Bernard Goldberg: I Have Natural Born Citizen Fatigue

obamareleaseyourrecords.blogspot.com ^ | 07/19/2011 | ObamaRelease YourRecords

[rxsid]

"Who Is A “Natural Born Citizen”?

So I’m on the O’Reilly Factor and I say if the Republicans don’t put Marco Rubio on their national ticket they need to get their heads examined. Such is my regard for the freshman senator from Florida.

What followed were emails from people who told me that Rubio can’t be vice president because the Constitution says only “natural born citizens” can be president or vice president, and he doesn’t fit the description.

Some went a tad further. Ray said I need to “wake up.” Gregor – who signed his name “American by Birth – Patriot by Choice” said my comment about Rubio was both “uneducated” and “foolish.” Edward said, “I’m sure you have read the Constitution but I urge you to reread Article I, Section II which gives the qualifications for president.” David simply stated that, “Neither of Marco Rubio’s parents were citizens of our country when he was born. Therefore, Marco Rubio is not a Natural Born Citizen of the United States.”

I’m always amused when I get letters from self-appointed “scholars” who have no doubt – none! – about how knowledgeable they are when it comes to constitutional law even though not one of them spent even 10 minutes in law school. How do I know? If they had, trust me, they would have mentioned it – IN CAPITAL LETTERS!

Many of these people, I suspect, have another agenda, which I’ll get to shortly. But first …

The Constitution does not define the term “natural born citizen.” And as Wikipedia explains, “scholars and politicians have not agreed as to whether U.S.-born children of non-citizens … qualify as natural born citizens.”

Also from Wikipedia: “The natural born citizen clause has been mentioned in passing in several decisions of the United States Supreme Court and lower courts, but the Supreme Court has never directly addressed the question of a specific presidential or vice-presidential candidate’s eligibility as a natural born citizen.”

So what did the Founders have in mind when they used that term they didn’t bother to define? Well, after the Constitution was ratified, some of the Founders opined about the meaning of the clause. Here’s what James Madison, one of the authors of the Constitution, had to say on the subject in a speech before the House of Representatives in May 1789: MORE HERE

From the Comment Section:

Ron Kean --- I have Natural Born Citizen Fatigue.

Bernard Goldberg --- me too, Ron. http://www.bernardgoldberg.com/who-is-a-natural-born-citizen/#comments "

http://obamareleaseyourrecords.blogspot.com/2011/07/bernard-goldberg-i-have-natural-born.html

[rxsid]

HOW CAN A NATURAL BORN CITIZEN'S STATUS BE "GOVERNED" BY GREAT BRITAIN?

Office	Citizenship		Age	Residency (or years citizen)
President & Commander in Chief (1 of 1)	natural born Citizen		35	14 years resident
Senator (1 of many)	Citizen		30	9 years a Citizen
Represantative (1 of many)	Citizen		25	7 years a Citizen

Assuming Barry's father really was Obama Sr., Barry was born a subject to the crown of her majesty the Queen of England, inheriting his foreign father's foreign citizenship by birthright.
Then, when Kenyan gained it's independence, Barry obtained Kenyan citizenship at age ~2.
He possibly even had Indonesian citizenship if his step father Lolo Soetoro adopted him.

Forget dual citizen...Barry was/is a multi-national. He never was a "natural born Citizen."

Question is, do enough people care in the present day that Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution is currently being completely ignored? Where are all the "Constitutionalists?"

[rxsid]

Ping.

"Bernard Goldberg: I Have Natural Born Citizen Fatigue"

Poor Bernie. Guess what, many have usurper fatigue!

[libbylu]

I have the fatigue too. Does anyone thing Levin or Coulter would not have brought it up if so? Those are my 2 favorite constitutional lawyers.
Not only that it is one track mind, all you ever hear out of WND. Corsi will never recover. Talk about picking your battles really badly.

[wintertime]

though not one of them spent even 10 minutes in law school.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Neither did any of our nation's Founders.

[Las Vegas Ron]

“scholars and politicians have not agreed as to whether U.S.-born children of non-citizens … qualify as natural born citizens.”

