Secretary of State Ken Bennett May Not Be A Birther, But He Is Still An Idiot

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By Michael Bryan

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I can't even begin to imagine what possible benefit Secretary Bennett thought he might derive from his birther stunt. I suppose he saw Sheriff Joe milking that particular bull and thought, "Heck, I can get some mileage off that, too…"

Well, Ken, I didn't serve with Sheriff Joe. I don't know Sheriff Joe. Sheriff Joe certainly is no friend of mine. But, Ken, even I know, you're no Sheriff Joe.

Nobody expects any better from Sheriff Joe, you see? He already has zero credibility. It's like the idiot child who whips down his pants and shows the neighborhood his ass. Nobody thinks much of it. "That's just Sheriff Joe," they say, and they shrug, shake their heads sadly, and go on with life.

But when somebody who should be respectable and decent whips down their pants and proudly displays their bum for the whole nation to admire, we notice, Ken. The nation notices. The Washington Post calls you a buffoon. People start demanding you investigate equally improbably things: like Mitt Romney is actually a unicorn. They lose respect for you and, worse, for your office. 

And rightly so. Supposedly a grown-up, intelligent, and responsible man does not show the world his bare ass unless there is something deeply wrong with him. Unless his judgment is serious flawed. Unless he really isn't grown-up, or intelligent, or responsible any more.

But you didn't just embarrass yourself, Ken. You embarrassed Arizona and your office. If you had any respect for the people of Arizona and the office you hold, you would resign.

Now, while everyone is momentarily fixated on your ass, Ken. Allow me to teach you, and them, some basics about the American constitution.

Only a 'natural born citizen' can become President of the United States. That is what all this birther nonsense is about. Some folks refuse to believe that Obama was born in Hawaii. 

Fine. So fucking what?

Assume, arguendo, that Obama was born in the British Colony of Kenya (it didn't become an independent nation until 1963, and Obama was born in 1961 – which would technically make him a British subject if born in a British colony) and smuggled into Hawaii, where the doctors, witnesses, Hawaiian officials, and newspapers were all suborned or bribed to cover up this nefarious fact.

So, what is a 'natural born citizen'? Someone who is a citizen from the moment of their birth. It is not, as some would assert, a solely a matter of where you are born.

8 USC §1401 defines who is a citizen at birth. A citizen by birth includes anyone born anywhere in the world to an American parent and a foreign national, provided that the citizen parent resided in the United States for at least five years.

"(g) a person born outside the geographical limits of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents one of whom is an alien, and the other a citizen of the United States who, prior to the birth of such person, was physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for a period or periods totaling not less than five years, at least two of which were after attaining the age of fourteen years"

No one would reasonably dispute that Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, was an American citizen, nor that she resided for at least five years in the United States, two of them being after she was 14. Therefore, whereever Obama was born, he is a citizen by birth, and thus 'natural born citizen'.

Case fucking closed. Don't believe Obama was born in Hawaii? I don't fucking care. It doesn't matter. Obama is still a 'natural born citizen' even if he was hatched in Kenya – or on the fucking moon.

So, birthers, I cordially invite you to shut the fuck up and stop wasting everyone's goddamn time.

And Ken, I cordially invite you to resign. Idiot.

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14 thoughts on “Secretary of State Ken Bennett May Not Be A Birther, But He Is Still An Idiot”

  1. President Obama is a natural born citizen of the United States because he was born in the United States. Now President Obama’s mother was a U.S. citizen, his father was not. Had he been born outside the U.S. and its outlying possessions, whether or not he was a U.S. citizen at birth would have depended on his mother meeting the requirements of 8 USC § 1401(g) in effect at the time of his birth, which you can read in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 here:
    http://www.scribd.com/doc/8693236/1952-Immigration-and-Nationality-Act-Title3-Chapter1
    at Sec. 301(a)(7). His mother, who was not yet nineteen years old, was incapable of meeting those requirements. While he would have been eligible for automatic U.S. citizenship upon completion of further requirements of Sec. 320 or 322 of the INA, he would not have been a U.S. citizen at birth, and that is simply the effect of the law.
    What about the present requirements, which someone of Mrs. Obama’s age could have met? The present requirements are the result of Public Law 99-653, which specified that “The amendment made by section 12 [amending this section] shall apply to persons born on or after November 14, 1986.”

