Richard Shelby, Alabama Senator, Questions Obama's Citizenship

UPDATE: Richard Shelby's spokesman said the Cullman Times report in which he appears to question President Obama's citizenship is a "distortion" and that the Republican Senator mentioned that he hadn't seen the birth certificate only as a "throwaway line." However, the paper stands by the story. "We reported Shelby's comments on Obama's birth certificate accurately and completely," an editor tells Politico.

The Cullman Times reports that Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, in a meeting with constituents, appeared to give some thought to rumors questioning President Obama's citizenship.

Another local resident asked Shelby if there was any truth to a rumor that appeared during the presidential campaign concerning Obama's U.S. citizenship, or lack thereof.

"Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven't seen any birth certificate," Shelby said. "You have to be born in America to be president."

According to the Associated Press, state officials in Hawaii checked health department records during the campaign and determined there was no doubt Obama was born in Hawaii.

Politico's Ben Smith says he has emailed Shelby's spokesman to ask if the Senator actually believes there's truth in the repeatedly debunked rumor.

Comments

[johnjmccarthy]

http://www.minnpost.com/ericblackblog/2009/03/12/7344/the_cia_responds_to_seymour_hersh_via_minnpost

Read my comments.

[GCX]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs

The video that I forgot to insert to support my comment below.

[GCX]

Why Democrats Bawney Fwank and Chris Dodd should be swinging at the end of a rope for the banking crisis. Thanks again Democrats!

[GCX]

In September 2003, Frank, then the ranking Democrat on the Republican-led Financial Services Committee, opposed a Bush administration proposal for transferring oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from Congress and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to a new agency that would be created within the Treasury Department. The proposal reflected the administration's belief that Congress "neither has the tools, nor the stature" for adequate oversight. Frank stated, "These two entities...are not facing any kind of financial crisis.... The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing."[42]
Conservative groups have criticized Frank for campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ($42,350 between 1989 and 2008). They further claim the donations influenced his support of their lending programs, and they have partially blamed Frank for not playing a stronger role in reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the years leading up to the Economic crisis of 2008.[43][44] In addition, Frank's former partner, Herb Moses, was an executive at Fannie from 1991 to 1998, where Moses helped develop many of Fannie’s affordable housing and home improvement lending programs. In 1991, Frank pushed for reduced restrictions on two- and three-family home mortgages.[45] Frank and Moses' relationship ended around the same time Moses left the company; Frank's support of Fannie and Freddie predated and continued past that relationship.[46]

[GCX]

Chris Dodd, current Chairman of he Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

Senator Dodd was involved in issues related to the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis.
As part of Dodd's overall mortgage bill the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 before Congress in the summer of 2008, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson sought provisions enabling the Treasury to add additional capital and regulatory oversight over these government sponsored enterprises. These provisions were part of the bill signed by President George W. Bush. At the time, it was estimated that the federal government would need to spend $25 billion on a bailout of the firms.[46]
During this period, Dodd denied rumors these firms were in financial crisis. He called the firms "fundamentally strong",[47] said they were in "sound situation" and "in good shape" and to "suggest they are in major trouble is not accurate".[48]
In early September, after the firms continued to report huge losses,[49] Secretary Paulson announced a federal takeover of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Dodd expressed skepticism of the action, which the Treasury estimated could cost as much as $200 Billion. See federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Dodd is the number one recipient in Congress of campaign funds from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.[50] Critics also charge that Dodd ignored repeated warnings that the two firms were in need of major reform.

[EtTuBrute]

Just another thought for all of those hyperventilating over this issue introduced by Senator Shelby:

Senator Shelby just HAPPENED to be chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs from 2003 to 2007.

Perhaps a little misdirection may have been involved?

We may have more real issues with the topics supposedly overseen by Senator Shelby's committee than this other nonsense.

[SAMUELR]

"TO some, Bernard L. Madoff was an affable, charismatic man who moved comfortably among power brokers on Wall Street and in Washington, a winning financier who had all the toys: the penthouse apartment in Manhattan, the shares in two private jets, the yacht moored off the French Riviera."

ABOVE QUOTE FROM: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/business/25bernie.html?em

Think about it. If Madoff could pull of what he did, It's no wonder, BO, an affable, charismatic man who moved comfortably among power brokers in the Chicago Political Machine and in Washington Politics pulled off what he did. Lying about your Birth Circumstances, is minute compared to what Madoff had to have juggled to pull off what he did. All BO had to do, is tell a simple lie, then have his attorneys, through legal maneuvering, prohibit any ability of the public to get to the truth (at least so far).

Would you not agree?

[EtTuBrute]

No.

