Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Politics / Woods Ron Ramsey: 'I Don't Know' Whether Obama Is Kenyan
Posted by Jeff Woods on Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 1:20 PM
Update: Democrats accuse Ramsey of pandering to birthers, and Ramsey's camp responds: "You can't be serious." Update II: Salon weighs in. "Hey, politicians: Let Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey be a lesson to you. If you're about to say something terminally stupid ... "During the Q&A period after his speech to Nashville Republicans' First Tuesday Club a few minutes ago, Ron Ramsey was given the opportunity right off the bat to state an opinion on whether President Obama is foreign-born--and Ramsey said he doesn't know. That's right, the state's lieutenant governor says he doesn't know whether the president holds his office legitimately. The Obama birther who popped up with his question in this roomful of suits? Maclin Davis, the former attorney for the state Republican Party and a partner in the prestigious firm of Waller Lansden. Here's the exchange:
Davis: Now since the Republicans control both houses of the Tennessee legislature, it seems to me that they might consider passing a state law that says in all future elections no candidate for president can be put on the ballot in Tennessee unless they produce positive proof they are a native-born citizen. If we had one like that a few years ago, we'd be a whole lot better off today. Is there any chance that you would consider that?
Ramsey: ... I suppose that every state could individually do that.
Davis: It seems like it would be really good if somebody would file a suit against our present president to get back all the money he's been paid as president on the grounds he's not a legitimate president since he's not a native-born citizen. The great preponderance of the evidence is he's not a citizen. ...
Ramsey: ... I've got a tableful of advisers sitting over there and they'll probably start cringing right about now when I start talking about some of this stuff right here. ... I'm going to tell you something. I don't know whether President Obama is a citizen of the United States or not. I don't know what the whole deal is there. But I'm going to tell you something. When you walk out on the street down, people don't really care about this issue. I'm all about winning elections, not as Republicans in this nation but also as Republicans in this state of Tennessee. We need to be about creating jobs. We need to be talking about how we're the best in education. We need to be talking about how we are small business people We need to be talking about how we're fiscal conservatives and we know how to balance the budget and Democrats don't. When we get off on sidelines like that, that's when people close their ears and don't listen. I'm not saying you're not right, Mack, I'm not saying you're not right. But that's not how you win elections. We need to prove that Republicans are leaders and that we're going to stand up.
Comments (115)
Showing 1-50 of 115
I'd like to see Ramsey's birth certificate...........If Obama is a Kenyan why does he speak English better than Ramsey? Do you think it's because Obama is half African American or because his father was born in another country? Why is our Lt Gov. so ignorant to basic civic issues? I'm pretty he doesn't know that our own Andrew Jackson was the only president born of two immigrant parents? They were both born in Ireland, but they were white so it makes it ok, right Ramsey isn't that the difference!
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He doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground either.
Only nobody asked about that.
Hillary Clinton, John McCain, all the other presidential candidates from both parties, the Republican National Committee, and the Republican governor of Hawaii are all satisfied that Obama was born in this country and has always been a citizen of the U.S. But that's not good enough for these morons?? What pathetic jokes they are!
Ron Ramsey = Boss Hogg
Kenneth Hill = Rosco Coltrane
Matthew Hill = Cooter and or Daisy (wink wink)
Note:
My deep and sincere apologies go out to Sorrell Booke, James Best, and Catherine Bach for having to use your characters in the same sentence as backward religious zealots like these. Sorry Ben Jones, these are your kinda idiot rednecks, so for you, no apology.
If by some horrible nightmare Ramsey got elected, do you think he and his boy Kenny will call the Governors Mansion "The Boars Nest"? Just curious.
Anyone who would vote for this idiot ought to have their voting privilages revoked. It's obvious he's playing to the hatred. Someone needs to give Davis the stagehook
To all those who think Obama is American... If Obama has a birth certificate, why doesn't he just show it? Ever think about that? Luckily, Republicans are fact based and just ask for the facts. Asking for facts means libs will call you racist.
Oh for God's sake Centervilly, Obama's birth certificate is public record that has been verified by the Republican governor of Hawaii! He is not trying to hide it. You can go to Nashville airport, get on a plane, go to Hawaii and go look at it yourself! This myth that the President is "not showing his birth certificate" is just that, a stupid urban myth that has people around the world laughing at us for teh kind of goobers we have in America nowadays.
Centervilly: If Sarah Palin's youngest kid is really her kid, and not Bristol's first illegitimate daughter, why doesn't she just show the kid's birth certificate? Ever think of that? I'm just asking for the facts.
