McIntosh Claims To Benefit Most From Burton's Exit From 5th District Race

Former U.S. Rep. David McIntosh's campaign is citing a recent poll it commissioned as evidence that the former congressman will benefit the most among the remaining contenders for Indiana's fifth district congressional seat following the announcement yesterday by U.S. Rep. Dan Burton that he would not run for re-election.  According to the poll taken by Wilson Perkins Allen, voters expressing a preference for Burton indicated by a 2-1 margin, or 38%-14%, they would prefer McIntosh over the other candidates in the race.

That same poll showed Burton leading the field with 29%, nearly the same percentage he received in the primary two years ago, followed by McIntosh with 20% of the vote. Former Marion Co. Coroner John McGoff garnered a 14% share in the poll sampling ahead of attorney Jack Lugar's 11% support and former U.S. Attorney Susan Brook's 4% share. Lugar, who is no relation to Sen. Lugar, clearly benefits from sharing the same last name with the well-known senator. He is considered the least credible among the competing candidates and has raised the least amount of money. Brooks has raised more money than any of the other candidates, but she has very low name recognition in the district compared to McIntosh and McGoff. There could still be other late entrants into the race. Many are closely watching to see if State Sen. Mike Delph, a former Burton aide, will jump into the race.

Why Liberals Always Resort To Name-Calling?

Liberals profess to be tolerant compared to their conservative counterparts. The truth is that liberals are only tolerant of people with whom they agree. Rather than using civil discourse to debate conservative thought, liberals seem to have an inherent tendency to demonize and demean the human value of their political opponents. If you oppose higher taxes and bigger government, it's because you are a greedy, selfish person. If you oppose affirmative action, it's because you are a racist. If you support enforcement of our immigration laws, you are bigot or a rabid dog. Yep, State Rep. Mara Candelaria-Reardon (D-Hammond) called State Sen. Mike Delph (R-Carmel), author of Indiana's immigration enforcement law, a rabid dog.

Hammond Representative Mara Candelaria-Reardon is one of the leading voices of opposition to Delph’s legislation. She says she does not envision him stopping now, particularly with the success of Alabama’s law.

“Mike Delph is like a rabid dog with this issue and I would be shocked if he didn’t go ahead and do it,” Candelaria-Reardon says. “I mean, he seems to be pretty addicted to the limelight pursuing this legislation has continued to create for him.”

Candelaria-Reardon says she does not think a law as harsh as Alabama’s will ever get through the Indiana General Assembly. Delph says the people of Indiana will ultimately have to decide whether tougher immigration reform is something the legislature needs to address.

To be sure, there are legitimate debating points on the issue of whether states should be getting involved in the immigration debate at all since the U.S. Constitution reserves that power and responsibility to the federal government. It's a fair argument to make, however, that the federal government has done a poor job performing its constitutional duty given the tens of millions who have been able to immigrate to the U.S. illegally, and it's also a fair argument to make that state and local budgets are impacted negatively by illegal immigration.

People can disagree on the answer to any problem with which we are confronted without resorting to name-calling, but if you are a liberal, it's much easier to resort to the demonization of your political counterparts than debate the merits of your argument. That's because they understand a majority of Americans don't accept the merits of their arguments. They seek victory by dividing and conquering. Political correctness is their weapon of choice.

This was best exemplified during the recent Indianapolis mayoral election. The Democrats knew their candidate, Melina Kennedy, was losing to Mayor Greg Ballard in the polls. Their answer to defeating him was to seize on his poor choice of words during a debate with Kennedy where he described African-Americans as "a difficult population." By implication, Democrats characterized Ballard's words in a way to define him as a racist. To be sure, there were plenty of legitimate lines of attack Democrats could have raised against Ballard, but nothing stings more than being labeled a racist. The Democrats know Ballard truly isn't a racist, but that's not the point. The objective is to divide and conquer. That's why U.S. Rep. Andre Carson and other liberals have repeatedly labeled Tea Party supporters as racists. If you can't win on the merits of the debate, let the name-calling begin. It takes much less effort to name call than debate the substance of your arguments.

