Remember this dude? He attempted to challenge Mitch McConnell in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate in May. And now he’s filed a frivolous and embarrassing lawsuit.
Daniel John Essek, 47, filed a demand last week that Obama prove he is a natural-born U.S. citizen — one of the few requirements to run for president.
Essek wants Obama to provide a copy of his birth certificate to a federal judge in London for verification.
He knows some people might find his request odd, especially after the election, but says he would tell them it’s never too late to do the right thing.
“I may very well be chasing windmills thinking they’re monsters,” he acknowledged.
Seriously. I mean, really?
Chasing windmills, indeed. And making himself and all Kentuckians (guess the crazies aren’t just in the Democratic Party) look flipping stupid all across the land. Oh, he’s also asking taxpayers to absorb his legal fees.
14 responses so far ↓
1 Sherry // Dec 1, 2008 at 11:49 am
A Pennsylvania judge threw out a pre-election court challenge to Obama’s birth qualification, saying its arguments were frivolous. THIS IS UNTRUE. The case was threw out on a technicality. The technicality being that a simple US citizen does not have the standing to question the issue.
Obama’s campaign has posted a copy of his birth certificate on the Internet to prove he was born in Hawaii. THIS IS UNTRUE. The certificate of live birth from Hawaii does not prove that Obama was born in Hawaii, just that his birth was registered in Hawaii.
None of this matters. This shouldn’t be about citizenship, I personally believe Obama is a US citizen, however he is a citizen born of dual citizenship. Therefore, a naturalized US citizen. Obama is not a natural born citizen as this would require that both parents be US Citizens and we know that is not the case. This is being made into a “right wing” issue (which I can assure you I am not) however this is a constitutional issue and we should all be outraged that no one is fighting for us.
2 Scary Bob // Dec 1, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Wow, I can tell what kind of emails Sherry sends to her friends: PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW! Will all you sore losers just get over it, YOU LOST. And you’re all a bunch of racist rednecks, too, if that’s not obvious. How was your visit to the UFO site yesterday? Did you see Jesus in a cookie last week again? Woo Hoo!
And I am outraged that we would spend more precious taxpayer dollars on a non-issue like this.
http://fightthesmears.com/articles/5/birthcertificate
3 crap! I can't be president! // Dec 1, 2008 at 12:45 pm
So, by this utter crock of a line of reasoning, the fact that I was born in Minneapolis makes no difference, since both my parents were not yet citizens, but were instead WW II refugees who were admitted to the US as displaced persons – which means they were legally citizens of no country until they became naturalized here.
4 Non-issues // Dec 1, 2008 at 1:03 pm
What’s funny is this new interpretation by the bigoted right that “natural born” citizens who are born on US soil are now somehow different than “US citizens” born on US soil. If the notion that both your parents must be US citizens to be a “natural born” citizen, you are in essence revoking the citizenship of literally millions of Latino children who receive citizenship via the principle of “anchor babies”. Neither of Bobby Jindahl’s parents were US Citizens, yet no one is screaming that he be disqualified in 2012. This attempt by the right to actually have the election overturned is the apex of their cultural paranoia, a pathology that says that non-white people are to be viewed with suspicion and assumed to be disloyal. It’s amazing that these asshats are demanding that Obama “prove” that he wasn’t born in Kenya or Mars or Indonesia when a) they have yet to prove that he WAS born in Kenya, Mars, whatever and b) this demand to prove “natural birth” has NEVER been made of any candidate after his election ever.
5 BimBeau // Dec 1, 2008 at 2:22 pm
People ……………… !
Think about it for a moment. It is the right of every citizen to access the courts of the United States to address grievances. Frivolous or not. All the Civil Rights suits in the south and contesting Jim Crow in the north were at first labelled frivolous. This access we’ve been denied, for the last 28 years of Reagan & Bush(43) and the conspiratorial (calling itself sartorial) Senate run by Republicans, has now returned. May he have his day in court. Settle the issue in a transparent forum and then get down to business.
The business that both parents must be citizens is false. Issue settled long ago. If live birth in the U.S., a Territory, Military Facility overseas, or to parents on diplomatic duty abroad it is a natural-born citizen.
McCain isn’t. He was born in a civilian hospital while father overseas on an unaccompaied tour. His wife was not present with the permission of Naval Authority granting concurrent travel. It was a ‘short tour’. This civilian hospital was used by Naval & Military services after WW-II as a concurrent dependant facility after overhaul. The Senate passed a resolution – being the “Sense of the Senate” that he was eligible to run for President … and – serve. The Senate almost always votes for itself – case to point … John Tower of Texas who was more rude to the body sitting than Cheney.