Yo Bernie, does this answer your question?

Is this a Natural Born Citizen?

[rxsid]

I can't imagine that either Levin or Coulter believes that the founders and framers would have considered a multi-national to be a "natural born Citizen."

The mere notion, in 1787 American, would have been absurd.

I believe they gave up on the actual Constitutional issue because the issue was (somewhat) successfully Alinskied and turned into the B.C. "birther" issue.

I say somewhat because not everyone was convinced the history doesn't matter and that there really is more to the issue than the bogus b.c.

[Menehune56]

You can bet the leftists will saddle right up on the issue to (a) label constitutionalists as racist, xenophobic bigots, and (b) keep constitutionalists from voting for Rubio if he is nominated for prez or VP. It’s a win-win for them.

[x]

I didn't realize you guys had all clerked at law firms, read Blackstone, taken your bar exams and found the time to write The Federalist Papers on top of everything else ...

[Politics4US]

Ann Coulter’s career would be hurt if she talked about this. She wouldn’t be able to make all the speaking engagements she makes, and she wouldn’t be able to guest on Fox if she spoke about this. Ann isn’t conservative on a lot of things.

[Politics4US]

The drafters did define natural born citizenship as a child born to parents who were citizens. It’s pathetic that the people on Fox are so fake.

[Politics4US]

The drafters did define natural born citizenship as a child born to parents who were citizens. It’s pathetic that the people on Fox are so fake.

[Jewbacca]

“The drafters did define natural born citizenship as a child born to parents who were citizens.”

So I’m a NBC? Even though I was born in Israel to two Israeli citizens who happened to also be USA citizens? (I do, indeed, have a USA Passport and can even vote.)

How about Bibi Netanyahu? I think his parents were Americans, too, at one point. Even grew up in Pittsburg.

Seriously, the best definition I have seen is “a natural born citizen is a person who is a citizen of the USA at birth.”

Sen. Rubio’s parents, while not citizens, were legal immigrants at the time of his birth in Florida.

[Politics4US]

The child had to be born in America or on an American territory.

[bushpilot1]

Aristotle would call Obama a “half-alien”.

[TheOldLady]

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[Jewbacca]

That’s just not there.

The NBC rule was to prevent a Johnny-come-lately from swooping in from Europe, becoming a citizen, and then president on a tide of goodwill or threat of conquest -— as kings did in Europe.

Someone born here that was American since he drew breath -— NBC.

[rxsid]

"Aristotle would call Obama a “half-alien”."

Indeed, and that would be 100% accurate.

[rxsid]

"Someone born here that was American since he drew breath -— NBC."

There was no definition for a citizen who was natural born available to the framers, founders or the colonist's that would back that up.

There was, however a definition available that described citizens who were natural born as being born in the country to citizen parents.

[x]

There was no definition for a citizen who was natural born available to the framers, founders or the colonist's that would back that up.

Of course there was. There was Blackstone's definition of the natural born subject. It wasn't difficult to apply that when we were no longer subjects but citizens.

Certainly Vattel's concept of "les Naturels ou indigènes" was further outside our traditions at the time and would have been more of a stretch than Blackstone's thinking.

In any event, if Obama's father was already married his marriage to Stanley Ann Dunham would have been null and void and his citizenship would have been moot.

[MHGinTN]

One of the drafters of the fourteenth amendment stated what he as a founder considered a natural born citizen. Apparently, that needs dissembling for some who want to imagine none of the founders stated what they believed to be a natural born citizen. Of course they even showed us that being a subject of the crown after the founders died out would not be considered an American natural born citizen, so dual American and British birth citizenry is not acce4ptable to their definition. But of course diseemblers love to play games, like Bernard boy did in his essay. Oddly, the current crop of legislators know what it means too, because they've tried ten times in recent years to change it from what it means, but trying to do it without the Constitutional process for changing the Constitution. So folks like Jewbaca are merely trying to kick up dust, knowing the legislators for whom they're creating cover realize the strictness inherent in the Constitutional meaning the dissemblers are trying to blur.