# What happens if the "Birthers" uncovered proof. Who would become president? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 15, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344 "2013-08-15T20:04:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/21 "2013-08-15T22:39:37Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > We could legally annex Arnold’s birthplace and then retroactively grant him birthright citizenship. We already did. When the Governator was born, Austria was part of Allied Occupied territories. Thus it’s only a slight stretch from McCain. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/22 "2013-08-15T22:43:12Z")
Write the law so you award citizenship to any Austrian from the time that applies for it? That might work. Dems are pro-immigrant and Repubs are pro-white immigrants, it’s a win/win no matter how many end up with citizenship. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/23 "2013-08-15T22:48:35Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > Amusingly, if Stanley Ann Dunham DID fess up to the crime, Obama can just pardon her… Other than her being dead, of course. But since we’re playing Fantasy Politics here, I have to ask: What federal crime would she have been committing, in falsifying a Hawaii state birth record? Might be a state crime, but how would it be a federal crime? If no federal crime, he would have no power to pardon her. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/24 "2013-08-15T22:56:38Z")
There’s probably a statute of limitations issue too, right? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/25 "2013-08-15T23:06:27Z")
I don’t think it would matter if Obama’s mother birthed him in Kenya. As long as \*she \*was a US citizen at the time, HE becomes a US citizen regardless of where he was born. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/26 "2013-08-15T23:20:45Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I don’t think it would matter if Obama’s mother birthed him in Kenya. As long as \*she \*was a US citizen at the time, HE becomes a US citizen regardless of where he was born. Ninja’d by a few hours. Some point out that under the law at the time, she was too young to pass on her citizenship as she did not live in the US the requisite amount of time. But what the neglect to mention is under that law, a child born out of wedlock receives the mother’s citizenship - done, period, end of discussion. But wait, she was married to Obama’s dad. Not legally. He was still married to his first wife (unknown to her IIRC) and since it was bigamous, the marriage would not be recognized the the Feds or any US state and so she was legally unmarried at the time Barack was born. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/27 "2013-08-15T23:23:57Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > We already did. When the Governator was born, Austria was part of Allied Occupied territories. Thus it’s only a slight stretch from McCain. Of course we need to neglect the fact that McCain’s parents were American and Schwarzenegger’s were not so it’s actually a long stretch. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/28 "2013-08-15T23:27:57Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Of course we need to neglect the fact that McCain’s parents were American and Schwarzenegger’s were not so it’s actually a long stretch. True,😃 but that relects on Citizenship as opposed to “natural born”. The issue of Obama’s mother also related to citizenship as opposed to “natural born”. fact is, we don’t know what "natural born’ means, legally. It’s never really been tested. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/29 "2013-08-15T23:29:46Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Of course we need to neglect the fact that McCain’s parents were American and Schwarzenegger’s were not so it’s actually a long stretch. No, we just retroactively declare that it was US territory at the time. Anybody born “in the US” is a citizen by birth (some exceptions apply). ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/30 "2013-08-16T00:08:17Z")
I see this thread as being better suitedto IMHO rather than General questions. Moved. **samclem** , moderator ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/31 "2013-08-16T00:43:02Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > There’s probably a statute of limitations issue too, right? No. Congress could do pretty much whatever they wanted in that case. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/32 "2013-08-16T00:52:33Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Ninja’d by a few hours. Some point out that under the law at the time, she was too young to pass on her citizenship as she did not live in the US the requisite amount of time. **But what the neglect to mention is under that law, a child born out of wedlock receives the mother’s citizenship - done, period, end of discussion.** … Cite? :dubious: Per the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 ([PDF link](http://library.uwb.edu/guides/usimmigration/66%20stat%20163.pdf) BIG FILE!) no child born abroad of one US citizen and one alien parent can automatically receive US citizenship without the US citizen parent having met the requisite residency requirements in the United States. Obama’s mother had not met the US residency requirements at the time of Barack’s birth as she had not lived in the United States for 5 years after the age of 14. If she hypothetically had given birth to Barack abroad then he would not be a US citizen. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/33 "2013-08-16T02:40:07Z")
See section 309©, on pp. 238-239. Residency requirement for the parent of a child born out of wedlock is just one year. However, that assumes that the marriage was non-existent. Normally, if a person enters into a marriage in good faith, without knowing of an impediment to the marriage by the other person, the marriage is considered voidable, but not void - i.e. - the innocent party is considered lawfully married, notwithstanding the impediment. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/34 "2013-08-16T02:44:19Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > But presumably it does have to be an offense. . . . > > If Obama were completely unaware of this action (or it couldn’t be proved he was aware…), then what case for impeachment is there? It doesn’t have to be an offense. The House could impeach, solely on the grounds that Obama was constitutionally ineligible. That’s plenty. The constitution does say “high crimes and misdemeanors,” but “not being qualified” could, itself, be interpreted to be a constitutional misdemeanor. The House of Representatives doesn’t have any stricter guidelines than their own interpretation. In this scenario, however, where Obama is as much a victim as everyone else, I don’t think the Senate would ever muster 2/3 for conviction. If Obama were shown to have been lying, then, yeah, maybe. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/35 "2013-08-16T03:03:56Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Other than her being dead, of course. Pardons can be posthumous. > [@](#): > > But since we’re playing Fantasy Politics here, I have to ask: > > What federal crime would she have been committing, in falsifying a Hawaii state birth record? Might be a state crime, but how would it be a federal crime? If no federal crime, he would have no power to pardon her. And is it a crime to submit false reports to local newspapers’ birth announcement columns? ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/36 "2013-08-16T03:51:43Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Other than her being dead, of course. > > But since we’re playing Fantasy Politics here, I have to ask: > > What federal crime would she have been committing, in falsifying a Hawaii state birth record? Might be a state crime, but how would it be a federal crime? If no federal crime, he would have no power to pardon her. Well, she would have had to have smuggled young Barack back into the country from Kenya. If she submitted the fake birth certificate in order to obtain a passport for him, that could be some sort of crime. To be more precise, if she participated in some conspiracy to generate a falsified birth certificate for the purpose of using it to import an illegal alien, there could be some sort of catch-all violation. Even if she didn’t get a passport, she must have done something illegal to get him back into the country. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/37 "2013-08-16T03:53:58Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > We already did. When the Governator was born, Austria was part of Allied Occupied territories. Arnold was born near Graz, which was in the British Zone of Occupation, not the American Zone. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/38 "2013-08-16T03:56:22Z")
darn it **Colibri** , what are you doing, cluttering up a nice Fantasy Politics™ thread with ugly little facts?!? 😛 And really, shouldn’t this thread be in the Café Society, along with all the other game threads? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/39 "2013-08-16T04:04:34Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Arnold was born near Graz, which was in the British Zone of Occupation, not the American Zone. Right, which is why I said Allied. But all of the Western Allies had understandings etc, it was just about all one zone for all purposes. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344/40 "2013-08-16T04:28:10Z")
The Mace of the House would be taken up and a cavalry charge of current Republican members of Congress who were combat veterans would ride on unicorns down Pennsylvania and reason with Obama until the sun rose in the West. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-birthers-uncovered-proof-who-would-become-president/666344.md?page=3)