On Nature Born Citizenship

[SHMIV]

The whole Canadian birth of Ted Cruz has me torn. If Rafael Cruz had been an American citizen at the time that Ted was born, this would be so much easier. As it was, best as I can tell, the elder Cruz was still Cuban at the time, then later became a Canadian.

I like Ted Cruz. I think that he has the best grasp of Constitutional law, theory, and application of all the current candidates, GOP or otherwise. He has also demonstrated the most backbone in upholding the Constitution. The problem is, I question his eligibility. I actually questioned it months ago, long before it was recently brought up; I had just forgotten it completely. If, indeed, Cruz is ineligible, I can no longer support him. Hypocritical implications aside, electing Cruz could set a very dangerous precedent that would be horribly abused in the future, regardless of how well Cruz would perform his Presidential duties.

Ann Coulter, who has an extreme bias towards Trump, makes a case against Cruz, here:

http://www.anncoulter.com/columns/2016-01-13.html

On the other hand, CNN contributer Akhil Reed Amar, who is supposed to be a Constitutional scholar, makes a case for Cruz. The problem is, in his case for Cruz, he exhibits a very poor understanding of what constitutes citizenship under the Constitution. His case is here:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/13/opinions/ ... index.html

In working this out in my head, I find that any argument that I apply to confirming that Cruz is a Natural Born Citizen of the United States, could just as easily be applied to confirming that Cruz is Cuban. Or, one could make the case that he is Canadian by birth, too. (Although, the latter could prove more difficult, depending on Canadian law, of which I know nothing.)

This forum is made up of intelligent folks, so I would like to read y'all's thoughts on the subject.

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[dusterdude]

Isnt his mother american?

[SHMIV]

Yep. She is American. But, if one says that Cruz is a natural born American citizen by virtue of his mothers American citizenship, why wouldn't he be a natural born Cuban, by virtue of his fathers Cuban citizenship (which was later renounced in favor of a Canadian citizenship)?

As far as Cruz, himself, goes, I'm not particularly worried. What concerns me is, if Cruz is not legally eligible for the Presidency, and we were to elect him anyway, what does the future hold, post Cruz? Like I said above, it's the precedent that concerns me.

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[ShotgunBlast]

I find it absolutely mind-boggling that these questions exist weeks before primaries start. You would have thought if this was an issue, someone at the FEC would have looked at the application and been like "wait a second."

[OakRidgeStars]

It's the same $#!& every general election cycle, the candidates on the right stand in a big circle and shoot at each other until no one is left standing. This is why we will never have another Republican in the White House.

[mamabearCali]

You know if they could stop going on about phantom issues (if Ovomit is eligible so is Cruz) and each actually say what they want to do as president we might get somewhere.

I like Cruz the best have from the beginning. I am slightly worried that Trump is all hat and no cattle. Rubio has shown he is naive and far too trusting of the other side of the isle. Jeb.....why is he still here?

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[SHMIV]

Y'all are missing the point. I like Cruz, too. This question existed, for me, months ago; I just got caught in life stuff, and forgot about it.

This is a valid question, regardless of who brought it up,and why and how they chose to do so.

What defines "Natural born citizen"? Is Cruze eligible (and I certainly hope that he is!)? If so, why? If not, why not?

It's a matter of Constitutional law. Isn't that something we like around here? Come on; indulge me here. Otherwise, I'll have to discuss this with my GPS; all she's gonna say is "Turn Left", which sounds like horrible advice.

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[WRW]

If his mother was passing through Canada on her way to Alaska would there be a question?

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[dusterdude]

I thought that if one parent was an american citizen,then the offspring were as well.am i wrong

[MarcSpaz]

H... the courts have made the determination over the last 200+ years that when someone is natural born, that in nature we are born of a mother. You are a natural born citizen if you are born of a mother who is a citizen. The father's citizenship is not relevant because the child is not born from the father. Location of the birth and the status of the father simple don't matter. It is that simple.

Here is something that can help bring some clarity.... just a quick example, though an extreme example for illustration of the point.

Let say an American woman goes to Italy for 2 years to go to Art School. While there she has a relationship with another foreign student from Germany. The American get pregnant. The father, of who she didn't marry, dies in a car crash.

In her grief she flies back to the US to be with her family. She flies from Italy to France to catch a connector flight. While over the Atlantic, all of the stress causes her to go into labor and she delivers the baby on a French owned plane.

Well, is the baby American due to having an American mother? Is the baby German because of the deceased father? Is the baby Italian because the child was conceived in Italy? Is the baby French because the child was birthed on a French plane? Or the worst... does the baby have no citizenship anywhere because the plane is over international waters of the Atlantic?

The solution MUST be that the child is American. Think about how heartless the nation would be if they said "Sorry, your baby is not a US citizen and can't come into the US. You can come in but the child must go back to France or Germany, apply for a visa, and maybe in 7 to 10 years we might decide to grant citizenship." Then, the child gets rejected by France and Germany because they consider the child American.

See how crazy and impractical or even impossible any answer other than the child of an American woman is by virtue and American can be?

[FiremanBob]

The law is clear. Cruz is an American citizen by birth, not by naturalization. This whole thing is a distraction ginned up by the Dems because Cruz is the candidate they fear most. Can you imagine how he would destroy Hildebeest in a debate?

What amazes me is that so many people are falling for this lame Democrat trick. Probably because the inescapable lame-stream media are beating it into people's heads like a bad advertising jingle.

[OakRidgeStars]

This is clearly payback from the left for all the birther questions about Obama. Once the media grabs onto to an issue like this, they will never let go of it.

Remember the nonsense about Romney driving the car with their dog on the roof, or about him wanting to ban tampons? It's that all over again.

It would be funny if this sort of media jabbering didn't work every time it's used.