Try using some facts for a change, instead of hyperbole.

Nationals and Citizens of United States at Birth
U. S. Code > Title 8 > Chapter 12 > Subchapter III > Part I > Section 1401:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/8/1401.html

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html

http://www.factcheck.org/UploadedFiles/birth_certificate_3.jpg

[SAMUELR]

I guess I should have said IF "he's lying about his Birth Circumstances". I know you don't think he is lying, BUT:

Would you agree that BO has "his attorneys, through legal maneuvering, prohibit any ability of the public to get to the truth (at least so far)." That is allow his college records, "Vault Birth Certificate", and the like, to be supeoned in these court cases?

[Chicago48]

The Man is LEADING, he's working hard. I've never seen a President work as hard as he has. And all you guys can do is criticize him. Ease up and sit back and be patient. The country aint going to hell in a handbasket -- it's already there. Before he got to office.

[BygonesGone]

I have NO IDEA who is sitting in that White House. Neither do you! I have questions for this man who is "leading."

1. WHEN did you change your name from Barry Sotero to Barack Obama and why? Was your name legally changed, if so, when?

2. Were you here on a student visa as a foreign student, which is what led you to the U.S.? And if you were a "foreign" student, then aren't you supposed to have immigration papers?

3. WHY did you lie to us about being born in Kenya and when did you denounce your citizenship there?

4. WHY can't the very ones who voted for you see your birth certificate?

5. Do you realize how hard and long our Forefathers worked on the Constitution so that it may insure order and a way of running the country? If so, why have you ignored the requirements spelled out in the Constitution?

6. How many millions are you going to spend before the Supreme Court orders your documents to be shown? People who have standing to sue, are suing.

7. School records are an ACCOMPLISHMENT. Why do you wish to keep your "accomplishment" hidden? If you did so well in college, then WHY are you hiding it?

8. Why did you run for office in a country that you were not born in?

9. What happened to a transparent government? How can a transparent government be, if the person that said that is hiding everything?

[greatbear451]

*Bangs head on desk*

You are beyond stupid.

I give up.

[baseballmom]

Bygones keeps posting the same thing over and over. He gets his jollies by trolling and we should all just make a pact to ignore him.

[GCX]

LEADING us to Socialism. No thanks. It is a great recipe for mediocrity though. And I'm saying this as a guy who has never made more than 25k in a year. But I only have myself to blame. I knew it was there for the taking but I dropped out of college.

Screwed up thanks to the Dems who promised to filibuster Senate Bill 190. A bill proposed by Repubs to reign in Fannie/Freddie. Watch video for proof http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs

Thanks again for the Socialism guys, appreciate it. I just wish I'd known before I served for your sorry asses!

[GCX]

For Immediate Release: October 31, 2008 08-93
STATEMENT BY DR. CHIYOME FUKINO Director of Health for the State of Hawai‘i,
“There have been numerous requests for Sen. Barack Hussein Obama’s official birth certificate. State law (Hawai‘i Revised Statutes §338-18) prohibits the release of a certified birth certificate to persons who do not have a tangible interest in the vital record.
“Therefore, I as Director of Health for the State of Hawai‘i, along with the Registrar of Vital Statistics who has statutory authority to oversee and maintain these type of vital records, have personally seen and verified that the Hawai‘i State Department of Health has Sen. Obama’s original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures.
“No state official, including Governor Linda Lingle, has ever instructed that this vital record be handled in a manner different from any other vital record in the possession of the State of Hawai‘i.”
###

So there is a long form that we can't see and all Fukino says is that he has seen it. Since Hawaii, registered foriegn births, what does it say?

[greatbear451]

Why do you care? If you believe that Obama isn't eligible because of his father, then what the long form says is irrelevant. Of course, we all know that the cries of "VAULT COPY!" are just distractions.

Please, pick one conspiracy theory and stick with it. You're pushing two mutually incompatitable ones and it's making you look crazier than you would if you were just pushing one.

[EtTuBrute]

Thanks for hanging in there Greatbear.

[BygonesGone]

Because Obama, Sr. was already married to Kezia in Kenya, the Obama-Dunham marriage was void ad initio per bigamy and Stanley Ann only required one year of U.S. residency post age 14, instead of five if legally married. 8 U.S.C. 1409(c)'s 'out-of-wedlock' provision. To complicate matters further, Obama and his mother became naturalized Indonesian citizens by her marrying Lolo Soetoro in 1972.