How has it come to pass that the great State of Tennessee is now dominated by utter nitwits? I understand completely that "Tea Partiers" have supposedly risen up against the "status quo", and that a dual party system should contribute to a democracy-enriching exchange of ideas, but my God, are these people serious? And these are educated people, and elected leaders to boot? Really?? What does this say about the people who look to the Tennessee GOP for leadership? I guess I should look at their bumper stickers - the modern literature of the modern conservative.
T-Man is right. We don't know what Ramsey's alleged perverse sexual desires may have led him to do to all those poor goats. We don't know how he violated the goats, nor do we know if the goats consented to the rather startling sexual acts that Ramsey probably performed. We don't even know if the goats Ramsey prefers are male or female. We can't know until he produces the goats for public examination by a team of experts in veterinary sexual deviance. And yet, we have not been able to examine the goats. What is Ramsey hiding?
At least he said "President Obama" without appending his middle name. Or putting "President" in air quotes.
I've spent some time on message boards sticking up for Tennessee when other people. pointing to some issue, would assume that all of Tennessee consisted of knuckle-dragging rednecks. I mean, Tennessee IS the state that fought North carolina's pollution of the Pigeon River, Tennessee was first state to legislate the idea of second-degree murder so that people who killed in the heat of madness would get clemency, Tennessee is the sttae that once, back around 1913, hanged two white me who lynched a black farmer, and Tennessee is the state that, in the 70s, crusaded against highway litter with its clever "Tennessee Trash" TV ad. But along comes some goober like this guy Davis who embarsses the Volunteer State!
Ramsey is a complete moron.... if ANYONE truly believes that the CIA, FBI, DIA and all of the other resources we have in this country would allow a non-American citizen to be illegally voted into the highest office in the land, then you are a brain dead idiot. That includes you Ramsey.
Does the term gooBer refer to a peanut or is it an anagram for something you remove from you nose?
How do I know that Don Ramsey did not give STD to my goat? I need him to proof that he did not srew my gaot the other night.
One again swimmers from the shallow end of the gene pool prove why the term red neck becomes the most common adjective for Tennessee. When the old "doofus" guard of the TN GOP disappear, maybe a progressive Tennessee will erase these past idiotic quotes and deeds.
Is it possible that nobody commenting on this article actually read the article? I'm no Ramsey fan, but he is clearly stating that this is a non-issue.
Correct, Any No Mouse, but if he wanted to truly make it clear it was a non-issue, he should have said "Look, President Obama is a citizen. This is a non-issue our side needs to move on from and instead focus on job creation, education, etc, etc."
Instead he said "I don't know if he's a citizen or not" so he gets to have it both ways.
I'm going to tell you something. I don't know whether President Obama is a citizen of the United States or not. I don't know what the whole deal is there.
Yeah, really cleared up that non-issue didn't he? Ramsey doesn't have the guts to tell the guy Obama is a US citizen. That would alienate the base.
Hey Centervilly, I have a question for you. Why is it that the birth certificate that's been produced, the same one verified by the republican governor of Hawaii, works for everybody else born in Hawaii to prove citizenship, but it doesn't work for Obama? Why is that? Also, if there was anything to this, Palin would've been spewing about it on the campaign trail. The man was running for president and you don't think that the McCain campaign, the CIA, the FBI, probably even the Bush admin didn't investigate him? Really? I mean, seriously, you can't be this ignorant.
I also don't know what Ramsey's thing is for goats? I'm not saying he does or doesn't have a penchant for diddling goats. And, I don't know whether his preference is for male or female goats. I just don't know what the deal is there.
Even though Ramsey won't provide proof of his non-proclivity for goats, I believe that this is not a political issue that we ought to be focusing on... that being whether Ramsey shags goats or not. We should focus on Ramsey's non-goat shagging practices.
Only, if he would just provide some proof....
Cuz, I like to base my opinions on facts, ya know.
"the great preponderance of the evidence"? This Davis clown is either a poor lawyer or just not the most honest fellow. Or some third option that involves a master strategy to help his fellow man.
Whoa--that puts Ramsey in the same category as Marsha Blackburn. She's a dingbat who placates the ultra right wing extreme. What's his excuse???
It is an embarrassment to even say you live in Tennessee with teabaggers and birthers saying preposterous things 24-7 about the President and a healthcare plan that will make "pre-existing conditions" a thing of the past.
Tennessee is one of four states with an obese population of 30%; we are in the top four states with the highest obesity, hypertension and diabetes.
It's clear that race is still a massive problem in the South.
