Constitutional Law, Politics, Society

“A Bridge Too Far”: Gov. Brewer Vetoes Birther Bill

In a surprise move for many critics, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed the bill that would have required President Barack Obama and other presidential candidates to prove they were born in the United States before their names could have been placed on the state ballot. We previously discussed the bill and the serious constitutional questions that it raised. A former Secretary of State, Brewer objected to one state imposing such conditions on candidates.

Brewer stated that “[a]s a former Secretary of State, I do not support designating one person as a gatekeeper to the ballot for a candidate, which could lead to arbitrary or politically-motivated decisions. She went on to suggest that some of the conditions were simply demeaning: “I never imagined being presented with a bill that could require candidates for President of the greatest and most powerful nation on earth to submit their ‘early baptismal or circumcision certificates’ among other records to the Arizona Secretary of State. This is a bridge too far.”

The move saved Arizona the expense of a costly challenge that would have likely resulted in a defeat for Arizona in the courts.

However, thirteen other states are currently considering the same type of legislation. While the veto in Arizona may deter some, this may still become a court battle leading up to the elections.

Source: CNN

109 thoughts on ““A Bridge Too Far”: Gov. Brewer Vetoes Birther Bill”

  2. Mike A, 🙂 I hoped that at some point he would actually choke on the words but no such luck.

    Slarti, He has to becaues it’s his nature, like the metaphorical scorpion of deception asking for trust from the alligator. It’s just his nature.

  3. http://www.ted.com/talks/kathryn_schulz_on_being_wrong.html

    “Most of us will do anything to avoid being wrong. But what if we’re wrong about that? “Wrongologist” Kathryn Schulz makes a compelling case for not just admitting but embracing our fallibility.

    About Kathryn Schulz
    Kathryn Schulz is the author of “Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error,” and writes “The Wrong Stuff,” a Slate series featuring interviews with high-profile people about how they think and…”

    Stuck inside a feeling of being right? Step outside and make a big intellectual and creative leap.

  4. Wasn’t the Obama administration supposed to make money back on a sale of GM stock? Or so Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other administration officials suggested back in 2009. Now taxpayers learn that Mr. Obama wants out of GM and is willing to sell Washington’s stockholdings short – to the tune of an estimated $11 billion loss. That’s $11 billion in losses to taxpayers.

    Why would Mr. Obama want to dump GMstock for a huge loss now? Why not hold GM stock until the government can at least recover taxpayers’ money? The answer is that GM stock prices may be heading south, not north, in the coming months. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Mr. Obama may have decided to get out of GM while the getting isn’t wholly disastrous.

    Government officials are willing to take the loss because the Obama administration would like to sever its last ties to the auto maker, the people familiar with the matter said. A summer sale makes it more likely Treasury could sell all of its stake in GM by year’s end, avoiding a potentially controversial sale in the 2012 presidential election year. [Italics added]

  5. Eric Von Stroheim:

    “I want to see his long form. But then that is because so many people have asked for it and he doesnt show it.”

    I’ll type this really, really slow so it has time to make a pit stop between your ears:

    The. Department. Of. Health. For. The. State. Of. Hawaii. Does. Not. Issue. The. Long. Form. Birth. Certificate. Any. More.

    Any. One. Born. In. Hawaii. Desiring. A. Certified. Copy. Of. Their. Birth. Certificate. Will. Receive. A. Certified. Copy. Of. A. Certificate. Of. Live. Birth. For. A. Fee.

    Hawaii. Will. Issue. Exactly. What. Has. The. President. Has. Made. Available. On. Factcheck.org. For. Almost. Three. Years.

    Just take it slow, sport. Don’t want you straining that one brain cell you’ve got left.

  6. Lottakatz,

    I don’t think that Turdblossom needs a reason to grasp at malicious lies any more than you need a reason to breathe…

  7. Lottakatz:

    I too have truly enjoyed watching Rove lamely try to deal with this issue. It’s as though he invited some backward relatives to a party and they keep farting in front of all of his other guests.

