We The People acting like We The Desperate
Campaign to discredit Obama has gone beyond ridiculous
December 2, 2008
BY MARY MITCHELL Sun-Times Columnist
The people over at the "We The People Foundation for Constitutional Education Inc." must have money to burn.
Or in this case, money to throw away.
The group ran a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune on Monday as an open letter to President-elect Barack Obama rehashing the misinformation about Obama's citizenship.
It has already been established that Obama was born in Honolulu on Aug. 4, 1961. During his campaign, Obama posted his birth certificate on the Internet.
Contrary to the inflammatory ad, public officials in Hawaii verified that the birth certificate in its possession was indeed authentic.
With Obama in the midst of picking his Cabinet and packing for the White House, the rumor mill has geared up again.
Only now, the accusations aren't funny.
They are dangerous.
To insist that Obama is not a natural-born citizen in the face of evidence that proves otherwise feeds the paranoia of people who operate on the fringes.
These loonies -- like the skinheads from Tennessee who planned to dress up in coattails and top-hats and go on a racist killing spree before targeting Obama -- eat up conspiracy theories.
In the age of the BlackBerry, what Mark Twain noted decades ago is still true. "A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth even gets its boots on."
When this kind of blatant lie is plastered in a paid ad in one of the president-elect's hometown newspapers, it shows how much influence the people have who are behind the lies.
And that's scary.
So don't be fooled by the involvement of We The People Foundation For Constitutional Education Inc.
The group has a nice-sounding name, but it isn't in this to assure us that Obama has passed constitutional muster.
That question has been answered.
According to its Web site, "We The People Foundation For Constitutional Education Inc. is a New York-based not-for-profit group that is supported by tax-deductible donations."
Its chairman, Robert L. Schulz, is best known as a "tax protester," and has been subject to investigations by the federal government with respect to taxation issues.
Under the auspices of two nonprofits, Schulz has filed suits against the federal government alleging that there is no law that requires citizens to file income taxes.
In 2007, the U.S. Justice Department filed a civil suit against Schulz, "We the People Foundation for Constitutional Education Inc." and "We the People Congress Inc." in connection with a tax fraud-scheme -- a case that Schulz and the groups lost but subsequently appealed, court records show.
So you'd think this guy might want to keep a low profile.
Instead, he's attempting to stir up any lingering anti-Obama sentiments.
This is just the kind of blatant disrespect that the Obama camp has been good at ignoring.
Still, it is distressing to see that even after winning 53 percent of the popular vote, and solidly defeating his opponent, John McCain, Obama is being trashed by people like Schulz.
So here's my appeal to Schulz:
Stop it. The election is over. Done. Finished.
There's no hope of overturning the results. The people have spoken loud and clear.
And there's absolutely no hope of unearthing a bogus or forged birth certificate. If that were the case, don't you think Sen. Hillary Clinton would have beat you to it during the primary?
Given the fierce competition, and Clinton's popularity, if there was some dirt to be dug up, it would have been in her hands.
But, wait.
What am I thinking?
Clinton kept her mouth shut because she wanted to become Obama's VP pick or secretary of state. That's the kind of nonsense these conspiracy theorists are pushing.
Or how about Sen. John McCain?
I still believe his campaign had something to do with outing Obama's 56-year-old half-aunt during the last days of the general election.
The woman was living in the country illegally, and the McCain camp tried every which way to whip the voters into an anti-immigrant frenzy.
It didn't work.
With the election at stake, that was the best they could do. If Obama had had a bogus birth certificate -- anywhere -- McCain's forces have likely found it.
So there must be something else Schulz is looking for.
Can someone say donations?
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