Ted Cruz birtherism lives

[Mr. Morden]

link:

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/cruz-draws-presidential-buzz-but-is-he-eligible-85873.html?hp=r5

[ChrisFromNJ]

Don't you think your premise is a bit intellectually dishonest?

The premise of the conspiracy theories about President Obama is that his birth certificate is not "real". There is nothing of the sort in Ted Cruz's case.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

He's eligible for the presidency. So is Bobby Jindal.

[Mr. Morden]

The premise of the conspiracy theories about President Obama is that his birth certificate is not "real".

That is one element of "birtherism".  The other centers around disputing the definition of "natural born citizen".  Some birthers define it so narrowly that even Marco Rubio is excluded from eligibility, because his parents weren't American citizens:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/birthers-ask-is-marco-rubio-eligible-to-be-president/1197628

[SteveRogers]

The premise of the conspiracy theories about President Obama is that his birth certificate is not "real".

That is one element of "birtherism".  The other centers around disputing the definition of "natural born citizen".  Some birthers define it so narrowly that even Marco Rubio is excluded from eligibility, because his parents weren't American citizens:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/birthers-ask-is-marco-rubio-eligible-to-be-president/1197628

Yeah, the fallback position of the extra-crazy birthers has always been that even if Obama was born in Hawaii, he still wouldn't be a natural-born citizen since his parents weren't both U.S. citizens at the time of his birth.

So they'll concede that both Cruz and Rubio were born U.S. citizens (Federal law for Cruz, 14th amendment for Rubio), but they don't think being born a citizen is the same thing as being a "natural-born" citizen. They think the founding fathers intended "natural-born citizen" to be understood as someone born to two American citizen parents and no less. (Why? Because a Swiss philosopher used the term that way in a book some of the founders might have read. Supporting evidence? Wacky misreadings of a couple wholly irrelevant Supreme Court rulings). It is interesting to see that birthers are equal opportunity racists after all.

[Indy Texas]

This is so silly. Cruz was born in Canada, and everyone knows the rubes don't care about jus solis as long as you weren't born in some icky brown people country.

[Franzl]

I'm pretty sure I qualify as a natural born citizen despite the fact that I was born to one American parent and outside of the United States.

[Middle-aged Europe]

I'm pretty sure I qualify as a natural born citizen despite the fact that I was born to one American parent and outside of the United States.

No, this makes you a potential terror-baby.

[Franzl]

I'm pretty sure I qualify as a natural born citizen despite the fact that I was born to one American parent and outside of the United States.

No, this makes you a potential terror-baby.

Of course, to be President, besides being 35 years old....I'd also have to live in the US for 14 years. I don't foresee that happening....

[BaldEagle1991]

Anyone born in the US is a citizen regardless of parental citizenship.

Anyone born outside of the US can become citizens if one parent was a citizen.

Ted Cruz qualifies in the last part. Obama does too if he was born in Kenya (according to idiotic birthers).

[Franzl]

Anyone born outside of the US can become citizens if one parent was a citizen.

Disagree. Citizenship is automatic, you don't have to become one.

[Ty440]

Senor Cruz, may we see your long form por favor, LOL

[BaldEagle1991]

Anyone born outside of the US can become citizens if one parent was a citizen.

Disagree. Citizenship is automatic, you don't have to become one.

Ah, sorry about that. Ugh.

[Vosem]

a) While Ted Cruz is a natural-born citizen, doubts over his eligibility would probably prevent him from getting the nomination, especially in the GOP. So I really think he has better things to do than even attempt it.

b) Really, the natural-born rule is a part of the Constitution which has aged poorly; 14 years of being a citizen should be a sufficient requirement.

[pbrower2a]

The idea was to keep someone born in a royal family abroad -- let us say Hapsburg, Romanov, or Bourbon --  from becoming President of the United States and then merging the United States into an existing monarchy and obliterating the republican form of government.