Delph Passes Bar

Congratulations to Sen. Mike Delph (R-Carmel) on successfully passing the Indiana Bar examination. Some of his detractors in the news media delighted in reporting on his failure to pass the exam earlier this year when he sat for it during the heat of the legislative session. The extra time he had to study this summer proved beneficial. Let's see if his media detractors report on his successful passage now. The entire list can be viewed here.

Delph's Immigration Bill Makes It To The Governor

Media reports have suggested the final version of Sen. Mike Delph's SB 590 was largely symbolic after the law enforcement provisions contained in a similar Arizona law that had been declared unconstitutional by lower federal courts was removed from the bill. The bill, which Gov. Mitch Daniels was expected to sign, still contains a lot of substantive provisions that Sen. Delph sought in his original bill. Sen. Delph is declaring victory on the issue. He had these comments on his blog concerning SB 590:

Conservatives won a four year campaign calling for a crackdown on illegal immigration. Hoosiers will now learn the true cost to taxpayers with a bill being sent to Washington, DC. Companies that benefit somehow from government will be required to use the free online federal web tool known as E-Verify to screen new hires ensuring they are able to work and reside in America. All government entities in Indiana will now be required to use E-Verify. E-Verify alone makes SB 590 a victory, but there's more. Strong Sanctuary City language was passed allowing and empowering private citizens to file in court to compel a local community to comply with existing federal law. Prosecutors will have more tools to help the crackdown. Not only will they be able to impound vehicles from those that traffic human beings, but those that engage in false identification, fraud, and duplication will be held accountable.


Businesses will be held accountable by losing state contracts, tax breaks and benefits. Law enforcement will be able to make arrests when they have a detainer or removal order against an illegal immigrant. The rest of our law enforcement provisions will be sent to a Summer Study Committee for further review to debunk opposition demagoguery. The Lieutenant Governor chairs our Counter Terrorism Task force which includes our State Homeland Security Director and Superintendent of State Police as well as members from local law enforcement. All would provide information to this Summer Study Committee with the end goal of trying to come up with some type of State policy with Federal ICE officers on the enforcement of existing law. The reality on the ground is that cops deal with this issue daily. When they are told to release unlawful immigrants it siphons off morale. Plus, each community is treated differently by ICE resulting in disparate treatment depending on the community and the circumstance. I personally believe this inconsistency feeds the racial profiling myth.

Verification of citizenship will be required for any and all public benefits as well. So at the end of the day, the only component we could not get in SB 590 was the English Only provisions which passed out of the Senate and House in different forms. However, at the end of the session it was deemed too risky to pursue and ultimately became the last issue taken off the table to give us Senate Enrolled ACT 590.

Sen. Delph's website also provided the following section by section breakdown of the bill's provisions:

Section 1: Requires the office of management and budget to calculate an estimate of the total costs of illegal aliens to the state of Indiana and make a written request to the Congress of the United States to reimburse the state of Indiana for those costs.

Section 2: Prohibits a governmental body from enacting or implementing an ordinance, a resolution, a rule, or a policy that prohibits or in any way restricts another governmental body from taking certain actions with regard to information concerning the citizenship or immigration status of an individual. Prohibits a governmental body from limiting or restricting the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law. Allows a person domiciled in Indiana to bring an action to compel a governmental body to comply with these provisions. Requires the court, if certain conditions are met, to enjoin a governmental body from violating these provisions. Requires every law enforcement agency to provide each law enforcement officer with a written notice that the law enforcement officer has a duty to cooperate with state and federal agencies and officials on matters pertaining to enforcement of state and federal laws governing immigration. Provides that these provisions shall be enforced without regard to race, religion, gender, ethnicity, or national origin.

Section 3: Prohibits a law enforcement agency or law enforcement officer from requesting verification of the citizenship or immigration status of an individual from federal immigration authorities if the individual has contact with the agency or officer only as a witness to or a victim of a crime or for purposes of reporting a crime.

Section 4 and 7: Requires a taxpayer to add back the amount of any deduction taken on a federal tax return for a business expense related to employing a person who is not permitted by federal law to be hired as an employee. Excludes payments made for services to a business that was enrolled and participated in the E-Verify program during the time the taxpayer conducted business in Indiana in the taxable year.

