Ted Cruz Becomes First Major US Presidential Candidate

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/24/us/politics/ted-cruz-2016-presidential-race.html?_r=0

LYNCHBURG, Va. — Senator Ted Cruz of Texas announced on Monday morning that he would run for president in 2016, becoming the first Republican candidate to declare himself officially in the race.

Linking the determination of his immigrant father with the resolve of the founding fathers and his own faith in “the promise of America,” Mr. Cruz spoke at length about his family and his faith as he laid out a case for his candidacy.

“God’s blessing has been on America from the very beginning of this nation, and I believe God isn’t done with America yet,” Mr. Cruz said before thousands of cheering students here at Liberty University. “I believe in you. I believe in the power of millions of courageous conservatives rising up to re-ignite the promise of America.”

I will not vote for a president Cruz
no matter how much you pander and schmooze
with your oily hair and unctuous demeanor
you remind me of a grifting wiener
You espouse your Dominionist babble
riling up the backwards rabble
You shut down the government by reading Suess
I will not stand for that abuse
I will not vote for president Cruz
I really sincerely hope you lose.

[Jeffrey Scott Hendrick]

and so it begins.....20 months of attack ads, lies spread, hideous obscene amounts of money ill spent, begging letters, mud flung, robo calls and not being able to watch the news without wanting to throw up.

aka The American Election 2016

More on Mr Cruz and it's not good.

Every Claim In This Ted Cruz Statement Is Completely False

http://thinkprogress.org/education/2015/03/20/3636884/every-claim-ted-cruz-statement-completely-false/

Ted Cruz, the Senator from Canada, cannot be president.  

The Constitution says that a president must be a natural born American citizen.  Cruz is a Cuban citizen, who was born in Canada.  He is not an American.

Why do you think Republicans were trying to claim Obama was born in Kenya?  (He was in fact born in Hawai'i.) They wanted to disqualify Dr. Obama on those very grounds.

True Quill, Republicans (like a certain Trump) who tried to disqualify Obama's presidency are hypocrites of the highest order if they now support Cruz.

as if that will stop them les

Did anybody see the reports on the actual students at Liberty who were mocking Cruz?

Those poor kids had a mandatory convocation (where your university makes you go to a religious ceremony, let me tell you more about America's many horrors) and Ted Cruz shows up to announce his candidacy. Even they, who most of us here liken to the Hitler Youth, were saying on Yik Yak that Cruz ... made them ... look stupid.

It's the funniest story I've heard in quite some time, and I've been marathoning 30 Rock again (check out my sig)

Yes, the student body was abuzz with tweets about how they were being bored by Criz even as he spoke to them.

Cruz cannot be a serious candidate (see above), and truth-be-told, no one would have such a big audience this early in the season.  It is a show.  He chose Liberty University precisely because the Falwell legacy would permit him compelled attendance.  (And isn't that typical of Republicans that they have to 'compel' their popularity. Lol)

Cruz is only in it to press his own name-recognition and to push for the highly unpopular, extreme conservative cause.  You can see that he planned it this way, and is using every trick in the book to appear serious when, in fact, he cannot be.

president HA !!!! Like that`s ever going to happen

basically Michelle backman with a penis

korban dallas wrote:president HA !!!! Like that`s ever going to happen

basically Michelle backman with a penis

Lol. Are you sure that was a penis?

uh guys he can run for president actually

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/thepresidentandcabinet/a/presrequire.htm

http://www.factcheck.org/2015/03/ted-cruzs-presidential-eligibility/

Cass wrote:uh guys he can run for president actually

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/thepresidentandcabinet/a/presrequire.htm

http://www.factcheck.org/2015/03/ted-cruzs-presidential-eligibility/

Not so fast, cassy.  It's an undecided question, according to legal scholars, what "natural born" means.  But that implies it just might mean what it says it means.  The plain and simple meaning of natural born is that a person is naturally born within the borders, without resort to fictions and metaphors.  After all, the requirement that the president be at least 35-years old is taken at its word, is it not?

