Just when he probably thought that it could not get much worse than losing to the Packers in a home game, Rahm Emanuel has lost his fight to get on the ballot. The court just ruled that he is ineligible.
He had won below and the Illinois Appellate Court ruled 2-1 to overturn a Chicago Board of Elections decision. In questioning, the judges had expressed skepticism. Justice Thomas Hoffman asked “Can a person dwell conceptually, or do they have to have a place to put their body Can you have a permanent place of abode where there is no dwelling?”
Apparently not according to the majority. You can expect a rapid appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court.
The Court reached the decision despite the following factual findings:
At all relevant times, including the time he was in
Washington, D.C., the candidate continued to pay property taxes for
the Hermitage house, continued to hold an Illinois driver’s license
listing the Hermitage house as his address, continued to list the
Hermitage house address on his personal checks, and continued to
vote with the Hermitage house as his registered voting address. He
did, however, pay income tax in 2009 and 2010 to both Washington,
D.C., and Illinois.
The dissenting judge however add a few facts to support the view of residency:
The candidate initially rented an apartment in Washington,
D.C., but later rented a home when his family joined him during the
summer of 2009. The lease terms of both his Chicago residence and
the Washington, D.C., home coincided with the school year of the
candidate’s children in order to provide the least disruption
possible to their education. Prior to the family’s move to
Washington, D.C., the candidate’s wife and her friends filled 100
boxes with belongings that were then left in a locked storage area
in the basement of the Chicago home. The candidate described the
stored items as the family’s most valuable possessions, including
his wife’s wedding gown, heirloom china, family photograph albums,
an heirloom coat brought by the candidate’s grandfather when he
immigrated to the United States, the clothes and birth outfits of
the candidate’s children, and their school projects and report
cards.
The majority found that candidates were given an added criteria to satisfy on residency:
We base this conclusion largely on the plain language of the
Election Code. That plain language limits the reach of the
“business of the United States” exception to “elector[s]” or their
spouses; it makes no mention of “candidates.” Further, as we have
noted, we must interpret statutes “as a whole, with each provision
construed in connection with every other section.” Cinkus, 228
Ill. 2d at 216-17. Section 3-2’s “business of the United States”
exception is housed not only in the Election Code, but in a portion
of the Election Code dealing exclusively with voter qualification,
in fact in an Article titled “Qualification of Voters.” See 10
ILCS 5/3-1 through 3-5 (West 2008). As explained above, the
Municipal Code sets forth two qualifications for candidates: they
must meet the Election Code’s standards for a “qualified voter,”
and they must have “resided in” the municipality for one year
preceding the election. The location of section 3-2’s “business of
the United States” exception–in the Election Code, and in an
article of the Election Code dedicated exclusively to voter
qualification–supports the conclusion that the exception applies
only to the Election Code’s “qualified voter” standard, and not to
any supplemental candidate qualifications located outside the
Election Code.
Here is the opinion: Emanuel decision
On Dec. 23, 2010, the Chicago Board of Elections voted 3-0 to uphold the decision of Joseph Morris, a local Chicago attorney and elections official. Usually a lower court’s factual findings are given great deference but this was a mixed question of law and fact — if not a pure question of law. The court simply disagreed on what is required to establish residency.
A poll this week showed Emanuel way out in front. The problem is the early voting starts in a week and the clerk is going ahead without Emanuel’s name.
Bdaman-
My manias are multiple, not mono. As to my hat, for the next two weeks I’m wearing either the Cheddar or the Swiss, depending on the weather.
Obama’s grandfather (his mom’s dad) was a WW2 veteran born in Kansas. He was an American citizen and I’ll be darned if such a citizen’s offspring are not US citizens. This makes his offspring, Obama’s momma (Stanley Dunham), an American. She, (Obama’s mome) was also born in the Kansas. And all that makes Obama an American even if he was born on the other side of the Milky Way galaxy.
This nonsense is such a waste of time.
Slartibarfast:
He doesn’t have one, it’s gone missing. It has mysteriously disappeared with a note left saying Obama was born in HI. I believe that handwritten note, of course I do. It was obviously written by an honest man, yes of course nothing but honest and upright most probably.
Bdaman will tell you, yes he will. We are not racists we just want the facts. Nothing racist about the facts, the truth will set you free, yes it will. Obama should release his personal copy so that all this can be put to rest, yes he should. He could have released it in 2007 or 2008, why didn’t he? We have our birth certificates in a safe place where we can put our hands on them if we decided to run for office.
Seems a legitimate question, why doesn’t he have a copy of his own birth certificate especially if he is running for public office which requires verification of citizenship. The document released by HI is not enough.
Henman I did that the last time you suggested it.
It had a Note: See HenMan
Mike Appleton Slarti was the first to mention birthers and eligibility.
Slartibartfast 1, January 24, 2011 at 2:07 pm
Only fitting that the presidents right hand man has now found himself in an eligibility challenge.
Bdaman-
Look up the word “monomania”. When you finish, go to “urbandictionary.com” and look up the word “asshat”. Nothing personal.
I must say that I am impressed by the degree of ingenuity that enables posters on this site to convert virtually any topic into another discussion of the President’s origins.
What private info is on his original that you would consider too personal?
There is only two things on the original that are not disclosed.