Section 5 and 6: Prohibits an economic development for a growing economy tax credit from being computed on any amount withheld from an individual or paid to an individual for services provided in Indiana as an employee, if the individual was, during the period of service, not permitted by federal law to be hired as an employee. Makes an exception for a business that was enrolled and participating in the EVerify program during the time the taxpayer conducted business in Indiana in the taxable year.

Section 8: Requires a criminal offender be evaluated regarding the his or her citizenship and immigration status. Requires the Department of Correction to notify the United States Department of Homeland Security if an offender's citizenship or immigration status cannot be verified and provide certain information upon request by the United States Department of Homeland Security.

Section 9, 10, 11, and 12: Conforming changes for definitions.

Section 13: Requires a state agency or political subdivision to verify the eligibility of any individual who is at least 18 years old and applies for a state or local public benefit or federal public benefit. Makes certain exceptions for health care providers. Establishes requirements for verification and maintaining verification records. Makes it a Class D felony for false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements regarding verification.  Requires the state board of accounts to adopt rules applicable to all political subdivisions to carry out these provisions. Allows for certain variation on these requirements. Provides that these provisions shall be enforced without regard to race, religion, gender, ethnicity, or national origin.

Section 14: If an individual applies for unemployment compensation benefits and is not a citizen or national of the United States, requires the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) to verify the status of the individual as a qualified alien through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program.

Section 15: Allows the DWD to file civil actions to obtain the reimbursement of amounts paid as unemployment insurance benefits from employers that knowingly employed unauthorized aliens. Prohibits the DWD from filing an action if: (1) the employer employed the unauthorized alien before July 1, 2011; or (2) the employer used the E-Verify program to verify the eligibility of the individual who is determined to be an unauthorized alien.

Section 16: Requires a state agency or political subdivision to use the E-Verify program to verify the work eligibility status of employees hired after June 30, 2011. Prohibits a state agency or political subdivision from entering into or renewing a public contract for services with a contractor unless: (1) the public contract contains provisions requiring a contractor to enroll in and verify the work eligibility status of newly hired employees through the E-Verify program; and (2) the contractor signs an affidavit affirming that the contractor does not knowingly employ unauthorized aliens. Prohibits a state agency or political subdivision from awarding a grant of more than $1,000 to a business entity unless the business entity: (1) signs a sworn affidavit and provides documentation that the business entity has enrolled in and is participating in the E-Verify program; and (2) signs an affidavit affirming the business entity does not knowingly employ unauthorized aliens. Allows a state agency or political subdivision to terminate a public contract for services if the contractor knowingly employs an unauthorized alien. Provides that if a state agency or political subdivision terminates a public contract for services, the contractor is liable to the state agency or political subdivision for actual damages. Requires a subcontractor who is providing services for work a contractor is performing under a public contract for services to certify to the contractor that the subcontractor does not knowingly employ or contract with unauthorized aliens and has enrolled and is participating in the E-Verify program.

Section 17: Prohibits individuals who are at least 18 years of age from commencing day labor without completing an attestation required under federal law. Requires a law enforcement officer or any other entity authorized to enforce the employment laws of Indiana that has probable cause to believe that an individual has not completed an attestation to submit a complaint in a form prescribed under federal regulations.

Section 18: Provides that a person who knowingly or intentionally offers, accepts, or records a consular identification as a valid form of identification for any purpose commits a Class C infraction. Establishes
higher penalties for second and third or subsequent offenses.

Section 19: Makes a cross reference in the provisions that list the statutes outside of IC 34 that confer immunity to the immunity granted in the bail language.

Section 20: Allows a law enforcement officer to arrest a person when the officer has: (1) a removal order issued for the person by an immigration court; (2) a detainer or notice of action for the person issued by the United States Department of Homeland Security; or (3) probable cause to believe that the person has been indicted for or convicted of one or more aggravated felonies.

Section 21: Requires judicial officers in setting and accepting an amount of bail to consider that the defendant is a foreign national who is unlawfully present in the United States under federal immigration law as relevant to risk of nonappearance.