It was of sufficient concern to Sen. John McCain, who was born in the Panama Canal Zone, that he had Congress pass a law specifically allowing him to run for president.

It has never been decided by the US Supreme Court.  As KD pointed out, so much noise has been made about the faux accusation that Dr. Obama doesn't qualify because of the erroneous belief that he wasn't born in Hawai'i, that when the real case comes along it will  be challenged.  Well, here comes Ted Cruz, and lo...if he gets the nod, which is highly unlikely, someone will challenge him in court.  I'll put money on it.

welll in that case in the literal sense it would mean only people born in the original 13 States then because when the constitution was ratified they were the country....also why put in the requirement of "age of 35 years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States".

there a big enough loophole if ive ever seen one - you could drive a tank through it.

Also the Naturalization Act of 1790 said children born out of the limits or beyond the sea to US citizens shall be considered natural born citizens.

the Naturalization Act of 1795 went further and said citizens but.....it worked for McCain and it will work for Cruz.

I say met him run - there's not enough comedy on Tv as it is and when he drops out because there's no chance of him winning ill cheer the loudest. Let him run and screw up and mess with the Republican party and nomination (cause you know he will) - works better for us if they're all running round like headless chickens screaming at each other.

I'll put money on it

The founders used the term "natural born" as a prerequisite in order to disqualify those who are under a 'foreign influence'.  Maskell, Jack, "Qualifications for President and the 'Natural Born' Citizenship Eligibility Requirement" (Congressional Research Service, November 14, 2011).  That would most certainly include Cuban citizen Ted Cruz, who was raised under the warped political influence of his father, Rafael Cruz.  

President John Tyler was the first to be born under the jurisdiction of the United States, however his predecessors were born in the territory of the US.  The difference stresses the paramountcy of being born in the physical territory of the US...thus physical birth trumps a legal construct.  If we opened the door to legal fictions as to what naturalization means, who knows what theories would arise to justify anyone from moving in and taking over.  Imagine: President Putin!

The question came to me in the form of my second wife, who was born of American (2) parents in Germany.  Even though her father was compelled to be there as an American Army officer, they were told that she could never be president.  Indeed, at around age 12-years, she had to go down to the Federal Building in New Orleans, raise her right hand, and foreswear and renounce "all German princes."  The Naturalization Act of 1795, 8 USC 1448, requires it.

Original Quill wrote:The founders used the term "natural born" as a prerequisite in order to disqualify those who are under a 'foreign influence'.  Maskell, Jack, "Qualifications for President and the 'Natural Born' Citizenship Eligibility Requirement" (Congressional Research Service, November 14, 2011).  That would most certainly include Cuban citizen Ted Cruz, who was raised under the warped political influence of his father, Rafael Cruz.  
President John Tyler was the first to be born under the jurisdiction of the United States, however his predecessors were born in the territory of the US.  The difference stresses the paramountcy of being born in the physical territory of the US...thus physical birth trumps a legal construct.  If we opened the door to legal fictions as to what naturalization means, who knows what theories would arise to justify anyone from moving in and taking over.  Imagine: President Putin!
The question came to me in the form of my second wife, who was born of American (2) parents in Germany.  Even though her father was compelled to be there as an American Army officer, they were told that she could never be president.  Indeed, at around age 12-years, she had to go down to the Federal Building in New Orleans, raise her right hand, and foreswear and renounce "all German princes."  The Naturalization Act of 1795, 8 USC 1448, requires it.

my kids don't .....they have dual nationality. they do not have to forswear allegiance to the Queen and the Uk. Neither does Mr. C now he is a citizen but he has voluntarily handed over his UK passport in order to get back his security clearances.

as to Cruz matters not who his father is - he mother was a US natural born citizen. only

fudge. kindle.again.

look I cant stand the man. even the 1795 act isn't going to stop it. This could go all the way to the SC.

At the end of the day its all about how one judicial individual interprets the law and as you know their opinion becomes precedent (this is for others really) until it is challenged and that is what McCain did and won. I see the same thing playing out here.

Loser sends the other some Boudin Bread by FedEx.

