Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Bret explains "natural born citizen" requirements for president and vice president
Fox News ^ | 5/1/2012 | Bret Baier

Posted on 05/01/2012 9:32:22 AM PDT by GregNH

Here's the deal...

Many legal analysts and scholars agree with this take-- and until the Supreme Court weighs in.. this is how the law is interpreted:

The Constitution requires that the president be a "natural born citizen," but does not define the term. That job is left to federal law, in 8 U.S. Code, Section 1401. All the law requires is that the mother be an American citizen who has lived in the U.S. for five years or more, at least two of those years after the age of 14. If the mother fits those criteria, the child is a U.S. citizen at birth, regardless of the father's nationality.

The brouhaha over President Obama's birth certificate -- has revealed a widespread ignorance of some of the basics of American citizenship. The Constitution, of course, requires that a president be a "natural born citizen," but the Founding Fathers did not define the term, and it appears few people know what it means.

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: birthcertificate; birther; eligibility; moonbatbirther; naturalborncitizen; nbc; obama; vattel
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 341-358 next last
I bet Bret wishes he didn't post this come tomorrow. His email box will definitely be full.
1 posted on 05/01/2012 9:32:28 AM PDT by GregNH
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: LucyT

I bet Bret wishes he didn’t post this come tomorrow. His email box will definitely be full.


2 posted on 05/01/2012 9:33:13 AM PDT by GregNH (>>>>>I am SO ready to join a brigade of pickup trucks to surround DC<<<<<)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GregNH

And that law came about when?


3 posted on 05/01/2012 9:34:40 AM PDT by Sacajaweau
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GregNH
That job is left to federal law, in 8 U.S. Code, Section 1401.
I used to respect the man. If he's too stupid to understand that 8 U.S. Code is titled "Aliens and Nationality" then there is no helping him.
You have to be an Alien first for anything therein to apply.
4 posted on 05/01/2012 9:37:11 AM PDT by philman_36 (Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty, and supped with infamy. Benjamin Franklin)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GregNH

He keeps referring to “Legal experts” but I don’t see him naming any.

We’ve got “legal experts” that have been quoted on FR and other conservative sites that say Bret just described a combination of native born citizen and naturalized citizens, but not natural born citizen, which was defined in at least one supreme court case to mean a citizen born in the land of citizen parents (plural).


5 posted on 05/01/2012 9:38:20 AM PDT by DannyTN
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GregNH

I eagerly await Bret’s explanation on why it’s acceptable for the HOMOPOTUS to have more than one Social Security number...


6 posted on 05/01/2012 9:39:41 AM PDT by Mortrey (Impeach President Soros)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GregNH; LucyT; STARWISE; rxsid; David; Fred Nerks

Bret is the only newsperson who regularly reports on BC issues...Just the minimum facts, but he’s usually got them.


7 posted on 05/01/2012 9:40:25 AM PDT by hoosiermama
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: philman_36

Just going to toss this out there. Could this be a prelude to getting the term explained by claiming ignorance as the excuse for not bringing this to light sooner?


8 posted on 05/01/2012 9:41:11 AM PDT by GregNH (>>>>>I am SO ready to join a brigade of pickup trucks to surround DC<<<<<)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: GregNH
They're all natural born U.S. citizens."

Bret has just admitted and demonstrated his profound ignorance about the Constitution and the intent of those who wrote it.

9 posted on 05/01/2012 9:42:38 AM PDT by GBA (America has been infected. Be the cure!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GregNH
...has revealed a widespread ignorance of some of the basics of American citizenship.
Bret admitting he's ignorant.

And I note that not one single legal analyst, legal expert or scholar is mentioned by name.

From whom, exactly, are you getting your information, Bret?

10 posted on 05/01/2012 9:42:57 AM PDT by philman_36 (Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty, and supped with infamy. Benjamin Franklin)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: philman_36
8 U.S. Code is titled "Aliens and Nationality...