Section 22: Provides that if bail is set for a defendant who is a foreign national who is unlawfully present in the United States under federal immigration law, the defendant may only be released from custody by posting a: (1) cash bond in an amount equal to the bail; (2) real estate bond in which the net equity in the real estate is at least two times the amount of the bail; or (3) surety bond in the full amount that is written by a licensed and appointed agent of an insurer. Provides that, if the defendant does not appear before the court as ordered because the defendant has been taken into custody or deported by a federal agency or arrested and incarcerated for another offense, a bond posted under this provision may not be declared forfeited by the court and the insurer that issued the bond is released from any liability regarding the defendant's failure to appear.

Section 23: Establishes the crime of false identity statement and makes the crime a Class A misdemeanor. Establishes a defense.

Section 24: Makes it a Class A misdemeanor for a person to knowingly or intentionally: (1) transport or move an alien; or (2) conceal, harbor or shield from detection an alien in any place; for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that the alien has come to, entered, or remained in the United States in violation of law. Makes it a Class D felony if a violation involved more than nine aliens. Establishes exceptions. Requires a law enforcement officer to impound a motor vehicle that is used to commit certain crimes.

Section 25: Urges the legislative council to: (1) assign certain immigration topics to an existing study committee; and (2) urge the study committee to consult with the lieutenant governor on the topics.

Indiana Going To Pot

The Republican-controlled Indiana Senate earlier this year approved legislation to study the legalization of marijuana in Indiana to the delight of potheads throughout the Hoosier state. It fell right into line with Gov. Mitch Daniels' proposal to loosen sentencing laws in Indiana in an effort to turn out thousands of prisoners held in Indiana prisons for drug-related offenses. Gov. Daniels was once busted for dealing drugs out of his dorm room at Princeton and maintaining a common nuisance while he was a student there, but he managed to avoid jail time with the help of his rich daddy, a pharmaceutical executive. Gov. Daniels also wants to be our next president.

Sen. Mike Delph had a reasonable proposal this session to require all presidential candidates to furnish their birth certificates to Indiana election authorities to establish they meet the eligibility requirements set out in the U.S. Constitution in order to appear on the Indiana ballot. Gov. Daniels, whose Bureau of Motor Vehicles implemented new regulations requiring all Hoosiers to produce their birth certificates at the local BMV branch before they could be issued a new driver's license, doesn't think Delph's legislation is such a good idea and let that be known. Enough Republican senators agreed with him to block an attempt to do nothing more than study whether it might make sense to verify presidential candidates are actually constitutionally eligible before we let them put their names on the ballot. So your Indiana senators will spend their summer studying the legalization of marijuana but not something that is required by our constitution though not enforced by any state in the country. Re-legalize pot and deep six the constitution. Go Indiana!

More Media Misrepresentation On Presidential Eligibility Legislation

The Star has a lengthy story from the AP discussing the continued doubts many Americans have about Obama's natural born status and asking why "it's the conspiracy theory that won't go away." You need look no further than an item the Star originated in its "Behind Closed Doors" column this weekend that blatantly misrepresents legislation Sen. Mike Delph and Sen. Sue Landske have asked that a summer study committee look at to determine whether Indiana should enact a law that requires all presidential candidates to furnish evidence they meet the eligibility requirements set out in the U.S. Constitution to be president.

Now, Delph wants the legislature to assign a summer study committee to explore whether Indiana should require candidates to prove they are citizens--a proposal Democrats find absurd and an untrue, unfair attack on Obama.

Presumbably, Mary Beth Schneider, the Star's State House reporter, is the person who contributed this false information to this item in the column because she was the only reporter for the newspaper in attendance at this week's hearing on the resolution. If Schneider bothered to read Delph's legislation, SB 114, or had bothered to listen to the testimony at the hearing, she would know that her reporting was patently false. In addition, I spent considerable time discussing the legislation with her earlier in the session that should have cleared up any misapprehensions she had about it. As with all of the mainstream reporters who have covered this issue to date, Schneider is not interested in the truth; rather, she is simply interested in casting aspersions at anyone who raises legitimate constitutional questions about the process for electing persons to the most important elected office in the free world.

