Thursday, September 24, 2009

Release the Obama Documents

By Michael Johns

One of the most constructive developments of the past eight months is that tens of millions of Americans appear to be reawakening to the critical importance and relevance of the U.S. Constitution. The brazen growth of the federal government, which now controls sizable portions of the economy (automobiles, banks, health care, mortgages and other industry segments), violates the tenets of free market capitalism, the system that has been the foundation of our nation's globally unprecedented growth and prosperity. But this debate is not merely a policy one. Increasingly, as millions of Americans associated with the burgeoning Tea Party and 912 Project movements are demonstrating, the debate is about whether such expansions of federal powers are even Constitutionally permissible.

It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when the dangerous disregard for our nation's founding legal document began. It certainly predates this administration. But the culture upon which it rests might be best exemplified in the apparent Congressional and media groupthink that our 44th President holds no obligation to respond to questions about his Constitutional eligibility, under Article II, Section I of the Constitution, to hold the office to which he ran and was elected. This Constitutional provision states unequivocally that no person except a natural born citizen shall be eligible to the Office of President.

Is Barack Obama a natural born citizen of the United States? Probably. But because Obama is going to great lengths to conceal the documents that would settle this issue definitively, it is impossible to say for sure. Since October 2008, Obama has spent in excess of $1.35 million in legal fees to file protective and privacy motions in at least eight federal lawsuits to avoid releasing the documents--his mother's hospital admission record, his Hawaii certificate of live birth, his educational records during his four years of residence in Indonesia, his Indonesian citizen status at that time and the time of his subsequent reentry to the U.S., and his college and law school admission records--that likely would definitively establish his Constitutional eligibility. Congress, the media, and even many Obama opponents, meanwhile, have failed to exert any pressure on him to halt his pro-active legal measures to avoid disclosure of these documents.

Quite obviously, the question of a President's Constitutional eligibility is serious business. It was serious business when, in February 2008, The New York Times called into question Senator John McCain's eligibility for the office because McCain was born on an American Naval base in the Panama Canal Zone, which was then under U.S. control. "It is certainly not a frivolous issue," The Times quoted Atlanta attorney Jill Pryor as saying at the time. The questions also were serious enough for the U.S. Senate to investigate them, with the Senate ultimately concluding in a unanimous vote that the U.S. administration of the Panama Canal Zone at that time meant that McCain was indeed a natural born citizen and eligible for the Presidency.

Whatever these records might reveal, Obama's extensive, year-long efforts to conceal them are now inexplicable, inexcusable and harmful to the nation. There is no innocuous explanation for his extensive efforts to conceal them, especially since their release is easily authorized and would settle the controversy, permitting the nation to move on with full confidence in his Constitutional eligibility and the Constitutional foundations of our nation in 2009. But Obama has refused to do this and, as a result, a frightening and growing number of Americans now understandably ask the question: What exactly is he hiding?

Let me stipulate that, despite following this issue for a year, I am utterly unable to answer that question. But logic dictates that one would not incur several million dollars in legal fees, as Obama is doing, knowing that the only likely result is that a certain percentage of the American people will view such efforts as non-transparent, or even malfeasant. Conversely, it also is wrong to conclude, in the absence of these documents, that Obama has necessarily misrepresented anything about his birth location or Constitutional eligibility, as some critics of Obama's concealment of these documents continue to do. Under pressure to settle the issue during his Presidential candidacy, the Obama campaign ultimately produced a Certification of Live Birth in 2007. But that document, skeptics argue, is manufactured by the state and is not an unequivocal authentication of his birth location.

The most important point is this: No national interest is served by permitting these important questions to linger and persist. To settle them, Obama should cease blocking release of the documents sought by the plaintiffs in the various federal cases over his eligibility. And going forward, it seems reasonable to insist that our nation's Federal Election Commission (FEC), which is charged with regulatory oversight of Presidential elections, require Presidential candidates to submit, along with their candidacy filing, the documents that clearly establish their natural-born eligibility for the office. Americans' confidence in our Constitutionally-rooted democratic political system requires no less.

