP5637]

79. And they can't ever manage to keep it in the state, it always goes

national making it look like everyone in Kansas is a damn fool, not just the repugs. The R party in KS needs a lid on it ...

[sellitman]

18. I hope they succeed

PBO wasn't going go win Kansas anyway. It would be a good example of why the GOP has lost their way for future generations.

[NorthCarolina]

94. Possibly, but a successful outcome may

immediately spread to Ohio, or Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin, and/or Pennsylvania.....

[sellitman]

104. It's going to get worse than than I suspect

As November approaches and they fall further and further behind the crazies will take over completely.

Bet on it.

[uwep]

23. I feel sorry for the people of Kansas

I hope that the people of the state are more intelligent than the Teahats in charge.
My heart goes on to the good citizens of the state and hope that in the next election
they clean house and put intelligent and thoughtful men and women in office.

God Bless

[sonibeth]

24. Unbelievable. But I live in Wichita so I believe it. Welcome to my world.

[StrictlyRockers]

25. Pathetic!

This will make them the laughing stock of the nation. (As if they weren't already..)

[LibGranny]

27. This makes me so furious - but if you want to help by

harrassing these idiots - contact the Kansas Elections & Legislative Matters Office (Brad Bryant) at telephone [phone]. You can also tweet Koback or contact him on facebook! Wish I could move!

[madrchsod]

31. the worse thing about this is....

these people actually believe he is`t a citizen and he`s not rightfully the president of the usa.

racism runs deep into these people`s souls

[alp227]

70. Even more disturbing? They include a GOVERNOR and SEC OF ST

[lisainmilo]

100. really that is it in a nutshell...

...white fluffy dogs hate black fluffy dogs..no dogs are smarter!

[sakabatou]

32. More of that shit. When will it end?

[awoke_in_2003]

84. Jan 20, 2017 is my guess. nt

[frylock]

33. here's your info: put him on the fucking ballot

[central scrutinizer]

34. they are neck and neck with Arizona

to see which state can be the biggest embarrassment. My money is still on Arizona.

[SoapBox]

36. Batshit crazy

Some kind of "brass" Kansas.

[maratmuradyan]

38. Spam deleted by Paulie (MIR Team)

[beac]

41. WOW-- 10 posts and a pizza deluvery in less than 20 minutes.

Go MIRT!

[EC]

42. How does a Manhattan resident have standing in Kansas? ... n/t

[Liberalynn]

43. There is a Manhattan, Kansas.

I googled it.

[EC]

44. Well, that explains it... n/t

[Arugula Latte]

60. ...

[jmowreader]

49. The Manhattan in question is next to Fort Riley, Kansas

Fort Riley is the last post Custer was stationed at. The joke there is the last order Custer gave before riding to the Little Big Horn was "don't change anything until I get back."

[Liberalynn]

45. Really too bad Hawaii can't sue these states like Kansas and Arizona

for wasting their state personnel's time and resources on these harebrained birther claims.

[lunasun]

57. or charge them outlandish buck$ for outlandish requests

[Tom Rinaldo]

47. If they are stupid enough to remove Obama it will cost them big

Obama won't win Kansas regardless of whether he is on the ballot there, but the national backlash against the Kansas Republican Party removing a sottomg President from the ballot would sink Republicans nation wide. It would confirm all but the most die hard members of the Republican activist base that the Republican Party can not be trusted to govern.

[alp227]

71. Let em do it then. :)

[shagnasty]

50. Just remember what Quantrill told his raiders when he crossed into Kansas -

"OK men we are in Kansas now. Don't shit in the streets! - We are here to defeat them - not to impress 'em."

[BattyDem]

53. I'm not familiar with the law that requires a president's PARENTS be born in the United States.

Is that an actual amendment to the Constitution or was it simply pulled out of someone's ass?

[alp227]

72. A painfully stupid interpretation/lawyering

Of this constitutional provision: "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..."