The issue of Cruz' birthplace is all the more delicious, because if Cruz is a citizen for the reasons stated, then Obama could have been born in a Wahabi mosque in Mecca and would still be eligible to be president.

This should create some lovely cognitive dissonance for many Tea Party birthers

But he's never going to come close to winning the GOP nomination. I foresee him sticking around to the week of the Super Tuesday primaries at the latest. By that point he'll probably already be peppering his speeches with quotes from his forthcoming book ...

Original Quill wrote:

Cass wrote:uh guys he can run for president actually

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/thepresidentandcabinet/a/presrequire.htm

http://www.factcheck.org/2015/03/ted-cruzs-presidential-eligibility/

Not so fast, cassy.  It's an undecided question, according to legal scholars, what "natural born" means.  But that implies it just might mean what it says it means.  The plain and simple meaning of natural born is that a person is naturally born within the borders, without resort to fictions and metaphors.  After all, the requirement that the president be at least 35-years old is taken at its word, is it not?

It was of sufficient concern to Sen. John McCain, who was born in the Panama Canal Zone, that he had Congress pass a law specifically allowing him to run for president.

It has never been decided by the US Supreme Court.  As KD pointed out, so much noise has been made about the faux accusation that Dr. Obama doesn't qualify because of the erroneous belief that he wasn't born in Hawai'i, that when the real case comes along it will  be challenged.  Well, here comes Ted Cruz, and lo...if he gets the nod, which is highly unlikely, someone will challenge him in court.  I'll put money on it.

Cruz was born in Calgary on December 22, 1970. , howeve the birth was not registered until December 31, leaving an unexplained gap of nine days, he could be a Russian plant .......or shrub

i mean a lot can happen in 9 days And most importantly the   birth certificate does state that Cruz’s mother, Eleanor Elizabeth Wilson, was born in Wilmington, Delaware As he calim`s

Questions Questions Questions but don`t expect a big ruck-us over this............... after all ....Cruz isn`t black

Ben_Reilly wrote:The issue of Cruz' birthplace is all the more delicious, because if Cruz is a citizen for the reasons stated, then Obama could have been born in a Wahabi mosque in Mecca and would still be eligible to be president.

This should create some lovely cognitive dissonance for many Tea Party birthers

But he's never going to come close to winning the GOP nomination. I foresee him sticking around to the week of the Super Tuesday primaries at the latest. By that point he'll probably already be peppering his speeches with quotes from his forthcoming book ...

Their is only one person who will receive the nomination. its not complicated or rocket science its a forgone conclusion.
cruz and the others are living a pipe dream ,and that`s good the more that run the more the votes get split and the more dysfunction ,especially from the mad hatter element

Cass wrote:fudge. kindle.again.

look I cant stand the man. even the 1795 act isn't going to stop it. This could go all the way to the SC.

At the end of the day its all about how one judicial individual interprets the law and as you know their opinion becomes precedent (this is for others really) until it is challenged and that is what McCain did and won. I see the same thing playing out here.

Loser sends the other some Boudin Bread by FedEx.  

that`s it ,its not about the law the law is clear

Its his birth certificate, Canadian officials would have had no reason to question Cruz’s mother about her native country, nor would they have demanded any proof.

where is Eleanor Wilson’s own birth certificate?

Ben_Reilly wrote:The issue of Cruz' birthplace is all the more delicious, because if Cruz is a citizen for the reasons stated, then Obama could have been born in a Wahabi mosque in Mecca and would still be eligible to be president.

This should create some lovely cognitive dissonance for many Tea Party birthers

But he's never going to come close to winning the GOP nomination. I foresee him sticking around to the week of the Super Tuesday primaries at the latest. By that point he'll probably already be peppering his speeches with quotes from his forthcoming book ...

book deal?????? get away with your bad cynical self

Cass wrote:

Ben_Reilly wrote:The issue of Cruz' birthplace is all the more delicious, because if Cruz is a citizen for the reasons stated, then Obama could have been born in a Wahabi mosque in Mecca and would still be eligible to be president.