??? That section is titled Nationals and citizens of United States at birth

11 posted on 05/01/2012 9:44:42 AM PDT by mnehring
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: GregNH
Hey Bret. Put down the crack pipe man!

Absolute amazingly dishonest propaganda to cover for the Usurper And Chief.

Obama is ineligible. Anyone with common sense knows this.

And what about Marco Rubio? Even by Brets literally made up definition, Rubio is NOT a Natural Born Citizen.

I'm completely losing faith in Fox News.

12 posted on 05/01/2012 9:46:41 AM PDT by precisionshootist
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: philman_36
here is the law

8 USC § 1401 - Nationals and citizens of United States at birth
13 posted on 05/01/2012 9:47:53 AM PDT by Perdogg
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: GregNH
Could this be a prelude to getting the term explained by claiming ignorance as the excuse for not bringing this to light sooner?
Could be. It definitely seems like "getting ahead of the story"
It's easy this way. It's somebody else's fault. We relied on their understanding. We're not the experts, we're just talking heads.

Either way, it seems to be coming to a head when something this important is finally being commented on.
This boil on the backside of America should have been lanced long ago.

14 posted on 05/01/2012 9:47:53 AM PDT by philman_36 (Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty, and supped with infamy. Benjamin Franklin)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: LucyT; All
All the law requires is that the mother be an American citizen who has lived in the U.S. for five years or more, at least two of those years after the age of 14. If the mother fits those criteria, the child is a U.S. citizen at birth, regardless of the father's nationality.

Isn't there a problem with this statement?

15 posted on 05/01/2012 9:48:13 AM PDT by hoosiermama
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Mortrey
...why it’s acceptable for the HOMOPOTUS to have more than one Social Security number

Maybe they put him together out of leftover parts...

The rest of him is a construct.

16 posted on 05/01/2012 9:48:56 AM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: GregNH
The Constitution, Art. II, says in pertinant part: “No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President;”

Since everyone who was a citizen at the time of adoption is dead and likely to remain that way, we can remove the grandfather clause wording. We are left with “No Person except a natural born Citizen [...] shall be eligible to the Office of President;”

Why does the Constitution speak of “citizens” and separately of “natural born citizens”? It is a matter of allegiance.

A person can be a “citizen” if they were citizens or subjects in some other country first but have come here and met the naturalization requirements. Also, if one is the offspring of a citizen and a non-citizen, then one is a US citizen. However, in both these cases it can be argued that the person might choose allegiance to their former country or to the country of the foreign-born parent or at least the allegiance might be considered divided. It is this divided or alienated allegiance that the Constitutional provision is designed to prohibit.

If, however, both of one’s parents are themselves US citizens, then one is a “citizen” as well as a “natural born citizen”. The “natural born citizen” is one who at birth has no natural allegiance to any other country and the Framers felt could be trusted to be loyal to the US and not act as a foreign agent.

Note that native born is not the same as natural born. Native born simply refers to the place of one’s birth, i.e., one’s nativity. The term does not speak to the legal circumstances of a birth, merely to its location.

17 posted on 05/01/2012 9:49:30 AM PDT by Paine in the Neck (Romney's judicial appointments were more radical than Obama's)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Comment #18 Removed by Moderator

To: mnehring
Yes but that section he quoted is for births in an alian country.
(g) a person born outside the geographical limits of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents one of whom is an alien, and the other a citizen of the United States who, prior to the birth of such person, was physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for a period or periods totaling not less than five years, at least two of which were after attaining the age of fourteen years:

19 posted on 05/01/2012 9:50:29 AM PDT by GregNH (>>>>>I am SO ready to join a brigade of pickup trucks to surround DC<<<<<)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Perdogg; mnehring
here is the law
Yeah, I know about that law. It falls under the Title "Aliens and Nationality"

That section is titled Nationals and citizens of United States at birth
No kidding, Sherlock. That section falls under the Title which is "Aliens and Nationality"!

20 posted on 05/01/2012 9:51:47 AM PDT by philman_36 (Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty, and supped with infamy. Benjamin Franklin)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 341-358 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson