Pic Of The Moment: Birther Presidential Eligibility Quiz

[EarlG]

Cruz will renounce Canadian citizenship

Follow @demunderground

[jberryhill]

1. "American" is not a "citizenship"

It would be clearer if Obama's citizenship were indicated as "US", since Canadians are also "Americans".

[DetlefK]

5. There is only one real America. Ask "Team America: World Police".

[jberryhill]

9. Nonetheless, the graphic is confusing

Since the foofaraw is about Canadian citizenship, the word "American" doesn't draw out the contrast as well in this context.

[tosh]

10. You're right.

It should be "Amurricun".

[npk]

21. How about the "Big A" n.t

[hootinholler]

24. And one would think EarlG would know that

I came in to make the same point.

[AAO]

36. Nah, we call Canadians duh Canucks.

[Lucretius]

41. Citizens of the United States of America

are Americans, Canadians and Brazilians are citizens of countries that are located in the Americas.

[jberryhill]

42. Well there you are!

You know what's not located in the Americas?

Hawaii!

[onehandle]

46. Canadians don't call themselves 'Americans.'

Technically, yes American is not a citizenship, but the moniker of 'American' is so attached to being a United States Citizen, that it didn't even cross my mind until you brought it up.

I'm with EarlG on this.

[chuckstevens]

2. The Canadian Government Releases Official Statement on Ted Cruz

No, Please, Don't!

[sinkingfeeling]

3. Don't forget the Communist connection to Ted Cruz's father!

[Ganja Ninja]

7. Obviously he's been indoctrinated with Cuban Revolutionary and Stalinist authoritarian doctrine ...

from the time he was a fetus. A Manchurian Candidate if ever there was one.

[rocktivity]

4. In the interest of fairness and balance

maybe Obama should renounce his Hawaiian citizenship, too.


rocktivity

[valerief]

6. Bwahahaha!

[KansDem]

8. Ted Cruz: "Let me in then build The Wall!"

Ted Cruz on the issue of immigration:

•No path to citizenship for 1.65 million illegals in Texas. (Oct 2012)
•Give police more power to ask about immigration status. (Jun 2012)
•Boots on the ground, plus a wall. (Apr 2012)
•Triple the size of the Border Patrol. (Mar 2012)
•Strengthen border security and increase enforcement. (Jul 2011)

http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Ted_Cruz.htm

[freshwest]

15. We'll just have to go back to this:

[tanyev]

32. We're gonna need a really tall wall.

[freshwest]

37. Actually, I love Canadian geese. This particular turkey, not so much!

BTW, no slur intended against turkeys either. Can't think of another metaphor.

Maybe we should have a good at invading them again. Then we'll all be one big happy family!

[Iliyah]

11. The Presidential eligibility of gopers

running is being totally CRAZY. Talk about the further downfall of the USA but at least NSA will firmly be intact and that includes potential presidential candidate Rand Paul as well.

[madville]

12. Don't see how this relates to Birthers

The whole birther argument centers around Obama hypothetically being born in Kenya to an 18 year old mother. At that point in time under the law if she was 19 and he was born in a foreign country he's considered a US citizen from birth, since she was 18 at that time their theory was he wasn't a citizen from birth and ineligible for POTUS.

At the time of Cruz's birth he was automatically a US citizen, no debate about that.

Just saying the two scenarios are apples and oranges in birther world.

[progressoid]

17. I haven't heard that convolution.

18 yr olds giving birth was different than a 19 yr old?

[Iliyah]

20. Pres O's mom could have been 21 yrs. old

and that would not change the birther's hatred.

[jberryhill]

23. 8 USC 1401

There has always been an age/residency requirement to cut off the problem of successive generations of US citizens being born abroad with no real connection to the US.

Figure.

A is a US citizen. A goes to France, has child B there - child B is US citizen. Child B grows up in France, becomes adult, has child C. Child C does the same and so on. Without some sort of residency condition on the parent, you get successive generations of people down the line from A who are US citizens.

The current version is:

(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:

Where it says "at least two", it used to be "at least five".

In other words, the current "difference it makes" is whether the parent is 15 or 16.

[Coyotl]

13. Canadian Ted Cruz Shocked — Shocked! — To Learn He Is Canadian

Ivy-league graduate and Harvard Law Review editor Ted Cruz is a startling example of how a Grade A Dumbass can become a U.S. Senator. From Texas, but it still counts.

Apparently, despite attending Princeton for undergrad and Harvard for law school, this guy had no idea that being born in Canada makes one a Canadian citizen, even though he himself was that guy who was born in Canada and was therefore a Canadian citizen. ........

http://wonkette.com/526155/canadian-ted-cruz-shocked-shocked-to-learn-he-is-canadian

[Jenoch]

14. Here's an interesting fact,

President Obama held citizenship in Kenya until he was 23 years old.

[Iliyah]

16. British Nationality Act 1949 (part 11, Section 5)

If birther's even read it they for sure will adjust it to their own interpretations. Cruz was born outside of the USA to an USA citizen mother. Pres O's mother gave birth to him in Hawaii which is a state in the USA. If you read the above "British law" Pres O at birth was considered a Kenyan citizen because his father was a citizen of Kenya, nothing more. Since Kenya won their independent that law become moot.