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Monday, September 21, 2009

My Message to America's 912 Movement

By Michael Johns

By most estimates, over three million Americans attended a 912 Project event on September 12, 2009. The project was launched by the great Glenn Beck of Fox News, and I have supported it wholeheartedly and believe it to be one of the most constructive political movements to emerge in our lifetimes. Glenn covered the event remotely from Fox's New York studios, and millions more tuned in for his coverage of it.

Because much of my message on September 12 was that change must come to Washington, D.C., not from it, I chose to speak at the second largest 912 Project event that day (after Washington, D.C., where over a million people gathered), held at Washington Park in Quincy, Illinois. Washington Park was selected because of its historic role, on October 13, 1858, as host to the largest of the seven Lincoln-Douglas debates. I was honored to be joined by some of the nation's best leaders in the 912 and Tea Party movements, including Andrew Breitbart, Bill Hennessey, Kevin Jackson, Michael Patrick Leahy, Dana Loesch, and others.

I will let my message in Quincy stand for itself. But the essence is that these are deadly serious times, as were Lincoln's in 1858, and that Americans must--right now--recommit ourselves to our Constitution and liberty, or this nation will find itself far down a very different, ominous path that erodes nearly all the tenets of American exceptionalism:

Speech by Michael Johns to Patriots on the Prairie Tea Party, Quincy Illinois, September 12, 2009.

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Monday, August 31, 2009

Michael Johns to Address September 5 New Jersey Tea Party

National Tea Party leader and conservative writer Michael Johns, a former White House speechwriter and Heritage Foundation policy analyst, will serve as a headline speaker at the New Jersey Tea Party this Saturday, September 5, 2009. The event will be held from 2pm to 5pm EDT at City Hall Circle Park in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, located at High Street and Market Street in Perth Amboy. It is open to media and the public.

Since April 15, 2009, some two million Americans have attended over 2,000 Tea Party rallies across the nation, and the non-partisan movement has been cited widely for its growing influence in national and New Jersey politics and public policy.

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Friday, August 21, 2009

Michael Johns to Address Los Angeles Recess Rally

National Tea Party leader and conservative writer Michael Johns, a former White House speechwriter and Heritage Foundation policy analyst, will be a headline speaker at the Los Angeles Recess Rally this Saturday, August 22. The event will begin at 12pm PT at the Wilshire Federal Building, 11000 Wilshire Boulevard, in Los Angeles.

This Saturday's Recess Rallies are supported by a coalition of grassroots organizations and hundreds of thousands of American voters opposed on multiple grounds to House Resolution 3200, America's Affordable Health Care Act of 2009, and other legislation that would vastly expand the role of the federal government in the management of American health care. In an August 11, 2009 poll conducted last week by Rasmussen Reports, a majority of Americans (53 percent) now oppose this legislation.

The Recess Rallies follow national Tea Party protests held on July 4, 2009, in which an estimated one million Americans in 1,300 American cities and towns participated in expressing their opposition to an expanded federal role in the management and provision of health care and other industry sectors. It is anticipated that 435 such events will be held this Saturday at noon, one in each of the nation's Congressional Districts. The Los Angeles-based event will be held in the Congressional district of U.S. Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, who has been one of the strongest proponents of the legislation and who chairs the Committee of jurisdiction for the legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Johns is a leading national critic of this legislation, which is being supported by the Obama administration and the Democratic leaderships of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. In his Los Angeles speech, he will address the many components of the legislation that will prove harmful to Americans' access to quality, reasonably-priced health care services and products, and constructive alternatives that can address the challenges that do exist in American health care.

