Barack Obama Will Be On the Ballot in Arizona: Sec. of State Softens Threat
- Posted on May 23, 2012 at 5:00am by
Mytheos Holt
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Ken Bennett, the Arizona Secretary of State who recently touched off a media firestorm by threatening to take President Obama’s name off the ballot in Arizona if the state of Hawaii didn‘t provide additional verification of the president’s birth certificate, has softened — and seemingly backed off — his threat.
Ken Bennett
A little background: Last Thursday, Bennett told local radio host Mike Broomhead that while he personally believed President Obama was born in Hawaii, the findings of Sheriff Joe Arpaio gave his constituents reason to doubt it. Being someone who listened to constituents, Bennett decided to ask Hawaii, pursuant to a specific Hawaii-sanctioned process, to “verify the facts contained in his [Obama's] birth certificate.”
That request, however, was ignored for “eight weeks,” according to Bennett. He got so tired that he told Broomhead if Hawaii didn’t comply, and fast, he’d be forced to keep President Obama off the ballot.
General fury ensued. Some liberals even mocked Broomhead by likening his request to the search for a unicorn. Yes, literally, a unicorn. Talking Points Memo reports:
At least one progressive online network, Left Action, took up the cause this week under the theory that if 1,200 emails can convince Bennett to investigate one conspiracy theory, maybe they can cobble together enough support to get him to investigate anything.
As of Tuesday afternoon some 15,000 people and counting had already put their names on Left Action’s online petition asking Bennett to investigate whether Mitt Romney is really a unicorn. (Yes, a unicorn. The petition even has its own domain name: MittRomneyIsAUnicorn.com.) That’s more than 10 times the number of people who asked Bennett to investigate the president in the first place.
While Roberts said he hadn’t seen the unicorn petition, he’s heard about it through a litany of nasty emails in recent days.
But a close listening of Bennett’s original radio interview seems to show the ballot threat was motivated by suspicion over bureaucratic stonewalling from the state of Hawaii instead of a theory that President Obama was not born in the United States. To that end, his decision to drop the threat maintains the same reasoning that motivated him to make it in the first place. Again, from Talking Points Memo:
After days of ridicule for launching a conspiracy theory-fueled investigation into Barack Obama’s birth certificate, Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett on Tuesday backed off his threat to keep the president off the ballot in November and apologized to his state.
“If I embarrassed the state, I apologize, but that certainly wasn’t my intent,” Bennett said in an interview with Phoenix radio station KTAR. “He’ll be on the ballot as long as he fills out the same paperwork and does the same things that everybody else has.”
Bennett said he still intends to keep asking Hawaii for verification that Obama’s birth certificate is authentic. But he said he only plans to use Hawaii’s answer as a way to satisfy demands from constituents who remain unconvinced Obama is a natural born citizen of the United States and so therefore eligible to be president.
He also said he talked to Hawaii’s attorney general on Monday night and clarified what he is looking to have verified. He said he “reworded” his request and expects to receive a response from Hawaii officials “in the next 24 to 48 hours.”
“I believe he was born in Hawaii,” he told KTAR. “I’m not a birther, which means I do not subscribe to the opinion that he was born somewhere else.”
Still, he seemed a little frustrated by the ridicule: “What is so sacred or untouchable about this question that you can’t even ask the question?”
Will Hawaii respond this time? We’ll see.
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Comments (82)
MOS 11B
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 8:46amA good half of the republipuke(Rino’s)party are sell out balless Traitors!
Report Post »Somebody needs to get ken bennett the metrosexual coward some balls
because he either lost his,there very small or he never had any.
ACLUHater
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 5:07pmSince when is uncovering a fraud embarrassing?
Liberalism is a mental disorder.
Report Post »RamonPreston
Posted on May 24, 2012 at 12:52amDid you see my post earlier? I don’t see it now.
It doesn’t matter where Obama was born.
Report Post »While being sworn as an attorney in the State of Illinois, Mr Obama had to provide his personal information under oath. He was asked, if he had any other names, he responded none. In reality, he used the name Barry Soetoro. Mr. Soetoro/Obama clearly defrauded the State Bar if Illinois and perjured himself while concealing his identity. Anybody else would’ve been disbarred for this and the matter would’ve been forwarded to the district attorney for prosecution for perjury and fraud, however nothing was done to Mr. Obama.
This alone would disqualify him for president of the United States..
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/orlytaitzletter24feb09.shtml
Read it before they delete it.
rangerp
Posted on May 24, 2012 at 10:35amthe birther issues just makes you look stupid. Leave it alone people, you make conservatives look like fools.
how about worrying about the economy that Obama is destroying?
How about the fact that he declared his run for the senate seat in the house of a known terrorist.