This should create some lovely cognitive dissonance for many Tea Party birthers

But he's never going to come close to winning the GOP nomination. I foresee him sticking around to the week of the Super Tuesday primaries at the latest. By that point he'll probably already be peppering his speeches with quotes from his forthcoming book ...

book deal?????? get away with your bad cynical self

Have you seen his previous !"Book"!

http://www.amazon.com/Ted-Cruz-Future-Coloring-Activity/dp/1619530953

http://www.vox.com/2014/11/12/7208497/ted-cruz-coloring-book

korban dallas wrote:

Cass wrote:

book deal?????? get away with your bad cynical self

Have you seen his previous !"Book"!

http://www.amazon.com/Ted-Cruz-Future-Coloring-Activity/dp/1619530953

http://www.vox.com/2014/11/12/7208497/ted-cruz-coloring-book

sàdly yes....what a waste of trees....

Cass wrote:

Ben_Reilly wrote:The issue of Cruz' birthplace is all the more delicious, because if Cruz is a citizen for the reasons stated, then Obama could have been born in a Wahabi mosque in Mecca and would still be eligible to be president.

This should create some lovely cognitive dissonance for many Tea Party birthers

But he's never going to come close to winning the GOP nomination. I foresee him sticking around to the week of the Super Tuesday primaries at the latest. By that point he'll probably already be peppering his speeches with quotes from his forthcoming book ...

book deal?????? get away with your bad cynical self

No, he really does have a book coming out this summer -- "Dreams of Hope: Reimagining the Reinvention of the New America" or some such crap ... they'll throw a book deal at anyone these days.

Ah heck, I'll look up the real title:

Here it is -- "A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Miracle of America"

sarcasm darlink........

what pisses me off is the rhetoric such as reclaiming or taking back America?

my thought is from whom? your fellow Americans? asshats

Cass wrote:sarcasm darlink........

what pisses me off is the rhetoric such as reclaiming or taking back America?

my thought is from whom? your fellow Americans? asshats

well he is Canadian he is clearly saying to 'take it back' as part of the commonwealth (bow to the Queen )
unless he is native American too

Cass wrote:welll in that case in the literal sense it would mean only people born in the original 13 States then because when the constitution was ratified they were the country....also why put in the requirement of "age of 35 years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States".

there a big enough loophole if ive ever seen one - you could drive a tank through it.

Also the Naturalization Act of 1790 said children born out of the limits or beyond the sea to US citizens shall be considered natural born citizens.

the Naturalization Act of 1795 went further and said citizens but.....it worked for McCain and it will work for Cruz.

I say met him run - there's not enough comedy on Tv as it is and when he drops out because there's no chance of him winning ill cheer the loudest. Let him run and screw up and mess with the Republican party and nomination (cause you know he will) - works better for us if they're all running round like headless chickens screaming at each other.

    HUGH JACKMAN for Potus !!!


Taken "literally", BOTH Nicole Kidman (born in Hawaii..) and Mel Gibson (born in Texas) could both try for being the first Aussies to take out the US presidency !!!  

BOTH are over 35.
BOTH are "permanent residents" of the US these days.

ALL they need do is take out joint US citizenship and wait for 3-4 years or whatever to qualify ?    

Well, I agree he will not go very far.  But one of these days someone like him will get by and American will go down a dangerous path.  Of course, we already did with GWB and Cheney.

No, the fact of his mother's citizenship is not determinative.  The Constitution makes it plain that it disallows all such legal fictions.  When it says natural born, it means born naturally with yo momma's arse planted in the territory of the US...naturally and for real.  Lol.  

That was the purpose of writing "natural born" into the Constitution...to deprive Canadians who might have foreign sympathies from holding the office.  Remember, that was British territory up there and there were a lot of Loyalists around...my mother's family among them (they sneaked back in through western Ontario).

It is somewhat like the 2nd Amendment, in that it is a hold-over from a different time, with different concerns.  But trust me, historically it means what it says.  The way Dr. Obama avoids it is not because of his mother's citizenship, but because he was actually born in US territory.

