Quarter of Republicans think Cruz's birthplace disqualifies him for president: poll

Reuters ^ | Fri Jan 15, 2016 7:05am EST | Ginger Gibson

[GonzoII]

A quarter of Republicans think White House hopeful Ted Cruz is disqualified to serve as U.S. president because he was born in Canada to an American mother, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

Republican voters nearly mirror independents and the broader electorate in their belief that Cruz cannot hold the White House, with 27 percent of all voters and 28 percent of independents responding he should be disqualified.

Cruz, a U.S. Senator from Texas who was born to a U.S. citizen mother and Cuban father in Calgary, Alberta, has brushed aside the attacks about his eligibility as pure politics. But the questions could hamper his ability to rally the broad Republican support he would need to win the party's nomination to run for the presidency in November's election.

Only 47 percent of all voters surveyed responded that they thought Cruz is qualified to be president with regard to his citizenship, with 26 percent saying they were not sure.

The poll was taken from Jan. 7 to Jan. 14, before questions about Cruz's eligibility became one of the most heated moments of Thursday night's Republican primary debate.

[minimum12]

That’s rich coming from cruz who was an architect of w. bush’s immigration policies and is also explicitly against deportations. Cruz’s ex-boss W. Bush was technically ‘against amnesty’ too, we saw how that worked out.

[StAnDeliver]

"The system that’s been in place forever places the job of determining candidates’ eligibility in the hands of the states’ Secretaries of State (or equivalent). They just don’t do it, they accept at face value whatever the Parties tell them. Were they to vet the candidates then any dispute raised could quickly be resolved in court."

Right. That's why I want the Supremes to do it. You'll never get 50 Secy's of State to agree on model rules. And if a candidate disagrees with his dq, SOTUS sits en banc and tries it. Because frankly, there's a truckload of missing precedent in Art2 Sec1 - presidentially, we suddenly went from "smart old white guys" to "we're a global society now and all that rot".

So SOTUS would have a couple of cases in the first handful of cycles (Bobo, Cruz, Rubio), and it wouldn't take long before stare decisis was driving, deposing, and disposing these kinds of arguments, as it should be.

[JPG]

--I think Trump is a carnival barker.--

Is this your definition of responsible political discourse?

TDS does not become you, and certainly doesn't entice any converts to your side.

[tallyhoe]

Frank Luntz Focus group said Ted Cruz won the debate and Who cares what Reuters thinks in their slanted Poll.. Ted Cruz hit a home run last night in the South and Mid West.. We never win New York anyway!!!

[Impy]

Trump is not interested in “clearing it up” he is interested in dredging it up because CRUZ IS RUNNING AGAINST him and he’s willing to use dishonest issues to help himself try and beat him.

[SunkenCiv]

I'd support Ted Cruz for POTUS. I'd also support him for VP. His candidacy would have been enhanced if he'd met this with brute force, but he didn't. As pointed out in more than one of the topics about the recent debate, he 'won' that low-stakes struggle -- which has been an off and on struggle for months at least -- but lost the higher-stakes fight (which he started) regarding "New York values". If the NY values blow were going to have an impact, Trump wouldn't be holding the largest rallies since, well, anybody, everywhere he goes in the Plains and the South.

Poll FReep: If the election were held today, who would be your first choice for President of the United States?

[eartick]

When you blow away the chaff and get down to the wheat, I think Ted’s job last night only moved him forward.

The Mouth showed what he really was. A pandering liberal

[CyberAnt]

Reuters ..?????

Really .. people would believe this trash .. Reuters has not had a good word to say about Cruz since the day he announced.

And .. Reuters has never had a poll showing Cruz in a good position. NEVER ..!!!! Their polls were always showing Jeb and/or Marco ahead of Cruz .. WHEN IT WAS NOT TRUE.

I DON’T TRUST ANYTHING REUTERS SAYS.