In addition to his governmental and public policy experience, Johns has over a decade of experience as an executive with health care providers in the pharmaceutical, home health, and medical device and medical supply segments of American health care

In addition, the Los Angeles Recess Rally will feature remarks by Gary Aminoff, President of the San Fernando Valley Republican Club and First Vice Chair of the Los Angeles County Republican Party; Jane Barnett, Chairman of the Los Angeles County Republican Party; Ari David, Congressional Candidate to replace Representative Henry Waxman; Michael Fell, Los Angeles Recess Rally organizer; Tony Katz, Los Angeles businessman and Tea Party leader; Robert Pedersen, President of the Westside Republican Club; and Evan Sayet, a conservative comedian and commentator.

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Friday, August 7, 2009

Michael Johns to Address Dover, Delaware Tea Party

National Tea Party leader and conservative writer Michael Johns, a former White House speechwriter and Heritage Foundation policy analyst, will address the "Silent No More Tea Party" in Dover, Delaware tomorrow, Saturday August 8, 2009.

The event will be held from 2pm to 6pm on Legislative Mall in Dover. It also will feature other national and regional health care and public policy experts, including physicians Janice Chester and Robert Pyles, Colin Bonini of Delaware's Bad Habit, Ana Puig of the Thomas Jefferson Club, Pell Sherman of the Constitution Party, Nan Swift of FreedomWorks, and Kerri Toloczko of the Institute of Liberty and Conservatives for Patients' Rights. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be emceed by WGMD 92.7 talk radio host Bill Colley.

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Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Michael Johns Addresses Independence Day Tea Parties in New Jersey, Texas and Washington, D.C.

Conservative leader and writer Michael Johns, a former White House speechwriter and Heritage Foundation policy analyst, addressed three large Tea Party events over Independence Day weekend. The national Tea Party movement began this past April, when some 500,000 Americans attended approximately 800 Tea Party events across the nation to express opposition to the growing size of the federal government, high taxes, and various policies of the Obama administration. Independence Day weekend was even larger, featuring an estimated 1,300 Tea Party events in nearly every state in the nation.

Johns spoke at the July 3 New Jersey Tea Party in Summit, New Jersey. The following day, July 4, he spoke at the Washington, D.C. Independence Day Tea Party at the U.S. Capitol. Video of his comments to the Washington, D.C. Tea Party is available in two segments at: Speech by Michael Johns to Washington, D.C. Independence Day Tea Party (first segment) and Speech by Michael Johns to Washington, D.C. Independence Day Tea Party (second segment).

Later on July 4, Johns spoke at the Dallas Tea Party, held at Southfork Ranch in Parker, Texas. Additional speakers included conservative author and blogger Michelle Malkin and author and war hero Scott O'Grady, and the event culminated with fireworks. The Dallas Tea Party was attended by 37,000 people, making it the largest Tea Party held in the nation to date. Video of his presentation to the Dallas Tea Party is available in three segments: Speech by Michael Johns to Dallas Independence Day Tea Party (first segment), Speech by Michael Johns to Dallas Independence Day Tea Party (second segment), and Speech by Michael Johns to Dallas Independence Day Tea Party (third segment).

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Friday, May 1, 2009

National Tea Party Leaders Call on Obama to Live up to Meeting Promise

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 1, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Eighteen national leaders of the Tea Party protest movement, which has drawn the participation of hundreds of thousands of Americans over the past few weeks, today responded to President Barack Obama's invitation to meet with members of the Tea Party movement to discuss solutions to the nation's fiscal challenges.

Speaking at a townhall meeting in Arnold, Missouri this past Wednesday, Obama said: "So, you know, when you see -- those of you who are watching certain news channels on which I'm not very popular and you see folks waving tea bags around, let me just remind them that I am happy to have a serious conversation about how we are going to cut our health care costs down over the long term, how we're going to stabilize Social Security."

The national leadership team of the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition, one of several organizations that form the grassroots ecosystem of the Tea Party movement, this afternoon faxed a letter to the White House accepting the President's invitation for such a discussion. "The Tea Party movement has grown because millions of Americans believe the government is heading in the wrong direction and their government is not only not listening to them, but ignoring them. We need to have a serious, public discussion of these issues. We are ready to have that discussion with you and look forward to your response," the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition leaders wrote in their letter to Obama.

