REPORT: 130 Republicans In Congress Want To Consider Ending Birthright Citizenship

[ProSense]

REPORT: 130 Republicans In Congress Want To Consider Ending Birthright Citizenship

This is the first installment in a three-part series on legislation that may emerge from a GOP-controlled Congress.

In late July, Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) call to end the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of citizenship for everyone born in the United States set off a firestorm in the press. Last week, a coalition of Republican state lawmakers announced a nationwide effort to “develop model state legislation” that will eliminate what they see as a “misapplication” of the 14th Amendment in granting birth citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants. More and more right-wing conservatives have taken this radical position, despite the fact birthright citizenship has long been settled law.

After conducting a thorough review of the voting records of Republicans in Congress over the past 15 years, ThinkProgress has identified a large majority of them have at one point called for hearings and legislation to alter the constitutional guarantee of citizenship for everyone born in the United States. An analysis of past records found that 63 percent of House Republicans, 44 percent of Senate Republicans, and 59 percent of all GOPers in Congress support reconsidering birthright citizenship.

Republicans in Congress have long operated by the “majority of the majority” principle, whereby the GOP Speaker of the House advances legislation only if it is supported by a majority of Republicans. With many prominent GOP Senate candidates favoring an end to birthright citizenship, including Rand Paul, Ken Buck, Mike Lee, Kelly Ayotte, Joe Miller, and Sharron Angle, it’s likely that a GOP-controlled Senate would indeed have a majority who support revisiting the issue.

Ending birthright citizenship is no idle belief in the GOP caucus. Rather, Republicans have been pushing this idea for nearly two decades, introducing 28 separate bills to eliminate birthright citizenship since 1995. Here are the 130 incumbent GOPers who favor reexamining the 14th Amendment (leadership in bold):

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REPORT: 49 GOP Congressional Candidates Join Ginni Thomas-Led Assault On Education

Republicans are the teabaggers, and they are not going to stop until they destroy this country.

[Dash87]

1. Why do Republicans hate the Constitution so much?

♥

[arcane1]

2. Lemme guess...

they would not want this repeal to apply to corporations :shrug:

[Kdillard]

3. They seriously must not get control of the House.

[DrToast]

4. I realize that Republicans are using this issue to appeal to prejudices

But I wouldn't really have an issue if there wasn't birthright citizenship.

It seems to be a relic of when the constitution was written. If we were writing the constitution today, would we include it?

[ProSense]

6. "If we were writing the constitution today, would we include it?"

Senator Kerry wrote an excellent op-ed on the subject.

[treestar]

5. Oh great. Eventually illegals would outnumber the citizenry.

Brilliant idea. Not.

Don't they have anything better to do?

[ProSense]

7. TPM: Top Six Established Laws That Tea Partiers Claim Are Unconstitutional

Top Six Established Laws That Tea Partiers Claim Are Unconstitutional

[vaberella]

8. Isn't this retroactive as well? Well there goes my citizenship and my sisters. n/t