Is Ted Cruz a "natural born" citizen?

[Que]

Those mental gymnastics work both ways. All those who insisted Obama is eligible will be at the forefront screaming about Cruz' ineligibility. That's how this works.

Looking forward to the mental gymnastics of how Obama is inelligible and Cruz is.

This goes to the "push back" and "they hit first" discussions that have been taking place lately. If Cruz is put forth as the nominee, shouldn't the other side be allowed to push the issue? After all, even to this day, his opposition is still pushing the citizenship issue.

I know nothing about Cruz, but he seems to be someone I would possibly support in a few years. We'll see how things shake out and how many skeletons are placed in his closet.

 

[Stschil]

Where does it say he was c-section?

 

[hornadylnl]

There is a legal definition of citizenship and eligibility requirement for POTUS. Those are the rules. Either Cruz meets the requirements or not. Same with Obama. I know voters of either stripe who would vote for a dog before voting for the opposition. Who cares? There are times when it's important to point out hypocrisy. But if I spent all my time pointing out percieved hypocrisy in everyone else, that's all I'd ever do. It's like pointing out everytime humans act self serving....or every time we breathe.

The hypocrisy of bashing obama's citizenship status while voting for another candidate of questionable status exposes the last 6 years of bellyaching for what it really is. Partisan bellyaching and little actual regard for the law they were so concerned about.

I'd rather have an immigrant who hasn't even towel dried yet as president than 90% of those in Washington. Obama's citizenship status isn't even a pimple on the ass of the real problem with this country. For 6 years, the birthers have been harping on it an TWICE, the majority of American voters said they don't care. If Cruz wins, the roles will reverse. The left will become the birthers and the right will defend him. Pretty soon you forget who is who.

 

[CarmelHP]

It speaks volumes about the decay of the country that we can't even find a candidate for it's highest office that was unquestionably born within our borders.

 

[firehawk1]

I find it astounding that some here who consistently bellyache about how we are not following the Constitution cherry pick which parts seem important.... They either all apply equally or they don't apply at all.

 

[Timjoebillybob]

Looking forward to the mental gymnastics of how Obama is inelligible and Cruz is.

Simple, according to the law at the time Obama's mother wasn't old enough to pass on citizenship automatically if he was born abroad, she was 18 the law required her to be a minimum of 19, he(or her or her parents on his behalf technically) would of had to apply for citizenship if born out of the country.

For Cruz, his mother unless she tested out of multiple grades and graduated college at the age of 5 would have been. She graduated from Rice in 1956 and Cruz was born in 1970. Sorry I don't know when she was actually born.

No mental gymnastics needed, just simply reading the law.

Acquisition of U.S. Citizenship by a Child Born Abroad
(bold mine)
A child born abroad to one U.S. citizen parent and one alien parent acquires U.S. citizenship at birth under Section 301(g) of the INA provided the U.S. citizen parent was physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for the time period required by the law applicable at the time of the child's birth. (For birth on or after November 14, 1986, a period of five years physical presence, two after the age of fourteen, is required. For birth between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986, a period of ten years, five after the age of fourteen, is required for physical presence in the United States or one of its outlying possessions to transmit U.S. citizenship to the child.) The U.S. citizen parent must be genetically related to the child to transmit U.S. citizenship.

 

[Trooper]

It speaks volumes about the decay of the country that we can't even find a candidate for it's highest office that was unquestionably born within our borders.

We can not find anyone born in the US that even believes in freedom or the constitution. It takes immigrants to fight for that!

 

[jbombelli]

We can not find anyone born in the US that even believes in freedom or the constitution. It takes immigrants to fight for that!

There are some of us born here who believe in freedom and the Constitution. But we are unelectable. Why? Freedom scares most Americans. They don't really want it.

 

[Trooper]

Just published today Ted Cruz, Originalism, and the

Ted Cruz draws presidential buzz, but is he eligible? - David Catanese - POLITICO.com

Ted Cruz for U.S. Senate Bio - Ted Cruz for U.S. Senate

Birther Hypocrisy- Right Wing Has No Problem With Canadian Born Senator Ted Cruz Running For President - Forbes

Ted Cruz Has a "Birther" Problem

Can Ted Cruz run for president? And should he?

While I like Ted Cruz, I think that he needs a few years experience before running for president. We need one conservative candidate as the establishment will only put out one candidate. We do not need to divide the conservative vote between several candidates as we did in 2012.

 

[HICKMAN]

It would not appear that Cruz meets the natural born citizen rule.

An American citizen yes, but not qualified to run for President.

