Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

To: rxsid

Freeper Bubba Ho-Tep was born an Italian citizen, of two US citizen parents in the United States.

Are you proposing that he’s ineligible to run for President of the United States?

The Founding Fathers set up a system that would help protect against foreign influence. They never intended to try and create one that was completely bulletproof in that regard. It was simply one protection. They also relied upon the good sense of the citizens.

At the close of the Constitution Convention, Benjamin Franklin was asked, ““Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?”

The reply: “A Republic, if you can keep it!”

There was therefore some doubt as to whether the American form of government would long endure, and an acknowledgment that that question would be decided by its citizens.

Likewise, the Presidential eligibility clause only requires the candidate to have resided in the United States for fourteen years.

The Presidential eligibility clause therefore EXPLICITY allows for a person to have lived MOST of their life OVERSEAS.

Because anybody old enough to run for President would have to be 35 years of age.

If you’re only requiring the President to have lived in the US for 14 years, you are EXPLICITLY allowing him to have spent 21 years outside of the country.

In reality, it’s longer, as NOBODY has EVER been elected to the office of President at the age of 35.

It is therefore OBVIOUS that they never intended the eligibility clause to be an absolute insulation from any foreign influence.

Every single bit of research I’ve done now points to the almost certainty (I am restraining myself at this point from simply calling it a fact) that the Founding Fathers intended for ALL children born on US soil, including the children of aliens, to be considered as natural born citizens, and knew full well that any such person would be eligible to run for President.

“Eligible” doesn’t mean elected. The Presidency was intended to be protected partly by the eligibility clause.

It was intended MOSTLY to be protected by the good sense of the citizens.


158 posted on 06/27/2011 1:49:05 PM PDT by Jeff Winston
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 155 | View Replies ]


To: Jeff Winston
“It is therefore OBVIOUS that they never intended the eligibility clause to be an absolute insulation from any foreign influence.”

Time spent living overseas was of concern but the NBC requirement of two US citizen parents born on US soil was meant to minimize dual loyalty claims by another sovereign or to another sovereign, especially the UK sovereign! See the John Jay letter to GW.

Regarding the Italian situation, not unlike the claims of the UK that led to the War of 1812, See Leo Donofrio’s prior blog laying out how the US treated Italian claims to induct the children of US naturalized Italian fathers and the problems created by dual citizenship:

http://obamareleaseyourrecords.blogspot.com/2011/03/atty-donofrio-state-department-has.html

“Those who argue that the United States has no obligation to recognize and respect dual nationality – as to American citizens – have been unequivocally proved wrong by official correspondence between former Secretary of State Robert Lansing (who served from 1905-1920) and former Senator Henry Cabot Lodge.”

"Lansing stressed that the son had been born after the father naturalized as a US citizen. Had the son been born before the father was naturalized, Italian law would have required the son to serve in the military. But since the son was born to a US Citizen in the US, Lansing assured Lodge of the son’s eventual release from custody.

"Lansing’s confidence that the son would be released from custody is based upon his undeniable status as a natural born citizen of the US, whereas persons born to alien fathers in the US are susceptible to such custody by foreign nations. In my opinion, which I believe to be the same as the framers, no person deemed by the US State Department to owe direct allegiance to another nation should ever be eligible to the office of President."

161 posted on 06/27/2011 2:54:02 PM PDT by Seizethecarp
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 158 | View Replies ]

To: Jeff Winston
"Freeper Bubba Ho-Tep was born an Italian citizen, of two US citizen parents in the United States.

Are you proposing that he’s ineligible to run for President of the United States?"

Did he owe alligience to Italy, from birth?

164 posted on 06/27/2011 3:16:26 PM PDT by rxsid (HOW CAN A NATURAL BORN CITIZEN'S STATUS BE "GOVERNED" BY GREAT BRITAIN? - Leo Donofrio (2009))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 158 | View Replies ]

To: Jeff Winston
After re-reading your statement, and assuming those are the facts...Bubba Ho-Tep was born a multi-national. If you are a citizen of a foreign country, you owe alligience to that country. Divided alligience.

The framers would not have considered him a "natural born Citizen" as such.

165 posted on 06/27/2011 3:20:03 PM PDT by rxsid (HOW CAN A NATURAL BORN CITIZEN'S STATUS BE "GOVERNED" BY GREAT BRITAIN? - Leo Donofrio (2009))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 158 | View Replies ]

To: Jeff Winston
Leo (& others) has mentioned this very issue, a number of times. One example shows that since a child born in the U.S. to former Italian parents (i.e. the parents naturalized prior to the child's birth), that child was not subject to being called up by the Italian military. However, had the child been born in the U.S. to Italian parents who had not naturalized as U.S. Citizens...that child would be subject to a military draft in Italy.

A prime example of the issues surrounding dual nationals.

Dual nationals are "citizens," but they are not "natural born Citizens," naturally that would be unnatural.

http://naturalborncitizen.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/the-state-department-has-always-recognized-and-abided-by-foreign-laws-concerning-us-citizens-born-with-dual-nationality/

B.t.w. My youngest child, born in the U.S. is not a "natural born Citizen" even though I'm a natural born Citizen myself.

169 posted on 06/27/2011 3:38:19 PM PDT by rxsid (HOW CAN A NATURAL BORN CITIZEN'S STATUS BE "GOVERNED" BY GREAT BRITAIN? - Leo Donofrio (2009))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 158 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson