Orly Taitz

Judge Dismisses Taitz Birther Suit

Rachel Slajda | October 29, 2009, 1:52PM

Orly Taitz

A U.S. District Court judge has dismissed one of Orly Taitz's birther lawsuits, saying it would be unconstitutional for the courts to "effectively overthrow a sitting president."

In his ruling, Judge David O. Carter said the plaintiffs, represented by Taitz, had asked the courts to go outside their constitutional power by demanding President Obama produce further documentation proving he was born in the United States, and if he couldn't, shutting down the federal government and holding an election.

"Plaintiffs have attacked the judiciary, including every prior court that has dismissed their claim, as unpatriotic and even treasonous for refusing to grant their requests and for adhering to the terms of the Constitution which set forth its jurisdiction," Carter wrote. "Respecting the constitutional role and jurisdiction of this Court is not unpatriotic."

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Barack Obama

White House Responds To Wash Times Story: We've Set 'Toughest Ethics Standards' Ever

Justin Elliott | October 28, 2009, 2:00PM

The Obama Administration has released a lengthy response to the Washington Times story that reported Democrats are using the White House as a fundraising tool, saying that "contributing does not guarantee a ticket to the White House, nor does it prohibit the contributor from visiting."

"Given that nearly 4 million Americans donated to the campaign, it's no surprise that some who contributed have visited the White House," the statement says.

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Fundraising

Obama Using The White House As A Fundraising Tool

Justin Elliott | October 28, 2009, 9:51AM

Pres. Obama and green champagne at 2009 St. Patrick's Day reception in the East Room

Try to look surprised: The Obama Administration has doled out access to the White House and to top aides as a way to keep top Democratic donors feeling special.

The Washington Times has a good rundown today on how it all works, including invitations for two bundlers to bring their families to the famous bowling alley at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next door to the White House.

As in past administrations, access to the White House is an irresistible addition to the Dems' quiver of perks for donors.

The Times reports:

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Liz Cheney

Major GOP Fundraiser Behind New Liz Cheney Group

Zachary Roth | October 26, 2009, 9:56AM

Liz Cheney and GOP fundraiser Mel Sembler

A nice little scoop from Newsweek:

Mel Sembler, the heavy-hitting Republican fundraiser and Florida real-estate magnate, plans to support Liz Cheney's new pro-war group, Keep America Safe (KAS).

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Voting

DOJ Vet: Plan For Panther Hearings Shows Key Voting-Rights Panel Is "Kind Of A Joke"

Zachary Roth | October 22, 2009, 3:24PM

USCCR Commissioner Todd Gaziano

Democrats and civil-rights advocates are slamming conservative members of a key federal voting-rights panel for a plan to hold hearings on the controversial "New Black Panthers" voter intimidation case, and are expressing intense concern that the commission is being shifted away from its traditional role as a protector of the rights of minority voters.

Yesterday, Main Justice reported that the commission, dominated by Bush appointees, planned to hold hearings on the New Black Panther case, which the Justice Department dismissed earlier this year. In a now-famous incident from Election Day 2008, a member of a group called the New Black Panther Party was caught on camera clad in combat boots and brandishing a night stick at a Philadelphia polling station.

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Tom Coburn

Coburn, Price Not Rushing To Embrace Award From Doctor Who Sent Racist Obama Pic

Zachary Roth | October 19, 2009, 4:33PM

Dr. David McKalip

David McKalip, the Florida doctor and health-care-reform opponent who apologized this summer after sending a racist picture of President Obama as a witch-doctor, is trying to cozy up to some of the most extreme Republican reform foes in Congress. But even they want little to do with him, it seems.

Yesterday, McKalip sent an email invitation, obtained by TPMmuckraker, announcing that Doctors for Patient Freedom, the anti-reform group he runs, plans to honor Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) for their work in fighting to preserve "the freedom patients deserve" in health care. According to the invitation, the ceremony is set to take place November 7th, in conjunction with the upcoming American Medical Association meeting in Houston.

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Barack Obama

Feds: Indicted Man Had Been Warned About Threatening Emails

Zachary Roth | October 19, 2009, 10:00AM

President Barack Obama speaks at a Human Rights Campaign event.

We're getting a few more details on John Gimbel, the California man we told you about Friday, who's been charged for sending a racist, profanity-filled email that called for the death of President Obama and for the words "Fed shit" to be written on his chest -- an apparent reference to the recent death of a Census Bureau worker in what seems to have been an act of anti-government violence.

