Posted on 08/21/2013 9:09:21 AM PDT by SoConPubbie
He may be a right-wing nut, but the Texas senator can beat a Democrat in a general election. Here's why
Theres been some more buzz this week about Ted Cruzs presidential prospects. The demagoguing senator took his first trip to Iowa just six months after being sworn in to office, and hes pretty clearly reaching for the White House. Early reports are that its going well. And Rich Yeselson wrote a high-profile (and fascinating) essay arguing that, basically, Cruz is perfectly positioned for reaching the top of the Republican ticket.
The focus of this piece is on Cruzs general election viability. When it comes to the primary, Im not going to start handicapping the viable candidates seeking the Republican nomination yet; Ill only say that I dont see any reason not to include Cruz in that group, as of now. Viable candidates have conventional credentials and are in the mainstream of their party on questions of public policy. Cruz, from what we know now, qualifies. With four years in elected office by January 2017, hell be in a similar boat with Barack Obama (who, granted, had held lower office as well) and Mitt Romney (who at least had four full years before his campaign began). And while Cruz surely is planted at an edge of the Republican mainstream, I dont see any reason, so far, to believe hes close to falling off that edge. Whether or not Yeselson is correct that Cruz is a particularly strong candidate, its certainly very possible to see him nominated.
But what about the general election? Could he actually win?
What I hear from many liberals about Cruzs chances are two things. One is just disbelief: Republicans wouldnt really do something like nominate Cruz, would they? The key is that Ted Cruz isnt Herman Cain or even Michele Bachmann; hes a United States senator, and that counts for something (that is, conventional credentials count for something) in presidential elections. So, yes, they really could do something like that.
The other thing I hear, however, is perhaps even more wrong. Some liberals react by actively rooting for Cruz. The theory? The nuttier the nominee, the worse the chances of Republicans retaking the White House. Indeed, in conversation Ive heard all sorts of justifications: Cruz couldnt possibly win Florida! Therefore, he couldnt win the White House!
Dont listen to it.
Thank you for your very detailed reply! Much appreciated!
Texans barely knew who Ted Cruz was prior to the Texas Straw Poll in January before the election. He garnered support, word kept spreading and people liked what they saw.
Just keep him far away from Obama. Don’t allow the imposter to whisper sweet threats into his ear. Place bodyguards around Cruz’s family for protection now.
Thanks for keeping the new pharisaical class on FR at bay, your work is appreciated.
It's still incomprehensible to me how many of these "conservatives" want to help the democrat/media complex take out one of our best candidates. Cruz is a man devoted to the US ideal, a great communicator who understands how to present the full picture of conservatism, one who understands the positive nature of the American ideal and how to further it. He, of all people, they want to remove on a technicality that is far from clear........an easily debatable construct, yet they really want to help the libs take him out over it.
It's depressing to watch these people. Who are they? As xzins might say it's the stupidist wing of the stupid party, and they're allied with our domestic enemies.
Actually not. The 1795 law makes the 1790 law more clear. The 1795 law says that the right of citizenship DESCENDS from parent to child by RIGHT to children born to citizens overseas.
1795 - "the children of citizens of the United States, born out of the limits and jurisdiction of the United States, shall be considered as citizens of the United States: Provided, That the right of citizenship shall not descend to persons, whose fathers have never been resident of the United States..."
In the above case, the children born to citizens overseas have the right of citizenship descend from their parents.
With his bare hands or a stick?
Why are you equating “citizenship” with “natural born citizen”? Boggles my mind.
No Megan, to me Cruz was a citizen of BOTH America and Canada at the moment of his birth. Frankly, if Cruz loses thanks to conservatives staying home b/c of his place of birth, we’ll have no Constitution to worry about. We’ve lost a good chunk of it already, w/o a shot being fired. Cruz is the only person I’ve seen on the horizon with the disposition and brilliance to slay the Marxist dragon. B/c-— HE is the one who could most easily get elected President. Blessings, Bob
Anyone still following this thread should note the tactic. xzins has repeated the phrase from the 1795 act, including the removal of ‘natural born citizen’ and replacement with ‘citizen’, exactly as I stated, but asserted that was “Actually not” the case.
