States press for AKA Obama eligibility laws

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/36162.html
Posey defends 'birther' bill
By: David Mark

April 21, 2010 03:36 PM EDT
The House sponsor of legislation that would require presidential candidates to provide a copy of their original birth certificate is praising a similar Arizona measure, which is drawing condemnation from one of George W. Bush’s former White House press secretaries. Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.), sponsor of the House bill, which has attracted 11 co-sponsors, said an Arizona House-passed measure would help clarify murky guidelines about presidential eligibility. The measure, adopted 31-22 earlier this week as part of a separate bill, would require President Barack Obama to show his birth certificate if he hopes to be on the state’s ballot when he runs for re-election. It would require U.S. presidential candidates who want to appear on the ballot in Arizona to submit documents proving they meet the constitutional requirements to be president. “Implementing these standards through legislation, which are listed in the Constitution, will help put to rest any future controversies surrounding presidential eligibility," Posey said in a Q&A for POLITICO’s Arena forum. Posey has suggested his birth certificate legislation is not aimed at Obama specifically. And, on Wednesday, he said the legislation would have also clarified whether Arizona Sen. John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, would have been eligible to serve had he been elected. McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone in 1936, considered U.S. territory at the time. “It’s not surprising that Arizona is the first state to pass this, given that the news media first raised issues about McCain’s eligibility,” Posey said. “Birther” questions about the Hawaiian-born president have been a source of persistent conspiracy theories since the start of the 2008 presidential campaign, with Democrats denouncing all such questions as efforts to undermine Obama’s legitimacy. The Arizona birth certificate legislation has drawn ridicule among Democrats there. It passed the state House within days of another measure that would require police to stop anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant. Coupled with the immigration measure, Democratic state Rep. Kyrsten Sinema of Phoenix said the “birther” bill is one of several measures that are making Arizona “the laughing stock of the nation.” In Arena Wednesday, former Bush White House press secretary Dana Perino criticized both proposals. “I understand that Arizonans are frustrated with the level of illegal immigration and, at the same time, I can’t imagine that we're going to allow police to stop people on the streets and demand their papers” Perino wrote. “Stronger enforcement is key, but this seems a bridge too far. And the birther decision is a bridge even farther and should be rescinded.”
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