Posted on 02/03/2016 5:59:48 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
The Illinois Board of Elections of Monday ruled on a birther challenge to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's eligibility to be on the Illinois March 15th primary ballot. The board said that, "Further discussion on this issue is unnecessary." As they rejected the challenge, as well as another separate challenge against Sen. Marco Rubio.
Popular Grove lawyer Lawrence Joyce brought the challenge, he was one of the lawyers representing people in 2008 and into 2009 seeking to have Barack Obama disqualified from serving as President using the same birther arguments that were made against Cruz. Those birther challenges against President Obama were laughed out of every courtroom that heard them.
Joyce and other birthers like GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, are of the belief that because Cruz was born to an American mother, while she was living and working in Canada, he is not a Natural Born Citizen of the United States, which is a requirement under Article II of the Constitution to be eligible to be President.
English Common Law(the basis of the American legal system), the nations first immigration laws, legal and Supreme Court precedent, and the fact that Cruz never had to go through the naturalization process all say that Ted Cruz was an American citizen at the moment of his birth, and is thus a Natural Born citizen. Not to mention the immigration law in effect at the time of Cruz's birth.
That last point about naturalization was cited by the Illinois Board of Elections in rejecting Mr. Joyce's challenge.
From the Huffington Post:
"The Candidate is a natural born citizen by virtue of being born in Canada to his mother who was a U.S. citizen at the time of his birth," the board said, reasoning that Cruz met the criteria because he "did not have to take any steps or go through a naturalization process at some point after birth."
A second birther challenge against Ted Cruz from one William Graham was dismissed by the IL Board of Education because of improper filing.
Cruz's Illinois lawyer Sharee Langenstein, a constitutional lawyer and 2nd amendment lobbyist, says that the Board of Elections agreed with her legal rebuttal to Joyce that a state agency has no authority to decide matters of federal law, in making their ruling in favor of Cruz.
By denying the birther challenges against Cruz and certifying him for the ballot the Illinois Board of Elections also affirmed that Cruz is a Natural Born Citizen.
Langenstein says that, "It's ironic that birthers think they know the constitution so well, but they file cases that deal with federal law in state administrative agencies that have no jurisdiction or authority to make that decision in the first place."
I'd be delighted to vote for the most constitutionally conservative candidate running. To me, however, if you're not a natural born citizen, you cannot run for the office. And if you do, you are not a constitutional conservative.
The founders specified a higher standard for POTUS than any other office: Natural Born Citizen. My niece and nephew were born in Holland and they are citizens but not Natural Born. They have a Dutch father and dual citizenship so therefore were not born as sole American citizens.
Natural Born is simple and Cruz stated it in 2012:
Cruz: “Two citizen parents and born on the soil.â€
This is why Lawrence Tribe called Cruz a hyporcrite - because he’s conveniently changed his tune from constitutional originalist to a “living document” constitutionalist.
Whether or not Cruz is a hypocrite is beside the point - for me at least for this argument. The question is do we now require a Natural Born Citizen or merely a citizen to be POTUS? Are we a nation of laws or men?
Are we willing to face the consequences of lowering our standards for POTUS?
a) someone born and living anywhere in the world, provided that child is to one American citizen parent,it is not the same as:
b) someone born on U.S. soil to American citizen parents.You may tell yourself that you can call them the same thing, but are not the same thing.
You may tell yourself that "a" is equal to "b" and identical in every respect, but they are not.
You may call these three couple's relationship a marriage, but two men together or two women together are not the same as a man and a woman together.
Aristotle is quoted as saying: "The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal."
That's a nasty bad habit that we, the people, should break before it breaks US.
But we won't.
Instead, I suggest preparing for more "unintended" consequences.
No, the court found that he is a natural born citizen, based on a whole list of things. Go back and re-read it.
Sad, but true that there are several citizen classes.
First Class - born in the US to two US citizens. Eligible for POTUS.
Second Class - born in the US to two registered immigrants, who were not naturalized at time of birth. ?? Eligible??
Third Class - born outside the US to one or two US citizens.
??Eligible??