This wasn't the first such email Gimbel has sent, say the Feds. He fired off a similar one earlier last month, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Secret Service, and reported by the AP.

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Barack Obama

Indicted Man Threatened To Kill President And Scrawl "Fed ..." On His Chest

Zachary Roth | October 16, 2009, 12:57PM

President Barack Obama speaks at a Human Rights Campaign event.

In the latest unhinged threat on Barack Obama's life, a California man has been indicted by a federal grand jury after allegedly writing a deranged and racist email screed that urged recipients to "kill the 'president,'" and seemed to invoke the recent death of a Census Bureau worker in an apparent act of anti-government violence.

On September 28th, according to the indictment filed by prosecutors and examined by TPMmuckraker, John Gimbel of Crescent City sent an email whose subject line read:

Operation kill big-[epithet]-rig: kill the 'president' [epithet], then write 'fed shit' on his chest with a felt tip.

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Barack Obama

"Slimy Thug For Hire" Behind Horton Ad Back With Impeach Obama Campaign

Zachary Roth | October 9, 2009, 4:18PM

Conservative activist Floyd Brown

It was only a matter of time...

The far right has already called Obama a socialist, a communist, and a fascist, among other names, and has compared him to Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin. So it should come as no surprise that the organized Impeach Obama movement is now underway -- with a longtime conservative flamethrower at the helm.

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Gun-Toters

Revealed: MN Gun-Toter's Grocery Store Parking Lot Pepper Spray Case Records

Justin Elliott | October 6, 2009, 6:04PM

Josh Hendrickson

Remember the rash of right-wing protesters who showed up to Obama events in August and September armed -- sometimes to the teeth?

In the middle of September, the gun-toter du jour was Josh Hendrickson, who came to an Obama health care speech in Minneapolis with a Glock and a Kel Tec 380 in his back pocket. But Hendrickson was a little different from the other gun-toters: he showed up at the event just after getting out of jail for a pepper-spraying incident.

And based on court records we've obtained, that episode appears to have been an unfortunate flareup of Mall Cop Rage. It resulted in a fifth degree assault misdemeanor conviction.

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David McKalip

Top Health-Care Reform Foe: Racist Emailer Is "Rock Solid Patriot"

Zachary Roth | October 5, 2009, 2:04PM

Greg Scandlen, Heartland Institute

A top conservative health-care reform foe is going to bat for David McKalip, the Florida neurosurgeon and anti-reform activist who this summer was caught by TPMmuckraker sending a racist email that showed President Obama as a witch doctor.

In an email to fellow activists, obtained by TPMmuckraker, Greg Scandlen, the founder and director of Consumers for Health Care Choices, and a senior fellow at the conservative Heartland Institute, called McKalip "one of the best men I know" and "a rock solid patriot." Scandlen also revealed that he himself had urged McKalip to rejoin the fight against reform, after McKalip had temporarily taken a lower profile in the movement in response to widespread outrage over the witch-doctor email.

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Barack Obama

Florida Doc Who Sent Obama Witch-Doctor Email Still Helping Lead Anti-Reform Fight

Zachary Roth | October 5, 2009, 12:21PM

Dr. David McKalip

Florida neurosurgeon David McKalip is back in the thick of the fight to stop health-care reform -- just over two months after pledging to withdraw from the public debate on the issue in the wake of a furor set off when TPMmuckraker published a racist email he sent showing President Obama as a witch doctor.

Over the weekend, McKalip emailed a fellow activist, reporting that he had been at a conservative medical association meeting, with leaders of the anti-reform movement, including GOP congressmen Tom Price and Paul Broun, anti-reform writer and activist Betsy McCaughey, and Tea Party coordinator Amy Kremer. Conservative doctors and their allies have been organizing in recent days in response to the White House's event this morning featuring pro-reform doctors.

McKalip's email was then forwarded on to a Tea Party Patriots email list.

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American Police Force

Montana Town Reassures Public On APF: "There Are No Commandos In The Streets"

Zachary Roth | October 1, 2009, 2:13PM

Fear and paranoia are running so high over Hardin, Montana's decision to put a shady private security contractor in charge of a local prison that the town agency behind the deal has posted a message on its website saying that "there are no commandos in the streets," and seeking to knock down other outlandish rumors.

A message on the website of the Two Rivers Authority, Hardin's economic development arm, reads:

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