The purpose of requiring a candidate to provide a birth certificate is not to prove he or she is a citizen as she falsey writes in the item, but rather to establish that they meet the age requirement and the natural born citizenship requirement, which the constitution specifically requires. We already know presidential candidates are citizens by virtue of them being participants in the political process as registered voters. I also furnished to Schneider proof that the Democratic Party refused to affirm that Obama met the constitutional eligibility requirements when it filed its nominating certificate with the Indiana Elections Division in 2008, unlike the certificate of nomination the Republican Party filed for John McCain. Of course, Schneider won't report that fact. Instead, she used the item to poke additional fun at Donald Trump calling Delph to offer his support for his efforts. "Trump--yes, THAT Donald Trump, the one with the hair, the bank account and the TV show . . . the most famous 'birther,'" she writes. She throws in a dissing quip from Mitch Daniels, who also jumps on the trash the birthers bandwagon with this: "I'm one of the few people in America who can honestly claim to have said, 'Donald, you're fired." Let's see, Mitch, didn't you tell the American people when you were Bush's budget director that the war in Iraq was only going to cost the American taxpayers $50 billion? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Yes, this is why the American people have doubts about who President Obama is. They have been repeatedly lied to on so many fronts about his biographical narrative not only by Obama, but also by his deceiving allies in the American news media, that they don't know what to believe about him anymore. They want you to believe this issue is all about Obama when it knows full well that McCain similarly faced lawsuits and challenges over his natural born status because he was born in Panama where his father was stationed on a naval base. Sen. Richard Bray also pointed out during the hearing at which Schneider was present his vivid recollection of George Romney's natural born citizenship being challenged in 1968 because of his birth to U.S. citizen parents who were living in Mexico at the time of his birth. Perhaps if the media wants the "conspiracy theories" to go away, it should begin by leveling with the American people candidly about who this man is and what his policies actually are and honestly report on the ideas any other person offers that runs counter to his views instead of the non-stop marketing pieces fit for those charlatans who produce those half-hour infomercial ads that run on late-night TV.

UPDATE: Senate Republicans chickened out under pressure from the same elitist and moral supremacist thinking that has destroyed this country. Sen. James Merritt (R-Indianapolis) and Sen. Tom Wyss (R-Ft. Wayne) skipped out on the hearing to vote on the resolution this morning, along with the Senate Democrats who claim the only motive behind the resolution is racism against a black president, in order to ensure no vote could be taken and no summer study committee could be established. They will show up to vote to cut corporate taxes, force consumers to pay for a farcical new coal gasification plant that will enrich pay-to-play contributors at the cost of residential ratepayers and allow the robber barons to take your land by eminent domain to build their pipeline over your farmland and property. Great leadership.

Trump Busy Making Phone Calls To Show He's Serious About Running For President

Two people with absolutely no connection to one another received phone calls yesterday from Donald Trump. Sen. Mike Delph tells me Trump called him yesterday and spoke to him briefly to offer words of encouragement on his legislative efforts in Indiana to enact legislation requiring all presidential candidates to produce their birth certificates. While Delph's legislation did not receive a hearing this year, the Senate is considering a resolution he and Sen. Sue Landske are co-authoring which urges the legislature to study the issue in a summer study committee this year.

Trump has come under fire by the media for pressing the issue of Obama's natural born citizenship status, a constitutional requirement for being president. Trump, who has produced his own long-form birth certificate showing his birth in a New York hospital, has said he initially believed Obama's claim that he was born in Hawaii but his doubts have grown because of the President's reluctance to produce his long-form birth certificate. Obama's campaign, instead, produced a certificate of live birth issued in 2007 to prove his birth in Hawaii. Critics note Hawaii law permits parents to record their child's birth with Hawaii's Department of Health even if the child's birth took place outside of the state. Trump has reportedly spoken to lawmakers in other states, including Arizona, about state legislative efforts to require presidential candidates to file proof to establish they meet the 35-year age requirement, are natural born citizens and have resided in the U.S for at least 14 years, the three requirements set out in the U.S. Constitution.

Trump has told reporters during interviews recently that he has people investigating Obama's background and can't believe what they are learning. Some believe Trump may have been privy to the contents of a new book to be released by Dr. Jerome Corsi next month, "Where's The Birth Certificate." Pre-release sales of the book soared after the Drudge Report teased readers with claims from a source that new information in the book would prove to be "utterly devastating."

