Say Anything Blog

This has already been thoroughly refuted, Mike.  You’re late to the party.

Media uncovers more Palin stories in one weekend than Obama stories in two years. Still no bias detected

Obama: more experienced than Bristol Palin

Indeed,

See this as a start.

Out Here
Rodney G. Graves

Ceterum censeo Parthia esse delendam
Latin: “Furthermore, Parthia (Persia aka modern day Iran) should be destroyed.”

Hmmm.

Wouldn’t it be cool to find out that both Obamination and RINO McCain couldn’t run and we had to reopen the nomination process.

Helllooooo Fred.

...for great justice

You’re late to the party.

I’d missed the story when it surfaced a few months ago…

Duh.

RG...I read the post from May that you linked but I didn’t see the professor’s point refuted. I see this as an interesting curiosity of law rather than an actionable issue in any case.

"The national budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced; the arrogance of the authorities must be moderated and controlled. Payments to foreign governments must be reduced if the nation doesn’t want to go bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.”
Cicero, 55 BC

The short answer is “yes”.  He is entirely eligible, even Democratic lawyers agree with that.  Chin’s analysis of the apropos legislation is considered to be overly narrow by other constitutional scholars.  The NYT article you link even makes that point.

Strict Originalists bending way over.

There is no court in the country who would hear this case.

I think those of you throwing around the term “originalist” had better review what that word actually means.

The original text of the constitution didn’t address the matter of birthright citizenship.  The 14th amendment was the first to put the subject into the constitution, and it reads:

“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

This still doesn’t make the situation of children born to Americans outside the borders of America clear, but law and practice at the time of McCain’s birth held that children born to American mothers are always citizens.

The only question would be if McCain’s father had impregnated a foreigner he wasn’t married to.  But that didn’t happen.

McCain’s citizenship is on the firmest of legal standings, and its buttressed (I think) by legions of patriotic Americans who know the man was born to two American citizens in an America-controlled zone and went on to serve his country honorably as a war hero.

I don’t really like McCain all that much, and I wish we’d picked a better nominee for President, but those saying that McCain isn’t a citizen under an “originalist” reading of the Constitution can safely be written off as not knowing their ass from their elbow.

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

-- Thomas Jefferson

Rob’s recently listened-to songs:

Rob...of course McCain should be a candidate but it is a curious situation.

This still doesn’t make the situation of children born to Americans outside the borders of America clear…

A strict reading of the passage you quoted clearly indicates that such children wouldn’t be citizens.

...but law and practice at the time of McCain’s birth held that children born to American mothers are always citizens.

The Times article states that the law awarding citizenship rights in such cases was passed by Congress after McCain was born.

McCain’s citizenship is on the firmest of legal standings, and its buttressed (I think) by legions of patriotic Americans who know the man was born to two American citizens in an America-controlled zone and went on to serve his country honorably as a war hero.

The legal standing is what I’m questioning...I’m trying to find a contrary legal opinion which doesn’t require undue extrapolation and judicial activism. I’ll post when I find one. I’ll also point out that McCain’s service, laudable though it is, should count for zip when applying a strict Constitutional standard. The obvious question to be answered is whether the 1937 Act of Congress granted citizenship retroactively...common sense says it should have but the professor quoted in the NYT doesn’t seem to think it did.

Again, I think reason should prevail and this shouldn’t become an issue but it’s still an interesting legal question IMO.

"The national budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced; the arrogance of the authorities must be moderated and controlled. Payments to foreign governments must be reduced if the nation doesn’t want to go bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.”
Cicero, 55 BC