Posted on 12/01/2008 12:52:16 PM PST by jeffo
Well, I had written to Senator Martinez ("R"-Florida) about the citizenship issue before the election. Today I got this mind-boggling response:
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Thank you for contacting me regarding President-Elect Obama's citizenship. I appreciate hearing from you and would like to respond to your concerns.
Like you, I believe that our federal government has the responsibility to make certain that the Constitution of the United States is not compromised. We must fight to uphold our Constitution through our courts and political processes.
Article II of the Constitution provides that "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." The Constitution, however, does not specify how that qualification for office is to be enforced. As you may know, a voter recently raised this issue before a federal court in Pennsylvania. On October 24, 2008, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania released an order in the case of Berg v.Obama.In that case, the plaintiff, Phillip Berg, raised the same issue that your letter raises regarding proof of the President-Elect's birthplace. Through his lawsuit, Mr. Berg sought to compel President-Elect Obama to produce a certified copy of his birth certificate.
The District Court dismissed Mr. Berg's suit and held that the question of Obama's citizenship is not a matter for a court to decide. The court further noted that voters, not courts, should decide whether a particular presidential candidate is qualified to hold office.
Presidential candidates are vetted by voters at least twice - first in the primary elections and again in the general election. President-Elect Obama won the Democratic Party's nomination after one of the most fiercely contested presidential primaries in American history. And, he has now been duly elected by the majority of voters in the United States. Throughout both the primary and general election, concerns about Mr. Obama's birthplace were raised. The voters have made clear their view that Mr. Obama meets the qualifications to hold the office of President.
After he is sworn into office, Mr. Obama will be our nation's President and I intend to bestow upon him the honor and respect due any man who holds that Office. Yet, I am certain that there will be times when I will disagree and oppose President Obama's policies. When that happens, you can be assured that I will pursue vigorously what I believe to be in the best interest of Florida and the nation.
I thank you for sharing your views with me and will keep your concerns in mind. If you have additional questions or comments, please contact me. For more information about issues and activities important to Florida, please sign up for my weekly newsletter at http://martinez.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
Mel Martinez United States Senator
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OK, so the fact that he won the election makes him qualified. Amazing
Great Lord Almighty! These people think we’re idiots!
I hear a loud sucking sound.
What a freakin idiot.
Pretty much.
Yes. Martinez on his kneepads for Obama
The voters do not decide Obama is eligble! Mel Martinez is an a*shat. My guess is he, Linday Graham and McCain will be pushing with O for a amnesty in January. The Senate is largely made up of criminals.
Got the exact same response from my RINO rep. Must be a form letter.
Is the fix in?
I suspect thisis going to be the final answer: “Screw the Constitution, we want him, damnit!”
This can lead to serious consequences of a civil war.
The GOPs best and brightest, that Mr. Martinez.
They are sure as hell trying to put the fix in. What worthless dumbasses
Rep. Martinez, documented proof decides if a person is a citizen...not the whimsical nature of public opinion.
You sir, are no defender of the constitution and your reply stinks of political correctness and a desire to avoid the hard work of actually defending that sacred document.
THE AUDACITY OF TRUTH ABOUT BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA'S UPBRINGING
“Great Lord Almighty! These people think we’re idiots”!
...for the most part, they’re right.
That about says it all.
Apparently this guy doesn’t read FR. Why I have learned more in the last month about this here than in all my life!
“The District Court dismissed Mr. Berg’s suit and held that the question of Obama’s citizenship is not a matter for a court to decide. The court further noted that voters, not courts, should decide whether a particular presidential candidate is qualified to hold office.”
Niet! That is wrong! The Constitution holds strict requirements regarding eligibility, a Natural Born Citizen of at least 35 years of age.
“I intend to bestow upon him the honor and respect due any man who holds that Office.”
Yeah, Right. Just like you gave Bush.
No the fix is not in:
http://www.thebulletin.us/site/news.cfm?newsid=20210273
Mr. Vieira explained although legal standing is difficult to get around in Federal courts, the document could be produced in any criminal cases stemming from legislation passed in the Obama administration.
“Let’s assume that an Obama administration passes some of these controversial pieces of legislation he has been promising to go for, like the FOCA (Freedom of Choice) Act,” said Mr. Vieira. “I would assume that some of those surely will have some severe civil or criminal penalties attached to them for violation. You are now the criminal defendant under this statute, which was passed by an Obama Congress and signed by President Obama. Your defense is that is not a statute because Mr. Obama is not the president. You now have a right and I have never heard this challenged, to subpoena in a criminal case, anyone who has relevant evidence relating to your defenses. And you can subpoena them duces tecum, meaning ‘you shall bring with you the documents.’ “
Such a criminal defense would enable the defendant to subpoena any person to testify in court and any person to bring evidence in their possession to the court.
Further, records could be subpoenaed directly, in the case of a birth certificate. Once the record could be subpoenaed, the birth certificate could be examined by forensic experts, who would then be able to testify to the document’s veracity as expert witnesses. Any movement by the judges to make a special exception to the president in a criminal case would hurt the legitimacy of that presidential administration.
“I can’t believe I’m the only lawyer who would think of this,” said Mr. Vieira. “I think any criminal lawyer defending against one of these politically charged statutes is going to come up with this. That means it will never go away until that document is laid down on the table and people say, ‘yes, there it is.’ And therefore they’re caught. If people keep challenging this and the judges out of fear keep saying ‘no, go to jail, go to jail, go to jail’ then that’s the end of the Obama administration’s legitimacy. On the other hand if they open the file and it’s not there, then that’s really the end of the administration’s legitimacy.”
Ummmmmmmm by not letting him hold the office if he is not eligible?
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