[jpsb]

The article says “Only 47 percent of all voters surveyed responded that they thought Cruz is qualified to be president with regard to his citizenship”

[BillyBoy]

>> But Cruz’s record of supporting many GOP-E positions makes it impossible to accept him even as VP. He’s dead, Jim. <<

Excellent news. Now if we can only get the other 99% of Trumpbots here to find it "impossible to accept him as VP", we Cruz supporters won't have to read 20 posts a day saying Cruz needs to drop out and throw his support behind Trump so he can have the privilege of cutting ribbons and attending funerals for the Donald.

Weirdly, Trumpbots really think the "threat" of "not being Trump's VP" matters to Cruz supporters. I, and most other Cruz supporters, have ZERO desire to see Cruz as a yes-man in liberal Donald Trump's administration.

[Psalm 73]

I like your reasoning.

[Psalm 73]

"The article says..."

My comment was on the Title, not the text of the article.

[The Toll]

When you refer to other Freepers with cutesy little names like “Trumpbot” do you actually think you are winning anyone over to your side? I can’t imagine anyone would think that would be beneficial.

[BillyBoy]

I can’t imagine why most Trump supporters think Cruz supporters have a burning desire to see him in a powerless figurehead role defending the policies of a Trump administration. But nevertheless, they think the “threat” of not giving Cruz that job will cause his supporters to get down on their knees and beg Donald for forgiveness.

[C. Edmund Wright]

If there’s a leak in your roof do you fix it or do you act like a ten year old and pretend it will fix itself?

Really? That's all you got? I could tear that kindergarten variety analogy to total shredlettes.

[C. Edmund Wright]

go ahead and nominate your left of RINO savior...and when government gets even bigger and a trade war destroys our economy and he reverts back to his “reach across the aisle” inner liberal, you’ll have no one but yourself to blame.

You’ve been warned.....but your kool aid ears are not hearing.

[kevkrom]

25% of GOP think that? Curious how many of the same respondents are “fully committed” to a candidate other than Cruz going into the caucus. I’m guessing approximately 25%.

The only people who profess to believe this BS are the people using it to promote another candidate.

[The Toll]

See that wasn’t so hard. You totally expressed yourself without using some annoying nickname that sounds like a fifth-grader came up with it.

[fatnotlazy]

This is a piece of cr** issue that is bring brought up over and over again by those dedicated to keeping Ted Cruz out of the White House. For all I know, the respondents could all be GOPe, Trump fans or Democrats. These polls are all biased in some way. In fact, in this case, I doubt most people would have given the issue any thought at all if they had not been brainwashed by leftist propaganda. I know several people who until recently didn't know Ted Cruz was born in Canada. These same people scoffed when questions were raised about Obama’s eligibility. For them, the matter of Obama’s birthplace wasn't a problem because, hey, the Constitution is outdated and maybe even dead...as they have been taught by commie teachers and professors in high school and college.

Much as I would like the courts to resolve this issue, I doubt they will. They have already decided that Obama could skirt the law by producing what could well be a forgery as his Hawaii birth certificate. They really aren't all that interested in Ted Cruz's eligibility. And perhaps more than a few of them don't want to appear partial regarding a candidate of Latino heritage. They've set a precedent regarding Obana’s eligibility and now they can't unring the bell.

This is nothing more than a distraction from the real issues and an attempt to divide and conquer so that a GOPe anointed candidate will be nominated and ultimately lose to the socialist Democrats once again.

[V K Lee]

Exactly! That is what was taught in US Civics years ago. TWO (2) parents w/US citizenship and born on US soil.PERIOD. All the other menusha is only clutter when the truth is stated. As has been said before “These pretzels are making me thirsty”

Ted Cruz - He has ALWAYS been considered NO NBC. He is an American but NOT NBC. Nor was 0 a NBC and those who signed on with him (if they knew and read the Constitution to which they took an oath to defend) should know they have circumvented the most predominant law of the land. Though I would have voted for the man (at the time he was the only won worth voting FOR) it would have been with heavy heart believing him not to be a NBC.