Texas Senator Ted Cruz has announced his campaign to become our next president:
“I believe in the power of millions of courageous conservatives rising up to reignite the promise of America, and that is why today I am announcing I am running for president of the United States.”
He appears to be the first official major party candidate.
Don't you have to be born in
Don’t you have to be born in the United States to be elected President?
( not that I think he would be elected)
Wasn’t Cruz born in Canada?
Speculation about Cruz's legal status as a natural-born citizen
Since Cruz was born in Canada, commentators for the Austin American-Statesman[156] and the Los Angeles Times,[157] have speculated about Cruz’s legal status as a natural-born citizen. Because he was a U.S. citizen at birth (his mother was a U.S. citizen who lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years as required by the Nationality Act of 1940), most commentators believe Cruz is eligible to serve as President of the United States. ~Wikipedia
Cruz
Isn’t it a little curious that the GOP has no problem with Cruz being born in Canada of an American citizen, while they continue to claim Obama’s ineligibility, even though he was born in America.
Even if he was born in Kenya, as they claim, he would be no different than Cruz.
What is most disturbing is the rash of accusations they have made about Obama that members of their own party are guilty of, e.g. Romney and Dole’s health care plans. When will the Republicans finally admit that the main problem they have with Obama seems to be the color of his skin and nothing more.
Bob Fagelson
Are They Just Cynical?
Equally interesting are the Democrats who vociferously defend the health care plans of Romney/Dole, because Obama presented them.
Do you think it is the color of his skin, or that he is a Democrat? I get the sense that most of the GOP is against him and any Democrat because politicians have generally tossed cooperation, negotiation, and the common good from their play books.
I think the GOP uses racist code and fear mongering as tool against Obama, but would switch on a dime if the person in office changed. If Bernie was elected, they would be poking his age. Hillary, she’s a woman. And if the GOP wanted to elect someone who wasn’t a white male, they’d fall in line and behave.
It seems like Rupert Murdoch and FOX thrive on this stuff. They make a fair amount of money off of innuendo. I don’t see the point. It just seems to make some angry and confused people more angry and confused.
There are many very legitimate criticisms of the president that could be invoked, but the current GOP chooses to be weird.
It will be interesting to see
It will be interesting to see if the usual fear mongers like Donald Trump (to name just one) will stage an all out campaign to determine if Cruz’s birth certificate/ citizen status is up to par. While I think that the Republican party is, without a doubt, a racist party -I do agree with Chris’s statement that they would find fault -other than political differences- with any Democratic or Independent candidate. The thought of someone like Cruz being the next president makes me shudder. Any rights that women, people of color or the poor have would be stripped away.
I doubt any of you who have
I doubt any of you who have commented on the what it means to be a “natural born citizen” are familiar with the book “Where’s the Birth Certificate” by Jerome R. Corsi, PH.D. In this book, Corsi clearly lays out the intended meaning of America’s Founding Fathers for the term “Natural Born” citizen. “In an effort to ensure that the nation’s CEO and commander in chief possess undivided loyalty to the United States, they wanted this loyalty to be established at birth so that no circumstances regarding that birth could indicate loyalty to a foreign country”.
The long and short of this boils down to the need for both parents to be citizens of the US in order for their child to be considered a natural born citizen. Place of birth not as important. In Obama’s case, his father was a Kenyan citizen and at the time in 1961 Kenya was part of the British Empire, making Obama senior a British citizen. The same is true with Ted Cruz father being a Cuban. In my opinion Cruz is not a natural born citizen and neither is Obama. In the case of Obama, it is clear the Founders were justified in their concerns. Because of Obama’s split loyalties (Kenyan/Muslim) he feels the need to transform the United States of America based on the Dreams of his Father. How’s that working out us true blue, natural born American citizens.?
Interesting Issue
I had not realized the complexity of “natural born citizen.” I think the view expressed by AlanF is interesting, but I do not agree with AlanF that it conclusively resolves the issue.
Here is a link to an article, which gives a thorough discussion of this question:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural-born-citizen_clause
I have never thought nor seen
I have never thought nor seen evidence of Obama’s “split loyalties” of Kenyan/ Muslim. He may have pride in his Kenyan bloodline but isn’t that true of most of us who come from an ethnically mixed heritage? When has he pushed his “Muslim” loyalties into his governing of this country? Cruz, on the other hand, has made it clear that his conservative Christian beliefs will play a major factor in his decision making in the small chance that he should make it past the nomination process.
Here's a short list of the
Here’s a short list of the things Obama has been involved with that may or may not qualify as split loyalties, but it sure does look like he has little respect for our laws and our Constitution. Don’t be fooled by the use of the word joke, because this is not really something to joke about.
http://www.youngcons.com/absolutely-greatest-obama-joke-time/
This is what you're offering
This is what you’re offering as proof of Obama’s ‘split loyalties’? I’m inclined to not put much stock in something that comes from a site called “YOUNG CONSER VATIVES”. I’m assuming the “65 million people who get free stuff from taxpayers” must mean all the huge corporations and banks that are given tax breaks and funding for causing financial ruin for middle class citizens with their mortgage schemes and misappropriation of money?
Are those the ‘free loaders’ you mean?
I don’t think anyone is saying that Obama is not without his faults nor that every decision he’s made has been a wise one. But, I’ll take him over a right wing, religious zealot conservative any day of the week. We’re talking about the party that has implemented possibly illegal and certainly immoral road blocks to prevent people from using their right to vote; the party that thinks that angry white men should decide what decisions a woman can make regarding her own body; the party that thinks there is no such thing as too many guns and that any attempts to institute some laws about the purchase of military style weapons is taking away a person’s rights.
