The great Constitution-loving patriots' first order of business: denying birthright citizenship

[BurtWorm]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026756.php

HOUSE GOP TO TARGET BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP.... The 112th Congress won't waste any time getting right to some misguided initiatives.

As one of its first acts, the new Congress will consider denying citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants who are born in the United States.

Those children, who are now automatically granted citizenship at birth, will be one of the first targets of the Republican-led House when it convenes in January.

GOP Rep. Steve King of Iowa, the incoming chairman of the subcommittee that oversees immigration, is expected to push a bill that would deny "birthright citizenship" to such children.

There are a few ways to look at this, but let's first consider the substance. As you've probably heard, the 14th Amendment says, in effect, that if you're born in the United States, you're a natural-born American citizen. There's very little wiggle room in the language, and Supreme Court precedents are clear. Conservatives don't care for this, of course, because of immigration -- if a couple is in the U.S. illegally and have a baby, that couple's child is an American citizen.

And so those who consider themselves "constitutional conservatives" want to push, early in the new year, a measure that appears to violate the Constitution rather blatantly.

...

[jemelanson]

1. They only support those parts of the Constitution that go along

with their "Family Values" and narrow view....they really hate the idea that the Bill of Rights apply to everyone....most of those Rights should only belong to the wealthy and to Corporations...not to the rest of the people....it is only the Rich that matter after all.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

2. The Constitution is about giving rights not taking them away.

[SoCalNative]

3. Do they even comprehend

that this would require a constitutional amendment, not just some "bill" pushed by a right-wing redneck?

[hfojvt]

9. not necessarily

because the Supreme Court could rule that the intent of the 14th amendment was to grant unqualified citizenship to former slaves and not to the children of illegal immigrants. Note, I am not saying that that would be valid, nor that I would approve, but only that it COULD happen.

[lunasun]

4. Teaparty voterstoo dim tosee the irony & too excited to notice tax$ spent trying to change 14th nt

[no_hypocrisy]

5. The only way that will happen is a new constitutional amendment that invalidates a prior

amendment (like the repeal of Prohibition).

[Vickers]

6. Political theater. n/t

[subterranean]

7. When will they come out with a "Conservative Constitution"?

It's only a matter of time, I think. There's already a "Conservative Bible" and Conservapedia, which is Wikipedia with an extreme-right-wing bias.

[Xicano]

8. United States v. Wong Kim Ark

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Wong_Kim_Ark