Author: Sylvia Burley
If anyone wants to know why black people get SO upset at the birther issue, and why we are SO sure the birther movement is based in racism, Goldie Taylor of Grio.com gave as good an explanation as any I’ve ever heard to date.
Taylor appeared on Rachel Maddow explaining that when black people hear that the President of these United States continues to be harassed about his citizenship, it reminds us of the days when we were not allowed to move freely throughout this great country, having to show our “papers” whenever asked, and needing a white person to vouch for our legitimacy.
Most white people in the U.S. cannot understand this pain because their ancestors have never lived it. When your history has never been one of bondage, suppression, and oppression, it’s easy to dismiss black’s suspicions of the motives behind this effort. It’s easy to say the allegations of Obama not being a natural born citizen of the United States are valid and worthy of continued scrutiny.
Which explains why, in Georgia last year, eight people filed challenges to President Obama’s citizenship with the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, which administers elections, claiming he has no right to appear on the ballot for the March 6 presidential primary ballot. The agency then referred the dispute to the administrative hearing office as required by law.
Lawyers for those pursuing the challenge recently subpoenaed Obama to attend a hearing today before Georgia Deputy Chief Judge Michael Malihi in Fulton County. Obama’s legal team argued that no President should be compelled to attend a court hearing, and it is unlikely Obama will appear as he plans to visit Las Vegas, Denver and Detroit to talk about middle class job creation. In a surprising display of cojones, Georgia Democrats, along with Michael Jablonski, Obama’s Atlanta counsel, plan to boycott the hearing altogether.
So you will know whose office to bombard with angry phone calls and emails, Rep. Mark Hatfield, R-Waycross, is the local politician leading the Georgia effort; but the person keeping this conspiracy theory alive nationally is birther queen Orly Taitz. Taitz has such visions of grandeur she has said this hearing will “be 100 times bigger than Watergate” and actually believes she will be allowed to “depose” the president.
If the President doesn’t appear, Malihi could refer the case to a Fulton County Superior Court judge who would decide whether to enforce the subpoena and hold the President in contempt of court.
I could say this lawsuit only serves to reinforce the stereotype many already have of southern states as backwards and racist; however, that would be wrong, as other states in the country have filed this same complaint.
I believe President Obama IS a natural born citizen of the United States of America because he says he was born here and no one has presented any evidence to the contrary. We don’t need him distracted fighting frivolous lawsuits in Georgia or anywhere else; but busy creating and implementing ideas to improve the state of this country for all its people.
UPDATE: Neither President Obama nor his Attorney Michael Jablonski attended Thursday’s hearing. Deputy Chief Judge Michael Malihi did not issue a ruling as to whether or not Obama can be placed on the Georgia Presidential ballot.
We will keep you updated on this very important topic as events unfold. In the meantime, if you are not registered to vote, don’t wait until the last minute…DO IT NOW. President Obama and your country need you.
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