No thanks.
That's the list?
There is nothing on that list about “split-loyalty” between the United States and Kenya. Not one thing!
And 90% of the valid critiques on that list are about Obama continuing to pursue anti civil liberties policies which were begun by Republicans. So it looks like the worst the reactionaries can claim about the president is: “We can’t stand that bastard… he is too much like us!”
The “short list” does not logically support replacing the current administration with a Republican administration. If we are trying to find our way out of the cauldron, the way out is not to jump into the fire.
Call me a cynic, but I'm
Call me a cynic, but I’m willing to bet that the Tea Party all but dries up by the end of 2017
Bob Fagelson
Tea Party
I agree. I thought they wouldn’t be as influential as they are since they’ve been around awhile and the smart people realize what they are all about. I understand that the rules are pretty well stacked against a third party but if they think they are so wonderful and have what the American people want, have the courage and start a third party and run on their own platform Let the voters decide who really helps them the most. It won’t take long to expose them for who they really are.
Always Room at the Harbor
You’d only be cynical if you believed the Tea Party was ever viable in the first place, despite how many seats they currently occupy in officialdom.
Regarding your prognostication, I’m not clear who the Tea partiers are in the first place. Are they those tri-cornered-hat wearing malcontents, furtively armed, semi-informed, the ragged gaggles, who seem to thrive in tabloid bandwagons? Or are ‘they’ the sketch pad of the puppet masters, the truly cynical string pullers and Eyes Wide Shutterers. Is the party nothing more than the perpetually manipulated and dangling masses, whatever their name at the moment happens to be?
tea time
Maybe this goes back to Howard Dean’s campaign for president. Perhaps political marketers noticed what Trippi was doing on the left, and it was borrowed and adapted by the right. Dean was tapping a genuine nerve; rich right-wingers financed an engineered nerve.
A side note for spinoza, as I know it will conjure deep thoughts: When Lise and I worked at the Computer Museum in Boston, we could see the tourists outside paying to board a tea party ship, to listen to summer interns dressed in try-cornered hats, and throw artificial boxes of tea overboard into the harbor. The tea boxes were then reeled in and put back on the boat for the next paying “angry” mob. It was repeated as long as the weather was nice.
That Fauxsy Style
A friend in Austin informed me of the existence of an animatronic LBJ, part of an exhibit at the presidential library. He also said to me, ominously, someday we’ll all be wiped out by aliens, or a virus…and that the LBJ simulacrum will still be performing, indefinitely, to a peopleless audience.
https://youtu.be/xxq9S3L00pU
Seems like the only thing that’s bottomless in America is our capacity for kitsch.
Teach the children well..
When I was raising my family in Boston, public schools would frequently bring their classes to visit the Tea Party ship so that they, too could experience a little piece of “American” history. My kids were quite bored by the whole thing as I recall.
the god rap
A republican has quite a good chance in 2016. Many Americans still vote based on the candidate being a god-fearing christain, no matter their background, good or bad. Minimally, most require a believer. Nonbelievers need not apply.
Cruz is young enough, so as the hispanic population grows, so will his chances. And, he’s already got the god rap down good
To KAlden
You are certainly entitled to your misguided opinions regarding the nature of conservatives and the Republican party. For example, the mortgage fiasco you alluded to was born out of the democrat policies going back to the Clinton regime which demanded that banks lower the requirements for buying a house so that lower income folks could get in on home ownership. No longer were you required to put up 20%. The result was a rapid rise in the demand for home ownership, which drove the prices of homes beyond their actual value which in turn put folks into mortgage payments they couldn’t afford. The banks were saddle with the fallout from massive defaults.
Then you blame republicans for putting up barriers to voting. I presume you’re referring to the need to obtain a picture ID in order to vote. Obviously there is rampant voter fraud in various parts of this country and it usually seems to favor Democrats. I see nothing wrong requiring a picture ID to vote. If a person can walk, talk and read, he should have no problem with obtaining the appropriate ID. It’s not as though they have to prove to anyone that they’re capable of making an informed vote.
I could go on and on but I won’t. I can see we would never come to a consensus as to what is really happening in this country. It’s just a shame that so many Americans are so clueless. Happy voting to all.
Really?
“Obviously there is rampant voter fraud in various parts of this country and it usually seems to favor Democrats.”
You must have different definitions for “obviously”, “rampant”, and “voter fraud” than the everyone else who isn’t a shill for the Republican Party.
I eagerly await some FauxNews links to “prove” your point.
To AlanF
So, is it your belief that only those who can “walk, talk and read” have the right to vote?
Hmmm....so if we are going to
Hmmm….so if we are going to follow along with your incredibly misplaced logic any United States citizens who are physically disabled and unable to walk; anyone who is unable to speak or anyone who is blind – never mind if someone is unfortunate enough to have all of those challenges going on – all those people- citizens who love their country; who pay their taxes; who value casting their vote….all those people should be denied the right to vote? Wow….you’re quite the example of common sense gone bad.
And, the many investigations into the alleged voter fraud found the results to be less than 1% of all voters attempted to commit fraud. If that’s your definition of “rampant” you need a new dictionary, sir.
Out
The power ran out.
And another one gone, another one gone…
Across the aisle
But the tenacity of Sanders is nothing less than remarkable.
Even if he wins the nod to nom, though, I’m uncertain he’d beat Trump in this reality show crazed nation…