Ted Cruz was born in Calgary, Canada.

[phantom power]

Ted Cruz was born in Calgary, Canada. His birth certificate doesn't even pretend to be issued from an American city, like Honolulu. But, yet, Fox News says that Senator Cruz is eligible to run for president because his mother was a U.S. citizen from Delaware. Well, Barack Obama's mother was a U.S. citizen from Kansas. The two men both had foreign-born fathers and U.S. citizen mothers. Yet, we've had years of discussion of Obama's eligibility to be president, including plenty of discussion on Fox News. If Obama would have been eligible to be president even if he had been born in Kenya, then what was the point of all that yammering?

Oh, right, Kenyans are black and Cubans are super-patriots even when they are born on Canada.

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2013/5/18/13403/7506

[Buns_of_Fire]

1. I imagine, somewhere along the way, there'll be a discussion vis-a-vis

"natural-born" vs. "native-born".

Ted the Cruzer is "natural-born".

I was born in Virginia, of American parents. I'm "native-born".

It'll be wrapped and twisted six ways from Sunday. But it won't matter much. Cruz has about as much chance of being elected President as I have.

[DhhD]

10. Exactly. Can you imagine Cruz standing up giving a campaign speech in which he says that he

is for going back to big business control and higher insurance premiums, the removal of coverage if you have a pre-existing condition, and changing Medicare to a voucher shopping coupon (Paul Ryan's Plan); in other words, appeal and remove the ACA.

He already made this claim when he ran for the US Senate in Texas.

http://www.tedcruz.org/bio/

and http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/13/sen-ted-cruz-touts-principle-pushing-anti-obamacar/?page=all

[DhhD]

26. In the bio, there is no mention of Canada. I believe that Cruz lied/mislead Texans as he made

statements during the debates to the same effect.

Reminds me of the Serpent and Eve.

God said that Satan would crawl on his belly.

Sidewinder Cruz.

[madville]

2. The point they tried to make with President Obama

Is that if he was born in Kenya he would not be eligible because his mother was a minor at the time of his birth. That's the way I remember it anyway.

[StevieM]

15. It took me a long time to figure the birth certificate accusation out, but I finally did (I think).

I didn't really understand, at first, why it even mattered, because even if he was born elsewhere, his mother was a citizen, which means he should have been a citizen. Here is how it was explained to me (maybe somebody else can clarify if I am getting something wrong--the whole story is convoluted and preposterous).

Obama was supposedly born in another country, which means he wasn't born on U.S. soil. His father was not a U.S. citizen and his mother was under 21. (I don't think she was a minor at the time of his birth--maybe at the time of his conception). At that point in time, citizenship was not transmitted if you were under a certain age. The law was subsequently changed to allow for transmission of citizenship under such circumstances. But that still means that Barack Obama, born in 1961, is not a natural born citizen.

As you can tell....this isn't even a wild accusation that jumps out at you. You really have to work for it. You really have to think hard to come up with this one.

[IrishAyes]

19. Don't forget, teabaggers don't consider Hawaii part of the United States

Alaska is ok, since it's so heavily white like the baggers.

Hawaii, on the other hand, is full of darker skinned people. I remember hearing many years ago about an incident in the South when a particular company tried to brand itself by hiring Hawaiian-born ladies who wore leis, etc. No grass skirts, though... remember where we're talking about. Anyway, the experiment failed and the new employees were sent back home because, you guessed it - the crackers couldn't tell the difference between them and the focus of their most hated race.

[demwing]

31. Europeans and Canadians never got it wrong

But Americans often did. I worked retail in Hawaii in the 1980s. I'm as white as rice. Mainland Americans commonly asked us if we took "American dollars" at our store. They had NO CLUE that they were still in their country of birth.

It was ... embarrassing.

[Nay]

33. I had a coworker who thought New Mexico was....a central American nation. She wanted

to know why I was vacationing in a place that was so dangerous.

[IrishAyes]

42. We can trade horror stories

I've heard people who swear NM is legally still part of Mexico and that Washington DC is located in the state of Washington. They might not even know what part of the US the state of Washington is located in, but that makes no difference. Showing them a map is a waste of time. They give you a blank stare and repeat what they said just like a robot.

It goes hand in hand with their favorite excuse: "That's what we've always done." Tell them "Then you've always been wrong, too!" and they're likely to chase you down the street or slash your tires or burn your house with or w/o you inside. All in the name of patriotism and 'true' religion, of course.

[vankuria]

47. Teabaggers may think

Canada is part of the U.S.! Wouldn't surprise me in the least.

[IrishAyes]

34. Why does that not surprise me?????

You should take a fast peek at the tiny MidWest town where I retired for financial reasons (dirt cheap). One guy started bragging to me that his girlfriend almost made it through the 11th grade. The old fella generally considered a genius because he'd read a few books in his day was about as ignorant as they come. When they'd start preaching at me, I wouldn't argue but would simply start asking them easy questions which I knew they couldn't answer - such as what's the difference between micro economics and macro economics - until they'd shut up and leave me alone.

