Lawrence O'Donnell vs Birther queen Orly Taitz

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Birther queen’ Orly Taitz may actually win California GOP primary

By Stephen C. Webster

A GOP nightmare: In the face of wilting establishment opposition, Taitz could win Republican nomination to California secretary of state

Even as they celebrate President Obama's slowly declining approval numbers, California Republicans still have good reason to be worried. After all, their slate of statewide candidates for office in 2010 could very well bear one significant upset to their plans: "birther queen" Orly Taitz.

It's a scenario that puts the fear into almost any serious California Republican, but it may well happen.

James Lacy, a California GOP operative, told Politico: "It’d be a disaster for the Republican party. Can you imagine if [gubernatorial candidate] Meg Whitman and [candidate for Lt. Gov.] Abel Maldonado — both of whom might have a chance to win in November — had to run with Orly Taitz as secretary of state, who would make her cockamamie issues about Obama’s birth certificate problems at the forefront of her activities?"

Taitz, an Israeli immigrant and practicing dentist, has made a name for herself since the 2008 presidential election by claiming President Obama is a foreign national and thereby ineligible for office. Her claims completely fly in the face of all available evidence. Hawaii, Obama's birth state, has certified that his certificate of live birth is accurate and valid. The form has been available since the 2008 campaigns, when then-Senator Obama's staff released it online.

In pursuit of her claims, Taitz racked up $20,000 in fines for filing frivolous lawsuits. That didn't stop most television media outlets from giving her a platform, at least briefly, which has now grown to the California GOP. She faces Damon Dunn, a former football player for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who has opted to "take the high road," according to Politico, and not even attempt to wage a campaign against Taitz.

True to her history, Taitz has sued over Dunn's candidacy, claiming he spent a brief time as a registered Democrat and should be disqualified.

Though most statewide Republicans would refuse to appear on stage with Taitz, she was recently a special guest of the Republican Jewish Coalition, which also hosted famed GOP personalities like Karl Rove, former Senator Norm Coleman and Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN), along with California Senate hopefuls Chuck DeVore and Carly Fiorina.

"For professional Republicans right now, the main tactic in regards to Orly Taitz is prayer," Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College, told Politico. "Down-ballot races in California can definitely take odd bounces. I would say Damon Dunn is the favorite, but I wouldn’t bet my next mortgage on it."

Democrat Debra Bowen, the current secretary of state in California, is seen as likely to retain her seat into the next term.

This video is an interview with Orly Taitz featured by MSNBC in 2009.

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Judge: ‘Birther’ lawyer may have urged witnesses to lie on the stand

By Daniel Tencer Birthers plan to protest Fox's O'Reilly for not backing them up

A US District Court judge in California has dismissed one of "birther" leader Orly Taitz's lawsuits challenging President Barack Obama's right to be president, and expressed "deep concerns" that the lawyer urged witnesses in the case to perjure themselves.

Judge David O. Carter dismissed a lawsuit filed by Taitz on behalf of US Army Capt. Pamela Barnett, who had asked the court for the right to refuse military orders because she believes Obama was not born in the United States and therefore is not the legitimate commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

In his ruling (PDF), the judge said he dismissed the suit because allowing it to go forward would force the court "to disregard the limits on its power put in place by the Constitution; and to effectively overthrow a sitting president who was popularly elected by We the People‚ sixty-nine million of the people."

Judge Carter wrote: “In order for Plaintiffs’ alleged injury to be fully addressed, Plaintiffs would have the Court intervene, upheave the results of a national election, declare the President illegitimate, shut down the functioning of the government of the United States, and leave this country defenseless."

As reported by David Weigel at the Washington Independent, the judge stated he had "received several sworn affidavits that Taitz asked potential witnesses that she planned to call before this Court to perjure themselves."

Judge Carter wrote:

This Court is deeply concerned that Taitz may have suborned perjury through witnesses she intended to bring before this Court. While the Court seeks to ensure that all interested parties have had the opportunity to be heard, the Court cannot condone the conduct of Plaintiffs’ counsel in her efforts to influence this Court.

As Rachel Slajda noted at TalkingPointsMemo, the judge poured heavy criticism on Taitz's actions during preliminary court proceedings.

