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Why Ted Cruz ‘birthers’ are not the same as Obama birthers
Washington Post ^ | 1-6-2016 | Aaron Blake

Posted on 01/08/2016 12:45:18 PM PST by Citizen Zed

Questions about Cruz's eligibility have everything to do with interpretation of the law; the questions about Obama's eligibility had everything to do with a dispute over the underlying facts - more specifically, conspiracy theories about whether the president was born in the United States, as he claimed, and whether he somehow forged a birth certificate that said he was born in Hawaii.

In Cruz's case, nobody is disputing the underlying facts of the case - that Cruz was born in Canada to a Cuban father and a mother who was a U.S. citizen. As we wrote in March 2013, that makes him a U.S. citizen himself, but it's not 100 percent clear that that is the same thing as a "natural-born citizen".

Most scholars think it's the same thing, and the Congressional Research Service said in 2011 that someone like Cruz "most likely" qualifies to run for president. But to this point, there is no final word from the courts, because while foreign-born candidates have run - including George Romney and John McCain - none of them has actually won and had his eligibility challenged.

Obama was also born to a mother who was a U.S. citizen, meaning that if he had been born outside the United States - the centerpiece of the birther argument - the situations might be parallel. But birthers weren't and aren't making a legal argument about Obama; they were disputing the facts about where he was born and accusing him of perpetrating a massive fraud.

One is a legal question that, as we have noted, most experts believe is basically moot; the other is a conspiracy theory.

Some will accuse the media of instituting a double standard when it comes to these two cases because Cruz is a Republican and Obama is a Democrat.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: 2016election; aaronblake; birthers; canada; cruznbc; cuba; demagogicparty; districtofcolumbia; election2016; memebuilding; naturalborncitizen; obamanbc; partisanmediashill; partisanmediashills; tedcruz; texas; washingtoncompost; washingtonpost
Then there's that small matter with the image layers in Obama's PDF doc.
1 posted on 01/08/2016 12:45:18 PM PST by Citizen Zed
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To: Citizen Zed

Cripes. How many of these stories will we have to endure?


2 posted on 01/08/2016 12:47:04 PM PST by The Iceman Cometh (Trump & Cruz - Together, a Better America!)
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To: Citizen Zed
Some will accuse the media of instituting a double standard when it comes to these two cases because Cruz is a Republican and Obama is a Democrat.

Of course they will. Because its true.

BTW what are we to make of Obama applying as a foreign student at Harvard, Aaaaron?

3 posted on 01/08/2016 12:50:11 PM PST by skeeter
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To: Citizen Zed

Orly Taitz is warming up her on-line law degree...


4 posted on 01/08/2016 12:50:26 PM PST by humblegunner (NOW with even more AWESOMENESS)
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To: Citizen Zed

Of course the biggest difference, OBAMA CLAIMED HE WAS FROM KENYA!!!!


5 posted on 01/08/2016 12:56:02 PM PST by Lee'sGhost ("Just look at the flowers, Lizzie. Just look at the flowers.")
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To: The Iceman Cometh

It seems both parties want this for the foreseeable future - candidates with questionable background. There is no way this is an accident. 3rd election in a row.


6 posted on 01/08/2016 1:07:01 PM PST by PghBaldy (12/14 - 930am -rampage begins... 12/15 - 1030am - Obama's advance team scouts photo-op locations.)
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To: Citizen Zed

True, there was actually room for doubt about Obama’s birth, due to conflicting stories that he told.


7 posted on 01/08/2016 1:09:47 PM PST by Boogieman
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To: The Iceman Cometh
Cripes. How many of these stories will we have to endure?

As many as you click on to read or post about.

8 posted on 01/08/2016 1:13:37 PM PST by Michael.SF. (This tagline lists all of Hilary's accomplishments............................)
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To: Citizen Zed

Humor this senior citizen whose memory is not what it once was. I don’t recall there being any dispute that Obama’s mother was a US citizen. If that is so, why would it have made any difference if he had in fact been born in Kenya. Wouldn’t his mother’s citizenship have conferred US citizenship on him under the 1790 act, just as Cruz’s mother’s citizenship makes the fact of his Canadian birth irrelevant? Or am I missing something here?


9 posted on 01/08/2016 1:58:25 PM PST by MajorMartin
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...
It's not the same because Obama isn't a natural-born US citizen!.

Partisan Media Shills Alert!


10 posted on 01/08/2016 2:00:09 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Here's to the day the forensics people scrape what's left of Putin off the ceiling of his limo.)
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To: The Iceman Cometh
Cripes. How many of these stories will we have to endure?

How many left wing editors and so called writers are there?

How many left wing lawyers are there, who would kill their mothers, wives and children to elect Hiliarily?

How many left wing minor judges would like to get promoted by Hiliarily to a federal judge position.

There is an infinite number of the above, who will keep bringing this up unless this gets vetted asap.

11 posted on 01/08/2016 2:18:13 PM PST by Grampa Dave (Trump is kicking the ass of the GOPe/RINOs/the media. Don't like him? He must be kicking YOUR ass!!!)
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To: Citizen Zed
...more specifically, conspiracy theories about whether the president was born in the United States, as he claimed, and whether he somehow forged a birth certificate that said he was born in Hawaii.

Get back to me on that when you have his college transcripts.

Some will accuse the media of instituting a double standard when it comes to these two cases because Cruz is a Republican and Obama is a Democrat.

And "some" would be correct.

12 posted on 01/08/2016 2:23:34 PM PST by MileHi (Liberalism is an ideology of parasites, hypocrites, grievance mongers, victims, and control freaks.)
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To: Citizen Zed
Questions about Cruz's eligibility have everything to do with interpretation of the law; the questions about Obama's eligibility had everything to do with a dispute over the underlying facts - more specifically, conspiracy theories about whether the president was born in the United States, as he claimed, and whether he somehow forged a birth certificate that said he was born in Hawaii.

????????????????

Totally ignores the Vattel-based theory about "natural born citizen."

I think that definition doesn't fly, but an awful lot of the birthers do.

13 posted on 01/08/2016 2:23:48 PM PST by x
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To: MajorMartin

Because the laws AS WRITTEN at the time of his birth did not allow his mother to pass citizenship to him. The required residency period was not met (that requirement was considerably longer than current law). Thus Obama absolutely HAD to be born on US soil in order to be eligible for the Presidency.


14 posted on 01/08/2016 2:32:51 PM PST by Roses0508
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To: Citizen Zed
Why Ted Cruz ‘birthers’ are not the same as Obama birthers

Because one of them plays for our team, and one does not.

15 posted on 01/08/2016 2:35:51 PM PST by Dr.Deth
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To: Citizen Zed

Aaron Blake is seriously an idiot.


16 posted on 01/08/2016 2:36:35 PM PST by Fledermaus (To hell with the Republican Party. I'm done with them. If I want a Lib Dem I'd vote for one.)
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