The 234 Project

Dear Friends:

I am pleased to launch an effort which I have titled the 234 Project.  The reason for this term is that if you subtract the year our country was born, 1776, from the current year, 2010, you have 234 years. And what we want to do is assign one lawmaker for each of those years.  We want 234 lawmakers to (1) agree to rescind Obamacare and (2) to be put on the record as to whether they will support the impeachment and removal of Barack Obama from the White House and/or whether they will agree to simply remove Obama on account of being constitutionally disqualified from holding the office of the president of the United States.

The proposed means of getting 234 men and women to stand in the gap from 1776 to 2010 is as follows. There are currently 177 Republican Congressmen and women in the U.S. House and 41 Republican men and women in the U.S. Senate.  That number totals 218.  Since no Republican supported Obamacare in the final version (acknowledging Rep. Ahn Cao’s original November vote for it), we will assign each Republican one year in history and this will add up to 218 years.  That leaves us 16 years, thus 16 public officials to take it 234.

We aren’t sure where to make up the gap.  Possibilities include Republican governors, attorney generals or leaders of legislative chambers at the state level.  Legislators would be preferable since they are the ones who make law.  Conservative Congressional Democrat lawmakers like Gene Taylor of Mississippi, Bobby Bright of Alabama and Dan Boren of Oklahoma are also options. Mr. Taylor served in the House during Bill Clinton’s Administration and voted to impeach him in 1998 when Mr. Clinton was charged with committing high crimes and misdemeanors.  There are about 5 other moderate to conservative Democrats from back in the 90s who, along with Mr. Taylor, are still in Congress today and who voted against Obamacare.  Their fairly conservative voting records indicate that they could vote with the GOP to remove Obama.

However, unlike the 90s, there are drawbacks to using Democrats in the current political climate.  It would also be difficult finding 16 Democrats who would join Republicans in this effort.

We could also consider 16 Republican candidates to the U.S. Senate who are currently not Congressmen.

I am entertaining suggestions as to other ideas you may wish to include for the remaining 16 patriots.  You can give me either specifics (such as names of individuals) or generalities (like a name of a group).  Other suggestions are welcomed as well.  The one non-negotiable point is the 234.  Doing away with the number makes the name of the group and project null and void.

I am well aware that a few liberal Republicans are part of the 234 (or 218 thus far).  Ideally, I would just choose to exclude the likes of them (e.g. Kirk, Castle and the 6 others who voted for cap and trade).  However, given that we don’t have 234 Republicans in Washington and given that they all were united in opposing a government takeover of medicine, we are for the time being including them on the patriots’ list.

I am also soliciting input as to all the questions that should be asked.  We want to make them brief but to the point.  There are four that will definitely be asked, though we will entertain changes to the wording.  We will consider (but not guarantee) adding one or two more.  But as it is, here are the current questions we want to pose to each of the 218 Republicans.

1. Given that no Republican in either the House or Senate voted for Obamacare, it is assumed that all Republicans would vote to repeal it, should legislation be introduced in a future Congress. A Republican controlled House could override a presidential veto of such a bill with a 2/3^rd vote. However, since there are no mathematical possibilities for Republicans to have 2/3^rd control in the U.S. Senate in the 112^th Congress (though a sizable GOP majority is possible) to repeal the bill in that chamber, would you vote to defund Obamacare in its entirety in budget appropriations? YES _____ NO _____

2. Reports state that anywhere from 12-20,000 IRS agents will be hired to enforce the mandates and penalties in Obamacare, which would include fines and even jail time for non-compliance.  Given how the IRS has historically been one of the most oppressive agencies in the United States, notwithstanding your views of what form of taxation should replace the IRS (flat tax, fair tax, sales tax, tariffs, etc), would you introduce and/or support legislation to abolish the IRS in its entirety? YES _____ NO _____

3. Multitudes of Americans have called for the impeachment and removal of Barack Obama from the Oval Office.  Mr. Obama’s public support of Islam, both domestically and in foreign policy, his handling of the Fort Hood massacre, the release of a number of terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay to foreign countries, plans to place terrorists in U.S. prisons and hold trials in U.S. courts instead of military brigs, among other items, lead some people to believe he is committing treason, a constitutionally impeachable offense.  Others believe the numerous monetary deals that led to the exchange of votes for the passage of Obamacare, along with alleged offers of political favors in exchange for not challenging the seats of certain Congressional Democrats, constitutes bribery, another constitutionally impeachable offense.

