GOP Birthers: Keep Obama Off 2012 Ballot

GOP state legislators swept into office in the midterm elections are using their new majorities to push bills that would require proof of American citizenship in order to be placed on state presidential ballots. Bills are now being readied in Pennsylvania, Texas, Arizona, and Georgia. The internet birther headquarters, Christianist site World Net Daily, is cheering them on.

Texas state Rep. Leo Berman told WND he's seen neither evidence nor indication that Obama qualifies under the Constitution's requirement that a president be a "natural-born citizen," a requirement not imposed on most other federal officers. "If the federal government is not going to vet these people, like they vetted John McCain, we'll do it in our state," he said. He noted the Senate's investigation into McCain because of the Republican senator's birth in Panama to military parents. Berman also said there will be pressure on any lawmaker who opposes the bill, since voters would wonder why they wouldn't want such basic data about a president revealed.

And he said even if one state adopts the requirement, there will be national implications, because other states would be alerted to a possible problem. "If Obama is going to run for re-election in 2012, he'll have to show our secretary of state his birth certificate and prove he's a natural-born citizen," he said. "This is going to be significant." Berman said he's convinced there are problems with Obama's eligibility, or else his handlers would not be so persistent in keeping the information concealed. A year ago, polls indicated that roughly half of American voters were aware of a dispute over Obama's eligibility. Recent polls, however, by organizations including CNN, show that roughly six in 10 American voters hold serious doubts that Obama is eligible under the Constitution's demands.

The president's birth certificate as well as Hawaiian newspaper birth announcements have been widely circulated, of course. But that doesn't matter to the birther loons, who clearly believe somebody planted those newspaper reports 49 years ago, just in case he ever became president.