Trump also took time to call columnist and Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer, who mocked Trump's candidacy by calling him a "clown" and a "provocateur." Krauthammer recounted his phone conversation with Trump on Fox News' Bret Baier's show yesterday, which he said now leaves him convinced Trump is serious about running for president:

It was a surprise, and when my secretary told me, I put on a helmet and a flak jacket as I answered the phone. I expected a tirade, which he had every right to do given what I have been saying about him. In fact, he was courteous but very calm, and he made his case, rather than sort of attacking everything I said about him. Simply, he made his case: “I’m a serious businessman, I’m a serious candidate"...I give him credit for the way he conducted himself [on the phone call].

In a column this week, Krauthammer rated Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Haley Barbour and Mitch Daniels as the only serious candidates running on the Republican side. He gave Romney the best shot of winning at this early point as "the prohibitive front-runner" with 5-1 odds of winning. On a Daniels' candidacy, Krauthammer wrote:

Highly successful governor. Budget guru. Delightful dullness satisfies all axioms (see above). Foreign policy unknown, assuming he has one. Alienated some conservatives with his call for a truce on — i.e., deferring — social issues. If he runs, 6-1.

Krauthammer thinks Pawlenty, however, may turn out to be "the last man standing." Krauthammer says he doesn't believe either Mike Huckabee or Sarah Palin will end up running for president.

Senate Democrats Boycott Hearing On Resolution To Study Presidential Eligibility

Sen. Mike Delph and Sen. Sue Landske are co-authoring a resolution, SR 30, which recommends a summer study committee to study the issue of whether Indiana should enact a law providing a mechanism for ascertaining whether presidential candidates who seek to have their names placed on the Indiana ballot meet the constitutional eligibility requirements to hold the office. The Senate Appointments and Claims Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Joe Zakas, heard testimony on the resolution this morning, but the committee could not formally take action on it because Democratic members of the committee chose to boycott the committee in protest to deny a quorum. Sen. Tom Wyss, the only Republican member absent from the hearing, had an excused absence.

Sen. Delph earlier this session introduced SB 114, which would establish a mechanism in Indiana law for the first time to allow the Indiana Elections Division to gather the necessary documentation from presidential candidates seeking placement on Indiana's election ballot to ascertain they meet the age, natural born citizenship and 14-year residency requirement set out in the U.S. Constitution. Currently, no federal or state law provides any mechanism for ascertaining a candidate meets the eligibility requirement to hold the most important elected office in the free world. The U.S. Constitution vests broad discretion in the states to determine ballot access requirements for candidates and the process through which each state selects its electors, who actually cast the votes that decide who becomes president and vice-president every four years as part of the electoral college process.

While SB 114 did not receive a hearing, similar legislation has been making its way through several state legislatures this year. Arizona became the first state in the nation to pass a comprehensive presidential qualification bill; however, Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed the bill out of concern that it imposed too great a burden on the state's secretary of state to decide what documentation to accept from presidential candidates for placement on Arizona's ballot. While Delph's legislation merely allowed a candidate to satisfy filing requirements by presenting the same documentation a citizen requires to obtain a driver's license, passport or social security number, the Arizona legislation went much further. Arizona's legislation requires a candidate to furnish a certified, long-form birth certificate that is filed originally with the state's vital records agency that includes "at least the date and place of birth, the names of the hospital and the attending physician, if applicable, and signatures of any witnesses in attendance." If a candidate is unable to produce a long-form birth certificate, he or she would be required to produce two or more other forms of documentation, including a baptismal record, circumcision record, hospital birth record or early census record. As with Delph's legislation, the Arizona bill also required the candidate to sign an attestation swearing he met the constitutional eligibility requirements.

In vetoing the legislation, Gov. Brewer stated, “As a former Secretary of State, I do not support designating one person as a gatekeeper to the ballot for a candidate, which could lead to arbitrary or politically-motivated decisions. She added, “I never imagined being presented with a bill that could require candidates for President of the greatest and most powerful nation on earth to submit their ‘early baptismal or circumcision certificates’ among other records to the Arizona Secretary of State. This is a bridge too far.” Of course, what Sen. Delph has proposed is no different than what ordinary citizens are required to do to perform any number of transactions, including getting a driver's license. Delph distinguished his proposed legislation under questioning by Sen. Zakas. Sen. Delph pointed out the problem that arose in 2008 was an issue for both the Republican and Democratic candidates. Sen. John McCain's eligibility was challenged in court because he was born in Panama, while Barack Obama was challenged based on claims he was not born in Hawaii or, alternatively, he was ineligible because his father's Kenyan citizenship made him a dual citizen at birth. Some legal scholars believe only persons born to two U.S. citizens can be a natural born citizen, while others contend one only needs to be born on American soil. No federal court has ever decided the meaning of the requirement within the context of a presidential candidate.

Elections law expert Rick Hasen agreed that such legislation could be on firm constitutional grounds so long as it does not impose an additional qualification to hold the office beyond what is set out in the U.S. Constitution. Hasen told the Arizona Republic:

Rick Hasen, an election-law specialist and visiting professor at University of California-Irvine School of Law, said he believes the bill's constitutionality is uncertain because there is a conflict between two different parts of the U.S. Constitution.

One part gives state legislatures broad powers to set rules for their presidential electors who, under the Electoral College system, actually cast the official votes for president.

"That gives the Legislature power to make the rules," he said. "A legislature could say it's not even going to hold an election for president and could pick who it is going to support."

Under that portion of the Constitution, Hasen said, Arizona could be within its power.

But, he said, the problem may be the part of the Constitution that lists the set qualifications for president. He said a U.S. Supreme Court ruling said states don't have a right to add to those presidential qualifications.

"If Arizona passed a law saying the president has to be 50, that would be unconstitutional," he said. "So, the question is whether this is simply implementing the constitutional provision or whether it creates additional qualifications."

I appeared at today's hearing to testify in support of Delph's and Landske's resolution calling for the appointment of a study committee to further study the issue. Barack Obama's 2008 Indiana Chairman, Kip Tew, spoke in opposition to the resolution. Naturally, Tew tried his best to divert attention away from the issue at hand and insisted the legislation was nothing more than a partisan attempt to de-legitimize Obama's presidency. Tew proclaimed that Obama had already proven his eligibility by producing a Certificate of Live Birth issued by the state of Hawaii, which Delph had already explained would be acceptable documentation under the legislation he proposed. Tew seemed uninformed on the challenges McCain had faced on the same issue in 2008. Delph reminded him that Sen. McCain had to resort to a resolution approved by his Senate colleagues to put to rest the issue of whether he was a natural born citizen. Tew also lacked knowledge of the fact that Democrats, unlike Republicans, filed a certificate of nomination with state election's authorities, including Indiana's, that neglected to include an affirmation that Obama met the constitutional eligibility requirement as had occurred in similar filings made by the respective parties in previous elections. Numerous lawsuits filed against both Obama and McCain by citizen activists were uniformly dismissed by federal courts as lacking standing to assert a legal challenge.

UPDATE: Senate Democratic Leader Vi Simpson has come unhinged over Senate Republicans' efforts to clear up the Charlie White eligibility issue to avoid election chaos and today's hearing on the resolution. As can be expected, she seeks to misinform rather than inform voters on the issue under discussion in an e-mail to her Democratic supporters sent late this afternoon:

Today, they held a hearing on a “birther” resolution requiring Presidential candidates to prove their citizenship for ballot access. They have gone too far!


As Senate Democratic Leader, I’m embarrassed on behalf of my GOP colleagues.

Under President Obama’s leadership, the economy is heading in the right direction, and people are feeling better about the future, but that’s no excuse for this kind of legislative tomfoolery.

Republicans control everything, but they’re not leading us anywhere. No jobs plan. No focus on critical statewide issues. Just more wedge issue grandstanding.

Simpson, who is an attorney, flat out lies in her claim that the purpose behind the legislation is to require a presidential candidate to prove their citizenship. She obviously hasn't bothered to read the U.S. Constitution or she would understand there is a constitutional distinction between a citizen and natural born citizen. Simpson reminds us at the close of her e-mail what her true motivation behind her inflammatory rhetoric to her fellow Democrats is: " Since there are 37 Republicans in the State Senate, can you spare $37 to tell them you've had enough of their empty rhetoric and right-wind agenda?" Gotcha, Vi.