How about him firing the head of GM, in a symbolic move to show the destruction of capitalism
How about him pushing his socialist healthcare down the throat of Americans, when they clearly did not want it.
How about his ties to known communists?
How about him pushing devient sodomites on our military
How about him saying Iraq could not be won, and declaring Afghanistan to be the right war, at the right time? What is happening in Afghanistan now, and why is the left wing media not reporting on it?
Report Post »MONICNE
Posted on May 24, 2012 at 1:06pmLT ColonelP,
I am impressed that you are using your “unaccountable” free speech blogging rights to advise others that their words may discredit our blogosphere. This is quite similar to the point I shared with you last time, in that your jaundiced, spiteful and sometimes non-Christian remarks could cause some folks to disrespect the US Army Rangers. Anyway, never change! And thanks for your service. LOL
TEA
Report Post »rangerp
Posted on May 24, 2012 at 2:56pmMONICNE
As far as my “unaccountable free speech”
I do not exactly see you posting your full name, address, and phone number when you blog?
Thanks for your service also. Looks like the R&R was good back in 72.
Report Post »MONICNE
Posted on May 24, 2012 at 3:30pmJust interesting to see how you roll! LOL!
By the way I was so happy to hear of your silver oak leaf, and over lunch yesterday I mentioned it to a friend of a friend in BUPERS. She looked into the Human Resources Command web announcements and told me that here have been no US Army O-4/O-5 board promotions in the Competitive Category since 2011. She did say that there were NCO promotions in April and O-5 Reserve and National Guard appointments, and O-5 Army Medical and O-5 Army Chaplains in May 2012, and some Warrant Officers were commissioned.
Maybe I read your post wrong? Did you mean 2011? Or maybe you got an inside tip from HRC?
Thanks for the clarification!
TEA- it‘s what’s for dinner in America!
Report Post »rangerp
Posted on May 24, 2012 at 4:38pmMONICNE
Nope, it was not 2011. I got promoted this year. I think your friend was a bit confused on how it works. The board meets once a year, and produces a list. Folks then get promoted up to a year later off from that list. Some folks get picked up Below the Zone (BZ), and get promoted early. I am not that lucky though (or good). Once picked up for promotion, you may not pin for another year. You pin based on your date of rank. The West Point boys have the earliest commission, so they always get promoted earlier than the rest of us.
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 8:32amIf that man is going to let those push him around what his constitutent want, then he really is afraid or knows there is nothing he can do at this point. I do not believe he has been given any kind of proof.
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 8:30amI think something scared him too. I firmly do not believe Obama is illegible to be President. He is not even bright. He is personable, a good shuck and jiver and would be a playboy if he was not married. He probably would be an actor, not beneath doing porn of some type. There is something vastly empty about this man. He is as shallow as a small stream.
Report Post »Chilidog99
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 8:24amWhat about Sheriff Joe’s deputies in Hawaii? Are they still on the case, or are they going to the beach?
Report Post »encinom
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 10:22amThey are on the job, on the beach investigating Mai Ties and Hulu skirts. Sheriff Joe is a racist joke steal the money of fools chasng rainbows.
Report Post »TXPilot
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 8:22amLooks like someones under the table pay off has finally arrived!! Ka-ching!!
Report Post »Meyvn
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 8:17amWay lame.
Report Post »Chilidog99
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 8:16amI think that Ken Bennett should be embarrassed.
By that haircut.
Report Post »TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 8:39amAll he needs is a big strand of hair sticking straight up in the back and he could be Alfalfa’s twin…
Report Post »no ways tired
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 8:10amHe talked to the Hawaii AG…and the answer was “we’re still working on it”.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 8:16amMore likely Holder had a talk with him of the “Drop the matter or else” kind.
Report Post »Chilidog99
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 8:20amActually, Hawaii announced that they gave Bennett verification.
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 8:03amYou can find his spine and his testicles somewhere other than on his body.. Might as well go have his sex change now….Gutless politicians are the ruin of this Nation…
Report Post »9111315
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 8:21amThey have been found — the AG in HI has them.
Report Post »OhSuzieQ
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 8:30amSo damn true Baddoggy.
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 8:39amThere are so few real men left and NONE of them are politicians.
Report Post »Mo Better
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 9:02amYour analysis is spot on – Bennett needs to man up, go into his wife’s purse and reclaim his ******.
He gives every appearance of being a weak-kneed career politician who got scared off as soon as the opposition turned up the heat.
I do not for a moment believe Bennett received any sort of substantial ‘verification’ that MAObama was born in the U.S.; I think Bennett just went through the motions to give the impression that he was really interested in finding the truth —— just another ‘folds-like-a-cheap-suit’ pol.
Report Post »EP46
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 7:55amJohn Jay wrote a letter to George Washington asking him to include the phrase “natural born citizen” to exclude foreign influence, therefore, it is reasonable to assume that any definition which does not accomplish this purpose is therefore invalid.
