SWEET! Senate-seeker wants Obama birth-certificate treatment. Mexican-born candidate: 'If I didn't prove citizenship, I'd be removed from the ballot'

A Mexican-born candidate for U.S. Senate said he is considering a lawsuit against the Missouri secretary of state for discrimination because her office forced him to produce a birth certificate but "didn't make Obama show proof of citizenship" to appear on the ballot.

Hector Maldonado, 38, a self-described "Lincolnian Republican conservative," is seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Missouri. He was born one of 10 children in Durango, Mexico. His father is a migrant field worker who owns a small hog ranch in Perris, Calif.

During the following July 5 interview with Karen Berka of Branson Radio Live posted on YouTube, Maldonado explains why he thinks his rights were violated when the secretary of state's office asked for proof of U.S. citizenship when he filed to run for the Senate:

Maldonado, a U.S. Army combat veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, explains on his website that he became a U.S. citizen in 1995. But he said Secretary of State Robin Carnahan sent him a letter in May asking him to produce documentation.

"It said, 'Hey, you have to prove you're a citizen.' I ignored it," he said. "You know, Obama ignored it, so I figured I could get away with it, too."

The audience began laughing, applauding and cheering during his statement.

Maldonado continued, "But it's not that simple. I didn't get away with it. I got a certified letter from Ms. Robin Carnahan's office saying that if I did not prove that I was a U.S. citizen, then I would be removed from the ballot."

He claims Carnahan's office gave him a deadline of May 12.

"I got all my documents together: my birth certificate, which is a Mexican birth certificate; my naturalization certificate; my orders sending me to Iraq and Afghanistan; my bronze-star citations and a couple of officer evaluations that say I'm a pretty good and effective leader," he said. "So I brought all this documentation, and they were only interested in the naturalization certificate. They made a photocopy of it."

Maldonado said he asked Carnahan's office if his citizenship documentation would be public record and available to anyone who wants a copy.

"They said, oh yes, absolutely, anyone that wants proof, we have it," he explained. "I said, OK, can you do me a favor then? I'm sure Ms. Carnahan requested the same of Barack Obama when he petitioned to get on the Missouri ballot to become president."

He added, "They had no response. They had nothing." READ MORE...