Name of hospital and physicians signature. Whats so personal about that?
Dr. Fukino testified (under penalty of perjury, I believe) that the Obama campaign posted a copy of his birth certificate online.
Then why have these two not contacted Fukino and ask exactly where did you view that and exactly where is it on file in accordance to state policy and procedures.
Chris Matthews or Neil Abercrombie (neither of whom said what you imply they did)
Chris Mathews said
“Why has the president himself not demanded they put out the original documents?”
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2010/12/27/chris_matthews_why_doesnt_obama_just_release_the_birth_certificate.html
What DID I imply?
Neil Abercrombie said. That it was recorded in the archives.
What DID I imply?
Bdaman,
Dr. Fukino testified (under penalty of perjury, I believe) that the Obama campaign posted a copy of his birth certificate online. Unless you have evidence that she perjured herself, we can assume that the online COLB is the president’s legitimate birth certificate. And you’re in the company of Lame Cherry, not Chris Matthews or Neil Abercrombie (neither of whom said what you imply they did). You can’t find any sedition, hate, or bigotry at Doc C’s except for what the birther trolls brought with them (or people quoting material from bither sites). On the other hand, all you have to do to find hate and sedition at Dr. Kate’s View is to read one of her posts and you usually don’t need to read more than a paragraph of Lame Cherry’s ravings to know that it is a batshit insane racist bigot who hates the darkie in the Oval Office and his wife with the white-hot passion of 10,000 suns. Or maybe you feel you would be better represented by a lawyer – Dr. Taitz, perhaps? You’re putting yourself in the company of seditionists and racists – why? Why are their ravings on eligibility any more credible than their ravings on other topics are known to be?
Emanuel Ruling Creates A Legal ‘Mess,’ Possibility of 1st Amendment Suits: Expert:
WASHINGTON — An Illinois appellate court decision to rule that Rahm Emanuel does not qualify as a Chicago resident and should be left off the mayoral ballot has created, what one respected local legal observer called, “a mess” even within a city known for political drama.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/24/rahm-emanuel-ruling-mayor-chicago_n_813261.html
Liberal,
Please, “interrogate.” The man was a revolutionary after all.
Raff-
It probably “seemed like a good idea at the time”. A very high price to pay for being a hero to a bunch of cranks. Kind of like the old saying,”sleep with dogs, get up with fleas.”
“If I ask the Illinois authorities for my birth certificate, all I get is a certified copy of the original.”
Did Obama post a certified copy of his original? I thought it was supposed to be an abstract of the original.
Wouldn’t a certified copy of the original list the hospital and reveal the doctors signature?
These Birthers are the same people who want less government intrusion into our lives, yet they insist that the President authorize a very intrusive process that is unnecessary due to the documentation already provided.
We just want the truth. You would still be scratching your head over why he isn’t prosecuting Bush/Chenet for tortue if it wasn’t for Wiki Leaks. Scratch that your still scratchin your head 🙂
bdaman,
Abercrombie is stupid to have put his nose into a situation that he has no control over and shouldn’t have any control over it. These Birthers are the same people who want less government intrusion into our lives, yet they insist that the President authorize a very intrusive process that is unnecessary due to the documentation already provided.
HenMan,
that Army physician was stupid to refuse to deploy. If only he hadn’t listened to the Birthers, he might have lasted long enough to get his full Army retirment package. My Mom always told me to be careful who I was friends with. I guess Lt.Col. Akin did not learn that lesson.
Questions were raised about the president’s eligibility for office. In reply to those questions, he took a document which has been confirmed by (sworn, I believe) testimony of a Hawai’ian Department of Health Official (Dr. Fukino) to be President Obama’s birth certificate – a document which would be accepted as proof of natural born citizenship in any court in the land, by the way
Prove it!
“and illegally oust him from power”
How were they going to illegally oust him from power?
“vile, bigoted, hate-filled seditious speech”
Have you read obamaconspiracy? I forgot you’re a regular there. An active participant.
“Why should he release anything to these assholes?”
Because the presidents game of keep away is getting old. Abercrombie acknowledged that it will hurt him in 2012.
“Why shouldn’t he have them rounded up for their seditious speech?”
That’s funny.
“And why are you putting yourself in the company of racists?”
You mean like Chris Mathews or Neil Abercrombie?
Gyges:
LOL – All the more reason to beat him up, right?
Excerpts from a “Stars and Stripes” newspaper article reprinted at “military.com” December 17,2010.
“Birther Doc Gets 6 Mos. in Prison, Dismissal”
“Just hours after being found guilty at his court-martial, Army Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin(Age 47)said he was ashamed and remorseful over his decision to refuse deployment to Afghanistan earlier this year.”
“Lakin, a 17-year Army physician, was sentenced to six months in prison and dismissal from the service on Thursday after being found guilty of disobeying orders and ignoring his deployment orders. In April,Lakin posted an online video declaring he would not return to Afghanistan with his unit until questions regarding Obama’s birth certificate were answered to his satisfaction. The move made him an instant hero to the birther movement, which helped him raise money for his legal defense.”
“Along with the jail time, Lakin will also forfeit his military retirement benefits. If he had served honorably until 2012, he could have left the service with a retirement package of more than $45,000 a year.”
Liberal,
Nah, they’d just claim he was a secret Muslim (I mean, just look at him).