Having a dual nationality is contrary to the purpose for which “Natural born” was written. Being born with dual citizenship (one parent holding foreign citizenship) does not meet the requirement for the term “Natural born”.
Report Post »Soul Leister
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 9:25amand now, thanks to liberals changing the definition of Natural Born Citizen, any of the Chinese babies born here (while birth tourists) will rise up to be ligitimate candidates for president… as will any of the children of illegal aliens…. the country is lost, the commies have won (we just don’t know it yet, but they do).
Report Post »txjb
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 7:46amHe got scared .
Report Post »William Andrews
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 7:45amI am so disappointed in his backing down. Once he decided to pursue this issue, he needed to follow through. How can the citizens of Arizona rely on him for anything? If he has kids, how can his kids believe him? If he’s married, how can his wife believe him? Undoubtedly there was a tremendous amount of pressure from multiple sides in this situation. He chose this battle though and now he waves the flag of surrender. I suspect this is his last elected position.
Report Post »ConservDadASD
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 9:45amReminds me of a British PM 2 previous generations ago who waved a paper in the air and exclaimed “We have peace in our time! We have peace in our time!”
Report Post »FEARLESSLEADER
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 7:45amThis president has a real birth cirtificate but this one is not it. According to a retired professional typographer this one is a forgery. How many typewriters did it take to make this birth cirtificate? Look for yourself…
Report Post »http://www.wnd.com/2011/09/342937/
MiCurmudgeon
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 7:40amCoward die a thousand deaths , the valiant taste of death but once.
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 8:07amI hope he lives the rest of his life in shame wiith this wrapped around him so tightly he could never find another job…Oh wait, he is a worthless politician…he will always have work.
Report Post »teapartyguardian
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 7:38amCould be his kids, like what “may have happened” to b clinton.
Report Post »Mil-Dot
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 7:37amWhat a low-life, sell-out coward. Like others here said, if you don’t have the backbone to back up your threat then kindly keep your criminal politician mouth shut.
Report Post »NOTAMUSHROOM
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 7:35am“What is so sacred or untouchable about this question that you can’t even ask the question?”
Duh. It’s a perfect example of the Saul Alinsky tactic. Ridicule, marginalize and isolate. That‘s why I want to know why the Supreme Court hasn’t had this dropped on their laps. It’s pretty obvious to me that there IS a problem here. Oblamer believes that since he got away with this one, why follow the Constitution at all?
Report Post »McNamara
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 7:29amOwebama will lose in AZ anyway…might as well keep him off the ballot.
Report Post »Mandors
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 7:28amWhat a coward. New flash: this was your one shot. You’re never going to be governor or mayor. So you might as well have pushed as far as you could have.
Report Post »almont
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 7:52amWhere have all the men gone?
Report Post »We take a position and if we’re called a name (birther) we back off and decide that being PC is more important than supporting the law of the land. We all deserve what we get as a result of letting our laws be ignored.
The open border is but another example of how spineless the men of this country have become. The security of our country, families and jobs are affected and we just sit back and whine like little school girls.
SHAME ON US.
ARIZONA VETERAN
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 7:28ami wanna see oBOWmas birth certificate,oh, waiy, its written in kenyan-ize
Report Post »The_Almighty_Creestof
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 7:28amIf you’re not going to stick to your guns…then kindly keep your trap shut.
Report Post »hawkeyez
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 7:27amIt doesn’t matter where Obuttma was born. He is not American.
Report Post »Bob_R_OathKeeper
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 7:40amThat’s the way I see it too. He was taught to hate America and everything it stands for, he is an ENEMY of America and it’s idea. Obama IS a traitor.
Report Post »ThePostman
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 7:26amSomebody got to him… This is more of our country being hijacked. I smell a rat.
Report Post »All American American
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 7:23am“I believe he was born in Hawaii,” he told KTAR. “I’m not a birther, which means I do not subscribe to the opinion that he was born somewhere else.”
No, you’re not a “birther,” you’re a sackless wimp.
Can any “non-birther” tell me with 100% written in stone fact that he was born in Hawaii? (HINT: No, you can’t).
Ahhhhh, “question with boldness” my hairy white a–.
Report Post »kickagrandma
Posted on May 23, 2012 at 7:22amWimped out again!
Backbone, folks.
What threats do they use and WHY do we submit to them?
Doesn’t our GOD say that it is better for us to die than to lose our souls? Although we love this world, because it’s all we know up to now, there is nothing here for GOD’S KIDS. Why do we cling to it so ferociously rather than STAND UP to the liars in “power” ? We all know their power is only for “a moment”, and that when GOD HAS HAD ENOUGH, they will fall like ashes in the wind.
Report Post »