Bill Maher Slams Republicans For Their Racist Obama Birth Certificate Hypocrisy

[Jim Lane]

13. We need to drop this bogus argument or we look as silly as the birthers.

When Obama and Cruz were born, the law governing foreign-born children with one citizen parent and one noncitizen parent was different from what it is today. At that time, the child was a citizen at birth only if the citizen parent had lived in the United States for at least five years after attaining the age of 14.

Cruz's mother met that criterion. Obama's mother didn't. (Obama's mother had always lived in the United States but she was only 18 when he was born. The five-year rule couldn't be satisfied by anyone who hadn't yet turned 19.)

This doesn't mean that Obama was born in Kenya, a truly silly proposition. It means that IF he had been born in Kenya then he wouldn't be eligible, but that Cruz actually is eligible even though he was born in Canada.

It may be fun to torment ignorant Republicans on this point, but the fun will end. Sooner or later any Democrat using this argument will get called on it.