Leave the issue alone. Let the Federal Judge in the Southern District handle it.
Praise the poor soul for being such a brave doult who had the guts to be wrong … in front of gawd, countree & ever-body. Got published doing it and honored Andy Warhol in the bargin.
Choice is the food of democracy and the victim of oppression.
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6 Larry West // Dec 1, 2008 at 4:27 pm
I wonder if those here who oppose people like Daniel Essek trying to overthrow the will of the people in regards to the President-elect feel the same way regarding overthrowing the will of the people in California’s Proposition 8. There is no difference — both are trying to overthrow the will of the people by means of the courts.
Of course, having made public only a “Certificate of Birth Registration” and hiding the birth certificate itself only provides fuel to the fire of those who think Obama was actually born in Kenya. My guess is that there is something embarassing on the certificate itself (probably that Strom Thurmond is Obama’s actual father – lol) or it would have already been made public record.
Also, is there anyone here who doesn’t think that someone on the left wouldn’t have done the same thing to McCain if he had gotten elected?
7 BimBeau // Dec 1, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Mr.West,
The issue in Prop-8 is not wholely the illegitimization of sexual attraction. The crux of most of the opposition at bar (in the suit – to those who don’t practice) is that Prop-8 makes prior acts illegitimate. Last I read … ‘ex post facto’ was prohibited by the constitution.
Additionally Prop-8 intends to impose the undiluted will of the people on a minority. One of the tenants the founding fathers guarded zealously was the protection of those with minority status – hence we are a republic. The rights of minorities are not to be abused by the majority. And – forbidding equal access to courts and services is discriminatory by the poorly educated and fearful majority.
My daughter has met all my BimBettes and Belles over the years and not a one complained of her ‘roving hands’. Homosexuals don’t proselityze; they aren’t contagious; they are born that way.
If you actually ever had a case to argue – blame me; blame her mother. We’re responsible. We provided her genes and chromosomes that came out the way she is. We are proud of her and if anyone has any liability for being punished it is we.
So to all homophobic chicken-hawks out there come & get me. I didit. So until you can come up with charges & specifications with which to try me for promotion of homosexuality – STFU.
Bim is still auditioning.
BimBeau
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8 Republican // Dec 1, 2008 at 11:04 pm
There’s at least one suit similar to Essek’s that was ongoing before the election. It was tossed out by a federal court not on the merits, but on whether or not an individual citizen has standing to bring such a suit. So this isn’t an attempt to invalidate the will of the people, there was an effort afoot to disqualify the Dem nominee before Nov. 4.
Maybe, somehow, the cases can be combined.
9 Taylor // Dec 1, 2008 at 11:41 pm
maybe, somehow, people can actually get on with worrying about important business – say, how to get out of the recession we’ve been in since last year? reducing our dependence on fossil fuels? getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan in a timely manner? repairing our image around the world? getting health insurance for the 47 million or so Americans who don’t have it?
the list could go on forever. there really are more important things for people to be worrying about
10 David Harpe // Dec 2, 2008 at 12:33 am
You can bet if this had any legs, McCain/Palin would have used it long ago. They used everything else…why would they remain totally silent on this one?
11 Republican // Dec 2, 2008 at 2:44 pm
First off, screw our image around the world. I’d rather be feared than liked.
And I can understand a desire to get out of Iraq, but Afghanistan? What are going to do? Let the Taliban take over again and let Al-Quaeda have safe haven once more?
12 jake // Dec 2, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Uh… this story is about crazy Essek and his bullshit lawsuit. Not Iraq or anything else. Let’s keep discussion on-topic, please.
13 Daniel Essek // Apr 13, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Okay guys, if you are still interested, I sent an Impeachment Bill to Jim Bunning. I told him, if he doesn’t sponsor the bill, I will run against him in the Republican Primary, and should I get the job, I’ll do it myself.
By the way, Thank you Mr. Obama for your leadership and ordering the pirates killed.
April 13, 2009
14 Conservative // Apr 14, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Wow, reading this old thread, particularly DimBulb’s comments about ex post facto, brings up something.
DimBulb should study up on the case of Kentucky Utilities vs. SouthEast Coal and see what can happen to contracts previously entered into.
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