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Rep. Alan Grayson Explains Why He'll Sue Ted Cruz Over Presidential Eligibility
PJ Media ^ | 01/15/2016 | BY BRIDGET JOHNSON

Posted on 01/15/2016 9:54:21 AM PST by SeekAndFind

The congressman who infamously said during the Obamacare debate that Republicans wanted sick people to "die quickly" and said Planned Parenthood defunding proponents will shepherd in a wave of deaths said he will sue over Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) eligibility to be president.

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) is running for the Senate seat Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is vacating to run for president.

Grayson is challenging Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.) for the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat. Murphy defeated incumbent Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) in 2012.

On the GOP side, Reps. Ron DeSantis and David Jolly are eyeing Rubio's seat.

Grayson told MSNBC that he'll sue over Canadian-born Cruz's natural-born citizen status if the senator is the GOP nominee.

"Because the constitution means what it says and says what it means. That's why. I don't agree with you that there's any sort of consensus about this at all. Larry Tribe seems to be on my side of the argument," he explained.

Tribe was one of Cruz's professors at Harvard Law. Donald Trump has been citing Tribe's skepticism over Cruz's eligibility, saying it's not a settled matter in case law.

"Look, there's a legal argument which you just addressed and a factual argument. Let's start with the legal argument. You seem to think that natural-born citizen means somebody born to an American parent, right?" said Grayson, who also graduated from Harvard Law and clerked for Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"There is not much legal authority to support that and the Supreme Court has, in fact, never addressed that. A better argument can be made that it means you're simply born in the United States. One of the words connote natural-born citizen, may be somebody born in the United States. Certainly, no reason to think it for sure means anything other than that," the congressman continued.

"Now, with regard to the facts, there's another problem that he has, which is that his mother was a registered voter, he relies upon his mother for his American citizenship. His mother was a registered voter in Canada. That just came out this week," Grayson added. "If she was a registered voter in Canada, safe to say she was a citizen of Canada, like his father was. And if both parents were Canadian citizens, how can he claim American citizenship?"

On his standing to sue, Grayson said it would be his responsibility.

"Say the Republican Party nominated an elephant for president and the Democrats nominated a donkey -- do you really think that nobody could raise an issue about that, that we'd just basically have to choose between the elephant and donkey? Of course, we wouldn't," he said.

Grayson denied his lawsuit would be like birthers claiming President Obama was born in Kenya.

"That case is about someone who was born in the United States. This is about someone who was born in Canada. I'm not going to get into legal strategies here. I'm pretty confident that the standing is not a problem," he said. "And, by the way, the whole standing document comes from our friend Justice Scalia, who I worked with for a year. So I know a thing or two about standing."

"That's exactly what makes America so great. Anybody can sue anybody for anything... if the Republicans are foolish enough to nominate somebody who's ineligible for the job, that's really not my problem."


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: alangrayson; naturalborncitizen; seeyouincourtted; tedcruz
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first 1-2021-38 next last
If Alan Grayson wins this case, then rubio will probably be next.
1 posted on 01/15/2016 9:54:21 AM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

“If Alan Grayson wins this case...”

That’s funny.


2 posted on 01/15/2016 9:55:53 AM PST by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: SeekAndFind

No standing.


3 posted on 01/15/2016 9:56:20 AM PST by 17th Miss Regt
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To: SeekAndFind

Because Grayson is an attention seeking media whore. But fine, lets get this over with already.


4 posted on 01/15/2016 9:56:25 AM PST by dead ("I'm up to my eyeball in virgin goats!" - Mullah Omar)
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To: SeekAndFind

He won’t.

And he’s doing Cruz a favor.


5 posted on 01/15/2016 9:56:31 AM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: SeekAndFind

I double dog dare Grayson to file the case and to commit all his personal assets to the case.


6 posted on 01/15/2016 9:57:38 AM PST by DaveyB (Live free or die!)
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To: SeekAndFind

Alan Grayson’s Mother Wears Combat Boots....


7 posted on 01/15/2016 9:58:17 AM PST by MeshugeMikey ("Never, Never, Never, Give Up," Winston Churchill ><> GO CRUZ!!!!)
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To: SeekAndFind

Too late, a voter in Houston has already filed a suit.


8 posted on 01/15/2016 9:58:18 AM PST by mac_truck (aide toi et dieu t'aidera)
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To: dead

GMTA!....................


9 posted on 01/15/2016 9:58:45 AM PST by Red Badger (READ MY LIPS: NO MORE BUSHES!...............)
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To: SeekAndFind
"Because the constitution means what it says and says what it means..."

You can't make this stuff up.

10 posted on 01/15/2016 9:58:46 AM PST by gorush (History repeats itself because human nature is static)
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To: SeekAndFind

Why hasn’t this psychotic miscreant been committed yet?


11 posted on 01/15/2016 10:03:14 AM PST by Bloody Sam Roberts (Democracy is not freedom. Democracy is simply majoritarianism. It is incompatible with real freedom.)
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To: dead
Because Grayson is an attention seeking media whore Democrat. But fine, lets get this over with already.
12 posted on 01/15/2016 10:06:06 AM PST by SandRat (Duty - Honor - Country! What else needs said?)
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To: mac_truck
Too late, a voter in Houston has already filed a suit.

Probably need to be done in all 57 states.

13 posted on 01/15/2016 10:07:12 AM PST by Don Corleone ("Oil the gun..eat the cannoli. Take it to the Mattress.")
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To: ifinnegan

Alan Grayson does NOT need to win the case.
But if someone thinks that suit in September 2016
will not help Hillary in November, I got a beautiful
ocean front villa in Kansas which I will sell you at
half market price.


14 posted on 01/15/2016 10:08:04 AM PST by entropy12 (Go Trump! Born in USA of 2 US Citizen Parents!! And not in pockets of ANY rich donors!!!!)
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To: SeekAndFind

Because you are stupid.


15 posted on 01/15/2016 10:10:07 AM PST by mulligan (I)
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To: SeekAndFind

And this is exactly what Trump said would happen. Weird. Hope Grayson loses his suit.


16 posted on 01/15/2016 10:11:02 AM PST by BRK
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To: SeekAndFind

You have to scratch your head when a large contingent of FReepers agree with Grayson. It is when they need to sit down and think if eating all those lead paint chips as a child actually did do some damage.

Whatever Grayson says, much like whatever Obama says, is clearly the opposite of what is true. It is just one of those funny quirks in life.


17 posted on 01/15/2016 10:13:47 AM PST by FerociousRabbit
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To: BRK

Yep, and I have no confidence in court system that ignored the plain language of Obamacare and deemed it LEGAL!


18 posted on 01/15/2016 10:13:55 AM PST by Dana1960
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To: SeekAndFind

Who’s afraid of the big bad (foolish), socialist loon wolf?


19 posted on 01/15/2016 10:18:42 AM PST by JSDude1
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To: 17th Miss Regt

Correct. The Constitution says that natural born citizens can’t be President. The only way there’d be standing is at Noon on January 20, 2017.

But chances are this freak will go judge shopping to find one willing to grant standing.


20 posted on 01/15/2016 10:18:47 AM PST by tanknetter
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