There are some nice people here, even a few basically intelligent ones. But 99% sound like rabid teabaggers and there have been days when I almost begged God to put me out of my misery. But after 7 years I've made a few actual friends and know several more congenial acquaintances, so I'm staying. They're gonna love it when a family (from elsewhere) of Catholic Workers inherit this place!

Just one example I don't think I've repeated lately, at least. The matriarch of one quite wealthy family told me how they set their daughter up in a posh Chicago lakeside apartment when she first went off to college, but baby girl 'wisely' came running home after a few weeks because all those people in Chicago scared the tar out of her. And she's never left home again!

Imagine; the world handed to that kid on a platter, limitless horizon ahead, and she runs home to hide under the covers. That's what mama bragged about.

[demwing]

35. I know that if I ever go looking

for my heart's desire, I'll never go any further than my own back yard. For if it isn't there, I never really lost it...



There's no place like home!

[Jim Lane]

37. It's a bit different from what you've said.

At the time of Obama's birth, and at the time of Cruz's birth, the law concerning a child born abroad to one citizen parent and one noncitizen parent was that the citizen parent transmitted citizenship to the kid automatically, provided certain conditions were met. One condition was that the citizen parent had to have lived in the United States for at least five years after having attained the age of fourteen.

As a matter of math, no citizen parent under the age of nineteen could meet this condition. Obama's mother was eighteen when he was born. Therefore, if he had been born in Kenya, he wouldn't have been a citizen.

It doesn't directly relate to the age of the citizen parent. Even a much older citizen parent wouldn't have transmitted citizenship if he or she had left the United States early in life and spent so much time abroad that he or she didn't meet the requirement of living here for five years after turning fourteen.

Cruz's mother, however, was no teenager, and easily met the five-year requirement. Therefore, Cruz was a citizen at birth and is eligible to be President.

Obama is eligible for a different reason -- a child born in the U.S. is a citizen unless entitled to diplomatic immunity at birth. The parents' citizenship is immaterial.

As for children born abroad, the five-year requirement has since been abolished. That doesn't moot the whole Kenya sideshow, though. The phrase "natural born citizen" isn't defined in the Constitution, so I think the obvious meaning is that the kid was a citizen at birth, without needing subsequent legislation or a naturalization proceeding. Therefore, a prospective President's eligibility must be assessed in light of the law in effect at the time of his or her birth.

[Ms. Toad]

49. Thanks for the refresher.

I sorted this out years ago, and had forgotten the details. Good summary.

[malaise]

3. Add to that the fact that Obama was born in an American state

Racist ReTHUG pigs and their hacks

[IrishAyes]

20. See my reply above.

[asjr]

4. I wonder if Canada would take him back.

[pinboy3niner]

5. Unfortunately, Canada's too smart for that

[PDJane]

6. Excuse me, but why would you wish this guy on us? We don't want him either.

We have a guy who got into power now by hiding a rather racist past. (Oddly enough, he's from Alberta too.) Why do we want any more lunatics? If you have an Island somewhere you want to have these guys live in isolation, fine........

[Buns_of_Fire]

7. But don't you guys owe us one for Justin Bieber? nt

[PDJane]

8. Two; justin beiber and celine dionne.

However, you owe us for Kylie Saunders and Miley Cyrus

[MattBaggins]

12. But you gave us Dan Akroyd

so you guys win



and Tommy Chong



I forgot you gave the entire world Nickelback... Sorry but you lose big time.

[PDJane]

18. We're heavy on comedians; we live next to you lot!

[IrishAyes]

24. If we run out of material, we just gaze at our navels.

PS:

Thanks for Akryod, btw. Love that man.

[PDJane]

27. You're welcome.

[rickyhall]

30. Dont forget

Bill Shatner & Jimmy Doohan!

[IrishAyes]

21. I could recommend a nice vacation spot in the Bermuda Triangle

But only if I got to be tour director to make sure their relocation was a memorable one.

[Rebl]

9. I'm

Sure they want no part of THAT.

[brucefan]

29. Ha ha

I doubt it.

[roamer65]

48. Most of Canada wouldn't, but I have my doubts on Alberta.

It is a bastion of right wing nuttery. To anyone that doubts me I'll drop one former premier's name:

Ralph Klein.

Excuse me while I go vomit.

[ZRT2209]

11. Carnival Cruz!

[IggleDoer]

13. How do we know that Cruz' mother was born in the US?

Why hasn't he released her birth certificate. She sure looks Canadian to me.

[chuckstevens]

17. Yeah

Canadians are Christan are they?

[IrishAyes]

22. You can always tell!

[Ilsa]

25. Here here!

Cruz better get ready for some serious document digging.

[Historic NY]

14. Eh!!

he ain't running for shit in Canada

[chuckstevens]

16. Fox NEWS?

I've said it before and I'll say it again: how can anyone call Fox "news"?

[HipChick]

23. He is white..

End of story...

[matt819]

28. The correct thing

The correct thing for an American to do if she gives birth outside the US is to get a Certificate of Birth Abroad from the nearest US Embassy or Consulate - easy peasy in Cruz's case because there's a US Consulate in Calgary.

