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In reply to the discussion: New York Judge To Decide If Senator Ted Cruz Is American [View all]MADem
(135,425 posts)32. Rubio was born on American soil - Cruz wasn't.
Also "some people say" (and we know how that works) that his parents took Canadian citizenship - they are listed on a Canadian electoral roll.
Apparently, if a judge interpreted the Constitution the way Cruz does, routinely, he would have to find him ineligible.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2016/01/11/through-ted-cruz-constitutional-looking-glass/zvKE6qpF31q2RsvPO9nGoK/story.html
By Laurence H. Tribe JANUARY 11, 2016
Theres more than meets the eye in the ongoing dustup over whether Ted Cruz is eligible to serve as president, which under the Constitution comes down to whether hes a natural born citizen despite his 1970 Canadian birth. Senator Cruz contends his eligibility is settled by naturalization laws Congress enacted long ago. But those laws didnt address, much less resolve, the matter of presidential eligibility, and no Supreme Court decision in the past two centuries has ever done so. In truth, the constitutional definition of a natural born citizen is completely unsettled, as the most careful scholarship on the question has concluded. Needless to say, Cruz would never take Donald Trumps advice to ask a court whether the Cruz definition is correct, because that would in effect confess doubt where Cruz claims there is certainty.
People are entitled to their own opinions about what the definition ought to be. But the kind of judge Cruz says he admires and would appoint to the Supreme Court is an originalist, one who claims to be bound by the narrowly historical meaning of the Constitutions terms at the time of their adoption. To his kind of judge, Cruz ironically wouldnt be eligible, because the legal principles that prevailed in the 1780s and 90s required that someone actually be born on US soil to be a natural born citizen. Even having two US parents wouldnt suffice. And having just an American mother, as Cruz did, would have been insufficient at a time that made patrilineal descent decisive.
Theres more than meets the eye in the ongoing dustup over whether Ted Cruz is eligible to serve as president, which under the Constitution comes down to whether hes a natural born citizen despite his 1970 Canadian birth. Senator Cruz contends his eligibility is settled by naturalization laws Congress enacted long ago. But those laws didnt address, much less resolve, the matter of presidential eligibility, and no Supreme Court decision in the past two centuries has ever done so. In truth, the constitutional definition of a natural born citizen is completely unsettled, as the most careful scholarship on the question has concluded. Needless to say, Cruz would never take Donald Trumps advice to ask a court whether the Cruz definition is correct, because that would in effect confess doubt where Cruz claims there is certainty.
People are entitled to their own opinions about what the definition ought to be. But the kind of judge Cruz says he admires and would appoint to the Supreme Court is an originalist, one who claims to be bound by the narrowly historical meaning of the Constitutions terms at the time of their adoption. To his kind of judge, Cruz ironically wouldnt be eligible, because the legal principles that prevailed in the 1780s and 90s required that someone actually be born on US soil to be a natural born citizen. Even having two US parents wouldnt suffice. And having just an American mother, as Cruz did, would have been insufficient at a time that made patrilineal descent decisive.
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I know we're all embarrassed by him, but you can't just go and declare him not an American.
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
Feb 2016
#1
Rubio is definitely a natural born citizen....but Cruz may have to be settled in court....
markj757
Feb 2016
#23
Didja know the Senate passed a resolution that McCain was a natural born citizen?
dixiegrrrrl
Mar 2016
#44
He's clearly American. Just not natural born and therefore Cruz is ineligible for the Presidency.
Bernardo de La Paz
Mar 2016
#54
It is an embarrassment he is a dog pound worker, let alone United States Senator
randys1
Feb 2016
#3
Misleading headline as the issue concerns the constitutional phrase "natural born".
PoliticAverse
Feb 2016
#4
Yes. Cruz was not natural born, but was naturalized instantly at birth by his mother's citizenship.
Bernardo de La Paz
Mar 2016
#41
It is ill-defined, but it is deep in American jurisprudence including foundational writing from Brit
Bernardo de La Paz
Mar 2016
#50
Then let's not just blindly assert that Cruz doesn't meet this undefined standard.
Orsino
Mar 2016
#53
Though Cruz should be disqualified for Dominionist treason, "your book" does not rule.
Bernardo de La Paz
Mar 2016
#56
well I assume like John McCain congress will have to approve him to run, but as it stands Canada con
PatrynXX
Feb 2016
#7
a specious argument intended so Cruz can claim, "a judge ruled in my favor. So, its settled. I'm
Kip Humphrey
Feb 2016
#18