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WaPo (Op-Ed): Ted Cruz Not Eligible
Washington Post ^ | January 12, 2016 | Mary Brigid McManamon

Posted on 01/12/2016 10:09:44 AM PST by Behind the Blue Wall

Donald Trump is actually right about something: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) is not a natural-born citizen and therefore is not eligible to be president or vice president of the United States.

The Constitution provides that "No person except a natural born citizen . . . shall be eligible to the office of President." The concept of "natural born" comes from the common law, and it is that law the Supreme Court has said we must turn to for the concept's definition. On this subject, the common law is clear and unambiguous. The 18th-century English jurist William Blackstone, the preeminent authority on it, declared natural-born citizens are "such as are born within the dominions of the crown of England," while aliens are "such as are born out of it."

. . .

Cruz is, of course, a U.S. citizen. As he was born in Canada, he is not natural born. His mother, however, is an American, and Congress has provided by statute for the naturalization of children born abroad to citizens. Because of the senator's parentage, he did not have to follow the lengthy naturalization process that aliens without American parents must undergo. Instead, Cruz was naturalized at birth.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: cds; cruz; eligibility; naturalborncitizen; nonsense; presidential
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To: Buckeye McFrog

This must be solved—would the Progs use it to have Obama rule for a 3rd Term “While it is sorted out” You Bet! Lets not blame Trump for this 18th Century error. He’s right—lets not play into a Democrat trap.


101 posted on 01/12/2016 10:47:28 AM PST by Forward the Light Brigade (Into the Jaws of H*ll Onward! Ride to the sound of the guns!)
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To: Behind the Blue Wall

You know nothing about Constitutional law. Nothing. Acts passed by the First Congress are given preeminent deference when interpreting original intent.


102 posted on 01/12/2016 10:47:59 AM PST by jwalsh07
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To: skeeter

Either you believe in the Constitution, or you do not. One cannot pick and choose as Obama does.


103 posted on 01/12/2016 10:48:22 AM PST by Mollypitcher1 (I have not yet begun to fight....John Paul Jones)
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To: jwalsh07

Naturalization Acts have nothing to do with the definition of natural born citizen. Naturalized equals not natural born.


104 posted on 01/12/2016 10:48:33 AM PST by Behind the Blue Wall
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To: eastforker

In the last 8 years there have been over 50 court cases, state A/G challenges, appellate decisions and more that refined and defined what Natural Born Citizen means. It means the same as a Natural Citizen. Even SCOTUS accepts this as they have not ruled otherwise.

Was that the Framers original intent? Who knows? They weren’t sure themselves.

But one thing is clear - Cruz is a Natural Citizen. And as such; he is eligible.


105 posted on 01/12/2016 10:48:33 AM PST by Responsibility2nd (Is Ted Cruz a US citizen? Yeah? Then Shut Up and Sit Down.)
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To: Behind the Blue Wall
But the fact remains, Cruz isn't eligible.

Lie.

CATO Institute: Yes, Ted Cruz Can be President

As I've stated elsewhere on this forum many times, I have infinitely more confidence in Mark Levin and the CATO Institute than I do in legions of internet sea lawyers and bloggers.

If Ted Cruz decides to run for the Presidency and he appears to be the strongest conservative running, I will support him to the hilt. He's one of the few conservatives in the Senate who actually has the balls to stand up for conservatism and against Obama and the GOP-e RINOs. This is a battle for the survival of America as a free nation. If we allow the democrats and the GOP-e statists to select our next opposition candidate for us, ie, Chris Christie or Jeb Bush, this nation is kaput.

We stand united or we fall. We cannot afford to destroy our best candidates or to split our conservative vote to the point that the likes of Christy or Bush gets the nod and someone like Hillary waltzes into the White House.

Supporting the "electable" Dole, McCain and Romney gave us Clinton and Obama. Supporting the crazy conservative gave us President Reagan.

1 posted on 8/30/2013, 3:02:15 PM by Jim Robinson

106 posted on 01/12/2016 10:48:34 AM PST by Timber Rattler ("To hold a pen is to be at war." --Voltaire)
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To: eastforker

I start this by saying I do not care that Trump is bringing this up. Or the prince of GOPe is acting like an idiot. or the main stream idiots in the media. It is something that Cruz will have to deal with sooner or later. Trump wants to win. If Cruz wants to win he needs to combat this whether anyone thinks it is fair or not.

However, this is a stupid argument conservatives are fighting over. The Constitution has been bent, broken, stretched, twisted in knots, and abused on countless issues. Take one guess on who successfully defended it?

Now all of sudden we get our panties in a bunch because there is a slim possibility that Cruz is not a Natural Born Citizen? <= Whatever that means (no one knows).

Cruz is more American than any Democrat that ran for office in the last 100 years. He is more American than anyone that depended on the government to feed and house them. He is more American than millions of Americans that stand on the sidelines and bi%!t, moan and complain. More American than those who do not accomplish anything worth a spit for the country in their whole lives.

He argued and won nine conservative cases before the supreme court. All of these made a difference, State Rights, Death Penalty, Redistricting, etc... It is not like he is not a full blown citizen. He deserves the right to be President more than me and the vast majority of Americans. Anyone that says different is not being honest.


107 posted on 01/12/2016 10:48:36 AM PST by BushCountry (Studies show that one out of three Liberals are as stupid as the other two.)
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To: eastforker
No one said Cruz is not an American citizen, just not natural born, why is that so hard too understand?