Fourth Class - born outside the US - but a legal immigrant, and naturalized citizen adult - renouncing country of origin and swearing fealty to the US - serving in the US armed forces. Cannot be POTUS
It just irks me when these pundits claim that their conclusions are irrefutable, when in fact, they are very much refutable.
“We beat Cruz but we still have our principles.â€
Frankly, your comments reek of deadly stupidity. You fail to see how they can use this illegal redefinition of citizenship later on in the long game to take away your citizenship by simply using their mob power to pass laws to criminalize your very existence. Once you remove the protection of the Constitution in this way, the Constitution will no longer have the Rule of Law and the Bill of Rights to protect you against their infringements of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. By allowing this seemingly unimportant to you bit of the Constitution to be chipped off, you are opening up the crack for the dam to burst open onto the top of your head and everyone else around you in America.
Eloquently stated...well done.
I would agree that if Cruz’s mother was not a citizen at the time of his birth he would not be a citizen but I don’t think there is any credible evidence that points to that. Every accusation I have heard seems to be just desperate flinging of crap on the wall by Trump fanatics trying to come up with something.
Raphael’s citizenship has never been questioned. He has always been a “citizen”. However, due to the circumstances of his birth, Raphael is not a NBC, and therefore, not eligible to become President..(Rube is in the same unqualified category).
“First Class - born in the US to two US citizens. Eligible for POTUS.”
Natural born citizen. POTUS eligible.
“Second Class - born in the US to two registered immigrants, who were not naturalized at time of birth. ?? Eligible??”
Naturalized citizen. POTUS ineligible.
“Third Class - born outside the US to one or two US citizens.
??Eligible??”
Naturalized citizen. POTUS ineligible.
“Fourth Class - born outside the US - but a legal immigrant, and naturalized citizen adult - renouncing country of origin and swearing fealty to the US - serving in the US armed forces. Cannot be POTUS”
Naturalized citizen. POTUS ineligible.
If this holds up then any of the literally millions of legitimate and illegitimate children born to US Servicemen all over the world are now eligible to run for president. This nonsense must stop! America is lost!!!
And where are Cruz records sealed? If anything, it has been pretty transparent, but not good enough for the birthers.
Raphael has sealed his US citizenship documents. Why?..we can only guess. The popular assumption is that he has something to hide,..again, why?..
I can’t speak for all, but Iowa re-affirmed my distrust of politicians in general and Raphael in particular. The loans, the vote scam from Carson,..on and on.
You are correct when you say that Raphael’s transparency “is not good enough for the birthers”..nor should it be for you.
Only if those children lived here for 14 years.
If he picks a good V.P., who cares?
For many years I went along with the original NBC definition until I was convinced that has changed.
If you do not have to go through the naturalization process to become a citizen that makes you a NBC. I say this with wincing.
What about all those children born on US Military bases overseas, some only have 1 US Citizen parent some 2. But they have dual citizenship at birth, they must renounce 1 before coming of age. Step Daughter had both Japanese and US Embassy BC’s. And a US Passport by the time she was 3 days old. US Foreign Military bases are NOT US SOIL. She had to be reminded of the fact she had to renounce the Japanese citizenship when she became of age.
Strange compendium isn’t it? Especially when one considers that naturalized citizens denounce any and all loyalty to the countries of their birth and swear under oath to defend the US.
The right to vote and the right to represent the Nation are both privileges reserved for patriots, separate, but not equal.
“You are correct when you say that Raphael’s transparency “is not good enough for the birthersâ€..nor should it be for you.”
It isn’t. But then again, I don’t trust any politician.
Wincing indeed.
Courts will go with originalist interpretation of NBC when they go originalist on the ‘general welfare’ and ‘interstate commerce’ clauses, and then they’ll go originalist on ‘Congress shall make no law’ and ‘shall not be infringed’. How soon will that happen?
Sometimes you have to fight the battles you have, not the ones you wish you had.
And you just sound like a jackass, since we’re throwing around insults. They didn’t need Ted Cruz to shove the Kenyan down our throats and ignore the Constituion. They didn’t need Cruz to rule with executive orders that are unconstitutional. So the idea that this is some kind of crack that Cruz is causing, is plain BS.
But don’t interrupt your dream...
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