The Birther bill is baaack

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Birther bill is baaack, this time by Rep. Carl Seel who successfully shepherded a Birther bill through our Tea-Publican legislature last year. I pick on Seel, but his Birther bill, House Bill 2177, passed by a unanimous vote from all Tea-Publicans in the House and a unanimous vote from all Tea-Publicans in the Senate, making Arizona the first state to pass a Birther bill. Not one Tea-Publican had the good sense or common decency to stand up and say "this is f%&king crazy nonsense, I will not be a party to it."

Only Gov. Jan Brewer's veto of the bill ended Arizona's ignomy and shame.

Not to be deterred, crazy Carl Seel is back with a new Birther bill to try again. The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports Seel plans scaled-down ‘birther’ bill:

One of Arizona’s more notorious bills from last session will be resurrected this year.

Rep. Carl Seel, R-Phoenix, plans to introduce a new version of his so-called “birther” bill[.]

* * *

Seel’s solution is to simplify the bill so that a candidate would only be required to sign, under penalty of perjury, an affidavit swearing that he or she meets the qualifications for the office, including their citizenship. If citizens were to question whether the candidate was qualified, Seel’s bill would state that the citizen would have standing to file suit against the candidate.

“It’s simply making sure the citizenry is equipped to enforce their Constitution,” Seel said, noting that lawsuits in other states have been thrown out for a lack of standing.

* * *

Last year, Seel met with one of the more prolific “birthers,” Donald Trump, to discuss the bill.

Although the president released a copy of his long-form birth certificate in April, some conservatives have continued to insist that more accountability is needed for candidates running for office.

Seel said that he still has questions about Obama’s citizenship and that he doesn’t believe voters are tired of hearing about the “birther” theory.

“I don’t think voters will ever get tired of seeing their elected officials working to uphold the Constitution and defend the country,” he said.

Seel added that he had worked with the Secretary of State Ken Bennett to get its input before he moved forward with the revamped measure, which has not yet been filed.

While he had not yet spoken with the Governor’s Office, he said that he expects Bennett’s approval of the bill to help win her support.

Matt Roberts, spokesman for the Secretary of State’s office, confirmed that Bennett had met with Seel and has been “generally supportive” of the concept, but added that he couldn’t definitively say whether Bennett supported the measure until he saw the wording.

Carl Seel is just too stupid for words.