Okay, here's another example of just how dumb our politics can be in this country.
I awoke today with stories abounding about tea party Senator (from Texas) Ted Cruz's potential run for President of the United States in 2016. Everything I saw, heard and read seemed to promote the fact that the mainstream media is actually taking this very seriously and is doing extensive reporting on the possibility. But I have one question... WTH?
In all of the reporting of this story that I have seen, not one article or report has even attempted to probe and really question the fact that... Ted Cruz was not born in the United States!
Ted Cruz was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1970. His family moved to the U.S. when he was four years old. Now how conservatives believe Cruz to be a legitimate candidate for president while many on the right still believe that Barack Obama is illegitimate is beyond me, but many seem to be taking him seriously and some in the media are even conducting polls on his chances.
Now, for the fun stuff. We all know that the verbiage in the Constitution is up for interpretation depending on who is actually interpreting it at the time but I have to ask... where o' where are my little Tea Party Patriots who questioned (and many still do) Barack Obama's birthplace and has challenged the constitutionality of his presidency to the point of actually going to the Supreme Court? Come out, come out wherever you are! Orly Taitz, this is your big moment! There is actually someone being promoted as a potential candidate for U.S. president who was not born in the United States -- get your legal briefs and protest signs and I'll meet you at the nearest courthouse -- go, girl, go!
These people drove the sane among us to the brink of insanity with their constant drumbeat of Barack Obama not being a legitimate president because "there was no proof that he was born in the United States." And even when official proof was provided, they then said it was faked. Now, the real savvy shysters among them changed up their opposition a bit and claimed that because 'both' of Barack Obama's parents were not "natural-born U.S. citizens," then he was not eligible for the office. Oh really? Well check this out!
Barack Obama's mother was born in Kansas... Ted Cruz's mother was born in Delaware. Barack Obama's father was born in Kenya... Ted Cruz's father was born in Cuba. See a pattern? The only break from the pattern is that while Barack Obama was indeed born in the United States (Hawaii), Ted Cruz was not! Now I'm just waiting for Donald Trump to ask for Ted Cruz's college transcripts and we're all set.
So if there is no big interest and/or outcry about Cruz's birthplace, then what exactly can we chalk up as to the big difference between him and Obama? Call me crazy but I have a sneaky suspicion that for some in this country, Canada is seen as a more 'apropos' locale for a person to descend from while Kenya is, how can I say, full of black people.
Well, I'm just waiting to see just how many of these proud Americans who are "just trying to preserve the Constitution" like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin and Donald Trump will ask to see Ted Cruz's birth certificate. And just how many of them will accuse Cruz of being sympathetic to Cuban policies because his father was born there. Remember that line of idiocy from the Obama/Kenya diaries? And what about the embarrassment that was those few idiots in the military who actually spoke out against Barack Obama as their Commander-in-Chief because he "was not born in the U.S. thus is not a legitimate president?" Whoa! How would Cruz handle that?
My main point is that if there was legitimate interest and concern about the constitutionality of Barack Obama's presidency because of his birthplace and his parents' birthplaces, then where is that same "interest and concern" when discussions abound about Ted Cruz and his ambitions of running for president? And the really sad thing is that many in the media played right along with it, going so far as to actually send reporters to Kenya and Hawaii to dig into the president's background, covering Donald Trump's every buffoon-like word about the president's birth certificate and actually asking the President of the United States on several occasions "why not just release the birth certificate?" Really?
Now, the only other thing I am anxiously awaiting is the festival of tea party/conservative reasoning, explaining and posturing about why it's okay for Ted Cruz to be president even though he was not born in this country but how Barack Obama's presidency is still not legit because, well he was born in Hawaii. Well, I found my first example today from the National Review:
Cruz isn't worried that his birth certificate will be a problem. Though he was born in Canada, he and his advisers are confident that they could win any legal battle over his eligibility. Cruz's mother was a U.S. citizen when he was born, and he considers himself to be a natural-born citizen.
Now, Obama's mother was born in Kansas so I wonder why that line of reasoning didn't work for him? Anyone? Orly? If we ever needed a clearer sign that all the stupidity surrounding Obama and his birth certificate was one big steaming load of crap created by a group of people who "for whatever reason" just did not want this particular man to be president, well, here we go.
Now I know there are many on the left who are giddy beyond belief at the slightest notion of Ted Cruz possibly becoming the Republican presidential nominee in 2016 -- I must say that the thought does send a slight tingle down my spine as well -- but I have to say that I am just as intrigued by how this "natural-born citizen" argument will all play out if he does decided to run. I think tea partiers trying to convince us why Ted Cruz is a natural-born citizen and Barack Obama is not is going to be entertainment on a scale not seen since George W. Bush successfully dodged two shoes.
Well, the stage is set, the actor's are prepped and I've got my popcorn ready. Showtime!
Respectfully,
Dee Evans
Plano, Texas
(NOTES OF INTEREST: Cruz is also a junior U.S. senator as was Barack Obama when he ran (as is Marco Rubio) -- so much for that Republican "experience" argument. Cruz was the primary editor of the Harvard Law Review and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law in 1995, and Obama was editor of the Harvard Law Review and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law in 1991 -- so much for that Republican "elitist" argument. Also, Cruz graduated cum laude from Princeton in 1992 and Michelle Obama graduated cum laude from Princeton in 1985. Since they are SO different, I just found these little similarities very interesting.