Vattel is not the law. The constitution -- as written, not as informally amended by FR posters, statutes, treaties, and court decisions of the US are. Persuade a Federal court that NBC must be understood as Vattel describes it, then get back to us.
Until then, the operating precedent is English common law, which recognizes jus soli as sufficient for NBC status, and and the Wong Kim Ark decision, which incorporated that common law precedent into American jurisprudence.
It’s not “balderdash.” It’s the truth.
Ms. Publius Huldah is not saying Vattel is the law. She is using him to illustrate the common knowledge of the founders and their CLEAR intent in the meaning of the words defining natural born citizen.
It’s not hard, but the truth is not something everyone wants to accept.