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Republican foreign invaders
Oct. 2nd, 2013 09:06 amA recent reminder of the distrust of Barack Obama based, supposedly solely, on the belief that he's a secret foreign agent, and, if he's not, at least his father was, prompts me to think of all the Republicans whose credentials to be natural-born citizens of These United States are shaky.
Ted Cruz was born in Canada, where he lived until he was 3, and his father was then still a citizen of Cuba, which he had left as a refugee. Asked in an interview whether this personal history affected his eligibility to run for President, Cruz explained that his mother was a native-born US citizen, so that made it all right. OK, then.
John McCain was born in the Panama then-Canal-Zone, where his father was serving in the Navy.
George Romney, Mitt's father, who also ran for President*, was born in Mexico, where his grandparents had fled as expatriates because they believed in polygamy.
Barry Goldwater was born in a territory, not in one of the United States. Does that count?
Pat Buchanan was also not born in a state; he's one of the few politicians who was actually a native of D.C.
Any more?
To any serious reader, none of this means anything. So if Republicans will be serious, so will I.
*I find it strange to consider it advisable to identify George this way. I'm old enough that I still think of Mitt as George's son, rather than of George as Mitt's father.
Ted Cruz was born in Canada, where he lived until he was 3, and his father was then still a citizen of Cuba, which he had left as a refugee. Asked in an interview whether this personal history affected his eligibility to run for President, Cruz explained that his mother was a native-born US citizen, so that made it all right. OK, then.
John McCain was born in the Panama then-Canal-Zone, where his father was serving in the Navy.
George Romney, Mitt's father, who also ran for President*, was born in Mexico, where his grandparents had fled as expatriates because they believed in polygamy.
Barry Goldwater was born in a territory, not in one of the United States. Does that count?
Pat Buchanan was also not born in a state; he's one of the few politicians who was actually a native of D.C.
Any more?
To any serious reader, none of this means anything. So if Republicans will be serious, so will I.
*I find it strange to consider it advisable to identify George this way. I'm old enough that I still think of Mitt as George's son, rather than of George as Mitt's father.
