Is John McCain a Natural-Born Citizen of the U.S.?

snopes.com | July 23, 20008

[FortWorthPatriot]

I didn't post a link to this because I wasn't sure if we could link to snopes.com, but I felt it important enough to post.

It's amazing that no one in the MSM is at all concerned whether or not Obama is a natural-born citizen, but we better make damn sure McCain is!

Check out how thorough snopes researches the question. Plus the fact that they claim the status is "undetermined."

This was posted today at snopes.

[xcamel]

Been covered ad-nauseum.

[Perdogg]

[xjcsa]

This is probably the five hundredth thread on FR about this.

[marron]

I propose that we put both candidates to the test. Both should be required to demonstrate that they qualify as a natural-born citizen.

Whats fair for one should be fair for both. Anyone running for the office should be prepared to prove he meets the legal requirements for office.

[xjcsa]

Threads on this topic.

[fireforeffect]

Do a little research. Snopes can be wrong if politics or ideology are involved.

Instapundit or Volokh Conspiracy are good legal web sites.

To be blunt, the horse is dead jim, you can stop beating it.

[dbacks]

You haven’t been paying attention. This has been covered and recovered for months.

[Iron Munro]

Is John McCain a Natural-Born Citizen of the U.S.?

If only it were true that he is not!

Then McCain could be booted from the nomination for a legitimate reason and a viable candidate could be selected at the convention.

See if you can get the necessary proof.
You will be a hero to millions upon millions.

[mgstarr]

Have you considered searching previous threads first?

[cubreporter]

This stuff again???????????? Good Lord...

[mountainlion]

To my way of thinking John McCain is more of citizen than what is his name again Noboma!

[Paleo Conservative]

Whats fair for one should be fair for both. Anyone running for the office should be prepared to prove he meets the legal requirements for office.

That ought to be the law. I was talking to executive director of the Republican Party of Texas last week, and he says that third parties have no standing to challenge the credentials of a candidate to hold the office for which they are running. Candidates are required to sign an affidavit swearing that they meet the qualifications for office, but don't have to provide proof. The only persons with standing to challenge a candidate's qualifications for office are other candidates for the same office, and even then the burden of proof is on the person making the challenge.

[x]

Yes, because the first Congress's first Naturalization Law (1790) says: "And the children of citizens of the United States that may be born beyond sea, or outside the limits of the United States, shall be considered as natural born citizens."

But the strange thing is how many people, myself included, erroneously learned in school that a President had to be born within the borders of the country.

[crazyhorse691]

Never heard of this Juan McCain.

[Doogle]

.."somebody wake me when this story dies"

[Alia]

You are wishful thinking. John McCain is a legitimately born American.

[Radix]

McCain likely has a Birth Certificate issued by the Department of State.

I wish it were that simple to eliminate this guy as a candidate.

[Alia]

My early education was DOD schools. I didn’t learn about the “borders” thing. I learned the writ of the laws in re being born in another country and being born an American citizen. And since most all my classmates were also born in other countries, Americans, all of us, it was important for us to know this.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

Read this case, it has to do with whether someone born in this country to resident alien parents is a citizen according to the Fourteenth Amendment, but much would apply to how the courts would define Natural Born. I have written before about how Congress not the courts should decide this issue but the legal reasoning would apply to either forum.

U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. v. WONG KIM ARK, 169 U.S. 649 (1898)

169 U.S. 649

UNITED STATES
v.
WONG KIM ARK.
No. 132.

March 28, 1898
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=169&invol=649

[Alia]

McCain likely has a Birth Certificate issued by the Department of State.

No doubts, he does have one. I have one, lots of Americans do. For the record, my "Birth Certificate" was issued 4 years after I was born. Doesn't mean I wasn't an American during the first 4 years of my life.

[kingu]

Snopes.com maintains a very even balance, (generally)requiring absolutes to make something false or true.

In this particular case, they're responding to an email that has been floating around for quite a while. The erred on the side of caution, but they should have made the finding more qualified - Since it is ultimately in the hands of the electoral college, it would (collectively) be up to them if John McCain met the standard of ‘natural born citizen.’ No other body would be qualified to rule upon it without reaching too far into the powers of another body.

If it was something absolutely quantifiable, such as his age, then it'd be another issue, but it's not, and the electoral college would be the only body who could bring this up, and decide it.

Since votes for president are not for the person, but the representative in the electoral college, I doubt it would come up. It's just a very slim chance it could, therefore the ‘indeterminate’ finding by Snopes.