In your perspective, has Barack Obama committed offenses constitutionally worthy of impeachment and removal from office?  YES _____ NO _____.

If your answer to the above question is YES, how would you publicly support his impeachment and removal?  A. In the current Congress or the next one _____ B. In the next Congress only since the current political atmosphere would make it difficult, if not impossible, to proceed _____ C. Neither as this is my personal opinion _____

4. In the same way that thousands, if not millions, of Americans believe Barack Obama has committed flagrant acts against the U.S. Constitution, growing numbers of Americans have questions, doubts and even outright disbelief that Mr. Obama has met the constitutional eligibility requirements for being president, according to Article II, Section 1, Paragraph 5, of the U.S. Constitution.  While few Americans, if any, dispute that Mr. Obama is over 35 years of age and has resided in the U.S. for at least 14 years, due to numerous conflicting articles of his alleged birth in Kenya and childhood schooling in Indonesia and multitudes of lawsuits filed in U.S. courts, a vast many of them are uncertain as to whether he is a natural born citizen.

Responses of Congressmen and senators in both parties to querying constituents have widely varied since the issue first surfaced in 2008, from willful silence to mocking and ridicule to outright denial to concessions of possibility and even merit.  A few members of Congress have signed on to legislation from Rep. Bill Posey of Florida to require future presidents provide documentation of natural born citizenship.  However, other than Congressman Nathan Deal, who recently resigned his seat to run for governor of Georgia, no one on Capitol Hill has directly posed the eligibility question to Mr. Obama.

The passage of Obamacare into law has plunged more Americans into the eligibility debate since there are growing doubts as to Mr. Obama’s place in the White House. Many folks are coming to believe that he is not a natural born citizen but a foreigner and thus with no authority to sign any legislation.  If such a view is ever proven, either via Congressional hearings and/or court rulings, then we have an unprecedented constitutional crisis on our hands (which many folks already believe we currently have). Evidence of ineligibility essentially would mean an undoing of every law signed, every executive order given, every judicial and cabinet appointment made and every policy decision Obama has put in place. This should not be treated lightly as many members of Congress are doing.  Congress (both parties) continues to ignore this to their political and the nation’s peril.

Many polls show a heightened interest in the eligibility issue.  Though numbers vary, the interest is bipartisan.  Polls have shown anywhere from 50-60% of Republicans who are skeptical of Mr. Obama’s eligibility and as many as a third of all Californians, regardless of political party, are as well.  Plus the original lawsuit against Obama in this regard came from a lifelong Democrat.

With these details in place and from what you personally know, what would describe your best opinion on this issue?

A. I never had or have any doubt that Barack Obama was a natural born citizen _____
B. I once had concerns about Obama’s eligibility but believe they are now settled ____
C. This issue was initially unimportant to me but as I began to see the direction Obama and Congress were taking this country, I felt that foreign policies and foreign interests were superseding ours and now I must ask whether he is constitutionally legitimate _____
D. Regardless of my personal views, the interests of my constituents must be represented first and foremost and since a good many of them have expressed their concerns to me in this regard, I must ascertain and report to them the truth _____
E. I have always been skeptical as to Barack Obama being a natural born citizen and believe Congress has an obligation to hold hearings to come to a determination ____

It is important that we start this project as soon as possible.  One of the reasons for the request of expedited timing is because Congress is home on Easter recess for this week and next.  If we wait until Congress returns in a week and a half, it will be much harder to gauge their views, partly due to the vast partisanship there currently is in Washington.  I feel that doing this while members of the House & Senate are in their home districts and getting their responses from their homes or local offices will be far more fruitful.

What I propose to do is draft a document in the form of a letter with the above questions (wording of which is not yet final and may yet be modified), along with the additional one or two that we may consider including, and fax it to every Republican Congressman’s and senator’s home office in the states. To this end, I have obtained at least one district fax number for all but 10 of the 218 Republicans in Congress.  Remember, we want to send the original document to home districts, not DC, for maximized response.

