Trump plays birther card against Cruz

[Underseer]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-Trump-jumped-shark-claim-Canadian-birth.html
http://mashable.com/2016/01/06/donald-trump-ted-cruz-citizenship/#yz257kD05uq9
https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...e69764-b3f8-11e5-9388-466021d971de_story.html

This just gets better and better.

Lots of Republican public figures played around with the birther card during and before Obama's presidency. They carefully encouraged their base to believe that Obama was a foreign Kenyan national ineligible for the office of president as a way of using the bigotry of Republican voters to their advantage. They very carefully encouraged belief in birtherism while simultaneously phrasing everything carefully so that they could deny belief in birtherism when asked by non-fascists.

Then in 2012, Trump came right out and said openly what other Republican politicians would only hint at. Republican politicians very carefully avoided criticizing Trump (or if they had to, criticized him only mildly) in order to avoid alienating their base.

The responsible thing of course would have been to say that birtherism is nutty and insult anyone espousing birtherism, but they couldn't do that for fear of backlash from Republican voters.

Now the chickens have come home to roost.

Now Ted Cruz is the establishment Republicans' best chance to unseat Trump and save their party from certain defeat in the general election, but now if they try to refute Trump's arguments, then they have to admit that their own implied arguments against Obama were completely without merit. They are stuck with a no-win decision. Either they refute Trump and admit that the birtherist arguments against Obama were without merit and risk alienating their own base, or they lose their last chance to unseat Trump and in the process make the whole party look even more extremist.

 

[Terrell]

At least he's consistent.

I wouldn't be so sure that he faces certain defeat. I think it's possible that he may perform better than polling indicates. I think more people like what he's saying than would be willing to openly say so, or even to a pollster.

 

[Bronzeage]

The funny thing here is the Birther's main contention was that President Obama was born in Kenya and the story of his Hawaiian birth was the product of a 4 decade long conspiracy, which was put into action to insure the baby Barack full US citizen privileges. They were really thinking ahead and did a very good job.

In the case of Cruz, there is no conspiracy. He admits to being born in Canada. The issue here is not where he was born, but whether he qualifies as a natural born citizen. This means he was born a citizen and had no need to be "naturalized", as his father was.

It has always been US law and policy that a person born 12 inches inside the border of the many States or US territories, is a citizen, without regard for the status of the parents. I was born in a place which is now the sovereign nation of Panama, but I am considered by all to be a natural born citizen.

How this applies to the child of a citizen born in a foreign country is a little vague. I suspect the Cruz candidacy will finally clarify the issue.

 

[RavenSky]

The funny thing here is the Birther's main contention was that President Obama was born in Kenya and the story of his Hawaiian birth was the product of a 4 decade long conspiracy, which was put into action to insure the baby Barack full US citizen privileges. They were really thinking ahead and did a very good job.

In the case of Cruz, there is no conspiracy. He admits to being born in Canada. The issue here is not where he was born, but whether he qualifies as a natural born citizen. This means he was born a citizen and had no need to be "naturalized", as his father was.

It has always been US law and policy that a person born 12 inches inside the border of the many States or US territories, is a citizen, without regard for the status of the parents. I was born in a place which is now the sovereign nation of Panama, but I am considered by all to be a natural born citizen.

How this applies to the child of a citizen born in a foreign country is a little vague. I suspect the Cruz candidacy will finally clarify the issue.

As much as I am enjoying Ted Cruz being poked with the birther nonsense, it really isn't that complicated. He is a U.S. Citizen at the time of his birth, even if he is born outside of the USA, if his mother was a U.S. citizen at the time of his birth (She was), and his birth date is after December 23, 1952 (it is) and his mother "had previously been physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for a continuous period of at least one year" (she did).

http://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-parents

Trump going "full birther" on Cruz has me wondering yet again if his purpose is really running for President or destroying the Republican party from the inside.

 

[Keith&Co.]

Trump going "full birther" on Cruz has me wondering yet again if his purpose is really running for President or destroying the Republican party from the inside.

Maybe if he wins, goes to his inauguration, they'll play the Mission Impossible theme and he'll remove his mask. "Ha ha!" he'll laugh, "It is I!"

Has anyone seen Trump and Bernie Sanders in the same room....ever?

 

[Derec]

At least he's consistent.

I wouldn't be so sure that he faces certain defeat. I think it's possible that he may perform better than polling indicates. I think more people like what he's saying than would be willing to openly say so, or even to a pollster.

A sort of reverse Bradley effect if you will.

 

[Terrell]

At least he's consistent.

I wouldn't be so sure that he faces certain defeat. I think it's possible that he may perform better than polling indicates. I think more people like what he's saying than would be willing to openly say so, or even to a pollster.

A sort of reverse Bradley effect if you will.

I'd forgotten about that term. Does make sense in a way though. Good point.

 

[Derec]

As much as I am enjoying Ted Cruz being poked with the birther nonsense, it really isn't that complicated. He is a U.S. Citizen at the time of his birth, even if he is born outside of the USA, if his mother was a U.S. citizen at the time of his birth (She was), and his birth date is after December 23, 1952 (it is) and his mother "had previously been physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for a continuous period of at least one year" (she did).