Lieutenant governor Ramsey, now since the Republicans control both houses of the Tennessee legislature, it seems to me that they might consider passing a state law that says in all future elections no candidate for the Tennessee legislature can be put on the ballot in Tennessee unless they produce positive proof they are sane. If we continue to have a legislature like that the current one, soon we'll need to change the legislative uniform to white sheets and hoods. Is there any chance that you would consider that?
Ask Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey how he and other Northeast Tennesee anti-abortion rights Republicans (i.e.: Jason Mumpower, David Davis, Steve Godsey) actually helped John Gregory’s Monarch Pharmaceuticals (a subsidiary of Gregory’s Bristol based King Pharmaceuticals) and Hoechst Marion Roussel (HMR, subsidiary of the German giant pharmaceutical company Hoechst AG,one-time patent owner and manufacturer of abortion drug RU-486 ) circumvent the U.S. National Right to Life Committee consumer boycott against Hoechst and Hoechst pharmaceutical products including ALTACE…
During 1994, the U.S. National Right to Life Committee announced a U.S. boycott of all Hoechst pharmaceutical products including Altace in opposition to the distribution and sale of the Hoechst RU-486 abortion prescription drug and by September 17 the anti-abortion organization, Pharmacists For Life International, joined the NRLC boycott, “…against the American subsidiary of Hoechst AG, Hoechst-Roussel, Hoechst-Celanese, its generic subsidiary Coply Pharmaceuticals and the agricultural Hoechst subsidiary” while asking U.S. consumers to “…focus on key Hoechst drugs which have the most economic impact rather than taking an across-the-board shotgun approach” and specifically targeting Altace as a boycott list item.
Gregory’s Monarch Pharmaceuticals did not buy Altace from HRM outright, but rather obtained U.S. marketing and distribution rights to Altace and certain other Hoechst products, thereby actually becoming business partners with Hoechst.
Abd if you should examine some of the earliest King Pharmaceutical filings (yearly reports available through the Edgar Search) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, you would also learn that Monarch Pharma was actually purchasing ALTACE ingredients from Hoechst during the time before Monarch Pharma obtained FDA approval for ALTACE being processing at Monarch’s facilities.
Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and his political connection to Altace, Hoechst Marion Roussel
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=179×4843
YouTube: 2004 Ron Ramsey Commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIi9S2y5FIk&feature=player_embedded
Answers.com: Company History – Hoechst AG
http://www.answers.com/ topic/hoechst-ag
excerpt:
With operations in 120 nations around the globe, Hoechst (pronounced “herckst”) A.G. is the world’s largest chemical manufacturer. By the mid-1990s, less than 25 percent of its annual revenues were generated in its home country of Germany. From its roots as a dyestuffs producer, the company grew to become one of that nation’s top three chemical firms. It was a key component of the IG Farben chemical cartel, and emerged from the post-World War II breakup of that conglomerate as a strong and growing entity. Hoechst developed a particular focus on pharmaceuticals in the ensuing decades, but its diverse product line–including agricultural and industrial chemicals, fibers, polymers, and engineering services–helped to shelter it from vacillations in any one market. In 1996 the Kuwaiti government, through Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, continued to hold the 25 percent stake in Hoechst that it had first acquired over a decade before.
…
As the twin demons of recession and drug industry consolidation bedeviled Hoechst in the early to mid-1990s, the company devised new strategies. Key among them was the joint venture, wherein two or more companies share the costs and benefits of researching, developing, and marketing new products. Joint ventures with Courtaulds in fibers, Schering in pesticides, and Wacker in plastics were expected to boost productivity in these lagging sectors. Cooperative projects such as these also helped forge vital relationships in new and emerging markets. In 1990, for example, the company signed an agreement with Japan’s Teijin to manufacture flame-retardant fibers.
Ironically, acquisitions were also used as economizing measures, as Hoechst executives expected to squeeze economies of scale from new affiliates. Accordingly, the company acquired three European powder coatings operations, a German fibers producer, and a controlling stake in an American manufacturer of generic drugs. In a 1995 bid to re-establish itself as a leading player in the drug business, the company acquired Marion Merrell Dow for US$7.1 billion. The merger moved Hoechst into third place in the continuously consolidating pharmaceutical industry.
Upshot: The notable Tennessee Republican Party campaign contributor, Tennessee Right to Life contributor, and Former King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CEO John Gregory was business partners (through King Phara subsidiary Monarch Pharmaceuticals) with one-time corporate RU-486 abortion drug patent owners Hoechst A.G./HMR.
