Instead, Chris Nelson appears to be campaigning for BFF to Michele Bachmann and Orly Taitz.
Kevin Woster cracks my perecption of reality by asking our U.S. House candidates a simple question: Do you think President Obama was born in Hawaii or someplace else?
The answers, in descending order of rationality:
Kristi Noem: “South Dakotans have many other important issues they are concerned with, such as jobs, energy, and the economy.”
R. Blake Curd: “Hawaii’s own Republican Governor has said President Obama was born there. That’s good enough for me. What concerns me is the direction he and the Democrat-led Congress are taking our country. That’s what I’m focused on. Conservatives should harness their energy towards electing fiscally responsible leaders who will fight reckless spending, our growing debt and higher taxes.”
Chris Nelson: “Yes, meeting the constitutional qualifications to be President is a very important issue. If President Obama isn’t constitutionally qualified, it would be the biggest scam ever perpetuated [sic] on the American people. MANY people contacted me as Secretary of State prior to and after the election asking how Obama could be on our ballot given this controversy. Absent a court finding that he isn’t a natural born citizen, we have to take the certification from the National Democratic Convention at face value.”
If, Chris? IF?!?!
Noem gives the right answer, shrugging off the nuttery with one sentence. R. Blake gets windy but at least says he takes the President at his word. It's Chris Nelson who piles on all the weasel words he can, invoking invisible masses to validate the controversy and fears of the biggest scam ever. In Nelson's world, President Obama's status as a native-born American is merely a matter of opinion of the National Democratic Convention.
Ugh, Chris. Ugh ugh ugh! When you make Noem and Curd sound like the reasonable Republicans in the room, your campaign is really, really in trouble.
He's starting to morph into a weasel. Are there no good options for House?
ReplyDeleteCory . Run your poll again. I just changed my mind.
ReplyDeleteWho does Nelson think he is pandering to here? The small minority that still think this baloney is an issue? It is baffling really!
Kevin is suppressing comment from a number of the more cynical regular contributors, including ip.
ReplyDeleteLast night I wrote:
"Your apples smelled too green until your response to Mr. Pay.
Dr. Curd: This is above my pay grade; I'm making this up as I go along.
Sec. of State Nelson: Are those my teabags?
Spokesperson Hart: You're kidding, right?
Sen. Noem: Those are headlights, aren't they?"
It certainly seemed mean and snarky enough, doncha think?
This has got to be a joke. Chris is to good a politician to say this.
ReplyDeleteWell the argument is actually what is a "natural born citizen" as defined by the constitution. Obama's citizenship status at birth was governed by the British Nationality Act of 1948. There for he was born with dual citizenship.
ReplyDeleteWhich is not natural born because he can make the claim that he is British citizen. At this point it does not matter, and is just a waste of everyone's time.
...then Nelson sounds like the biggest time-waster on the block, doesn't he?
ReplyDeleteAaron, the president's mother was an American citizen at the time of his birth and he was born in the United States. One out of two of those are required to be considered a natural born citizen. He meets both criteria. The laws of some random foreign country have no bearing on who is or is not a US citizen.
ReplyDeleteWell like Nelson said "if" he is not a natural born citizen.
ReplyDeleteNick your are right his mom was an American. Yes it does matter if some other country can has a rightful claim to the child then is the child a "natural born citizen" I'm not arguing one way or the other I am just clarifying why there is so much confusion about the issue. Some believe that dual citizenship at birth does not qualify. Have the courts decided it I do not know, if you to research go ahead and waste your time.
Oh no, you and Chris nelson aren't arguing one way or the other... you're just keeping the meme alive for the true believers so you can let them continue to wallow in their delusion and make them think it's o.k. to vote for you. That's disingenuous. Own the argument or refute it, but don't fan the flames while deflecting responsibility.
ReplyDeleteThe whole point of mandating a candidate be a natural born citizen is to establish that person has no divided loyalties. Unless someone seriously thinks Pres. Obama makes considerations for his British heritage than bringing it up at all is just partisan stupidity. I don't fault Chris Nelson much for his answer since it was in response to a direct question and he doesn't really sound like someone devoting time to 'dig up the truth' Cory is right though, the answer is to either refute it or own it, not to appear to give it legitimacy.
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, but have you seen Kristi Noem ???
ReplyDeleteFanning the Flames.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.canadafreepress.com/2009/williams091209.htm
The ability to be eligible for dual citizenship is a red herring; (and dual citizenship is legal in America, and many other places). As Cory says, Obama's mother was an American citizen, and he was born in Hawaii. Case closed. His father could have been a Martian. I admire the tenacity of birthers to hold on to a world view in which everyone's lying to them except the people who claim Obama's birth certificate is bogus. I also wish them well in coming up with the documentation they're requiring of Obama for themselves.
ReplyDeleteSigh. Aaron clings to the fairy tales of the hateful right, regurgitating the Canadian version of World Net Daily. It's just much easier for him to believe that the legally elected President he hates so much isn't really one of us, isn't as real an American as Aaron or me or anyone else in this discussion. Aaron just can't accept that Democrats, liberals, and other fellow citizens are just as patriotic and hard-working and rational as he is. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteHey I'm just fanning the flames.
ReplyDeleteI don't hate the President. Just his policies and his tactics.
I pray for him and our country everyday.
Why don't you put down Saul Alynsky and pick up something that is not dedicated to Lucifer.
http://www.keloland.com/NewsDetail6162.cfm?Id=99991
[Alinsky is an amusing read, mildly useful, though insufficiently rigorous. His "dedication" to Lucifer is a gift for obscurantists like Aaron who prefer to divert every conversation away from real issues to their preferred talking points. Alinsky has nothing to do with this post. Argue with the people in the room, Aaron, not the straw men you want to create.]
ReplyDeleteBut I feel generous: let me attempt to relate Alinsky to the conversation. Nelson is playing the Alinsky disciple, ignoring obvious truth and rigorous ethics and using any means available to achieve his end. The Alinksy connection is thin, however, since Alinsky wrote for the powerless seeking to gain power, and Nelson represents the GOP/corporate status quo that wants to keep and expand its power. Nelson is happy to baloney to win votes from the working class voters who don't realize the GOP will then pass programs that favor the wealthy and institutinoalize their oppression.
...and of course, Nelson plays the predictable word games, saying oh no, he didn't say the President isn't qualified. He's playing it both ways, mouthing the same baloney the wingnuts like to hear while preserving plausible verbal deniability when he has to speak with sensible people. He's pandering for every primary vote he can get, because he is getting scared. He thought he'd coast, didn't work hard enough on fundraising or ads or pressing the flesh, and now he's got to scramble. Curd and Noem didn't feel the need to play Nelson's word games; Nelson's fear has driven out his common sense.
ReplyDelete