1948 and commenced January 1, 1949 . . . .

[Jenoch]

18. Kenyan law made President Obama a Kenyan citizen

until age 21 with a 2 year grace period, unless the citizen renounces their Kenyen citizenship before then.

[jberryhill]

22. Be that as it may, the US runs on US law

People get really confused about the simple idea that each nation gets to define - on its own - who are and who are not citizens.

It does not matter what the law of some other country says. What matters, for US citizenship, is what US law says.

If I was running Iran, I would amuse myself by passing a law that makes all candidates for US president to be Iranian citizens, just to piss off the birfers.

[Jenoch]

25. You are correct.

In fact, in the U.S., there is no such thing as dual-citizenship. Either someone is a U.S. citizen or they are not, it does not matter what some other country chooses as citizens.

The whole birther thing, whether it's a reference to President Obama or Senator Cruz, is just stupid.

[Jenoch]

19. Kenyan law made President Obama a Kenyan citizen

until age 21 with a 2 year grace period, unless the citizen renounces their Kenyen citizenship before then.

[Jack Rabbit]

26. May I throw some confusion into the issue?

That's one of my favorite pastimes.

When the President was born (4 August 1961) there was no such thing as a citizen of Kenya. Although Kenya was in the process of becoming independent from 1959, the Republic of Kenya did not become officially independent of the British Empire until 12 December 1963. Obviously, I am not familiar with the British Nationality Act, so that's what my questions concern.

Wouldn't a child born to an American mother and a Kenyan father in 1961 be both an American citizen and a British subject? The question then becomes one of whether Kenyans, such as Obama's father, retained any rights as British subjects after independence, in which case the child who would grow up to be president may have held triple citizenship.

Obama's parents separated when he was a month old and his father never played a significant role in his life. The boy Obama no doubt considered himself an American with only a vague notion any legal status he had anywhere else.

We have to be somewhat disappointed that Orly Taitz didn't bring any of this up in her silly circus of lawsuits aimed at making Obama retroactively ineligible to be president. A little more absurdity to the issue wouldn't have made her actions any less of a waste of a federal judge's time than they were, but late night comedians would have had even more fun than they did with these possibilities.

[tofuandbeer]

27. :D The lady in the right corner's comment made me laugh!!! :D

[Spitfire of ATJ]

44. Me too, because there would be absolutely ZERO question in her mind.

[0rganism]

28. thought i heard he had TRIPLE Citizenship

because his father was Cuban, he had Cuban citizenship by their constitution or something like that.

Did he already renounce that one?

[SunSeeker]

31. LOL! This story just keeps getting better.

[Filibuster Harry]

29. Donald Trump, and the birthers -- need to be consistent here-- Ted Cruz cannot

run for president . Make sure you see his grades too!!!

[SunSeeker]

30. K & R

[Jim Lane]

33. Error in your OP, EarlG

The man's name isn't "Ted" Cruz. It's "Rafael" Cruz. Says so right on the birth certificate.

[ErikJ]

34. Canada is white, and Kenya is a black country.

So Cruz is eligible in their minds.

[tclambert]

35. So . . . baseball players in the National League are ineligible.

Only American Leaguers allowed.

[underpants]

38. Cruz's father, now the darling of the right, fought FOR the Castro revolution n/t

[Vic Vinegar]

39. well lets just remember

The Clintons started the "Obama is Kenyan" thing through their own campaign and the Larouche Movement. In FACT, Obama is a dual citizen of England because his father was born in Kenya; however, who really cares because in the last election Mitt Romney's father was born in Mexico. and his crazy cult believes that Mormons are not Americans but members of a New Zion; for the most part.

Anywho I think there should be a clause that says your wife can't work for Goldman Sachs if you want to be president because that is so much worse than being a citizen of another country.

[Iliyah]

40. And that would be fact - Vic Vinegar

about the beginning of birthers.

Sane to say that a few founders who wrote and signed the USA Constitution, believed in extra-terrestrials - LOL

And Mormons - Planet Kalob

[Deep13]

43. Well, Art. II says one must be a "native born" American...

...this should not be confused with the 14th Am.'s definition of citizenship ("All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to their jurisdiction, are citizens of the United States ....&quot . By coincidence, anyone born in America is both "native born" and a citizen.

Barack Obama was born in the State of Hawaii. He's both native born for Art. II purposes and a citizen for 14th Am. purposes. End of discussion.

Cruz was born in Canada. Under Federal law, his American citizen mother makes him a citizen. So, in effect, he was instantly naturalized by operation of law by being born to an American citizen. So, is he a "native born American?" I don't really know. The simple truth is that there is no working definition of the term. It seems clear that someone who is born of foreign parents in a foreign country is not a "native born American." What about one American parent in a foreign country? I just don't know.

[UCmeNdc]

45. Ted Cruz still has not shown the proper paperwork to say he is a citizen of the US.

Where is his state department document?

[Ganja Ninja]

47. Actually Ted may be a citizen of Canada and Cuba

And since he's only renouncing his Canadian citizenship and he hasn't produced a birth certificate or any other document proving he's an American citizen then that only leaves one choice. He's a Cuban refugee.