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.
My nephew and great nephew were both born in Germany as his father is deployed for the US Military...In no way has anyone ever questioned their citizenship nor should they. Just because a parent happens to be out of the country on business when a child is born, does NOT disqualify them for citizenship. What should disqualify them is when they live outside of our country, take on foreign lifestyles adversant to our beliefs and does not align to the US values (like our current President), THAT is a HUGE problem. With Cruz, we have a guy who LOVES AMERICA and will FIGHT FOR HER and PROTECT HER INTERESTS FIRST and FOREMOST. THAT is what a President’s ROLE NEEDS TO BE!
It’s good that you think he’s honest.
Do you think that his graduation magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, his clerking for former conservative chief justice of the Supreme Court, William Rehnquist, and his years as solicitor general of the state of Texas, might give him insight into the law about his own qualifications for the presidency?
With that legal background, and being an honest man, he wouldn’t even apply for the job if he didn’t think he qualified. Personally, I think he qualifies and that all declared citizens at birth by Congress do qualify.
However, his knowledge of the law is huge. I don’t think he’d run if he saw a problem.
In the meantime, the Washington Post and the other major media are trying to destroy him. I know you do believe he qualifies to be a Senator, a governor of Texas, or a future Supreme Court Justice. I don’t think you’d want to join in tearing him down in such a way that it would injure his ability in future elections. In other words, when he runs for President, then you can pile on. In the meantime, lets try to preserve an awesome conservative leader.
Why do they fear him? Because his background is Hispanic, and someone like him could greatly affect the liberal argument that Hispanics reject conservatives.
Why do they fear him? Because he is Christian. With his leadership, religious conservatives could be unified and become the huge voting bloc they were for Reagan.
He’s not a natural born citizen.
End of story.
If people want to ignore that because the Steaming Pile of illegality set a precedent to pi** on the Constitution, count me out.
I don’t really like jumping on bandwagons too quickly, Rubio, Ryan, sometimes they abandon Conservatives on big issues. That being said I like Ted Cruz and at this time find no one better. I too am disturbed about citizenship but it’s not my job or within my power to declare him elgible or inelgible and if the powers that be declare him elgible and he’s on the ballot I’ll support and vote for him. Again we can thank democrats for elgibility standards being clouded.
Being a citizen and being a natural born citizen are two different categories of citizen. By your crieria, the Steaming Pile of illegality in the WH (if his history were true, which it isn’t) would also be eligible to be president, but he isn’t.
Cruz’ father was a Cuban national when he was born, so there are two reasons why he is not a NBC.
I’ve read plenty fo comments from freepmers whose children, or they themselves, were born in foreign countries due to military service. Those born overseas are not NBC and not eligible for presidency, and the State Dept and other fedgove info USED TO STATE THAT. Civics classes used to teach that.
But now, since we are in the middle of a coup by amarxists/mozlem cabal, the “rules” have been changed, and anyone can be president, apparently.
Bayard’s opinion renders moot the provison of ‘natural born citizen’ with the same effect that Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists created the ‘separation of church and state’ as it is used by secularists in the modern day.
Both are extraconstitutional arguments devoid of Constitutional authority.
You may as well tell me how the Bible approves of gay marriage because some lesbian college professor said so.
Great post, that was what the framers wanted, not these niggling pharisees that would rather see Biden or Hillary be president.
Nice analogy ... lesbian college professor? Srsly? Project much?
“Dual Canadian-US citizenship doesnt sound so bad.”
So what happens in the future when someone who was born in China to an American and who spent their childhood in China comes of age and decides to run for President? Is that acceptable?
Not to me.
With all of the millions of Republicans in the USA is it too much to ask that we can find at least ONE who was born in the USA to be President?
Ted Cruz may well be the best thing to happen to the GOP since Abraham Lincoln but the precedent that he’d set by becoming President is just too dangerous to me.
This will come back to bite us in the a$$ just like George Bush’s Patriot Act has.
Clinton is neck-deep in Benghazi.
How is she even a viable candidate?
“Project much?”
Sorry to disappoint you, but no.
Address for the page pictured is: http://ia600401.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?zip=/4/items/briefexpositiono01baya/briefexpositiono01baya_jp2.zip&file=briefexpositiono01baya_jp2/briefexpositiono01baya_0103.jp2&scale=4&rotate=0
Please provide the relevant section of the US Constitution that proves your point about the definition for Natural Born?
with both hands tied behind his back...
to make it fair...
Sorry, the link I gave above is for the right hand page. This is the left hand page, the correct one.
See post #92
Broken glass? Shoot, I’d drive over my grandmother to vote for Ted Cruz.
I think he could, but it’s going to be hard to run with the birther thing. I’m keeping my fingers crossed though.
Xzins, I’ve read the postings of historical precedent on eligibility since 2008.
The inescapable conclusion is that Cruz is not a natural born citizen.
People can cherry pick bits and pieces, but the heavy lifters who did the massive and lengthy research, such as rxsid, proved beyond a doubt, that a NBC meant at the time of the writing of the Constitution and for almost 2 centuries after, a person born on the soil of the US with two citizen parents. There are others besides rxsid but he was one of the researchers.
It’s not even arguable. Cruz was born in Canada and lived there for 4 years, and was even a dual citizen, and his fater was a Cuban national.
If you want to believe itthat Cruz is a NBC because he is a good guy, then the precedent set by 0bastard’s ineligibility has now trashed the Constituiton even more, by good people who should know better. I’m sorry if I sound harsh - you are a wonderful person and freeper - but since I read absolutely obsessively about the eligibility issue since summer 2008 - and I mean obsessively - nothing could change my understanding, no matter what quotes are found by cherry picking. The founders knew what Natural Born Citizen meant and it was not equivalent to “citizen” or “native citizen”. That is why ONLY the President and Vice President had to be NBC. It was a specific kind of citizen designed to prevent the kind of president are suffering under right now.
If people think Cruz is a NBC, then so are millions of anchor babies or children born overseas to a foreigner and one US citizen parent and brought here later in life. Four years? Fourteen? Forty? The freaking sky’s the limit.
Putin or Kim Jung Il or any other person could find some US citizen female, bring her to their country, impregnate her, raise the kid, and the bring him back to the US years later, and the kid could be president. No different from the Cruz situation other than that people like Cruz.
The rule of law is so broken in this country that some people are clinging to the idea of Cruz being an NBC as though that will save us. What will save us is not one person, but following the rule of law, and bringing our country under the jurisdiction of the Constitution, not thinking “well, the commies twisted the Constitution, let’s us twist it for a good guy.”
Even if it means that another Constitution-hating Communist will occupy the WH. I can’t relate, even a little bit. You would in effect be willing to destroy the Constitution to save it! *sigh* Bob
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