State Sen. Ron Ramsey Subscribes To “Birther” Conspiracy Philosophy
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Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester called the lieutenant governor’s remark today questioning the president’s citizenship further proof that the Republican leadership in the General Assembly is out of touch with real Tennesseans.
“Ron Ramsey would rather pander to a far-right wing group of conspiracy theorists than govern in a pragmatic approach that most Tennesseans expect from their political leaders,” Forrester said of the Blountville state senator. “Many families in Tennessee are struggling. They are concerned about paying their mortgages, their utility bills and their grocery bills.
“Why in the world would Mr. Ramsey even entertain such a ludicrous idea when our state is facing tough times? Shouldn’t he be more worried about how proposed budget cuts will affect vital services to our state? Shouldn’t he be more worried about creating jobs for our communities and better educational opportunities for our children?”
Ramsey questioned President Obama’s citizenship at the Nashville Republican’s First Tuesday Club during a question and answer session.
“I don’t know whether President Obama is a citizen of the United States or not,” Ramsey reportedly told the group after it was suggested that no one running for president be put on a Tennessee ballot unless proof of natural born citizenship is provided.
Ramsey’s comments suggest that he would support legislation sponsored by Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, who represents Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District. She has sponsored legislation that would require future presidential candidates to show their birth certificates proving Constitutional requirements to serve.
Blackburn had been scheduled to speak at the upcoming Tea Party Convention, which begins Thursday here in Nashville, before bailing out after intense media scrutiny began questioning the for-profit motives of the event’s organizers.
“I cannot believe that Mr. Ramsey would stoop to the same level as Marsha Blackburn and the other ‘birthers’ out there on the lunatic fringe,” Forrester said. “This is an embarrassment to all Tennesseans. Our political leaders need to quit playing these divisive games.
“Instead they need to focus on good jobs for our people, good educations for our children and a good quality of life for everyone,” he added.
February 2nd, 2010 at 6:13 pm
Tuesday, Feb 2, 2010 15:40 EST
Tennessee lieutenant governor goes Birther
Ron Ramsey says he doesn’t know whether President Obama is a U.S. citizen
By Alex Koppelman
Hey, politicians: Let Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey be a lesson to you. If you’re about to say something terminally stupid, and before you do so you have enough presence of mind to pause and realize it’s stupid and that your advisors are going to kill you for saying it, maybe you should, you know, just not continue.
Ramsey keeps it too real for that, though. So when Maclin Davis, who’s previously served as the attorney for the state GOP, started pressing his fellow Republican on the subject of President Obama’s citizenship during a question-and-answer session on Tuesday, the lieutenant governor just went ahead and said the dumb thing he was thinking.
The ensuing exchange, with a big tip of the hat to the Nashville Scene:
Davis: Now since the Republicans control both houses of the Tennessee legislature, it seems to me that they might consider passing a state law that says in all future elections no candidate for president can be put on the ballot in Tennessee unless they produce positive proof they are a native-born citizen. If we had one like that a few years ago, we’d be a whole lot better off today. Is there any chance that you would consider that?
Ramsey: … I suppose that every state could individually do that.
Davis: It seems like it would be really good if somebody would file a suit against our present president to get back all the money he’s been paid as president on the grounds he’s not a legitimate president since he’s not a native-born citizen. The great preponderance of the evidence is he’s not a citizen. …
http://salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/02/02/ramsey
February 4th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
TNGA Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey should be presenting a birth certificate for his pick for the new Director of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority – Kenneth C. Hill – proving Hill’s WPWT WHGG ownership statements made under penalty of federal law to Federal Communications Commission that Hill is, in fact, “American Indian or Alaska Native”:
http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1239173&Service=AM&Form_id=323&Facility_id=0
That isn’t the same information TRA Director Hill put on his 1983 Tennessee application for voter registration…
February 5th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
[...] take a break and learn about the special brand of nuttiness Tennessee has to offer. It’s closer to your backyard than you [...]
February 6th, 2010 at 5:02 am
[...] take a break and learn about the special brand of nuttiness Tennessee has to offer. It’s closer to your backyard than you [...]
February 6th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
Scary. Plain scary.
February 7th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Okay, I really just need to point something out. Even if he was born in Kenya (which he wasn’t) his mother was an American citizen, thus making him natural-born. That’s the way it works, y’all.