Here are the nuts and bolts of what we need.  First of all, we need to get up the website of the 234 Project.  I am taking care of the domain aspect of it and will set up the site, though I am happy to have any web-minded individual to help put it together.  The drafted letter will be up for all to see, however, it will not be needed to send out.  That is something we are taking care of.

The website will not be a long one like some others.  It may only be like 3 pages, probably 5 tops.  However, the content will speak for itself and drive the traffic.

Once the site is up, we will need to spread the word like wildfire.  It may be tough to do, given that there are so many superb patriotic websites out there, so many of which get lost in the shuffle.  However, we hope that World Net Daily, which arguably covers the eligibility issue more than any one else, will pick up on our efforts since this is part of our issue as well.  If they do, as they did with my old StoptheACLU.org address, the hits and visitors will come.  We want to light a fire under Republicans to do what needs to be done and begin the process of removing Obama.  And we hope the 4000+ contacts in the old StoptheACLU database will help facilitate more responses.

Here is where we will need your help, if you are interested.  It’s not a whole lot, though in this economy it might be for some.  What we are looking for is as follows:

• A one year web hosting package with a reliable host company. Estimated cost on the low end for a 3-5 page website: $50.
• Two ink cartridges for my fax.  I will be faxing to all Republican lawmakers.  Estimated costs on the two cartridges for my Panasonic fax: $75
• If possible, someone who can design a logo for The 234 Project on short notice.  Estimated cost to the design preparer varies but on the very low end, can do for $50.
• Money permitting, we would like to mail this letter as well as faxing it.  We will need paper and envelopes.  We have plenty of printer ink cartridges so that is no problem. We would like to reinforce the faxes with letters.  Estimated cost of stamps and envelopes: $100
• Money permitting, we may use a search engine optimization package to drive traffic. Estimated cost of this can be as low as $25.
• Money permitting, we’d like to get a post office box for the site alone. Estimated cost: $50

In summary, we could get started for as little as $125 or perhaps just $100.  To do everything we would like to do would run about $350.  Would anyone be interested in contributing any amount?

Additionally, if funds exceed $350, say to $500, we have a sophisticated multi line, all in one Brother printer/fax/phone that we can use for this purpose; that is, once it is repaired.  A few months ago, via my membership in FreeCycle.com, I obtained this elaborate machine for free from someone who simply wanted to get rid of it.  It is in good shape for the most part but the fax is in need of repair as it does not connect, plus there are some discoloring issues that I cannot seem to fix. I estimate the cost for repair to be about $100 but depending on what is needed, it could go up to $150.  Retail cost of the item when originally purchased, with tax, was over $400.

So we could get started for maybe as low as $100, in medium gear with $300 or in high gear at $500.  I do not want anyone to give if they absolutely cannot do so.  I don’t like asking for money but I have none of my own to start this at this juncture.  We’re barely scraping by, yet we feel the urgent need to light a fire under Republicans in Washington and pray this will help do it.

The good thing is that I have no phone or fax costs (other than the cartridges) to absorb.  Our monthly unlimited phone and Internet package costs under $100 so I can make all the faxes necessary at no charge.  And given how often I fax members of Congress, it pays handsomely.

In addition to anyone interested in building the website or creating a logo, I’d like to have one or two volunteers who would be willing to make follow up calls to offices of “wayward” lawmakers who haven’t completed or returned their surveys.

The best way for anyone who would like to contribute to this effort would be to go to your Pay Pal account and send your donation to my old Stop the ACLU mailbox – nedd@stoptheaclu.org. If you wish to do so another way or if you simply want to volunteer in some capacity, please contact me at the234project@rocketmail.com, however, do not use that address for Pay Pal purposes – there is no account there.

Please note – the Rocketmail mailbox is strictly for 234 Project purposes.  Any non-related e-mail sent there, regardless of content, will promptly be deleted and not responded to.  Use theobamacrisis@ymail.com for all non-234 Project related messages.  Thank you for your understanding.

I would be happy to answer any questions you might have or assist you in volunteering in other ways to promote this effort.  I await any suggestions you have for questions for our lawmakers to answer.  Again, we will consider taking one or two more in addition to the ones above.  And as also noted earlier, I am happy to consider any suggested modifications to the questions as outlined there.

God save our country.

For Liberty,

Nedd Kareiva
Founder, The 234 Project