"Plaintiffs have attacked the judiciary, including every prior court that has dismissed their claim, as unpatriotic and even treasonous for refusing to grant their requests and for adhering to the terms of the Constitution which set forth its jurisdiction," Carter wrote. "Respecting the constitutional role and jurisdiction of this Court is not unpatriotic."

Taitz had earlier declared that she planned to file an appeal if the case was dismissed, reports the Orange County Register.

As Weigel noted, of all of Taitz's lawsuits challenging President Obama, the Barnett case was the one that had gotten furthest through the legal system. Another of Taitz's lawsuits, in a federal court in Georgia, ended two weeks ago when the judge issued Taitz a $20,000 fine for ignoring court rules and filing "frivolous" lawsuits.

"Birthers" are already challenging the judge's ruling, and suggesting judicial impropriety in the matter. The birther-friendly news site WorldNetDaily ran a story on Thursday alleging that Judge Carter employs a court clerk who used to work for a law firm -- Perkins Coie -- that has defended the Obama administration in other "birther" suits.

BIRTHERS TURN ON O'REILLY

Fox News prime-time host Bill O'Reilly is the latest media target of the "birther" movement, after O'Reilly commented on Tuesday that he thinks the "birther" lawsuits are "crazy."

The off-the-cuff comment didn't go by unnoticed by Taitz's followers, and now they are planning a protest outside Fox news headquarters in New York on Veterans' Day.

On her Web site, Taitz wrote, "Keep in mind, what OReilly did, is more dangerous, more harmful then what some idiots like Rachel Maddow or Keith [Olbermann] did, since people believe O’Reilly to be fair and balanced."

Taitz told the news blog Conservative Monster that O'Reilly is "not a legitimate journalist" because he had not contacted her about the story he planned to air. Taitz "stated that if Fox gave her a 30-minute show for her to display her evidence, Obama would have to resign from office within 48 hours," the Web site reported.

The following video was uploaded to YouTube on October 28, 2009.

Judge tosses birther suit, threatens lawyer with sanctions

By Daniel Tencer A federal judge in Georgia has threatened Orly Taitz, de facto leader of the birther movement, with sanctions if she ever brings another “frivolous” case before him, news reports say.

Judge Clay Land of the US District Court in Columbus, Georgia, threw out a case brought by US Army Captain Connie Rhodes, who earlier this month sued for the right to refuse deployment orders to Iraq, on the argument that the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, President Barack Obama, was not born in the United States and is therefore not the legitimate head of the army.

According to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Judge Clay stated in his ruling that the plaintiff “has presented no credible evidence and has made no reliable factual allegations to support her unsubstantiated, conclusory allegations and conjecture that President Obama is ineligible to serve as president of the United States.”

The ruling continues: “Instead, she uses her complaint as a platform for spouting political rhetoric, such as her claims that the president is ‘an illegal usurper, an unlawful pretender, [and] an unqualified imposter.’”

As WTVM-TV in Columbus reported, the judge also stated that Rhodes’ attorney, birther leader Orly Taitz, “will be subject to counsel sanctions for bringing any future actions in his court which are similarly frivolous.”

The judge’s ruling represents a significant legal defeat for Taitz and the birther movement, which received a great deal of attention from the media this summer. Media watchdog groups specifically targeted CNN’s Lou Dobbs, who gave the discredited theory that Obama was not born in the United States a disproportionate amount of coverage, according to some observers.

Taitz was behind this summer’s release of a purported “Kenyan birth certificate” for President Obama, which was dated two years after the president’s 1961 birth date, and contradicted Hawaiian officials’ long-standing insistence that the president’s Hawaiian birth certificate is legitimate.

Judge Clay ruled that that document, which evidently formed the backbone of the plaintiff’s case, was illegitimate because Taitz’s organization paid money to acquire it, making it tantamount to bribery.

However, the legal actions challenging President Obama’s citizenship have not ended. A US District Court judge in California recently allowed another lawsuit challenging President Obama’s citizenship to go forward. This one, brought by Capt. Pamela Barnett, also involves Taitz. The first hearing is set for October, when the judge will review a motion to dismiss the case.