I like Ted Cruz but, as I've said before on this blog, he has a cloud hanging over his head... whether or not he is a "natural born citizen" within the definition of the presidential requirements under the Constitution.
He has been shrugging the issue off by saying his mother was a U.S. citizen and that makes him a U.S. citizen regardless of where he was born. I don't contend that, but is he a "natural born" U.S. citizen if his birth took place out of the country, as it did; he was born in Canada. Thomas Lee of Fordham Law School wrote an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times on Sunday saying the Texas Republican must use a “living Constitution” theory in order to convince voters he is eligible to be commander in chief. Cruz considers himself an originalist.
Strict Constitutional Law says that the Constitution means what it says and it is the job of the Court to apply such law to issues which come before it. The "living Constitution" theory says that the Constitution is subject to being interpreted differently as the years go on and things change. That theory is not provided for by the Constitution, which does provide for changing the Constitution through the process of Amendment. Thomas Lee, contrary to what Cruz and his attorneys think, feels that Cruz could be tossed out of the presidency if the courts rule against him. Indeed, Democrats would argue that Cruz could not even take office until the issue was settled.
Cruz could have resolved this issue long before he announced his candidacy by asking for a court ruling in advance. He chose not to do so, but to rely on his own attorney's interpretation. That was a dire mistake; is he going to make more of them in the Oval Office? I'm a strict Constitutionalist, but I think there's more than a reasonable chance that the courts would eventually rule in his favor. In the meanwhile, unfortunately, there would be this cloud over his head, just as there was over the citizenship issue with Barack Obama in the first years of his presidency.
When I go into the voting booth, I want to know that whoever I vote for is going to be able to devote his full, unfettered attention to straightening the horrible mess that Obama is leaving us with. I don't need him or her to be in the middle of contentious litigation. I think that, when the rest of Americans realize the import of this issue, they will agree with me.
That's MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.
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