Constitution of Republic of Indonesia, Law No. 62 of 1958, Law No. 12 of 2006 dated 1 Aug. 2006 concerning Citizenship of Republic of Indonesia, Law No. 9 of 1992 dated 31 Mar. 1992 concerning Immigration Affairs and Indonesian Civil Code (Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Perdata) (KUHPer) (Burgerlijk Wetboek voor Indonesie) states in pertinent part, "State citizens of Indonesia include:

(viii) children who are born outside of legal marriage from foreign State citizen mother who are acknowledged by father who is Indonesian State citizen as his children and that acknowledgment is made prior to children reaching 18 years of age or prior to marriage; Republic of Indonesia Constitution 1945." (Berg v. Obama, 08-CV- 04083, First Amended Complaint, pg. 33)

After her divorce from Lolo, Obama's mother permanently renounced her U.S. citizenship in order to study in Indonesia and work in Pakistan . . . nations to which a U.S. citizen was barred from travel.

There is no way the "President" should be tied into all of this. He/she should be natural born, and Obama doesn't even come close to it.

[BygonesGone]

Think about this. Think about this long and hard. Obama produced a "Certification of Live Birth."

If Stanley Ann Dunham had a birth certificate from either of the two hospitals in Hawaii Obama claims to have been born in, there would have been no need for applying for the Certification of Live Birth under the cited statute.

The fact that he has a COLB indicates that his mother did not have a Hawaiian birth certificate from a hospital in Hawaii.

People filing suits are angry because Obama has no BIRTH CERTIFICATE TO PRODUCE, SHOWING A HAWAIIAN BIRTH. If he had one, then again, he would not be in possession of a COLB.

[BygonesGone]

Why is Obama in possession of a COLB instead of a Birth Certficate? Because he was born in Kenya, where the original birth certificate is. Is that's what is in the vault? A Kenyan birth certificate?

Born someplace other than Hawaii = A Certification of Live Birth (COLB) - A Certification
Born in Hawaii = A Birth Certificate - A Certificate

It cannot be both. It's either one or the other.

[GCX]

Bygone, vote for Steele or Keyes. Both great black men who say it's time to move on and realize our true potential and don't expect govt to take care of you.

Democrats want everybody dependent on them to ensure their vote. It's called Democrat Dependency Syndrome!

Govt can't run a lemonade stand! Quit looking to it to solve your problems. Everyone needs to solve their own problems!

[BygonesGone]

I have voted democratic all of my life. I'm not so sure I trust democrats anymore. From what is posted online, they have sold us out. They kept Obama's secret. All someone has to do is give me a reason to not trust them and I won't. At this point, I don't really care who is in the White House, so long as the person is legal and adheres to the U.S. Constitution.

We out number those in office. There are more of us. Why wasn't the people taken into consideration, rather than an agenda? I no longer have any faith in the democrats and I may never vote again. The people I've been talking to share the same sentiment.

After a travesty like this, who cares? They kept his secret. Need I say more? Out of all the people in this country, am I to believe that the only person to run this country was someone who is not "of" this country? What about others who were qualified? I am still trying to figure out why was it so necessary for this particular person WHO ISN'T QUALIFIED to sit in office? It was a slap in the face to those who are capable of holding this office.

I have no faith or trust in democrats any more. I will never trust them after a stunt like this.

[greatbear451]

No one believes you. You claim that Obama isn't a natural born citizen because his father was Kenyan and that this was a "secret" that was kept from you. Yet his father's nationality was public knowledge long before he ran for president. Hell, he wrote an entire book about his father.

1) Obama managed to beat out several prominant democrats for the nomination, including Hillary Clinton, who once was hailed the inevitable nominee and then beat John McCain, none of whom raised the question of whether or not he was a natural born citizen because of his father's nationality or make claims that his birth certificate was faked.

2) Not one court has taken the any case challenging Obama's citizenship based on his father's nationality seriously. Every case has been laughed out of court.

3) You claim he's not a natural born citizen because he's father was Kenyan. If that were true (see #2 above), that would make his place of birth irrelevant, since his parentage would already make him ineligible. Yet you claim you need to see the "VAULT COPY!" of his birth certificate. Why? If he's ineligible because of his father, then nothing in his "VAULT COPY!" would change that.

4) Not one shred of evidence has been produced to support the claim that the document posted on his website and reviewed by factcheck.org is a forgery. Indeed, the State of Hawaii has verified that his birth certificate is on file with their Department of Health.

[greatbear451]

So base on the facts listed below, the most likely conclusions to be drawn are:

1) Obama was born in Hawaii

2) Under US law, he is a natural born citizen. If he weren't, the fringers would have been able to find at least one court someone willing to entertain your legal theory.

3) You're a republican and a poor liar.

#3 being the only big secret that you believe is being kept.