"We have noticed there often appears to be a great divide between President Obama's political rhetoric and the political reality of his policies and actions," said Michael Johns, one of the eighteen signators of the letter. "When the President says he is 'happy to have a serious conversation' with us about the fiscal state of this nation, we think the next question is when and where, and we hope to have an answer to that promptly so we can present concrete, workable policy ideas," he said.

Nationwide Tea Party Coalition leader and letter signator Dana Loesch, who led a protest of hundreds during Obama's Missouri visit this past Wednesday, said: "We didn't stand out in the street by the hundreds at the townhall meeting simply to create sound bites and stock footage for the news circuit any more than the Sons of Liberty dumped tea into Boston Harbor to become an entry in history books." "We stood because we want to propose an alternative, and dare I say better, suggestion as to how fiscal matters should be handled. We welcome an open discussion," she said.

The national leadership team of the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition includes 26 of the more than 900 organizers of the April 15, 2009 Tax Day Tea Parties held nationally and attended by an estimated one million Americans. The Coalition's web site, where today's letter to the president can be seen, is: http://www.nationwideteapartycoalition.com/.

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Monday, April 13, 2009

Michael Johns to Address Tax Day Tea Party Rallies in Boston, New York and Philadelphia

Republican strategist and conservative writer Michael Johns, a former White House speechwriter and Heritage Foundation policy analyst, will speak this week at Tax Day Tea Party rallies in Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia as part of a large and burgeoning movement of Americans calling for a new direction in American public policy.

A national grassroots movement rooted in support for tax and regulatory relief and opposed to income redistribution and most federal governmental subsidies and bailouts, the Tea Party movement has blossomed significantly in recent weeks. Based on many of the same principles that sparked the original Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773, some 2,000 Tea Party events will be held this week in cities across the United States. Michael Johns, one of several national leaders of the Tea Party movement, will speak at three of the largest Tea Party events:

**On Wednesday April 15, 2009, at approximately 11am ET, Michael Johns will address the Tax Day Tea Party rally in Boston, Massachusetts at the Boston Common at the Massachusetts State House, located at 24 Beacon Street in Boston. The event will be emceed by radio talk show host Todd Feinburg of Boston's WRKO Radio. For further information on the Boston Tax Day Tea Party, see the event's official site at: Boston Tax Day Tea Party. A video of this April 15, 2009 speech is now available at: Remarks by Michael Johns to Boston Tea Party.

**Later on Wednesday April 15, 2009, at approximately 7pm ET, Michael Johns will address the Tax Day Tea Party rally in New York City at City Hall Park, located at 249 Broadway in Lower Manhattan. Joining Johns in addressing the New York City Tax Day Tea Party will be Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Johns also will participate in the New York City Tax Day Tea Party after-party, to be held from 10pm to 1am ET at The XChange at 640 West 28th Street, Ninth Floor (between 11th and 12th Avenues) in Manhattan. For further information on the New York City Tax Day Tea Party, see the event's official site at: New York City Tax Day Tea Party. A video of most of this April 15, 2009 speech is now available at: Remarks by Michael Johns to New York City Tea Party.

**Finally, later this week, on Saturday April 18, 2009, at approximately 12pm ET, Michael Johns will address the Tax Day Tea Party rally in Philadelphia at Independence Mall, located at Market Street between Fifth and Sixth Streets in center city Philadelphia. Joining Johns in addressing the Philadelphia Tax Day Tea Party will be radio talk show host Dom Giordano of Philadelphia's WPHT-AM, New Jersey Gubernatorial candidate Steve Lonegan, National Republican Trust PAC Executive Director Scott Wheeler, and Geno's Steaks' owner Joey Vento. For further information on the Philadelphia Tax Day Tea Party, see the event's official site at: Philadelphia Tax Day Tea Party. A video of most of this April 18, 2009 speech is now available at: Remarks by Michael Johns to Philadelphia Tea Party.

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