Posted on 01/09/2016 12:13:42 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Unless he himself becomes president, Donald Trump should serve in the next administration as Special Envoy for Getting People to Dig Up Birth Certificates for Public Consumption, because he's hella good at it. His speculation about Obama's birthplace prompted the President to release his long-form birth certificate in 2011. And now, after only a few days of muttering about Cruz's eligibility to become president, he's prompted Cruz to release… his mother's?
Wait, it makes sense.
As best we can tell there are two main strands of Cruz birtherism. One is that the Supreme Court has never directly ruled on the meaning of the Constitution's "natural born citizen" requirement. Even though it is understood by experts to mean "U.S. citizen at birth," as Cruz was, some opportunistic critics, such as Trump, have been warning about the phrase's not-totally-determined meaning and how that could open the door to distracting legal cases if Cruz becomes the nominee.
The other is that maybe Cruz was not a U.S. citizen at birth, because his mother did not meet the requirements for transmitting citizenship to her child. As we wrote yesterday, "Those born abroad between 1952 and 1986 earned U.S. citizenship at birth if their parents were married and one parent was a U.S. citizen who spent 10 years in the United States with five of those coming after age 14. Cruz's parents were married, and his mother meets the citizenship requirements." This gives Cruz birthers another person's life to inspect: that of Eleanor Cruz, the senator's mother. Democratic congressman Alan Grayson (yes, there are Democratic Cruz birthers) has said that the eligibility suit he's supposedly prepping against Cruz would focus on Eleanor. As U.S. News reported this week:.....
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
Not really, no.
So you are saying that Rafael Cruz is a murdering bomb throwing terrorist? If not, please use another example, or stand exposed as an *sshole.
Oddly I think Trump did Cruz a favor with those comments. By the time the Iowa cauci happen this will be old news. It was already bubbling up with Cruz’s rise in the polls.
HA HA, pretty funny headline from Slate.
Some thug pulls a gun on you as you get out of your car in a dark parking lot some night and I am certain that the very first thought that runs through your mind is that maybe this guy is a US citizen - but maybe he was born in Nova Scotia.
Are you for real?
8 U.S. Code § 1401: "The following shall be nationals and citizens of the United States at birth: (g)a person born outside the geographical limits of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents one of whom is an alien, and the other a citizen of the United States who, prior to the birth of such person, was physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for a period or periods totaling not less than five years, at least two of which were after attaining the age of fourteen years.
Cruz is a natural-born citizen.
If Trump doesn't think Cruz is eligible then why would he pick him for VP?
+1. Took me forever to kill the spam. I did use a disposable account but I am fond of it so I worked through it.
With what you have stated to me in your reply, that would make her child a US citizen at birth, because she can bestow citizenship on her child as a birth mother and that child would be eligible to be president of the USA the same as I am and you are if you are born by a US citizen mother. Location of that mother only maters if she is not there legally.
Brcause the child was born in Canada, the Canadian government would make him or she to be a Canadian citizen, thus creating dual citizenship for the child if their laws still function as they did in 1970.
I’m not sure Trump can be blamed for that since he’s been pimping his name to any company will to pay for years now. Ties, steaks, bogus universities, as long as they can cut a check then they can slap the Trump name on it.
Donald Trump actually said, "I'm doing this for the good of Ted" ...??
He really said that? (obviously I haven't watched the video, I skip watching Trump if possible because it's too painful and depressing to think that people I know and love are falling for that ill-bred BSing lop) ...
No way! I thought that in these threads and discussions, Trump supporters were only arguing that Trump meant to be helpful, which is laughable, but an understandable position for a supporter to take. But for Trump to claim?
He actually said "I'm doing this for the good of Ted" when he mentioned his "concern" about Cruz's eligibility?
Holy cow.
If Trump is a British citizen it is fascinating that Parliament will debate if he can visit the UK.
Except maybe the UK. Depends on how that debate in Parliament goes.
Watch it.
Rafael came to the US in 1957.
Indeed. But the skill of applying statutory construction, and viewing this law as it was repealed and replaced, those are generally missing.
For example, the senate resolution finding McCain to be an NBC says the 1790 act defined NBC. But in ordinary statutory construction, "shall be considered as" is not a term that defines, it is a term that creates a legal fiction. If the Congress makes fundamental mistakes like that (and Congress isn't the only intellectually corrupt controlling entity, SCOTUS say the constitution contains a proviso that define marriage to include homosexual couples), it's not surprise that the public is misled.
I would guess that the fraction of people who are open-minded about this is 10%. All others have their mind made up, but few have their mind made up after careful, deliberate and correct study.
At any rate, to Cruz, the residence of his father is irrelevant. The clause in the 1790 act aims to cut off a US citizen father who was never in the US from passing his citizenship to the next generation. Cruz's statutory US citizenship (granted by 1401(g), at birth) is determined with reference to his mother's citizenship at the time Cruz was born, and his mother's prior residence in the US. All the conditions of 1401(g) are met. She could have gone to Canada, married a Canadian who never set foot in the US, and the child would still fit within the conditions set down in 1401(g). Under 1401(g), the residence conditions attach to the parent who is a citizen, not to the parent who is an alien.
Very well said.
My “contrived scenario” is exactly the same as Cruz’s parental situation.
5:54 mark - but you should watch the entire 4 minute exchange
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4cXVxCrqPc
Of course I’m not saying Cruz’s father is a terrorist. I’m saying the definition that makes Cruz a US citizen wouldn’t stop my scenario from happening.
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