Posts : 2915 Join date : 2009-10-10 Location : Michigan
Subject: Justice Clarence Thomas: We're 'evading' eligibility Sun Apr 18, 2010 9:38 am
Quote :
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas told a House subcommittee that when it comes to determining whether a person born outside the 50 states can serve as U.S. president, the high court is "evading" the issue.
The comments came as part of Thomas' testimony before a House appropriations panel discussing an increase in the Supreme Court's budget earlier this week.
Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., actually raised the question first amid a discussion on racial diversity in the judiciary.
"I'm still waiting for the [court decision] on whether or not a Puerto Rican can run for president of the United States," said Serrano, who was born in the island territory. "That's another issue."
Yet after Serrano questioned him on whether or not the land's highest court would be well-served by a justice who had never been a judge, Thomas not only answered in the affirmative, but also hinted that Serrano would be better off seeking a seat in the Supreme Court than a chair in the Oval Office.
"I'm glad to hear that you don't think there has to be a judge on the Court," said Serrano, "because I'm not a judge; I've never been a judge."
"And you don't have to be born in the United States," said Thomas, referring to the Constitution, which requires the president to be a natural-born citizen but has no such clause for a Supreme Court justice, "so you never have to answer that question."
"Oh really?" asked Serrano. "So you haven't answered the one about whether I can serve as president, but you answer this one?"
"We're evading that one," answered Thomas, referring to questions of presidential eligibility and prompting laughter in the chamber. "We're giving you another option."
Serrano opened the hearing by noting the jersey number 42 taped to the platform in honor of black baseball star Jackie Robinson, who 63 years ago this week broke professional baseball's "color barrier" when he took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Serrano also took a moment to honor the Supreme Court's first Hispanic justice, Sonia Sotomayor:
"I'd like to note before we begin this hearing that there has been a change at the Court, which has special meaning to the Court, to the American society in general, and to me personally," Serrano said, "because Sonia Sotomayor comes from the South Bronx, from the area that I represent and the area I grew up in and her parents were born in the same island of Puerto Rico that I was born in."
Though the hearing was specifically called to address the Court's request for an increase in funding, the racial themes continued when Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., took Thomas and the Supreme Court in general to task for not employing more minority clerks and staff.
Thomas, in turn, praised the value of having people of diverse backgrounds, career paths and regions of the country serving in the judiciary and on Supreme Court staff.
Serrano then asked if Supreme Court would do well to have justices that weren't promoted from the appellate courts, but rather came from state courts or even the ranks of elected officials, laying the foundation for the later banter over Serrano as president or justice.
As WND reported, Justice Thomas had previously resurrected a case challenging Barack Obama's eligibility to be president not based on his birthplace, but on whether Obama, a child born to a foreign national and admitting dual citizenship, would still be eligible under the Constitution's Article 2, Section 1 "natural-born citizen" requirement.
Hints of division within the Supreme Court on the issue existed as far back as December 2008, as Justice David H. Souter had initially denied the case a hearing, but Justice Thomas agreed to bring it back for review. The case did not, however, obtain the required approval of four justices to move it forward to a full hearing.
So far, the Supreme Court has not yet heard any case challenging Obama's eligibility on any grounds.
WND has reported on multiple legal challenges to Obama's status as a "natural born citizen." The Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, states, "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President."
The really stupid thing here is that the Constitution is clear. Anybody born to two US citizens in a US territory is a natural born citizen, therefore eligible to be President. So yeah, assuming that Puerto Ricans parents were US citizens and he was born there, he is eligible. Of course Obama isn't eligible, even if he was born in Hawaii, because his father wasn't a citizen. I'm tired of these people acting like this is really hard to figure out when it is clear cut. At least now Thomas admitted they are ignoring the eligibility issue on purpose... because they already know Obama is a usurper but illegally support him any way. And then all these @ssholes sit there and laugh about how they are wiping themselves with the Constitution.
I thought anyone born on U.S. territory and had at least one U.S. citizen for a parent could be president.
No that is what they want you to believe since Obama came on the scene. If you are born anywhere in the world to at least one US citizen, you are a US citizen from birth. If one parent is a citizen of another country, or you are born on foreign soil, you are have dual citizenship or even tri citizenship.
Citizen from birth is NOT the same as natural born citizen. The Constitution clearly says that naturalized citizens (foreigners who became US citizens) and citizens born abroad, even to two US citizen parents, aren't Natural born.
This is because the founders feared foreign influence in the highest office. If you used to be a citizen of Spain, for example, you could still have or be influenced by that country. Likewise if you were born to two US citizens in Spain, you'd have dual citizenship, and again be suspect of foreign influence.
They specifically detail how these cases are not eligible. Their intent was clear, if they specifically said US citizens from birth to two US citizens are not eligible because they were born abroad, why would they accept a dual citizen who was born here? They wouldn't.
The intent was clear that they wanted to exclude anybody with ties, past or present, to another country from the Presidency.
This whole thing gets more complicated by a more recent law, which I can't recall the name of off hand, that was meant to insure that American Indians where given citizenship. In the past there was debt about whether they were US citizens or not. This law basically says, if they are born on US soil they are citizens.
This law has since been totally corrupted to justify giving citizenship to illegal aliens. If you're not in this country legally, then it doesn't matter if you have a kid here, it's not a US citizen. Yet our stupid politicians say it is based on this law that doesn't even apply to non American Indians.
Yet another problem is that the vast majority of Americans don't understand that there is a difference between being a US citizen and being a natural born one. Or between being natural born and a US citizen from birth.
My son was born in Canada. We moved back here when he was just one years old. I was in the military there is an exception unless he chooses to become a Canadian citizen at 18 years old he has to declare it is the law now. He can run for President.
eber322
Posts : 2915 Join date : 2009-10-10 Location : Michigan
My son was born in Canada. We moved back here when he was just one years old. I was in the military there is an exception unless he chooses to become a Canadian citizen at 18 years old he has to declare it is the law now. He can run for President.
Your sons not natural born, therefore can't be president. McCain wasn't eligible either because he was born in Panama. Congress said he was eligible because at the time Panama was a protectorate, which is bull because only territories apply not protectorates. Your son is a citizen from birth but not natural born. At 18 he has to say which citizenship he chooses, if US he will get sworn in. The only way a kid born in Canada to two US parents would be natural born is if he was born in the US embassy in Canada, since embassy's are considered sovereign land. Plus then he wouldn't have dual citizenship.