[patricksmom]

Are you a dittohead?
Did you get past elementary school?
Are you living in a damp basement?

[BygonesGone]

The Preamble to the Constitution of the U.S. starts out, "We the people..." I am part of that we the people. I did not need Obama to run in and save me from anything or to save the day. What I needed was a President.

The way this was done, makes it seem like all he was thinking about was himself. So now, here I am without a President because the one sitting in office isn't qualified. Was that fair to me, to strip me of my right to have a President?

What this person has done was made it seem like he and only he can run the country. How can I rest at night, knowing that the country I live in could possibly be run by a person who is not even a U.S. Citizen? The election was all about Obama because if it were about the people, then we'd have a valid person who was natural-born sitting in the White House.

I have a constitutional right to have a President, and as it now stands, I do not have one. He is not legal. Everything must be done in accordance not with a personal agenda, but in accordance with the Constitution of the United States of America. Sure, he "wants" to be president, but the laws of the land says that he is not eligible. He can't just take the job, he has to be "eligible."

[patricksmom]

Yes you have a President. Sorry that you don't know it. Sorry that you can't live here. Go to Iraq and get a private contracting job or Mexico where you;ill have to protect yourself from gangs of drug dealers. Just leave.

[al1]

go get a " REAL " life or ask limbaug to looks after you and your 401k !!

[Realityism]

"Govt can't run a lemonade stand! Quit looking to it to solve your problems. Everyone needs to solve their own problems!"

We anxiously await your plan to single-handedly protect yourself from large-scale terrorist attacks.

[BygonesGone]

I am a democrat and has always been one. I have never voted Republican. I have no reason to lie. I worked for Obama for a long time because I thought he was eligible. He was running, so I assumed everything was okay. If there was nothing to hide, lawyers would not be keeping hidden something as average and normal as a birth certificate. It makes no sense.

You see just like I do, everywhere you look, "natural-born" means TWO PARENTS. Two. Two parents who are U.S. Citizens. You understand just like I do that only one of his was. One.

The requirement is 2. Just because a person wants something, doesn't always mean they can get it. I know Obama wants and/or aspires(d) to be President, but a very important element is present. He doesn't meet the requirements. Requirements. He can't dance around the requirements for eligibility.

Either he is eligible to be President of the U.S. or he is not. HE IS NOT. The laws aren't written where a person can bogard their way into something; or force something that can't be forced. Why say 2 parents have to be U.S. Citizens, if we're going to ignore it? The Constitution of the U.S. does not twist and turn and conform to each individual situation. IT'S SET. What it says goes. He is not eligible.

[patricksmom]

The state of Hawaii has certified his birth and the Supreme Court has thrown out the idiocy of those who would distract us. I doubt you were ever a supporter. Go listen to Rush, bone up on the latest lunacy. Better than that keep this up for 2010 elections, 2012 make our day.

[patricksmom]

At this point I would flag your comment as ignorant.

[patricksmom]

We've heard that recycled garbage since Raygun. By the time we all individually pull ourselves out of this economic turmoil exacerbated by the last 8 years I don't know if there will be a USA> I guess that's OK with you SUperman, since you'ill h ave your own estate.

[weatherwaxx]

Anyone who seriously believes that the Democratic Party did not vet Barack Obama when he first became a force to be reckoned with in the primaries needs to get themselves a roll of tinfoil. I'd suggest the heavy-duty kind.

He's American, he's President, and he is a real LEADER.


The US hasn't seen that in nearly a decade, and we haven't seen anybody like Obama in half a century.

[GCX]

Bygone, the vault copy BC that Hawaii states they have and also that they have "verified" is actually moot. His father was not a U.S. citizen. Therefore Barack is automatically ineligible.

It would be interesting to see the vault copy though as Hawaii actually registered foreign births in '61.

Little experiment; Someone post his Harvard transcripts. Good luck with that as he has had them sealed as well. Would be interesting to see under what country he claimed to be from. Indonesia perhaps. Would be easier to get into Harvard as a foreign student.

Either way, it matters not to me, he's not my president. And I served on the deck of 6 different aircraft carriers (for what that's worth)!

[BygonesGone]

I have been grappling with this all day long. I am at a loss for words as to how something like this could have happened. I am an African-American and I am truly embarrassed. The one time we get someone in the White House, he's not eligible. I am almost in shock.

The reason I feel that the vault copy is of importance is because that will tell us if Obama is an "illegal alien." He is trying too hard not to produce it. Who hides what doesn't need to be hidden? It's already a clear and cut case that he's not natural-born. But what if he is not even a U.S. Citizen? That is the relevance of the vault copy. Those school records are under seal as well. What if Orly was right, that he was a "foreign trade student?" I am in total shock. I walked around in a daze trying to put this all together.