EDIT:

But a article I just read says:

“Birth Abroad to One Citizen and One Alien Parent in Wedlock

A child born abroad to one U.S. citizen parent and one alien parent acquires U.S. citizenship at birth under Section 301(g) of the INA provided the U.S. citizen parent was physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for the time period required by the law applicable at the time of the child’s birth. (For birth on or after November 14, 1986, a period of five years physical presence, two after the age of fourteen, is required. For birth between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986, a period of ten years, five after the age of fourteen, is required for physical presence in the United States or one of its outlying possessions to transmit U.S. citizenship to the child.) The U.S. citizen parent must be genetically related to the child to transmit U.S. citizenship.”

Under this definition, it would seem clear that Senator Cruz would meet the qualifications to run for President as his mother lived in the United States for at least ten years after she was fourteen years of age prior to going to Canada (note that the rule does not require that the ten years be consecutive.)

 

[CarmelHP]

It would not appear that Cruz meets the natural born citizen rule.

An American citizen yes, but not qualified to run for President.

If he obtained citizenship by virtue of his birth then he is a "natural born citizen." If he did not, when was he naturalized?

 

[HICKMAN]

If he obtained citizenship by virtue of his birth then he is a "natural born citizen." If he did not, when was he naturalized?

yup, I knew that and forgot about it.

 

[hornadylnl]

Simple, according to the law at the time Obama's mother wasn't old enough to pass on citizenship automatically if he was born abroad, she was 18 the law required her to be a minimum of 19, he(or her or her parents on his behalf technically) would of had to apply for citizenship if born out of the country.

For Cruz, his mother unless she tested out of multiple grades and graduated college at the age of 5 would have been. She graduated from Rice in 1956 and Cruz was born in 1970. Sorry I don't know when she was actually born.

No mental gymnastics needed, just simply reading the law.

Acquisition of U.S. Citizenship by a Child Born Abroad
(bold mine)
A child born abroad to one U.S. citizen parent and one alien parent acquires U.S. citizenship at birth under Section 301(g) of the INA provided the U.S. citizen parent was physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for the time period required by the law applicable at the time of the child's birth. (For birth on or after November 14, 1986, a period of five years physical presence, two after the age of fourteen, is required. For birth between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986, a period of ten years, five after the age of fourteen, is required for physical presence in the United States or one of its outlying possessions to transmit U.S. citizenship to the child.) The U.S. citizen parent must be genetically related to the child to transmit U.S. citizenship.

Whether Obama is legal or not, it still doesn't change the fact that the majority of voters elected him twice. Had he been disqualified, a dem still would have won.

 

[jamil]

The hypocrisy of bashing obama's citizenship status while voting for another candidate of questionable status exposes the last 6 years of bellyaching for what it really is. Partisan bellyaching and little actual regard for the law they were so concerned about.

I'd rather have an immigrant who hasn't even towel dried yet as president than 90% of those in Washington. Obama's citizenship status isn't even a pimple on the ass of the real problem with this country. For 6 years, the birthers have been harping on it an TWICE, the majority of American voters said they don't care. If Cruz wins, the roles will reverse. The left will become the birthers and the right will defend him. Pretty soon you forget who is who.

That's just the way it is. The issue is no more the issue with one side than the other. Years ago Liberals wanted "diversity" a "salad instead of a melting pot" they said. Conservatives wanted to keep the "melting pot" metaphor. Now Liberals (actually Progressives) just want conformance...or maybe that's really what they meant all along by diversity. Meanwhile, Conservatives are now talking about diversity!

When the Republicans hold the WH the Dems say "The President has too much power." When a ****ing communist is President, they say he doesn't have ENOUGH power! Republicans were all for giving Bush more power. Now? Not so much.

That's my point. It's all political posturing. It's all about riling up your base in the war of ideas. One side tries to convince the masses of gun owners that the gubmint is buying up all the ammo. The other side tries to convince its masses that "common sense" gun control will magically shield the innocent children from those evil gun owners.

It's the same process on both sides. Beat each other up with issues that aren't really the issue to discredit your opponents. Yeah, we're so WAY past whining about hypocrisy. Of course there's hypocrisy. So what? Whining about it has as much value as walking into a gang fight and pointing out they're using those guns illegally. It may satisfy your moral need to stand up for intellectual honesty but it's not very practical. But I'm not sure what's a bigger waste of time, whining about hypocrisy, or whining about whining about hypocrisy.

 

[Trooper]

Ted Cruz, Originalism, and the

As this Congressional Research Service report sums it up (p. 25; see also pp. 16-21), the “overwhelming evidence of historical intent, general understandings [in 18th-century America], and common law principles underlying American jurisprudence thus indicate that the most reasonable interpretation of ‘natural born’ citizens would include those who are considered U.S. citizens ‘at birth’ or ‘by birth,’ … under existing federal statutory law incorporating long-standing concepts of jus sanguinis, the law of descent.” In other words, there is strong originalist material to support the semantic signal that “natural born Citizen” identifies someone who is a citizen by virtue of the circumstances of his birth—as distinguished from someone who is naturalized later in life as a citizen. (In McCain’s case, the dispute turned on whether he was indeed an American citizen by virtue of his birth—or was instead naturalized a citizen under a law enacted when he was eleven months old. For more, see law professor Gabriel Chin’s lengthy article making the case against McCain.)