  2. Ken Bennett should either put up or shut-up (or is he Alfalfa from the Little Rascals).

    Lets be clear none of these Birther dullards have taken there “Birther Documents of facts” and won a case in the “U.S. Courts”, maybe in their simple minds (if they have any) but not in our “U.S. Courts”, so unless Birthers/ teabaggers, whatever you want to be called, win a court case, we will continue to see as dullards, liars or racist or maybe all three. Deal with that baby!

    And enjoy voting for the Mitt, the first “Republican Anchor Baby”! Too Funny

  3. Perfect. Hawaii sends Arizona proof of Obama’s birth. Now Arizona is demanding proof of Hawaii’s statehood.
    — @PANTSSteve via TweetDeck

  4. The children in office in our state (now you too, Ken Bennett) truly deserved the tongue-lashing by mybryanaz and Cheri. About time.

  5. I agree with you Michael that the birthers are barking up the wrong tree by wondering if the current President was born in the State of Hawaii or not. There have been no allegations that his mother Ann wasn’t a U.S. citizen right? She was born in Kansas. The current Governor of Hawaii Neil Abercrombie (former U.S.Congressman for 20 years) was friends with the Obamas and has said that he saw Barack there with them in Honolulu.

  9. He may be a good man. He may be a nice man, but he is not a competent man in his position of SOS of this state. He DOES deserve this. He’s the one that brought this on himself!As the SOS, he is responsible for all things election orientated. If he holds this wacko position, then how on earth are the citizens of AZ supposed to be sure that all things related to elections of the most powerful job on the planet, on the up and up? He should NOT have waded into the non controversy, and has tainted his office and this state for this stance (if that’s even possible that he could taint it more than it already has been)
    He is also the co chair of the Romney campaign in AZ. Conflict of interest much?

    This birther crap is just that. Crap.The real issue is that the lunatics around here just can’t seem to accept the black man from Hawaii got elected as the President of the United States.This “diversion” is nothing more than a vehicle to whip up controversy and try to delegitimize this President.Not going to happen, so let’s move on. This is the kind of shit one pulls when they got nothing of substance to offer, and if I were you…I’d be offended. I know I am.You are being used, and you can’t even see that. Shame.Wonder if Ken will call our “darling” sheriff’s deputy back from his taxpayer funded sleuthing in Hawaii now that he is satisfied that that this President was born in Hawaii? What a freaking joke!

  10. Ken Bennett is a good man, a dedicated, effective public service who doesn’t deserve abuse like this.

  11. Michael, you’re not going to find that requirement in the current statutes. The INA was amended in 1986 by Pub. L. 99-653. You can read the statute in its original form here:
    http://www.scribd.com/doc/8693236/1952-Immigration-and-Nationality-Act-Title3-Chapter1
    The applicable statute would have been Sec. 301(a)(7).
    You can access the entire INA of 1952, and U.S. nationality laws all the way back to 1790 from here:
    http://library.uwb.edu/guides/usimmigration/USimmigrationlegislation.html
    If you’ll look at the Nationality Act of 1940, you’ll find that the residency requirement was ten years, at least five of which were after the age of 16. There also used to be additional requirements for the child to retain citizenship.
    The State Department is not in error; they can only do what Congress tells them to do when it comes to nationality law. Look at the notes here:
    http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1401
    and you’ll see that according to the 1986 law amending the residency requirements “The amendment made by section 12 [amending this section] shall apply to persons born on or after November 14, 1986.”

  13. I don’t see that in the INA. That would mean that the child of an adult woman of 18yo would not be a citizen at birth, but one of a 19yo mother would be? I think the State Dept website is incorrect.

  14. Michael, I won’t contest your allegation that Ken Bennett is an idiot, but you’ve got the wrong reason. The requirements of 8 USC § 1401(g) which you cite are for persons born on or after November 14, 1986. For persons born between December 23, 1952 and November 13, 1986 the previous requirement of prior physical presence in the U.S. (period of ten years, five after the age of fourteen) is in effect. Ann Obama was eighteen years old when she gave birth to her son Barack in Hawaii, making him a natural born citizen of the United States; but had he been born outside the U.S. and its outlying possessions, he would not have been a U.S. citizen at birth. You can read what the State Department says about 8 USC § 1401(g) here:
    http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_5199.html
    under “Birth Abroad to One Citizen and One Alien Parent in Wedlock”.

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