The biggest shock is how he knows that he is not eligible. HE KNOWS THIS. Who would stand and keep on with it, knowing people know are in the process of doing something about it? What does it say about how people perceive the world, thinking we are not intelligent enough to want proof that the person who is president, actually qualify to be president? Whose idea was this anyway?

[baseballmom]

BygonesGone, I have a feeling that you were walking around in a daze before this...

[evekendall]

GCX: "His father was not a U.S. citizen. Therefore Barack is automatically ineligible."
-------------

Uh, his mother WAS a U.S. citizen. Therefore Barack IS automatically ELIGIBLE.

You need to read some U. S. Code:

The following Section 1401 of Title 8 defines who are U. S. citizens at birth.

U. S. Code > Title 8 > Chapter 12 > Subchapter III > Part I > Section 1401:
Nationals and Citizens of United States at Birth
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/8/1401.html

These definitions would cover any conceivable definition of "natural-born" or "native-born." Barack Obama is a natural-born (or native-born) citizen of the United States because he was born in Hawaii, a state at the time of his birth. See definition (a).

However, according to these definitions, under any other scenario conceived by you nutcases, because his mother was a natural-born American citizen, Barack Obama would STILL be a citizen of the United States - not a naturalized citzen, but a natural-born or native-born citizen. See definition (g). In other words, he could have been born at the North Pole but he would STILL be a U. S. citizen by birth because his mother was a citizen.

[evekendall]

(Sorry. Unintended double-post.)

[evekendall]

GCX: "His father was not a U.S. citizen. Therefore Barack is automatically ineligible."
-------------

Uh, his mother WAS a U.S. citizen. Therefore Barack IS automatically ELIGIBLE.

You need to read some U. S. Code:

The following Section 1401 of Title 8 defines who are U. S. citizens at birth.

U. S. Code > Title 8 > Chapter 12 > Subchapter III > Part I > Section 1401:
Nationals and Citizens of United States at Birth
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/8/1401.html

These definitions would cover any conceivable definition of "natural-born" or "native-born." Barack Obama is a natural-born (or native-born) citizen of the United States because he was born in Hawaii, a state at the time of his birth. See definition (a).

However, according to these definitions, under any other scenario conceived by you right-wingers, because his mother was a natural-born American citizen, Barack Obama would STILL be a citizen of the United States - not a naturalized citzen, but a natural-born or native-born citizen. See definition (g). In other words, he could have been born at the North Pole but he would STILL be a U. S. citizen by birth because his mother was a citizen.

[patricksmom]

GCX why do you and Bygone get together. You are a pair!!! As much as I disagreed with and came to despise Bush, I didn't urge civil war as you and others seem to promote.
He is our President. Sorry he isn't yours. Why don't you and BYgone buy a little hacienda in Mexico and hire your own security force?

[GCX]

And you guys are just cracking me up with that "it's posted on Factcheck" crap. I may have the exact specifics wrong, but I'll be close; The Annenburg Foundation owns Factcheck. Who sat on the board at Annenburg? Barack Obama. So excuse me if I don't buy Factcheck as being the sole arbiter of truth in the universe.

[Principaldad]

So you accept the word of conspiracy theory paranoid fooIs over one of the most non-partisan sources on the web, a source that has called Obama out repeatedly for bad facts.

It is also independently verified by the State of Hawaii, Snopes.com, and dozens of other reliable sources.

By the way, you aren't "close" in your claims. Factcheck is not "owned" by the Annenburg Foundation, although it receives funding from the Annenburg Foundation. Also, Barack Obama did NOT serve on the board of the Annenburg Foundation. Obama sat on a board of a completely unrelated organization that was funded by the Annenburg Foundation. Barack Obama has never had any relationship to Factcheck. All you are doing is spewing more twisted conspiracy siIIiness that you picked up on a right wing web site.

[greatbear451]

GCX has proven time and time again that facts are irrelevent to him.

[patricksmom]

What are the qualifications of your experts? Bipartisan I;m sure.

[evekendall]

How do we know Richard Shelby was born in the United States? Perhaps we should contact his office and ask that he post his own birth certificate on the internet so we can verify HIS citizenship.

[redsongia]

Is Alabama even still a state? I kinda doubt it. Show me some proof of that, Shelby.

[Aaron McCullers]

Assuming you're not an elementary school drop out, there are currently 50 states; Alabama is one of them. Please project your insecurities, ignorance and prejudice onto Shelby himself instead of the state of Alabama.

[greatbear451]

This your first exposure to sarcasm?