Natural born, ie under existing federal statutory law incorporating long-standing concepts of jus sanguinis or the law of descent, then the person if born to US parents is a natural citizen. It is when that person has to be naturalized that they are not qualified to be president.

 

[hornadylnl]

That's just the way it is. The issue is no more the issue with one side than the other. Years ago Liberals wanted "diversity" a "salad instead of a melting pot" they said. Conservatives wanted to keep the "melting pot" metaphor. Now Liberals (actually Progressives) just want conformance...or maybe that's really what they meant all along by diversity. Meanwhile, Conservatives are now talking about diversity!

When the Republicans hold the WH the Dems say "The President has too much power." When a ****ing communist is President, they say he doesn't have ENOUGH power! Republicans were all for giving Bush more power. Now? Not so much.

That's my point. It's all political posturing. It's all about riling up your base in the war of ideas. One side tries to convince the masses of gun owners that the gubmint is buying up all the ammo. The other side tries to convince its masses that "common sense" gun control will magically shield the innocent children from those evil gun owners.

It's the same process on both sides. Beat each other up with issues that aren't really the issue to discredit your opponents. Yeah, we're so WAY past whining about hypocrisy. Of course there's hypocrisy. So what? Whining about it has as much value as walking into a gang fight and pointing out they're using those guns illegally. It may satisfy your moral need to stand up for intellectual honesty but it's not very practical. But I'm not sure what's a bigger waste of time, whining about hypocrisy, or whining about whining about hypocrisy.

I fully understand all of that. But we have posters here who are supposed patriots worrying about a non no natural born citizen serving as president destroying the fabric of our nation and they'll turn a blind eye for Cruz. I guess the fabric of our nation isn't so important after all.

I know my arguments are falling on deaf ears. People care more about their team winning this battle while actively seeking to lose the war. If we can't fix our own hypocrisies and vote on them, why should we be surprised that our elected officials act and vote the way they do? I just get damned tired of all these supposed patriots who don't really give a damn about liberty.

 

[miguel]

Sorry to thread jack, but my theory is that Obama was born in Hawaii, but stated "foreign born" to get aid or admission at a time when it suited him to do so. Then, we he ran for President, he had to go on lock down, lest his own scheming (or the scheming of his handlers) turned into an end game for his candidacy.

Then again, I could be full of rhubarb.

p.s. I love a guy named Richardson telling us a guy named Cruz shouldn't be considered Hispanic...

 

[NathanJefferson]

Sorry to thread jack, but my theory is that Obama was born in Hawaii, but stated "foreign born" to get aid or admission at a time when it suited him to do so. Then, we he ran for President, he had to go on lock down, lest his own scheming (or the scheming of his handlers) turned into an end game for his candidacy.

Then again, I could be full of rhubarb.

p.s. I love a guy named Richardson telling us a guy named Cruz shouldn't be considered Hispanic...

I think I have to agree with you here. He even sold himself as foreign born to sell books and promote himself and his career in other ways.

To me it's not that he was or wasn't born here, even IF he wasn't, too late and there isn't a darn thing you can do about it now. Sorry, that's how the chips fell. The problem is that he is willing to lie through his teeth depending on which way the wind blows. I think The President should be above reproach, and his actions show he is not.

 

[Timjoebillybob]

Whether Obama is legal or not, it still doesn't change the fact that the majority of voters elected him twice. Had he been disqualified, a dem still would have won.

That may quite possibly be, but that is not what you asked. What you asked and I answered is below. Did I answer without mental gymnastics?

Looking forward to the mental gymnastics of how Obama is inelligible and Cruz is.

 

[edporch]

Well he's at least as much of a citizen as Barak Obama is. But specifically I believe this rule applies:

Acquisition of U.S. Citizenship by a Child Born Abroad

Actually, if you look at the history of Cruz's mother, she met the requirement to pass on Natural Born US Citizenship to Ted.

"... For birth between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986, a period of ten years, five after the age of fourteen, is required for physical presence in the United States or one of its outlying possessions to transmit U.S. citizenship to the child.) The U.S. citizen parent must be genetically related to the child to transmit U.S. citizenship. ..."

She was born and raised in Delaware, and got her college degree from Rice University.

EASILY meeting the legal standard of having a physical presence in the US of 10 years, with 5 of those years after the age of 14 to make Ted Cruz a Natural Born US Citizen.

As a nation of laws, how does that SAME legal standard fare when applied to Obama's mother?
Did she meet this requirement?