Let me introduce you to something stupid. It’s a press release (or at least that’s what Jerry Collette called it) posted on Sam Sewell’s blog, The Steady Drip.
In this latest episode of “Political theater: the lawsuit,” we learn that Jerry Collette, who is suing President Obama in Florida in an effort to keep him off the ballot, has made an offer to the President’s attorneys. Jerry says:
If I survive the motions to dismiss, Obama would permit me access to the original and microfiche birth records in Hawaii and the copies he claims to have gotten from Hawaii last year, then I would waive all other discovery.
This is stupid on several levels. First President Obama has no authority to release original archival records and microfilm held by the Hawaii Department of Health. He can’t release them and no court in Florida could enforce a subpoena to obtain them. So if Obama cannot hold up his side of such an agreement, he couldn’t make the deal. Collette must know this, and so the offer is disingenuous.
Implicit in the “offer” is a promise by Collette not to seek Obama’s social security, draft, and college records. What possible advantage would there be for Obama to limit such discovery? The draft records were released under FOIA in 2008. The social security and college conspiracy theories never had a grain of reasonableness behind them. Further, social security, draft and college records have no relevance to presidential eligibility, and Collette couldn’t obtain discovery of them anyway. So the offer to limit discovery for items not accessible under discovery in the first place is also disingenuous.
Finally, if Obama took the deal, the birthers would immediately say that Obama caved because there is obviously something terrible in those other records, and if he doesn’t take the deal, they will say that he’s desperate to hide the birth certificate. Specifically, what the birthers believe has no relation to what Obama does or doesn’t do. They will say whatever bad things suit their fancy.
The title of Sewell’s article is: “Florida Paralegal Checkmates Obama’s Lawyers.” That’s funny because Obama’s not playing. The Court will dismiss the lawsuit and that will be the end of it.
Now which is more stupid?
- Obama’s attorney if he took the deal?
- Jerry Collette for thinking in his wildest imagination that Obama’s attorney would take the deal?
- Birthers who read The Steady Drip and believe that the offer is sincere?