I don't recall the procedure for confirming/certifying American citizenship if this step is skipped. I imagine there are forms to fill out, but that Report of Birth Abroad pretty much locks up the citizenship issue. If you'll recall, there was a brief hubub about McCain's birth in the Canal Zone. I believe that having this Report of Birth Abroad issued or if you're born at a USG facility located outside the US, a military base, for example, then it's the same thing as if you're born in the US. Until a Democrat with these credentials runs for president. Then it's an outrage.

Here's another question. Does Cruz have dual citizenship with Canada and, if so, is this permitted for someone elected to the US Congress?

[Blue Owl]

32. Canadian Cruz

[Jamaal510]

36. Politics.

It's fine for Cruz to run for president, according the GOP, as long as he has an "R" next to his name. And like him, Romney was never hassled about his birth certificate, even though his situation was similar to Obama's in that both of their fathers were foreigners.

[Jim Lane]

38. Cruz is eligible even though he was born in Canada.

It's not because he's white -- it's because of what the applicable law stated. See #37 for details.

Furthermore, as a practical matter, I think we want Cruz to be widely considered eligible. I'd love it if he ran in 2016 and (a) won the Republican nomination, or (b) pulled the eventual nominee far to the right, or (c) got his followers riled up so that they wouldn't vote for a "RINO" (anyone to the left of Cruz), or, best of all, (d) ran on a third-party ticket and split the right-wing vote.

[cali]

39. that's not the point.

the point is that Fux has happily engaged in birtherism with President Obama.

[Jim Lane]

40. It was the point of the OP.

The argument was made that Obama was being treated differently because he was black. In response, I pointed out that Obama's place of birth was essential to his eligibility while Cruz's place of birth is irrelevant to his eligibility. That difference doesn't arise from race.

I'll add that not all the RWers treat the two politicians differently. My recollection is that some of the Fox regulars scoffed at Obama birtherism. On the other side of the coin, some of the Freepers who love Cruz's politics nevertheless contend that he's ineligible. Their interpretation -- one with no colorable basis in the Constitution -- is that a would-be President must have been born in the United States to two parents who were both U.S. citizens at the time of the child's birth.

[IrishAyes]

41. None of what you said seems to apply to the VAST majority of teabaggers in general

And it's that vast majority who present the problem of coexistence. They don't give a whit about the law or anything else, only what they want and that's deeply affected by race. The RW was hot to qualify their dear fascist Austrian-born Ahnuld for president, and I don't think they give a tinker's damn whether they could get the US Constitution ammended for that or not. ANY white person over ANY non-white. You may be blissfully unaware of just how deep their hatred runs even though some will deny it in public. I'm all too familiar with their sociopathy.

[Jim Lane]

46. The OP implied that race is the ONLY basis for the distinction. That isn't true.

I explained the nonracial basis for treating the two men differently.

Obviously, you're correct that there's also a racial basis, and that many Obama birthers are motivated by racism. Nothing in my post denies that. I wrote only to deny the much more sweeping insinuation -- that every Obama birther is motivated by racism.

[IrishAyes]

50. Not many - More like such a vast majority ARE racist that statistically the others hardly count.

And I certainly wouldn't use that rare-as-hen's-teeth possible exception to lessen the seriousness of the general offense. There's probably an honest used car dealer somewhere too.
.................

[Bluenorthwest]

44. Obama's mother was a citizen, so his place of birth no more relevant than Cruz's or McCain's...

The location entirely moot.

[Jim Lane]

45. Your position is common on the left but is, IMO, legally indefensible.

The people who say this go look up the law about children born with one citizen parent and one noncitizen parent. They see that such a child is a citizen at birth, regardless of the place of birth. The law makes no distinction among Hawaii and Canada and Kenya.

The key is that, although that is the law today, it was not the law when Obama and Cruz were born. See #37 for details. If the clumsily forged Kenyan birth certificate that Orly Taitz presented to a court had in fact been genuine, and if the document attested to by Hawaiian authorities (including the Republican governor) had somehow been phony, then Obama would not be eligible. Cruz, however, is eligible, even though born in Canada.

[alcibiades_mystery]

43. Just as a side note, one is "natural born" if one parent is a US citizen, regardless of birthplace

I was born overseas to a US citizen mother and foreign national father. I was issued a "US citizen born abroad" birth certificate by the US embassy in that country immediately. Indeed, I am not eligible to be a citizen of the country I was born in, because neither of my parents are citizens of that country, and the country has a language-requirement for citizenship (I don't speak the language).

In any case, these laws changed in the early 60's, which is what the birthers yabber about; it didn't used to be the case that you were "natural born" if your mother(!!!) was a (minor) citizen and you were born abroad (with the exception of trips, military facilities, embassy staff, etc.). That rule changed in the early 60's, when "natural born" citizenship became automatic for anybody born abroad to a US citizen parent, provided applications were made in a timely manner.

I could run for President if I wanted to and be eligible, even though I wasn't born in the United States' borders.