I have discussed in some detail the legal and constitutional issues surrounding Ted Cruz’s eligibility for the presidency that have been brought to the forefront by Donald Trump’s sustained focus on this issue, forcing Cruz to respond by suggesting that Trump may be being used by Democrats because they prefer to run against Trump than him.
As a political matter, I don’t think Republican voters care all that much about constitutional arcana. What could hurt Cruz is the attention that is being brought to the fact that he was not born in the US and that he also held Canadian citizenship until as late as 2014 when he renounced it. Only 46% of Iowa Republican caucus goers are aware that Cruz was born in Canada. That fact, and that he was a dual citizen until 2014, may hurt him more than anything else and may explain the beginnings of a drop in his poll numbers.
Many of the people on the rabid right wing think that to be a true Merkin you have to be born in the USA so that you don’t acquire irremovable foreign cooties while passing through the birth canal, especially in Canada which is seen by them as being pretty much Communist, what with its socialized medicine, welfare state, and its softer policy towards immigrants.
In return, Cruz seems to be planning to question Trump’s loyalty to the GOP, among other lines of attack, but that may backfire since the antagonism to the party establishment is so great that this will only add support to Trump’s claim that he is the true outsider.
Only an idiot would give a shit about birthism. Which means, yeah, half the country more or less, may care.
Trump also said “There aren’t many evangelicals from Cuba.” He’s running as a republican. Blatant racism is a surprisingly good strategy on that side.
I have to laugh at the almost comically bad attempts to discredit Trump from Cruz. Trump supporters do not care. They’re loyal to Trump, not the GOP. Americans on both sides hate both parties.
I wonder what the US rules for citizenship are when you get it by virtue of your parents and are born elsewhere. is there some time limit by which you apply for you to be considered American citizen from birth ? For e.g. if an child is born to Indian parents in America -- we do always have to take the American citizenship first , and only later can you apply for Indian citizenship for the child (And renounce your American citizenship). But you are not really an indian citizen till that time (as I understand it).
(Note I believe anyone who is a citizen should be able to hold any office -- this natural born stuff is silly in these times)
Hey, you’re welcome to have him 100%.
Canada doesn’t want him. We’re embarrassed to even be associated with him.
Cruz is planning what now? To question Trump’s loyalty?
A man who publicly explicitly and uniquely among the candidates threatened to run as an independent if he didn’t win the nomination? Oh sure, he’s since signed a “Pledge” not to do that, but how did that work? The chairman of the RNC went cap-in-hand to a huge building with Trump’s name all over it and got his signature on a piece of paper, allowing a triumphant press conference. The power dynamic was embarrassingly obvious.
For most politicians, questioning their loyalty to their party is like questioning a dog’s loyalty to its owner.
Questioning Trump’s loyalty to the GOP strikes me more like questioning a goldfish owner’s loyalty to their fish.
What would be funny here is if the line of inquiry about his mother pans out and that she was correctly registered to vote in Canada before Ted was born. Since that would mean Cruz did not have parents with U.S. citizenship (when he was born).
The question then would be who would get the people who’d be voting for him and the answers to that one are just as scary as Trump or Cruz winning.
Cruz is a Canadian CSIS agent sent to take over the US and force it to buy dirty Canadian oil and put clean American coal out of business.