[leftynyc]

85. There is none

It's something the birthers pulled out of their ass and several judges have already smacked them around for it. I hope they do take him off the ballot - Independents hate the birthers. Let Kansas screw things up even further for Mitt - they deserve eachother (sorry for those living in KS - don't really know what to say about that).

[Jim Lane]

103. That's not the birther claim, and their actual position is legally correct but factually incorrect.

The issue isn't where the parents were born, but their citizenship at the time of the birth of the child.

You're a citizen at birth if (1) you're born in the U.S. and not entitled to diplomatic immunity, OR (2) you're born outside the U.S. but you qualify through the citizenship of one or both of your parents.

Anyway, it's undisputed that Obama's mother was a citizen and his father wasn't. It's also undisputed that neither of them was a diplomat. Therefore, because Obama was born in Hawaii, he was a citizen at birth -- in fact, would have been a citizen at birth even if both his parents were illegal aliens (which neither was).

[CBHagman]

55. So many political interventions, so few therapists.

Seriously, if I were an employee of the state of Hawaii asked to verify the president's birth certificate, probably the mildest thing I would say is not to waste my time with their stunts.

Seriously, why does the country, Kansan and non-Kansan, put up with such foolishness?

[lunasun]

56. wasting taxpayers' money with BS hate again-good luck Kansas!

[GeorgeGist]

61. Are they really that afraid ...

of losing the STUPID vote?

[SaveAmerica]

64. So many lawsuits against this State, where to start? Every single person who

wanted to vote for Obama and would then not be able to if he is taken off of the ballot.

[defacto7]

65. unbelieveble

and I thought the black hole of stupid had already been discovered.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

68. The guy in charge of this is a Romney advisor for the state

look for Willard to denounce these tactics a week from never

[geek tragedy]

69. KKKansas dethroned Arizona as the craziest most racist state in the Union. nt

[iamthebandfanman]

73. That should be interesting.. since neither of their parents were born here...

Rmoneys poppa was from mexico after all..

maybe itll be a blank ballot in kansas this year!

[Retrograde]

75. Yeah, but Romney's (ahem) you know, not of the African persuation

which is what it really comes down to. Can we start spinning off these underperforming states already?

[judesedit]

76. Idiots. Rmoney's father's from Mexico. McCain was born in Panama.What a buch of uneducated racists.

Dorothy is lucky she is not in Kansas anymore.

[davidpdx]

78. That sucks, but I can't imagine how they will actually keep him off the ballot

without generating lots of bad publicity for the state. I know the elected officials don't care, and if that's the case then we'll take it to the courts.

[jwirr]

80. So what are Kansas Democrats going to do if this stands? I would write him in if I had to.

[bobo1949]

81. Great!!

I would love to watch them hand count the write-in votes.

[BuddhaGirl]

83. Some good comments on Kris Kobach's Facebook page

but he needs to hear more!! Just sayin'

http://www.facebook.com/SecretaryKrisKobach?ref=ts

[W T F]

86. Am I the only one seeing the 800lb gorilla in the room?Romney's Father was born in Mexico?

Where's the challenge?

[Posteritatis]

89. He passed the colour test, that's why he's not getting challenged. (nt)

[JohnnyRingo]

87. The state of Kansas doesn't want this fight.

I know Democrats are in the minority in Kansas, but I can't think of anything that would drive me to action more than this blatant move to suppress my vote. I guarantee I'd do something. Something bad.

Do the Repubots in Kansas think Dems will just shrug their shoulders, say "you can't fight city hall" and vote for Romney?

[maddiemom]

88. How long are we going to let a few bigoted nitwits tie up our courts and government officials?

After all, Romney's father was born in Mexico, but I remember when George Romney (a far better man than his son) ran for president and no one even seemed to notice that fact.

[Red1]

90. Kock Bros

No doubt behind the push...without a prayer for anything other than a little national attention...

