Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Monday was a big day for the "Know Nothing" Nativists in the Arizona Legislature. In addition to Russell Pearce's "I hates Mex-cans" police state bill, the House approved the "birther" bill of Rep. Judy Burges (R-Skull Valley), meaning that a majority of the Arizona Legislature subscribes to the wingnut fringe "birther" movement. Arizona is the laughingstock of the nation. Presidential 'birther bill' advances in state House:
The "birther bill" won initial approval from the House of Representatives on Monday, advancing legislation that would require presidential candidates to produce a birth certificate before they can make the ballot in Arizona.
The legislation originated from a fringe group that believes President Barack Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States and therefore ineligible to be president.
Rep. Judy Burges amended Senate Bill 1024 to include a requirement that Arizona's Secretary of State inspect a presidential candidate's birth certificate before that candidate could qualify for the ballot.
Similar laws have been proposed in Oklahoma, Florida and Missouri. None have been signed into law.
Democrats criticized Burges' amendment, saying presidential candidates already had to prove their citizenship before they can run for the office.
"Republicans continue to take Arizona down the wrong track by wasting taxpayers' time on frivolous legislation instead of working on important issues like health care for kids and seniors and education," said Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, in a statement.
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Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett also expressed concern about Burges' amendment, saying that creating state-level eligibility requirements to run for federal office could violate the U.S. Constitution.
"While everyone has an interest in ensuring that only eligible citizens run for president, there are obvious issues with states implementing what could become a patchwork of different tests for a presidential candidate to prove his/her citizenship," said Bennett's spokesman, Matthew Benson, in an e-mail.
The amended bill still needs final approval from the House and will require another vote in the Senate before it can be transmitted to Gov. Jan Brewer.
Rep. Judy Burges (R-Skull Valley) (she's like Captain Hook from Skull Rock in Neverland), wants to be the "birther" queen of Teabaggers in Arizona. As we argued earlier this year, New Rule: Mental Competency Exams for Politicians:
[W]hen someone advocates conspiracy theories that are without any factual basis or merit and which have been disproved and debunked numerous times by independent reporting and rejected by the courts numerous times as a "frivolous" claim (i.e., without any basis in law or fact), that individual is delusional and mentally incompetent. Let's just call a spade a spade. Judy is a danger to herself and to society.
The mentally incompetent are not permitted to vote in Arizona. They sure as hell should not be serving in the Arizona Legislature. Which means we have a serious problem. When someone who is clearly delusional as Judy Burges can be elected to office (and she is not alone, there are others as delusional as her in the Arizona Legislature), we need a new rule: mental competency exams for politicians as a pre-qualification to run for elective office.
The Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides a mechanism for succession when a disability renders the president or vice president "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." Arizona should similarly provide a mechanism for the removal from office of elected officials "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his or her office" due to disability, i.e., the lack of mental competency as adjudicated by a court of law.
Maybe Peter Pan and the Lost Boys can rescue the citizens of Skull Valley from this loony "birther" queen. As for the rest of her "birther" Republican cohorts who voted for this bill, it will require Arizona's voters to rise up en masse to throw these delusional and mentally incompetent politicians out of office.
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It was unkind of BlueMeanie to call you a “loon”, but you have to admit that “birthers” live on the lunatic fringe of rational thought. Insanity is said to be the act of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. This one was laid to rest more than a year ago.
But given our state legislatures propensity to fiddle while Rome burns,I suppose the time they spent on this law kept them from doing serious damage to the people of Arizona with some other foolish law. Unfortunately, they have made us the laughing stock of the free world.
I make no apology for pointing out that “birthers” are loons. It is a statement of fact.
No one should live outside of their legislative district. No exceptions.
But…back to our “discussion”. When you have to resort to name-calling… you lose.
I care because I practice Constitutional law, something I am sure you claim you support but have little knowledge or understanding of. The U.S. Constitution establishes the qualifications to be president of the United States, not the 50 state secretaries of state, many of whome are probably right-wing ideologues who would love nothing better than to inject themself into the presidential election process by being a public spectacle for their 15 minutes of fame. The bill is unconstitutional.
For the record, you loon, Obama has established his record of birth in the State of Hawaii. Deal with it. Sane people disagree with you.
There were two Republicans in Arizona in recent years who were discovered to live outside the boundaries of their legislative district. Nothing much came of it as I recall. IOKIYAR.
hmmm… why would you care unless you’re afraid…??
ALL candidates should have to show verifiable proof of citizenship. Furthermore, those running for office from a district should have to show verifiable proof of residency in that district.
Ideologues disagree with me.