Propagandists have an objective other than truth, though many are motivated by what they believe to be a higher truth, whether Allah or Mao it is hard to tell. The objective is to keep as many confused as possible so their 'tribe' gains or retains voters willing to be guided by a mob rejecting our Constitution and its protections. An ineligible president must always live fearing exposure. Soon the power of a dictatorship, whether Sharia or 'of the proletariat' will render the Constitution completely irrelevant. That is the irony of Levin's blatant misuse of law in the interests of an ineligible candidate as he proposes and promotes what seem to be promising amendments to restore our Constitution. One can only wonder if the IRS, or Grover Norquist/Suhail Khan, or John Brennan are part of the reason for his legal misstatement, or is it ignorance?
There are many conjectures for why Washington would ever have signed the 1790 Act, since he and most probably every one of the founders, framers, and, to a lessor extent, congressmen know the common-law definition, Vattel having been Jefferson’s principal source for the Declaration and used extensively by Washington, his right hand Hamilton, and Madison. One suggestion (by Mario Apuzzo I belive, was that he may have signed the 1790 Act because so many of our diplomats on assignment had born children overseas.
The significance of the 1795 Act is enormous. It is the only Congressional confirmation of the common-law definition familiar to our framers, as cited by Marshall, and Waite, and Gray, and Evans Hughes. Congress clarified that foreign born children of citizens are citizens, not ‘natural born citizens’. The 1795 Act, an Act being a product of Congress signed by the President, confirmed the definition quoted by Marshall in The Venus, 12 U.S. 263 (1814), “Born on the soil to parents who are its citizens.” By correcting themselves Congress confirmed the common-law, later made positive law by Minor v. Happersett. That is the only statement in U.S. Code addressing the meaning of the term used in Article II Section 1, and none other was necessary, or constitutional. It explicitly disqualifies McCain and Cruz, contrary to Levin's assertion, and an obvious reason for a Cruz supporter to elevate the 1790 Act, depreciating the 1795 Act?
“No Megan, to me Cruz was a citizen of BOTH America and Canada at the moment of his birth.”
Then you see my problem, don’t you?
It was a Naturalization Act. Seems to me such an act would only be about naturalization and not about being an NBC. Perhaps that's why they left off the comment about being a NBC in the 1795 Act after including it in the 1790 Act.
But before they lopped the wording off about NBC, the Founders clearly gave us an indication about who they thought was an NBC in the 1790 Act.
It was a Naturalization Act. Seems to me such an act would only be about naturalization and not about being an NBC. Perhaps that's why they left off the comment about being a NBC in the 1795 Act after including it in the 1790 Act.
But before they lopped the wording off about NBC, the Founders clearly gave us an indication about who they thought was an NBC in the 1790 Act.
Not really, Megan. His dual citizenship does not preclude him from holding the Presidency, in my view. There is no sensible reason to exclude him. It is not as if he CHOSE dual citizenship. I think the vast majority of Americans will ultimately see him as THE person with common sense answers to our country’s catastrophic problems. I hope so, anyway. Bob
xzins, please read Spaulding’s explanation. He knows what he is talking about.
And from my profile page:
In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousand fold in the future. When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers, we are not simply protecting their trivial old age, we are thereby ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations.
Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956
No child chooses the circumstances of his birth. Have you read Spaulding's comment above? Please do so if you have not.
BULLSEYE! YOU GOT IT! Red Steel - Spaulding hits it right in the middle of the target!
I have no idea whose ping list Spaulding’s comments would fit - but this comment #114 hits so many marks I want many people to read it!
The propaganda line is pure cornpone. I’m a regular guy like you who posts on Free Republic. I’m connected to no cabal. I’ve not got access to wealth, power, or fame.
I’m stating what I read in the 1795 law.
The 1795 law says that for a child born overseas to US citizens his citizenship is:
1) a RIGHT
2) it DESCENDS from his parents.
READ the law. CITIZENS....RIGHT....DESCENDS. I’m not making it up. It’s right there in black and white.
***the children of citizens of the United States, born out of the limits and jurisdiction of the United States, shall be considered as citizens of the United States: Provided, That the right of citizenship shall not descend to persons, whose fathers have never been resident of the United States...” ***
A “citizen” and a “natural born citizen” are not synonymous, my friend.
A baby BORN with the RIGHT to citizenship due to descent from a parent who is already a citizen IS a natural born citizen.
LJ, you’ve known me a long time, and you know I am not the kind to lie about what I think.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.