Archives for October 30, 2009

In yet another act of the theater of the absurd, the birthers brought a case  to the federal court claiming that Obama is not eligible to be president .

The judge, David Carter, issued a 30 page ruling that can be summed up in a single sentence: his court lacks the jurisdiction to rule on such a case. This seems to be quite accurate-the constitution specifies the legal procedures for the removal of a president from office and a U.S. District Court lacks the legal power to do this.

 

Carter is not the first judge to have dismiss the claim presented by the birthers. In response, the birthers have “have attacked the judiciary, including every prior court that has dismissed their claim, as unpatriotic and even treasonous for refusing to grant their requests and for adhering to the terms of the Constitution.”

The  birthers do have a right to express their views and even a legal right to bring up spurious law suits that waste time and resources. However, the fact that they can bring up such wasteful suits does not mean that they should be doing so. While they clearly do not agree with Obama, their lawsuits have no basis whatsoever. As such, they are merely wasting valuable court time and hence taxpayer money and this is hardly patriotic.

Now, if Obama was truly not eligible to be president or had committed some act worthy of removal, then proper action should be taken. However, he is clearly a natural born American citizen and has done nothing that would provide a legitimate basis for his removal. While people do disagree with his views and actions, doing things that some folks disagree with is not grounds for removal.

Finally, the attacks made by the birthers upon the judiciary are indeed ironic. The birthers are basing the attack on a legal point about citizenship and yet they call the judiciary unpatriotic and treasonous for following what is specified in the Constitution. In short, the birthers are calling on the judiciary to break the law so as to rule that Obama broke the law. Obviously, the birthers seem to lack a clear grasp of the notion of consistency (or irony).

While there are good grounds on which to be critical of Obama, the birthers’ nonsense merely provides ammunition with which to dismiss critics as suffering from Obama Derangement Syndrome. The birthers would better serve their cause by dropping their absurd claims and focusing on presenting legitimate criticism and getting ready for 2012. Then again, perhaps they could join up with the Flat-Earthers, Hollow-Earthers, 9/11 Conspiracy Theorists, and other such folks and start their own political party.