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In reply to the discussion: Third tier law professor John Eastman had an op-ed in Newsweek [View all]fishwax
(29,156 posts)41. no -- my post was affirming as factual what you were speculating as counterfactual
Though I certainly could have been more clear about it.
Your post said:
Both Cruz and Kamala Harris meet that test so the rest of his argument is entirely superfluous unless he wants to argue that Harris is not a citizen at all.
My post said: his argument is, in fact, that Harris may not be a citizen at all.
____________________
This is significant because it makes his argument rather more sinister than simple hypocrisy or self contradiction. It serves instead, to provide the nutjobs fodder for the same the sort of endless racist investigations into her parents that the birther conspiracy did for Obama.
His argument here assumes (as you state, and as he argued more explicitly in the Cruz article) that to be a citizen at birth makes you a natural born citizen.
However, he also claims that to be a citizen at birth by virtue of being born in the United States, one must have a parent who is either a citizen or a permanent resident.
NOTE: He offers no evidence to support this claim--certainly not from case law--and it stands in contradiction to pretty much every expert's reading (and the plain English reading) of the Wong Kim Ark case.
He continues: Since we don't know whether her parents were permanent residents (as opposed to having visitor status or student visas), then we don't know for sure if she was a citizen at birth. (Or, even, if she ever became a citizen).
If one buys his stupid claim, then it gives cause to endlessly investigate and build conspiracy theories around the status of her parents.
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We need ambulance chasers, too. The real problem is Newsweek gives them a voice.
RainCaster
Aug 2020
#1
"Kamala Devi Harris was born on October 20, 1964, in Oakland, California.
struggle4progress
Aug 2020
#2
Illinois Department of Economics pager says he's a naturalized US citizen
struggle4progress
Aug 2020
#20
Newsweek's opinion editor Josh Hammer is a far right nutjob - this was entirely on purpose
muriel_volestrangler
Aug 2020
#28
The ranking of his law school is beside the point. Dershowitz taught at Harvard ...
StarfishSaver
Aug 2020
#15
well, that was a slightly different issue, and doesn't really contradict what he's saying here
fishwax
Aug 2020
#32
no -- my post was affirming as factual what you were speculating as counterfactual
fishwax
Aug 2020
#41
As a graduate of a "top 10" law school, I find your post ridiculously elitist.
Progressive Law
Aug 2020
#36
BTW, John Eastman is a graduate of the elite University of Chicago Law School.
Progressive Law
Aug 2020
#37