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| Reuters/Ipsos Poll: Quarter of Republicans think Cruz's birthplace disqualifies him for president | |
| 2016-01-15 | |
A quarter of Republicans think White House hopeful Ted Cruz is disqualified to serve as U.S. president because he was born in Canada to an American mother, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found. And I'm pretty sure 80% of Dems are going to think the same thing if Ted ends up getting nominated for POTUS or VPOTUS. Republican voters nearly mirror independents and the broader electorate in their belief that Cruz cannot hold the White House, with 27 percent of all voters and 28 percent of independents responding he should be disqualified. Looks like the birther argument that the MSM claims Cruz "won" wasn't such a win after all. Cruz, a U.S. Senator from Texas who was born to a U.S. citizen mother and Cuban father in Calgary, Alberta, has brushed aside the attacks about his eligibility as pure politics. But the questions could hamper his ability to rally the broad Republican support he would need to win the party's nomination to run for the presidency in November's election. Only 47 percent of all voters surveyed responded that they thought Cruz is qualified to be president with regard to his citizenship, with 26 percent saying they were not sure. The poll was taken from Jan. 7 to Jan. 14, before questions about Cruz's eligibility became one of the most heated moments of Thursday night's Republican primary debate. New York businessman and reality TV star Donald Trump has made questions about Cruz's eligibility a regular attack line on the campaign trail and the debate stage. "I already know the Democrats are going to be bringing a suit. You have a big lawsuit over your head while you're running, and if you become the nominee, who the hell knows if you can even serve in office?" Trump said during Thursday night's debate. "So you should go out, get a declaratory judgment, let the courts decide." But Cruz tried to use Trump's own previous words against him in response. "Back in September, my friend Donald said that he had his lawyers look at this from every which way and there was nothing to do this," Cruz said. "Since September, the Constitution hasn't changed, but the poll numbers have." Trump became a conservative darling in 2011 when he repeatedly questioned President Barack Obama's eligibility to be president, insisting that the president may have been born in another country and demanding to see his birth certificate. Obama was born in Hawaii. It made Trump one of the most well-known "birthers," a term used to describe those who insisted Obama had been born elsewhere. The constitutional issue at question is the requirement that a president be a "natural born" citizen. Cruz, 45, has argued that because he became a citizen at the time he was born, that makes him qualify as natural born. But his opponents argue that at the time of the writing of the Constitution, natural born would have required being born on American soil. U.S. Senator John McCain, who ran as the Republican nominee in 2008, was born in Panama, but argued he met the requirement because his birth took place on a U.S. military installation, which is the same as American soil. The poll, which has a confidence interval of 5 percentage points, posed two questions to two separate polls of voters. One group was asked about Cruz's eligibility. The other half was asked a generic question about the eligibility of anyone born in Canada with an American parent. Personally, I think the office of POTUS should only go to a natural-born citizen of two natural born citizens. Where natural-born means born and raised fully on American soil. Vacations, etc. allowed of course. I have seen what happens when someone suddenly finds out that they have (insert nationality/race/religion/whatever here) in their past. Suddenly they become overly curious/loyal to it. I'm tired of those complications. Of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger gets a waiver here. And Mark Steyn. I don't like the current pansy who worries too much about how other countries think. | |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #14 This whole thing is a fart in windstorm. TC is a natural born US cit. The law on this is pretty clear and has been for decades. He was born abroad in wedlock to an American citizen mother who met the requirements for transmission of citizenship to her son (TC). End of flippin story. I'm embarrassed that 47% of the survey population is brain dead and cannot spend 10 minutes researching this. Does not bode well for our future. |
| Posted by: Bangkok Billy 2016-01-15 20:38 |
| #13 If you are born to an American anywhere, You are a Naturalized Citizen. It is as easy as that. This stupid conversation ends right at the Constitution, right now. Shut Up Trump. |
| Posted by: newc 2016-01-15 20:21 |
| #12 Cruz would have to be elected before someone can contest his election as invalid. I think that you are correct. The U.S. Supreme Court is an appellant court. A lower court would have to rule and that ruling appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Someone would need standing to sue. Until the "crime" is committed nobody could prove harm which is required for standing to sue. I am not a lawyer and that one constitutional law class that I took was a long time ago. I believe that the law is on Cruz's side and if it came before the courts they would quickly rule in his favor. |
| Posted by: Sven the pelter 2016-01-15 18:42 |
| #11 Consider a military dependent born in a hospital in Germany. The family is there because they are stationed there. Is that kid barred from being a US President? When we were civilian expats in Germany, I was told that if my child was born in a hospital on an American military base, there was no issue -- that counts as US soil. But if my child was born in a German hospital, while she (it was trailing daughter #2) was automatically an American citizen because she had at least one American parent who was born on American soil, if she did not marry an American-born American citizen, then if her children were not born on American soil they would not inherit her American citizenship. This is the same rule that held for John McCain (born on a US military base in Panama) and Barack Hussein Obama (had he been born in Kenya as he claimed for years before he claimed otherwise). |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2016-01-15 18:28 |
| #10 Consider a military dependent born in a hospital in Germany. The family is there because they are stationed there. Is that kid barred from being a US President? Please. The US law defines a child born to a US citizen overseas as a natural US citizen. This is smoke and mirrors. One of the things I stressed to my kids growing up is just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should. Trump shouldn't have set off this stink bomb. |
| Posted by: Sven the pelter 2016-01-15 18:12 |
| #9 And beyond the three positions that are directly in line for the President there is nothing else with that same demand? Meaning your f-d if you status is at all in question and the electorate is opinionated and semi-ignorant. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2016-01-15 17:36 |
| #8 "Cruz would have to be elected before someone can contest his election as invalid. Am I wrong?" I think you're right. Leaving an issue this important unsettled is a steaming pile of BS, and should have been clarified / corrected 200 or more years ago. This is far more important than the shadow of a penumbra. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2016-01-15 16:16 |
| #7 I don't believe the courts will accept a case before an alleged violation has occurred. Cruz would have to be elected before someone can contest his election as invalid. Am I wrong? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2016-01-15 15:59 |
| #6 Procopius2k, Vice President and Speaker of the House or whomever is next in line for the Presidency have the same requirements as the President. I think Gorb nailed it (#2). Doesn't really matter what the constitution says if enough people believe the wrong thing. Cruz should have run this all the way through the Supreme before the primaries because its obvious the Democrats would use it against him. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2016-01-15 14:44 |
| #5 Cruz, a U.S. Senator from Texas who was born to a U.S. citizen mother and Cuban father in Calgary, Alberta. I think the spread of origin pretty much makes him a 'NorteAmericano'. Unlike Mitt Romney. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2016-01-15 13:54 |
| #4 Citizenship is not a requirement of any elected federal office other than President. Cut them some slack. They've been repeated told that anyone born in the borders of the US, regardless of origin is a anchor baby American citizen. Now they're being told someone born in Canada is not a Canadian citizen. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2016-01-15 13:43 |
| #3 So, Cruz definitely is NOT a naturalized citizen that would be part of the public record. So, If he's not a native born citizen a) what is he? b) how can he be a senator if he's not a citizen? These people are insane. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2016-01-15 13:14 |
| #2 So poll is really about how much Americans know about the Constitution. Yep. And what happens if this 25% of the voters change their vote based on an incorrect idea? Better get this ironed out in their minds before we get there. |
| Posted by: gorb 2016-01-15 13:09 |
| #1 So poll is really about how much Americans know about the Constitution. An intelligent poll would've asked ... No, never mind. I can't finish that question. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2016-01-15 13:02 |