Fair Finance Trustee's Statement On Durham Campaign Contributions

The bankruptcy trustee for Fair Finance Company issued a statement in response to numerous press inquiries following Sen. Mike Delph's decision to return $10,000 his campaign committee received in donations from indicted Ponzi scheme operator Tim Durham. It's important to note Sen. Delph returned his contributions voluntarily to the bankruptcy trustee before Durham was indicted and without being asked to do so by the Trustee. Trustee Brian Bash indicated in his statement he would not hesitate to take other action to recover the contributions if the other campaign committees did not voluntarily return their contributions.

Sen. Delph has done the right thing. He came forward and returned the funds without being asked, and before Durham was indicted.

Months ago, the Trustee sent letters to many other politicians explaining the circumstances and asking them to return the contributions they received from Durham. The campaigns that received the largest amounts include Gov. Mitch Daniels, Carl Brizzi, Paul Rickets, the Indiana Republican State Committee and the Greater Indianapolis Republican Finance Committee. Governor Daniels responded, and we hope for mutual resolution through continued discussions. Most others did not respond.

We were also disappointed by media reports that some campaigns state they will not return the contributions because they were already spent. Such a glib response is not a defense, and it trivializes the losses suffered by the victims. If money were stolen from the people who made those statements, we wonder if they would be satisfied with that explanation. We understand that campaigns did not plan to have to return these contributions, but the victims also did not plan to be cheated.

We hope that those who received campaign contributions from or through Durham will contact us and arrange to return those funds for the benefit of the victims. The Trustee would much rather resolve these issues amicably, but will not hesitate to pursue other action if necessary.

It seems particularly outrageous that Attorney General Greg Zoeller and former Marion Co. Prosecutor Carl Brizzi as law enforcement officers would show any reluctance to return the contributions, particularly since their campaign committees have sufficient balances to return the contributions to the Trustee. Brizzi and Daniels each received more than $200,000 from Durham, while Zoeller received at least $21,000. As I've also indicated before, Gov. Mitch Daniels will likely face many questions from the battleground state of Ohio, if not elsewhere, should he decide to enter the 2012 Republican presidential race.

Attorney General Greg Zoeller Might Return His Dirty Durham Money

It doesn't look like our state's Attorney General Greg Zoeller wants to be too virtuous when it comes to dealing with the dirty money he collected from indicted Ponzi scheme operator Tim Durham. The Indiana Legislative Insight's Ed Feigenbaum reports that Zoeller says he might return the campaign contributions he collected from Durham "once he sorts out just who would get the leftover lucre", whatever that means. Sen. Mike Delph is the only Republican to return campaign contributions he received from Durham to the bankruptcy trustee for Fair Finance Co. tasked with marshaling as much of the more than $200 million out of which Durham defrauded investors in Ohio. Delph told the AP "he is troubled and embarrassed at the attitude of Republicans who aren't returning Durham's donations." Feigbenbaum notes that Former Marion Co. Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said of the  more than $200,000 in campaign contributions he received from Durham during the same airing of his Crime Beat radio show on WIBC-FM last weekend where he berated a whistle blower in the case as a "crazy stalker" and "residual nutcase" that the money should be viewed no differently than a contribution Durham made to a local charity. Just listen to yourself, Carl. So bad.

Delph Returning Durham Contributions To Fair Finance Trustee

Sen. Mike Delph (R-Carmel) is breaking with Gov. Mitch Daniels, House Speaker Brian Bosma, former Marion Co. Prosecutor Carl Brizzi and other politicians in deciding to return $10,000 in campaign contributions he received from indicted Ponzi scheme operator Tim Durham to the bankruptcy trustee for Fair Finance. WRTV reports:

An Indiana state senator is breaking with some fellow Republicans and returning campaign contributions from Timothy Durham, a former Indianapolis businessman charged with running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of more than $200 million.


Republican Sen. Mike Delph of Carmel wrote a letter to a bankruptcy attorney Monday saying he's returning the $10,000 Durham donated to his campaign in 2006 and 2007.

Hats off to Delph for taking the lead on this. Hopefully, other Republicans will come to their senses and return the money they got from Durham as well. You can bet former Mayor Bart Peterson or former U.S. Rep. Baron Hill won't be returning their Durham contributions. Delph told the AP that "he is troubled and embarrassed at the attitude of Republicans who aren't returning Durham's donations."