Discussion: Alan Grayson Is A Ted Cruz Birther

[cabchi]

Goldwater was born in the ArizonaTerritory, before it was admitted to the Union.

[george_c]

SarenArterius is close: Congress passed a law, 8 USC 1401, defining " citizen at birth". It sweeps in numerous categories of people, including this one:

The following shall be nationals and citizens of the United States at birth:

(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

That would appear to cover Cruz. As far as I know, however, nobody has ever challenged the constitutionality of whether a person who qualifies to be a “citizen at birth” is a “natural born citizen” as set forth in the Constitution. Because Obama was born in Hawaii, he was a natural born citizen, period.

[thunderclapnewman]

But that was also US territory.

[susan_yardley]

Orly is drilling teeth to find the real birth certificate.

[inversion]

Trump has already used that line.

The issue that I have with this suit is that when it’s over, the case will get tossed into the ‘both sides do it’ pile.

[pluckyinky]

I applaud the trolling effort, but if one of your parents is American, you are a natural-born American citizen. It doesn’t matter where you were born. That’s the part birthers and their made-up conspiracies never seemed to understand. President Obama could’ve been born on Mars, but since Ann Dunham was American, so is he.

And I solely blame the MSM for that. I rarely heard people like Chuck Todd and his ilk bothering to explain that even if the president was most certainly born in Kenya, it doesn’t make a damn bit of difference because he was still born to an American mother. So few reporters ever took the time to point out the utter absurdity of questioning the president’s legitimacy by, I dunno, pointing out just how painfully stupid it is to think a person is disqualified from the presidency because their Texan mother had a fierce craving for tacos the day they decided to come into the world.

[cabchi]

Absolutely true. I’m not arguing that he wasn’t Constitutionally qualified to be president.

[radicalcentrist]

The Canal Zone was US territory but not part of the US (subtle distinction). I don’t doubt McCain was eligible as Cruz is, but there are legitimate legal scholars (not Orly Taitz) who had some questions because there was special legislation passed regarding those born in the Canal Zone, but it was in effect only after McCain’s birth. Nevertheless, I have no doubt that had McCain won the election, he would have been President, as would Cruz (god help us in the latter case).

[stradivarius50t3]

This is beneath Grayson. I know people say you have to fight fire with fire, and that is true to a degree in range fires. I understand (and I share) Grayson’s frustration, but this sort of behavior only validates the nonsense.

There is plenty of nonsense coming from the quondam GOP. Democrats don’t need to add to it, except to mock it as what it is.

[stradivarius50t3]

Actually I believe the Governator is a naturalized citizen of the United States.

[daveyjones64]

He is, and completely ineligible to run for President. He was born and raised in Austria, and naturalized much later in life when he decided to pursue an acting career.

[serendipitoussomnambulist]

Ted Cruz was a Canadian citizen until a few months ago.

[canadianhere]

Now that is some nice trolling right there.

[edhedh]

well, that disqualifies you from any further comments. naturalized and natural born are 2 very different things.

[1gg]

The problem was really never about citizenship, it was about color.

[stradivarius50t3]

So are being an Austrian and being an American.

True that. Remember when Schwarzenegger became governor of California, there were all sorts of people on the right bleating out that he should run for President… despite the fact that he is Austrian.

Emphasis added.

[darrtown]

It was late December of 2013 that Ted renounced his existing Canadian citizenship.

…
“Yet some people in so-called “strict constitutionalist” circles still reject that definition of “natural born” citizen. Cruz’s campaign dismissed that kind of “birther” chatter earlier this year, telling TPM
that “Senator Cruz has not spent a single moment on this earth where he
was not an America citizen, indeed a natural born American citizen
because his mother was and is an American.””
…
Ted was 4 yrs old when he moved to the USA with his folks… Soooo technically that Cruz campaign comment could be challenged were I to go full blown birther. Ted has a way more tenuous hold on American citizenship than Obama does considering Obama was actually born inside the good ol’ US of A and Teddy wasn’t (by his own admission).

[darrtown]

Ol’ Ted was a dual citizen of the US and Canada until late December of 2013. He has said he did not realize it until he thought about running for President (ya sure Ted). He probably could also claim CUBAN citizenship if he had a mind to thru his Cuban father.

[mordant_k]

if one of your parents is American, you are a natural-born American citizen

There are additional requirements, which have changed over time. At the time Cruz was (supposedly) born, his mother would have to have been resident in the U.S. for ten years, five after the age of 14. Where is the proof of this residency?

[benthere]

Cruz was never really “born.” A wretched bum walked down the street and spat some vile tobacco snoose onto a decaying stump and Cruz materialized.