Because we really want our guy and we are not letting common sense interfere with our decision. You see there are citizens that are naturalized and citizens that do not nee to be naturalized so that means they are Natural Born Citizen, no really Levin said so.

108 posted on 01/12/2016 10:49:04 AM PST by itsahoot (Anyone receiving a Woo! Woo! for President has never won anything after the award.)
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To: eastforker

“No one said Cruz is not an American citizen, just not natural born, why is that so hard too understand?”

The only way Ted Cruz can be a US Citizen is natural born.

He was not naturalized, as are immigrants, e.g. Schwarzenegger.

It’s simple.

The issue is not that he is no natural born, it is that enemies can make problems legally without some sort of legal confirmation.

At least that us the argument of Trump.

This author’s argument is bizarrely based on an Englishman’s statement regarding the Crown. Makes zero sense.


109 posted on 01/12/2016 10:49:38 AM PST by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: samtheman

They already know it and plan to use it. Trump foresees the problem others wish to ignore at their own peril.


110 posted on 01/12/2016 10:50:21 AM PST by Mollypitcher1 (I have not yet begun to fight....John Paul Jones)
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To: eastforker

Trump just suggested that Cruz could get an opinion to settle the topic before he had to deal with law suits that have already started.


111 posted on 01/12/2016 10:50:31 AM PST by hoosiermama
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To: Yosemitest
So the statement that "natural born means both parents " has been DENIED by the courts !

It's really a shame you posted up so much verbiage only to arrive at a categorically wrong conclusion.

The issue with Obama is the *place* of his birth. He claims he was born in Hawaii, a lot of folks (myself included, as well as a bunch of Kenyans themselves) claim he was born in Kenya.

If he were born in Hawaii, even to one parent who was a US citizen, he would be "natural born," due to his being born on US soil. That's straight from English common law and its natural law foundation, and is why we consider even children of immigrants here legally who are born here to be natural born citizens.

However, if Obama was born in Kenya, then he finds himself in the exact same place that Cruz does, and is likewise not a natural born citizen.

This was the whole reason why the Wong Kim Ark case was even reference - it ruled that a child of immigrants who was born here on US soil was a natural born citizen based on the principle of jus soli.

The court ruled that Obama was a natural born citizen because it believed his argument that he was born in Hawaii.

112 posted on 01/12/2016 10:50:57 AM PST by Yashcheritsiy (What good is a constitution if you don't have a country to go with it?)
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To: Yashcheritsiy

Yup every time someone starts the discussion by invoking a statute or act of Congress, they’ve already admitted that he’s not a natural born citizen.


113 posted on 01/12/2016 10:50:57 AM PST by Behind the Blue Wall
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To: Responsibility2nd

Learn the difference between citizen and natural born citizen then shut up and sit down!


114 posted on 01/12/2016 10:51:44 AM PST by Mollypitcher1 (I have not yet begun to fight....John Paul Jones)
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To: Campion
There's no legal category of citizenship called "naturalized at birth but not natural born". It doesn't exist.

It does exist if you think about as a qualification for President and not a category of citizenship.

My theory is that the natural born clause in Article II is not intended as a definition of a type of citizen, as that would belong in Article I section 8. Instead, it is a only a qualification for the office, along with the age and residency qualification. This is a tighter requirement than simply citizen or naturalized citizen, just like citizen at least 35 years old is a tighter requiremeet than just citizen. So, natural born is an understood requirement for office, not a Constitutional definition of who is a citizen.

We don't argue whether "citizen over age 35" is a category of citizenship the way we argue over "citizen natural born."

What if Article II Section 1 were instead written

"No person except a Citizen of the United States shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not be natural born, have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States."

Would this make a difference?

-PJ

115 posted on 01/12/2016 10:52:02 AM PST by Political Junkie Too (If you are the Posterity of We the People, then you are a Natural Born Citizen.)
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To: Greetings_Puny_Humans
Ted Cruz is thus invalidated by both legal standards in use by the founding fathers at the time the constitution was written.

Another lie.

116 posted on 01/12/2016 10:52:04 AM PST by Timber Rattler ("To hold a pen is to be at war." --Voltaire)
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To: Behind the Blue Wall

>>>Instead, Cruz was naturalized at birth<<<

Love the way they sneak that in as if it was true.

Cruz was an American Citizen at Birth.
He was never Naturalized.


117 posted on 01/12/2016 10:52:05 AM PST by Kickass Conservative (Obama, unable to call a Spade a Spade...)
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To: IMR 4350

If Trump has that in his back pocket, then I’ll bow down to him as the “King of Kings”. That would be the ultimately “Trump card” to pull out in October 2016.


118 posted on 01/12/2016 10:52:06 AM PST by Behind the Blue Wall
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To: DannyTN

You are absolutely correct.


119 posted on 01/12/2016 10:52:17 AM PST by Mollypitcher1 (I have not yet begun to fight....John Paul Jones)
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To: Faith Presses On
So someone born here illegally of illegal immigrant parents would qualify to be President, but Cruz somehow wouldn’t?

No, because per the wording of the 14th amendment itself, for a child of immigrants to be born a natural born US citizen, they have to be "under the jurisdiction thereof" of the US government, meaning either that the parents are citizens or that the parents are here legally (abiding by our laws, and hence, under our jurisdiction).

We may now be allowing anchor babies, but that is actually totally illegal under the 14th amendment.

120 posted on 01/12/2016 10:53:06 AM PST by Yashcheritsiy (What good is a constitution if you don't have a country to go with it?)
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