Original Quill wrote:Well, I agree he will not go very far.  But one of these days someone like him will get by and American will go down a dangerous path.  Of course, we already did with GWB and Cheney.

No, the fact of his mother's citizenship is not determinative.  The Constitution makes it plain that it disallows all such legal fictions.  When it says natural born, it means born naturally with yo momma's arse planted in the territory of the US...naturally and for real.  Lol.  

That was the purpose of writing "natural born" into the Constitution...to deprive Canadians who might have foreign sympathies from holding the office.  Remember, that was British territory up there and there were a lot of Loyalists around...my mother's family among them (they sneaked back in through western Ontario).

It is somewhat like the 2nd Amendment, in that it is a hold-over from a different time, with different concerns.  But trust me, historically it means what it says.  The way Dr. Obama avoids it is not because of his mother's citizenship, but because he was actually born in US territory.

Good God, Quill, I made the same argument to a person I hold in great esteem earlier today. By which I mean my little sister. But yeah, no, Mel Gibson was born in New York ... so that makes his hatred of Jews pretty ironic, actually ... Nicole Kidman for prez, she's the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt!

To be a natural born U.S. citizen. Someone may be born abroad, but only if both parents were citizens of the United States. The only exception to this was for those around at the time the Constitution was adopted As Q mentioned . Their requirement was that they had to be a citizen when the Constitution was adopted.

And just on that he is not elegable his dads Canadian
of course i am no constitutional lawyer

^wolfie........I will say Hail Yeah to Hughie for POTUS.....for him I would even put a bumpersticker on my car.

He can do some Wolverine badass stuff on North Korea

Ben Reilly wrote:Good God, Quill, I made the same argument to a person I hold in great esteem earlier today. By which I mean my little sister.

What did she say?

I have no doubt which way the Supreme Court would vote on Ted Cruz' case, given the composition of the Court today.  My point is that it was originally intended to prevent guys just like Ted Cruz from holding office.  If they had meant just sanguinity, they would have said born, instead of natural born.

This sums up the right-wing religious zealots who hijacked the Republican party and want every state to be a state run church:

Original Quill wrote:

Ben Reilly wrote:Good God, Quill, I made the same argument to a person I hold in great esteem earlier today. By which I mean my little sister.

What did she say?

I have no doubt which way the Supreme Court would vote on Ted Cruz' case, given the composition of the Court today.  My point is that it was originally intended to prevent guys just like Ted Cruz from holding office.  If they had meant just sanguinity, they would have said born, instead of natural born.

She basically agreed, and it's time that we stop treating the Constitution as though it's a sacred text -- that's why it was created in a way that it could be changed by future generations. Same argument holds true with the portions of the constitution that conservatives hold up as limiting government influence on businesses -- the founding fathers couldn't have envisioned modern corporate power any better than they could have imagined automatic assault rifles, yet created a legal document that can be altered to address any modern issue.

Editorial correction to previous statement

His farther isn`t Canadian as i said but is in fact Cuban


i hope the irony of that is not lost

Ben_Reilly wrote:

Original Quill wrote:

What did she say?

I have no doubt which way the Supreme Court would vote on Ted Cruz' case, given the composition of the Court today.  My point is that it was originally intended to prevent guys just like Ted Cruz from holding office.  If they had meant just sanguinity, they would have said born, instead of natural born.

She basically agreed, and it's time that we stop treating the Constitution as though it's a sacred text -- that's why it was created in a way that it could be changed by future generations. Same argument holds true with the portions of the constitution that conservatives hold up as limiting government influence on businesses -- the founding fathers couldn't have envisioned modern corporate power any better than they could have imagined automatic assault rifles, yet created a legal document that can be altered to address any modern issue.

Yes, but isn't 'mother's citizenship' or 'father's citizenship' just as arbitrary as 'country of birth'? I agree that constitutional law should bend with the time and space of politics, but what you are ultimately arguing for is no qualifications whatsoever.

Which is valid in its own right. Just have a valid reason for whatever program you choose.

