Sen. Ted Cruz won the Texas GOP Presidential straw poll. Many are curious if he is eligible to run for President. The short answer is that without a doubt he is able and qualified to run for President. Now the slightly longer answer. Ted Cruz is absolutely qualified and legally able to run for president. Ted Cruz is also a natural born citizen, both by virtue of the original works on this issue, the founders intent, and a mountain of subsequent legal findings. Vattel and Blackstone were the two founding era legal personalities that would have been used to explain what natural born citizen means. Interestingly, both Vattel and Blackstone argue for both sides of this coin, leaving no clear answer. Blackstone argued that it required both parents to be citizens and then later argued only one needed to be a citizen, same as Vattel, but Blackstones one parent argument was that it needed to be the father, clearly something that wouldnt be recognized today as a legitimate or constitutionally defensible position. So we dont really have a clear answer from the two legal scholars who developed the notion of natural born citizen. Next we have to consider two key terms. Jus Solis, and Jus Sanguinus. Jus Solis is Latin for citizenship by soil, meaning citizenship was gained by virtue of being born on the Kings territory or being a subject of the King on his territory. This was a concept recognizing citizenship as belonging to the King and being granted to all born on his land. Jus Sanguinus is Latin for citizenship by blood. This was the idea that individuals personally had ownership of their citizenship and retained the ability to pass their citizenship on to their children. Clearly Jus Sanguinus is a concept far more in line with our founding principles, as well as our aversion to Kings, being subjects, and not retaining individual liberty. As far as retaining citizenship as a natural born status, those citizens born under the legal jurisdiction of the United States, meaning that at birth you are a recognized citizen, are natural born. Location of birth is irrelevant because American citizens abroad retain legal protection globally. Only those who go through a naturalization process to citizenship are not natural born. Cruz never went through a naturalization process because at birth he was considered a natural born citizen. Additionally, the natural born language was added to ensure that rich European Aristocrats not loyal to the U.S. wouldnt come over here and be able to buy political influence and attain control of the highest office of the land. Cruz was born to an American citizen parent, protected by U.S. legal jurisdiction at birth, is amazingly loyal to the U.S. Constitution, is not a rich European Aristocrat, and according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS) that reviewed the entire history of legal jurisprudence on this issue, is absolutely, and without question, qualified to run for President as a natural born citizen.
Posted on: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 04:26:01 +0000
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