  8. Slartibartfast: “Bdaman, …. As for Turdblossom – I don’t like him (which is a colossal understatement), but I’ve never thought the man was an idiot (like the birthers are) – he’s desperately trying to spin the birthers as a Democratic plot. Why do you think that is? ”
    —

    Because it’s all he’s got and he just can’t help himself. I’ve seen the clip of hi denouncing the birthers and it delights me every time. Poor old Rove stutters and sputters so badly you can see the war raging in his brain. He wants so badly to be able to jump on that bandwagon of malicious lies and ride it for all it’s worth but he knows it’s just going to help drag the party right over a cliff.

    Lol, The pain of having to advocate not being crazy seems to be actually painful to him so he has to grasp at any other malicious lie within arms reach. Yea, it’s a Dem. plot to make the wingers look bad, ROFLMAO.

  9. Eric Von Stroheim:

    I have a suggestion. There have been enough threads on this site to produce a two-volume set of “Treacy on Birtherism.” Why don’t you take the time to read them and then come back with a question that hasn’t already been asked and answered? Frankly, people who periodically return under a new pseudonym and post the same drivel are rather tiresome.

  10. OT:

    I highly recommend looking on Wikipedia at some of the more obvious troll’s nom d’internet. Whatever system he uses to pick his names produces some interesting results.

  11. I want to see his long form. But then that is because so many people have asked for it and he doesnt show it.

    Seems simple enough to me. Maybe his mother was a former day Angilie Jolie type and adopted him, who knows at this point.

  13. How do you know when you are winning an argument with a Liberal?

  14. “When Donald Trump said he sent PIs to Hawaii to get to the bottom of all this, he meant this book,” declares an insider.

    Maybe Trump helped in the funding of the investigation and book, sat on the info until the book was just about ready to go to publisher. This would explain his recent comments on the subject after being silent for two plus years.

    who knows

  15. Bdaman,

    Here’s my prediction – Corsi’s book will be filled with nothing but scurrilous lies, distortions and a profound lack of understanding of the law. Waste your money on it if you want, but it doesn’t make the birthers any less than the stupid, ignorant bigots they have shown themselves to be. If you want to stand with idiots and racists, that’s your choice, but don’t be surprised when you get painted with the same brush…

    As for Turdblossom – I don’t like him (which is a colossal understatement), but I’ve never thought the man was an idiot (like the birthers are) – he’s desperately trying to spin the birthers as a Democratic plot. Why do you think that is?

  16. We’re all birthers now.
    Via Drudge:

    BOOK TO REVEAL OBAMA’S ‘TRUE’ IDENTITY?
    Wed Apr 20 2011 10:35:52 ET

    **Exclusive**

    This year’s high stakes publishing project quietly went to press this week, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

    After years of research and digging by the nation’s top private investigators, here it comes:

    “WHERE’S THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE? The Case that Barack Obama is not Eligible to be President.”

    MORE

    The street date is a LONG month away, and author Jerome Corsi, the man who torpedoed John Kerry’s presidential dreams with SWIFT BOAT, has gone underground and is holding his new findings thisclose.

    “It’s utterly devastating,” reveals a source close to the publisher. “Obama may learn things he didn’t even know about himself!”

    MORE

    Does Corsi definitively declare the location of Obama’s birth?

    Will the president’s attorneys attempt to interfere with the book’s distribution? [The publisher vows to vigorously fight any legal action that may be taken.]

    Will the book finally — once and for all — put an end to the growing controversy?

    Or will it just ignite new ones!?

    “When Donald Trump said he sent PIs to Hawaii to get to the bottom of all this, he meant this book,” declares an insider.

  17. Who cares who shares your opinion. Has Karl Rove ever been wrong.
    Why do you give Karl Rove so much credit?

  18. Bdaman,

    Keep telling yourself the birthers help the Republicans – and enjoy President Obama’s second term. Do you think Karl Rove is an idiot? He shares my opinion (on this if on nothing else). Are O’Reilly, Turdblossom, and Governor Brewer all Obots? Or do they think that the birthers are a clear and present danger to the Republican brand? Sorry, but significant political movements don’t get built on easily debunked conspiracy theories no matter how much idiots like Rep. Bachmann want them to be…

  19. Bdaman, It is never a good idea to get your talking points from the deranged.

  20. “The Only people who don’t want to expose the truth is people with something to hide”. Barack Obama

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