[srichardson]

91. Crazyland!

I live in Oklahoma (redder than red!) right across the border from Kansas. Needless to say my political views are scorned here. I have never had a debate where the issue of Obama either being a Muslim or not an American hasn't come into play. The ignorance is overwhelming but this is way out there. Ive come to realize you CANNOT win an argument against stupid. This election season is unlike anything Ive ever seen. The whole Obama term really. The hatred is so violent it blows my mind! There is just no way to even have a debate on policy only. None!

[annabanana]

96. Welcome to DU!

I feel for you, out there in RedVille.

I often say, If I were queen of the world, I'd make Civics a separate, required course k-12. Yes, Americans have rights, but we also have responsibilities, chief among them to be part of an informed electorate!

[Dont call me Shirley]

92. I moved away from KS just in time, the lawmakers are gone crazy!

[George II]

95. I can't believe this crap is still going on!

[fascisthunter]

98. the power of propaganda by private interests

too many lazy-minded people in this country. Something not to be proud of. Hey republicans? Congrats in brainwashing people into a monster you have no control over... you are all stupid arrogant fools.

[struggle4progress]

99. Ballot Challenge in Kansas Over Obama’s Birth Is Ended

By JOHN ELIGON
Published: September 14, 2012

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Citing a wave of angry backlash, a Kansas man on Friday withdrew a petition in which he argued that President Obama should be removed from the state’s election ballot because he did not meet citizenship requirements.

The challenge filed this week by Joe Montgomery of Manhattan, Kan., prompted state election authorities to seek a certified copy of Mr. Obama’s birth certificate and reignited long-running conspiracy theories that the president was not born in the United States. The state will continue to try to obtain the birth certificate, and officials will meet on Monday as scheduled to close the case officially. But without the petition, Mr. Obama will remain on the ballot.

Mr. Montgomery, the communications director for the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, explained his decision in an e-mail to Kris W. Kobach, the secretary of state.

“There has been a great deal of animosity and intimidation directed not only at me, but at people around me, who are both personal and professional associations,” he wrote. He added that he did not “wish to burden anyone with more of this negative reaction.” ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/15/us/politics/kansas-election-officials-seek-copy-of-obamas-birth-certificate.html


Translation: "I can dish out truckloads of smelly shizz but I can't take a bit of it myself"

[KrazyinKS]

101. You've got to be tough

To be a Democrat in Kansas. Yes I do think they are bigots, that is the basic and underlying problem. I know them personally, have talked to them, listened to their responses. They are bigots, pure and simple. I bought a book at the last sale, Karl Marx Communist Manifesto, just as a joke I thought I would put it on my coffee table and watch the responses, I have a very warped sense of humor. No I don't think I will do it. Might be funny though. Oh well, maybe with a strong drink sitting beside me.

[panzerfaust]

109. Kansas New Motto: "The Dickhead State"

Is there anything there, that is not square(1)?

========
(1) one must be a certain age, to appreciate this witticism.

[onecent]

110. Isn't this dishonest? it amazes me how low the republican

party goes each year to try to steal votes from us.

Don't we have proper law in place??? (I know, dumb question)

[Jamaal510]

112. Yep, the Republican Party has lost its mind.

You know, the weird thing here is that during all this time they've spent trying to re-find Obama's real birth certificate, they've never once harassed McCain nor Romney for their birth certificates, even though all of them share similar situations. McCain was born in the Panama Canal but had at least one U.S. parent, while Romney was born here but his father was born in Mexico. That's proof right there that they have no problems with someone who is white running for president, but they go nuts over someone who has even the slightest ounce of melanin who is a Democrat. And it's also proof that they love to use wedge issues in order to divide people when their policies suck.

[Anthony McCarthy]

114. Bleeding Kansas

So, it seems the slave power has retaken Kansas.

Federalism, the paranoia of the founders continues to prevent democracy.