[FortWorthPatriot]

You know, I started typing a reply to all the self-appointed Posting Police Officers here, but I decided it would be a waste of time to respond to all the smart-ass remarks.

If it matters to anyone, the only reason I posted this was bring attention to how the liberal media - in this case, snopes.com - is still on this kick about McCain's citizenship and that they classify the answer to the question as "undetermined" and that the damn story was posted TODAY. Whereas they were quick to classify the question about Obama's citizenship as FALSE last month.

So, no, I am not some newbie who hasn't been "paying attention" and who just wanted to post about something that has already been "covered and recovered" " ad nauseum" for the "five hundreth" time. There was a point I was trying to make which obviously went over the heads of all you asshats who felt compelled to swat me on the nose for posting this particular angle of this non-story. If you don't want to read yet another post on this, don't freaking post a reply!!! Ignore it and go to the next post that interests you. It's as simple as that.

All you brilliant people with your smart remarks can kiss my a$$.

Moderator, just please delete this thread. Apparently it's a waste of everyone's time and bandwidth.

[Non-Sequitur]

My sentiments exactly.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Yes.

John McCain is a Natural Born Citizen of the USA.

There are a number of Zonians who would be happy to explain that to you.

[reg45]

If John Sydney McCain III is not a citizen, then neither is my brother-in-law. I could ask my sister about the birth certificate.

[reg45]

McCain likely has a Birth Certificate issued by the Department of State

or possibly by the Department of the Navy (as it was called in 1931, before there was a Department of Defense).

[Vroomfondel]

Since it is ultimately in the hands of the electoral college, it would (collectively) be up to them if John McCain met the standard of ‘natural born citizen.’

Interesting; so citizenship comes down to a "reasonable elector" test: you're a natural-born citizen if a reasonable elector thinks you are.

Guess there's hope for President Schwartzenegger after all.

[Alia]

I am glad you posted this thread, and that “snopes” has reported on John McCain; but nothing on Obama. Yep, it’s good to know this factoid.

[kingu]

Interesting; so citizenship comes down to a "reasonable elector" test: you're a natural-born citizen if a reasonable elector thinks you are. Guess there's hope for President Schwartzenegger after all.

I think it was Lawrence Tribe who said that it is a court of the people, not one man. Since this question is so extremely limited to one person, likely never to come up again, and has a constitutional failsafe built in, the courts would very likely find their only option would be to defer to the electoral college.

[FortWorthPatriot]

Not quite sure if you are being sarcastic, but if not, thank you.

[MinuteGal]

Never mind the boo-birds. The Snopes angle interested me very much. The same title that drew me to this thread had enough info in it that the posting flatfoots didn't have to click on it if they felt it was such ancient news.

The comments also interest me.....in fact, there's few FR threads that don't inform me or teach me about something.

Thanks for the post,

Leni/MinuteGal

[FortWorthPatriot]

Thank you. I appreciate your support.

And, like you, I learn more on these threads about what's really going on in the world than I ever would in the MSM.

[Alia]

I wasn’t being sarcastic. I understand why you posted it, you actually say so in your post.

[FortWorthPatriot]

Thanks. I appreciate your kind words.

[Iron Munro]

You are wishful thinking.

LOL! Not so.

Fantasizing would be a better term.

We can dream, can't we?

[CaptRon]

I was reading this yesterday, then read the Snopes article regarding the same question about Obama. Whereas Snopes notes in the status section about McCain that the status is not resolved, for Obama they say the claim is false. In other words, they can't say that a man born outside of the continental US due to the military obligation of his father, of parents who are both US citizens, is without question a natural-born citizen, but they are absolutely certain that a man born of a foreign father and American mother who lived a significant portion of his life in foreign countries is, without a doubt, eligible to run for President.

[FortWorthPatriot]

"I was reading this yesterday, then read the Snopes article regarding the same question about Obama. Whereas Snopes notes in the status section about McCain that the status is not resolved, for Obama they say the claim is false. In other words, they can't say that a man born outside of the continental US due to the military obligation of his father, of parents who are both US citizens, is without question a natural-born citizen, but they are absolutely certain that a man born of a foreign father and American mother who lived a significant portion of his life in foreign countries is, without a doubt, eligible to run for President."

My point exactly. Thank you.

[TheBattman]

Snopes.com maintains a very even balance, (generally)requiring absolutes to make something false or true.

Did you intend to use a "/sarcasm" tag? Because your post certainly must be meant tongue-in-cheek. Snopes is extremely biased when it comes to political postings.