The late December 1998 purchase of U.S. marketing and distribution rights to Altace by Monarch Pharmaceuticals allowed Hoechst A.G./HMR to circumvent the 1994 consumer boycott by the National Right to Life organization against Altace and other HMR branded pharma products in the U.S. and recoup the Hoechst A.G./HMR corporate investment into bringing Altace into the U.S. market.
Tennessee Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey is still one of the many toadying TNGA Republican lapdogs still on the leashes held by the members of the Bristol based Gregory family…
In an indirect way, the RU-486 abortion drug helped to get Ron Ramsey elected as Tennessee Lt. Governor.
Hey Obamabots, if this is such a non-issue, then why is the Obama administration trying to silence me? My buddy Ted, Captain Steve, and I have been on the run because of our work on this issue. I have to sleep in a new place every night or find myself in an unmarked grave. But fear not, fellow Obama-phobes. A few of my compatriots and I who attended the last conspiracy convention in Sioux Falls, have commissioned an investigative reporter who has worked with Fox News to bring our journey to fruition and word on the street is he is getting close to proving this once and for all. And we will laugh last!!!!!
It is amazing that you "progressives" cannot deal in facts, only insults and namecalling...Ramsey was right...he doesn't know, nor does anyone else, because the original birth certificate has not been released by Obama...but it is probably based on embarassing facts, rather than a deep, dark, conspiracy to conceal his foreign birth. Ramsey handled this honestly and forthrightly...but not to the satisfaction of those who remain at the feet of the messiah.
Conspiracy Buff, that is by far the best impersonation of a birther that I've seen in a while. The 'unmarked grave' nonsense was a really nice touch; it helps to drive home the insane paranoia that birthers feel every time they step out into the sunlight.
Henry Butler, your argument is so ridiculous and full of nonsense that I only have one thing to say:
Fail less, please.
Mr Butler, you are right. Why can't we have a real American born president like John McCain? We need someone who pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, like Sen McCain or President George W. Bush, not those sons of privilege like Pres Obama, whose dad was a big Harvard grad, or Pres Clinton, whose father's son was a U.S. president. As you rightly point out, why can't we all be as honest as our state legislators.
What's all this I've been reading about Ron Ramsey and barnyard animals? I too have heard that barnyard animals become skittish when Ramsey is around.
I'm not saying any of this is true, but why doesn't Ramsey release his criminal record abstract, and show it is stamped "subject has clear record to date."
What's he hiding?
The evidence is mounting that this man is a menace to barnyards everywhere!
We need to do some investigative journalism to get to the bottom of this. Maybe we can hire O'Keefe to dress up like a goat.
"Maybe we can hire O'Keefe to dress up like a goat."
Don't forget the hidden camera. Put it inside a bale of hay.
Hey, don't be so hard on the guy. We expect our politicians to be instant experts on everything. If he knows there are birthers, and doesn't know the validity of their claims, it's no sin to admit that he doesn't think the issue is important and hasn't looked into it.
REAL birthers are sure President Obama posted a forged birth certificate on his web site, that his grandmother planted the birth announcements in the Honolulu newspapers back in 1961, and that the State of Hawaii health department director is lying when she posted an official letter on the Department web site saying she had examined the records and that Obama was born in Hawaii. Heck, real birthers doubt that Hawaii is even a state! REAL birthers are certain Obama is not a legitimate president, and are just waiting for some evidence to prove it.
To all you birthers out here,
Have you ever obtained a passport? If you haven't, go ahead and try. Make sure you bring your real birth certificate. They won't accept copies.
President Obama has a passport. How could he have possibly got one without his real birth certificate?
He wouldn't have. How about a drivers license? Or a voter registration card? Or proof that he is the father of his daughters?
There are many, many things that require a real birth certificate.
Birthers, do yourselves a favour and THINK!
mary b, think for a second. If Barry Soetoro has a passport, why doesn't he show the birth certificate he used to get it?? The alleged certificate he posted was dated June 2007. Did he not obtain a passport before June 2007?? Where's the certificate he used and why didn't he show it??
Also, why does the state of Hawaii refuse to say his June 2007 certificate is real when they can legally do so??
Second, you're making a flawed assumption. Obama's passport may not prove that he was born in Hawaii. If not, then it's obvious why he would produce a 2007 document that can't be authenticated.
Skeptics simply want better proof than a redacted jpg on a Web site.
@ksdb: You have some good points.
I found a Kenyan birth certificate (Obama's?)that'savailable right here!
"What's up with Ramsey's eye? Anyone?"
It's from too many conversations with Orly Taitz. They've also been taking turns staring into each other's mouths. Orly is looking for cavities, and Ramsey is waiting for something truthful to come out of hers.
Simple, really.