Which would make Obama a natural born citizen even if he was born in Kenya. All that placing-bogus-birth-announcement-in-Honolulu-paper scheming for nothing ...

Trump going "full birther" on Cruz has me wondering yet again if his purpose is really running for President or destroying the Republican party from the inside.

More likely
- being consistent and
- perceiving Cruz to be his biggest threat currently. He is ahead in Iowa for example.

Not necessarily in that order of course.

- - - Updated - - -

I was born in a place which is now the sovereign nation of Panama, but I am considered by all to be a natural born citizen.

I guess the mask is finally off, John McCain.

 

[Bronzeage]

I was born in a place which is now the sovereign nation of Panama, but I am considered by all to be a natural born citizen.

I guess the mask is finally off, John McCain.

Same hospital, different day.

 

[Arctish]

I thought the Coco Solo naval hospital wasn't built until 5 years after McCain was born. Or were you talking about the hospital in Colón?

 

[Bronzeage]

Same hospital, different day.

I thought the Coco Solo naval hospital wasn't built until 5 years after McCain was born. Or were you talking about the hospital in Colón?

Gorgas Hospital, which I believe is in Ancon.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

You "believe"? That's not good enough. Post your long form birth certificate.

 

[RavenSky]

The funny thing here is the Birther's main contention was that President Obama was born in Kenya and the story of his Hawaiian birth was the product of a 4 decade long conspiracy, which was put into action to insure the baby Barack full US citizen privileges. They were really thinking ahead and did a very good job.

In the case of Cruz, there is no conspiracy. He admits to being born in Canada. The issue here is not where he was born, but whether he qualifies as a natural born citizen. This means he was born a citizen and had no need to be "naturalized", as his father was.

It has always been US law and policy that a person born 12 inches inside the border of the many States or US territories, is a citizen, without regard for the status of the parents. I was born in a place which is now the sovereign nation of Panama, but I am considered by all to be a natural born citizen.

How this applies to the child of a citizen born in a foreign country is a little vague. I suspect the Cruz candidacy will finally clarify the issue.

As much as I am enjoying Ted Cruz being poked with the birther nonsense, it really isn't that complicated. He is a U.S. Citizen at the time of his birth, even if he is born outside of the USA, if his mother was a U.S. citizen at the time of his birth (She was), and his birth date is after December 23, 1952 (it is) and his mother "had previously been physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for a continuous period of at least one year" (she did).

http://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-parents

Trump going "full birther" on Cruz has me wondering yet again if his purpose is really running for President or destroying the Republican party from the inside.

Well... supposedly part of the issue is that Cruz's mother hasn't/can't produce HER birth certificate showing she was born in Delaware. Haven't verified this either way - don't care enough to look into it. Just figured I'd add this potential wrinkle to my above comments.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Rand Paul says he has no doubt that Cruz is fully qualified to become Prime Minister of Canada. Apparently conservatives can have a sense of humor after all.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Rand Paul says he has no doubt that Cruz is fully qualified to become Prime Minister of Canada. Apparently conservatives can have a sense of humor after all.

I was going to respond to this by saying that being the Canadian Prime Minister requires a minimum level of ability and competence, but then I remembered that Stephen Harper was our Prime Minister for ten years.

 

[Nice Squirrel]

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Form doesn't look long enough to me.

 

[braces_for_impact]

Look, let's be honest and call out the elephant in the room. The problem isn't Cruz's lack of being born in the U.S. It's his lack of lips. We can't have a president with no lips. What would the other world leaders say?

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Look, let's be honest and call out the elephant in the room. The problem isn't Cruz's lack of being born in the U.S. It's his lack of lips. We can't have a president with no lips. What would the other world leaders say?

You have, like, 12,000 nuclear weapons. They won't say shit about it.

 

[jab]

The funny thing here is the Birther's main contention was that President Obama was born in Kenya and the story of his Hawaiian birth was the product of a 4 decade long conspiracy, which was put into action to insure the baby Barack full US citizen privileges. They were really thinking ahead and did a very good job.

In the case of Cruz, there is no conspiracy. He admits to being born in Canada. The issue here is not where he was born, but whether he qualifies as a natural born citizen. This means he was born a citizen and had no need to be "naturalized", as his father was.

It has always been US law and policy that a person born 12 inches inside the border of the many States or US territories, is a citizen, without regard for the status of the parents. I was born in a place which is now the sovereign nation of Panama, but I am considered by all to be a natural born citizen.

How this applies to the child of a citizen born in a foreign country is a little vague. I suspect the Cruz candidacy will finally clarify the issue.

As much as I am enjoying Ted Cruz being poked with the birther nonsense, it really isn't that complicated. He is a U.S. Citizen at the time of his birth, even if he is born outside of the USA, if his mother was a U.S. citizen at the time of his birth (She was), and his birth date is after December 23, 1952 (it is) and his mother "had previously been physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for a continuous period of at least one year" (she did).

http://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-parents

Trump going "full birther" on Cruz has me wondering yet again if his purpose is really running for President or destroying the Republican party from the inside.

But, even if Obama had been born in Kenya, he would also, by the same logic, be a "natural-born" U.S. citizen--and the birthers can't have it both ways. If Obama's presidency is, in their eyes, legally illegitimate, then so would Cruz's be.