Original Quill wrote:

Ben_Reilly wrote:

She basically agreed, and it's time that we stop treating the Constitution as though it's a sacred text -- that's why it was created in a way that it could be changed by future generations. Same argument holds true with the portions of the constitution that conservatives hold up as limiting government influence on businesses -- the founding fathers couldn't have envisioned modern corporate power any better than they could have imagined automatic assault rifles, yet created a legal document that can be altered to address any modern issue.

Yes, but isn't 'mother's citizenship' or 'father's citizenship' just as arbitrary as 'country of birth'?  I agree that constitutional law should bend with the time and space of politics, but what you are ultimately arguing for is no qualifications whatsoever.

Which is valid in its own right.  Just have a valid reason for whatever program you choose.

The problem is the republicans brought this on them self s(again) if the whole Obama wasn`t elegable to be president debacal  ,when clearly he was
 had not happened to the degree it did and still does
this would have also been a non story

korban dallas wrote:

Original Quill wrote:

Yes, but isn't 'mother's citizenship' or 'father's citizenship' just as arbitrary as 'country of birth'?  I agree that constitutional law should bend with the time and space of politics, but what you are ultimately arguing for is no qualifications whatsoever.

Which is valid in its own right.  Just have a valid reason for whatever program you choose.

The problem is the republicans brought this on them self s(again) if the whole Obama wasn`t elegable to be president debacal  ,when clearly he was
 had not happened to the degree it did and still does
this would have also been a non story

I think you are right. Dr. Obama is legitimate by any theory because he is a real, 'natural born' citizen. But by wasting their efforts on disclaiming what is proven, the Republicans have attuned us to asking the question.

Original Quill wrote:Ted Cruz, the Senator from Canada, cannot be president.  

The Constitution says that a president must be a natural born American citizen.  Cruz is a Cuban citizen, who was born in Canada.  He is not an American.

Why do you think Republicans were trying to claim Obama was born in Kenya?  (He was in fact born in Hawai'i.)  They wanted to disqualify Dr. Obama on those very grounds.

there is no clarification what natural born citizen is, some say it means being born here others say he still counts as his mom was a citizen/born here, noone will vote for him anyway

i'd still much rather have Warren than Clinton

Though I do not personally care for him,
Due to misinformation propagated by birthers, many incorrectly assume one has to be born in a U.S. state or territory of two citizen parents to be a natural born citizen, but the term “natural born citizen” refers to citizenship at birth rather than through naturalization. The 14th amendment states:
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.
Ted Cruz was not born in a U.S. state or territory, so clearly he is not a birthright citizen under the 14th amendment. However, under the McCarran-Walter Act, he was still born a citizen, which makes Ted Cruz a natural born citizen.
Eleanor Darragh, mother of Ted Cruz, was raised in Delaware, graduated from a Catholic High School in the U.S., as well as Rice University, so clearly she meets the residency requirements.

No matter where is was born he is still batshit insane and has a Genghis Khan superiority complex. He also looks just like Grandpa Munster.

I don't see how, but I guess for some, looking like Grandpa Munster should matter. On the flip side, if you like people who place themselves above the law, where being honest doesn't matter, and adore the worn out shoe look, then surely the competition presented by the left should appeal to you.

Hotwired wrote:I don't see how, but I guess for some, looking like Grandpa Munster should matter. On the flip side, if you like people who place themselves above the law, where being honest doesn't matter, and adore the worn out shoe look, then surely the competition presented by the left should appeal to you.

Yeah, I'm sure you were outraged by this too, right? http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/03/10/flashback-when-millions-of-lost-bush-white-hous/202820

Hotwired wrote:I don't see how, but I guess for some, looking like Grandpa Munster should matter. On the flip side, if you like people who place themselves above the law, where being honest doesn't matter, and adore the worn out shoe look, then surely the competition presented by the left should appeal to you.

Actually, if you are attracted to that sort, then GWB and Dick Cheney have left plenty of meat on the bone for you.

Why those two have not been tried, convicted and housed in a federal prison by now, totally escapes me.