I have been defending Marco on conservative forums. The complaint is that Marco has not overtly offered any opinion on whether or not he is eligible for the office of Vice President ot President.
If Marco makes it clear that he sees himself as not eligible it would undermine Obama's presidency and his credability in 2012. He doesn't need to say a thing about Obama.
His detractors are saying that he is deliberately avoiding the issue and that he is not being candid for political reasons. I don't believe that.
So I am asking Marco to openly declare his opinion about his own eligibility to be Vice President or President.
Below is some history on the issue and the opinions offered in a senate hearing in 2008:
On April 10, 2008, Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) introduced a resolution expressing the sense of the U.S. Senate that presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was a 'natural born Citizen,' as specified in the Constitution and eligible to run for president. Sen. McCaskill knew Obama was not a natural born citizen, that’s why she introduced this bill -- dressing it up to look like it was in Sen. John McCain's cause.
It was during the bill's hearing that Sen. Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the following statement:
"Because he was born to American citizens, there is no doubt in my mind that Senator McCain is a natural born citizen," said Leahy. "I expect that this will be a unanimous resolution of the Senate."
At a Judiciary Committee hearing on April 3, Leahy asked Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, himself a former Federal judge, if he had doubts that McCain was eligible to serve as President.
"My assumption and my understanding is that if you are born of American parents, you are naturally a natural-born American citizen," Chertoff replied.
"That is mine, too," said Leahy.
What's interesting here is that Sen. Leahy, the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary, confirms that a "natural born" citizen is the child of American citizen parents.
Parents -- that's two. That's BOTH parents.
Every time the words, "citizen" and "parent," are used by Sen. Leahy and Sec. Chertoff, the plural case, "citizens" and "parents," is used. The plural case is the operative case.
This year the entire House of Representatives must campaign for reelection, plus a third of the Senate.
ReplyDeleteEvery time some career politcian steps up to a microphone between now and November, each and every one of these (I say traitors, but you can pick your own perjorative) needs to have this issue hit them like a pie in the face:
“I have a question about a national security provision of the Constitution, Congressman/Senator. What was the Framer’s intent when they used the phrase, ‘natural born citizen?’”