Tennessee: GOP's Ramsey says he's unsure of Obama citizenship

The Chattanooga Times Free Press / The Associated Press ^ | February 2, 2010 | Erik Schelzig

[2ndDivisionVet]

State Senate speaker and gubernatorial candidate Ron Ramsey said Tuesday he doesn't know whether President Barack Obama is a U.S. citizen, but that it's not an issue that voters care about.

Ramsey was asked after a speech to a Republican group about his views on the president's citizenship by Maclin Davis, a former state lawmaker and attorney for the state GOP.

"I don't know whether President Obama is a citizen of the United States or not," Ramsey responded. "I don't know what the whole deal is there.

"But I'm going to tell you something. When you walk out on the street down here, people don't really care about this issue."

Focusing on issues like the president's citizenship distracts from the Republican message on jobs, education and fiscal conservatism, Ramsey said.

"When we get off on sidelines like that, that's when people say 'aw,' they close their ears and don't listen," Ramsey said. "I'm not saying you're not right, Mac, I'm not saying you're not right — but that's not how you win elections."

State Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester was quick to denounce Ramsey's comments.

"Ramsey would rather pander to a far-right wing group of conspiracy theorists than govern in a pragmatic approach that most Tennesseans expect from their political leaders," Forrester said in a release. "Why in the world would Mr. Ramsey even entertain such a ludicrous idea when our state is facing tough times?"

Ramsey's main opponents in the GOP primary include U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp of Chattanooga, Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and Memphis prosecutor Bill Gibbons. None could immediately be reached for reaction to Ramsey's comments.

Theories that Obama was born abroad abounded during the presidential campaign, even after an official Hawaii birth certificate was produced, along with August 1961 birth notices from two Honolulu newspapers.(continued)

[2ndDivisionVet]

IIRC, he's the current Lieutenant Governor.

[classified]

Thanks! I saw that movie but forgot that scene. Does look familiar though.

[Dajjal]

obumpa

[Kimberly GG]

“That’s an oddly Democrat sentiment.”

PROGRESSIVISM is bi-partisan. And if it’s taken over the GOP, we are screwed.

[IntolerantOfTreason]

I don’t see a problem with “splitting” the conservatives from the RINOs. You either believe in the Constitution or you don’t.

[jwparkerjr]

re: I don’t know about the “people don’t care” part

I suspect if you gave the person being questioned about it one of those 10 or 20 question tests about America and how it works you would find those who pass it DO care.

It’s easy not to care when you have no knowledge of something. My guess is that most who know what’s happening to our country do indeed care about what the Constitution says about holding the nation’s highest office.

[MrRobertPlant2009]

In, um, October.

[Lurking Libertarian]

No kidding! When did he do that? He had everyone praying that he wouldn’t cave to pressures.

It was back in October-- there were a batch of threads about it at the time. In my own opinion, speaking as a practicing attorney with over 30 years of experience in federal courts, it was not "caving to pressure"; his decision is supported by overwhelming precedent and agrees with the other 61 decisions in Obama eligibilty lawsuits. Here is a link to a blog which in turn links to the decision. (Sorry, it's a lefty blog, but it's the first link to the full text of the decision I found with a Google search.)