While I will allow that I am not a conlaw scholar, this strikes me as a non-issue.
After the disaster of Chester Arthur’s administration, I think it pays for us to maintain at least a little bit of scrutiny on this issue.
Comment by Ratoe — Thursday, February 28, 2024 @ 9:41 am
Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Thursday, February 28, 2024 @ 10:12 am
[...] I don’t think the writer of this article, Carl Hulse, could be more melodramatic (”The question has nagged at the parents of Americans born outside the continental United States for generations: Dare their children aspire to grow up and become president?” — really, Carl? That’s what’s been nagging them?). But then again, there’s not much “there” there, as noted by Dr. Steven Taylor, so I suppose he had to make it at least somewhat suspenseful: While I will allow that I am not a conlaw scholar, this strikes me as a non-issue. The child of US citizens is a citizen, regardless of where he or she was born. As such, someone like McCain was a citizen by virtue of birth, not via naturalization, and hence he is a “natural born citizen.” Any other interpretation seems ludicrous on its face, to me. [...]
The reason that the Supreme Court has never made a definitive pronoucement is that no one has been dumb enough to challenge the law that states pretty clearly who “counts” as a citizen since 1790.
For much the same reason, there has also not been a definitive Supreme Court pronoucement on whether a block of Yarlsberg chees may run for Senate.
I guess, according to the “reasoning” on display in the article, that issue has also been a nagging question for many years.
Comment by Steven L. — Thursday, February 28, 2024 @ 1:30 pm
whether a block of Yarlsberg chees may run for Senate.
Since Yarlsberg is Norwegian, I think it would be ineligible to run for President.
But as long as it was aged for 30-years and had been a citizen of the US for 9 years, a block of Yarsberg should have the right to run.
Of course a 30-year old block of cheese would probably be pretty crusty and moldy, turning voters off on the campaign trail.
But on second thought, those traits seemed to have served Senator Byrd well for several decades!
El queso para el gran queso!
Comment by Ratoe — Thursday, February 28, 2024 @ 1:43 pm
If you want info on what it means to be born in the US, check out this .gov website. I think the “he’s ineligible” people have a much stronger leg to stand on than do the “Yarlsberg cheese for Senate” people. I certainly haven’t studied the issue in depth, and I think it would be “wrong” to bar the children of military people born overseas from serving as president, but it seems like some laws need to change or else the Constitution needs some amending to make it right.
Comment by Jan — Thursday, February 28, 2024 @ 3:21 pm
I am wondering, however, if we might not be better off if Yarlsburg Cheese could be elected to the Senate, to be honest…
Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Thursday, February 28, 2024 @ 4:46 pm
In looking at the document, and some other information, btw, I don’t think that the “he’s ineligible” people have much of a leg to stand on at all, actually.
Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Thursday, February 28, 2024 @ 5:39 pm
[...] Earlier today I noted an NYT story about the whether McCain’s birth in the Panama Canal Zone was a problem for the Constitutional provision that the President be a “natural born citizen.” The more I think about it, the more absurd the notion is that a person such as McCain would be anything other than a “natural born citizen” of the United States. [...]
While I will allow that I am not a conlaw scholar, this strikes me as a non-issue.
After the disaster of Chester Arthur’s administration, I think it pays for us to maintain at least a little bit of scrutiny on this issue.
Comment by Ratoe — Thursday, February 28, 2024 @ 9:41 am
Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Thursday, February 28, 2024 @ 10:12 am
[...] I don’t think the writer of this article, Carl Hulse, could be more melodramatic (”The question has nagged at the parents of Americans born outside the continental United States for generations: Dare their children aspire to grow up and become president?” — really, Carl? That’s what’s been nagging them?). But then again, there’s not much “there” there, as noted by Dr. Steven Taylor, so I suppose he had to make it at least somewhat suspenseful: While I will allow that I am not a conlaw scholar, this strikes me as a non-issue. The child of US citizens is a citizen, regardless of where he or she was born. As such, someone like McCain was a citizen by virtue of birth, not via naturalization, and hence he is a “natural born citizen.” Any other interpretation seems ludicrous on its face, to me. [...]
Pingback by A Second Hand Conjecture » Citizen McCain — Thursday, February 28, 2024 @ 1:20 pm
Um, yeah.
The reason that the Supreme Court has never made a definitive pronoucement is that no one has been dumb enough to challenge the law that states pretty clearly who “counts” as a citizen since 1790.
For much the same reason, there has also not been a definitive Supreme Court pronoucement on whether a block of Yarlsberg chees may run for Senate.
I guess, according to the “reasoning” on display in the article, that issue has also been a nagging question for many years.
Comment by Steven L. — Thursday, February 28, 2024 @ 1:30 pm
whether a block of Yarlsberg chees may run for Senate.
Since Yarlsberg is Norwegian, I think it would be ineligible to run for President.
But as long as it was aged for 30-years and had been a citizen of the US for 9 years, a block of Yarsberg should have the right to run.
Of course a 30-year old block of cheese would probably be pretty crusty and moldy, turning voters off on the campaign trail.
But on second thought, those traits seemed to have served Senator Byrd well for several decades!
El queso para el gran queso!
Comment by Ratoe — Thursday, February 28, 2024 @ 1:43 pm
If you want info on what it means to be born in the US, check out this .gov website. I think the “he’s ineligible” people have a much stronger leg to stand on than do the “Yarlsberg cheese for Senate” people. I certainly haven’t studied the issue in depth, and I think it would be “wrong” to bar the children of military people born overseas from serving as president, but it seems like some laws need to change or else the Constitution needs some amending to make it right.
Comment by Jan — Thursday, February 28, 2024 @ 3:21 pm
I am wondering, however, if we might not be better off if Yarlsburg Cheese could be elected to the Senate, to be honest…
Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Thursday, February 28, 2024 @ 4:46 pm
In looking at the document, and some other information, btw, I don’t think that the “he’s ineligible” people have much of a leg to stand on at all, actually.
Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Thursday, February 28, 2024 @ 5:39 pm
[...] Earlier today I noted an NYT story about the whether McCain’s birth in the Panama Canal Zone was a problem for the Constitutional provision that the President be a “natural born citizen.” The more I think about it, the more absurd the notion is that a person such as McCain would be anything other than a “natural born citizen” of the United States. [...]
Pingback by PoliBlog ™: A Rough Draft of my Thoughts » The Panachurian Candidate: La Segunda — Thursday, February 28, 2024 @ 6:17 pm
Let’s just make a horse a Senator like Caligula and get it over with.
Comment by Jan — Thursday, February 28, 2024 @ 9:21 pm