I am always offended by conservatives excusing themselves with the excuse that “liberals do it too.” On the Ann Coulter discussion forum, there is a thread on liberal Ted Cruz birthers. It doesn’t matter if a million conservatives and one liberal does it—the smear works just as well. The Coulter discussion sprang from an article at Tea Party News Network, “Liberal Birthers Beginning their Attacks on Ted Cruz.”
The iconic liberal in the story is Representative Alan Grayson (D-FL), who is quoted as saying on MSNBC:
When discussing 2016 presidential prospects, Rep. Grayson stated, “Since Ted Cruz is a Canadian, and our Constitution requires that an American win, I’m pretty sure that it’s not going to be Ted Cruz.”
In fact, according to a recent YouGov poll, only 30% of Americans think someone like Cruz (born overseas to only one US Citizen parent) is eligible to be president. One can debate the Constitutional validity of that opinion, but as long as it stands, Cruz in not electable.
The sarcasm of Grayson’s remark is clearly lost on Birfoons and Teabaggers. He’s pretty obviously making fun of them, which action I wholeheartedly approve.
I can’t find a single “liberal,” including Grayson, who seriously believes that Rafael “Ted” Cruz is ineligible to the presidency, but I do so love watching the wingnuts fight about it.
Full disclosure: I would LOVE to see Rafael as the 2016 GOP nominee for President, but, living in California, I don’t get a say in the matter.
That and my Obotness could contribute to confirmation bias… but I don’t think so.
“One can debate the Constitutional validity of that opinion, but as long as it stands, Cruz in not electable.”
Which points up a distinction usually lost on birthers: eligibility vs. electability.
Well, Cruz is certainly poo brain enough to be a GOP presidential candidate!
The astonishing thing about Cruz is that in a recent Gallup Poll (July 7-10), 36% of respondents said that they had never heard of him.
I disagree; the astonishing thing about Ted Cruz is that he’s not running a boiler room or selling time shares. He’s got the most oleaginous manner I’ve ever seen.
But how wonderful that the one GOP that Taitz supports for President is torpedoed by her own eligibility cases. Or rather, he would be if she’d actually won anything.
“Consistency is hobgoblin of foolish liberals! Cruz is patriot who hates government, like me!”
I can’t help but think that Cruz sees the US Senate as a springboard to bigger and better things. i.e, a show on Fox.
That’s what it takes to woo the reds. Living in a red state, I am continually boggled by how easily the locals are bamboozled by the same schtick … any mish mash of televangelist / infomercial salesman / populist wise fool hucksterism will do.
America was depressing enough when it was Babbitt; it’s increasingly become Elmer Gantry.
He’s trying out his material to be Palin’s sidekick on her new show. 😆
Not really. They first believed that a black candidate would be totally unelectable. When that turned out to be false, they set their aim at convincing others he’s totally ineligible.
There is that. But it tells us lot about how much Americans pay attention between Presidential elections when Cruz has spent much of the year thrusting himself into the news, yet 365 of 1013 adults say that they have never heard of him. Not that they don’t know enough about him to express an opinion, but that they don’t even recognize his name.
Well, they were only a few years apart anyway. Cheer up, Bonsall! Rest assured, It Can’t Happen Here!
I used to think so, and then along came Caribou Barbie, wrapped in a flag, carrying a cross.
… and a Bible and a gun.
Oh my:
https://www.google.com/search?q=sarah+palin+wrapped+in+flag+carrying+cross
I believe that Ted Cruz is eligible, but won’t very hard work to dissuade anyone who thinks otherwise. Hoist with one’s own petard and all that.
I think Ted Cruz does not have papers. You know, documents. Something he could show a border agent in Texas or Arizona.
Just imagine if earlier attempts to change the Constitution to allow naturalized citizens to become President (as the GOP favoured when Schwarzenegger was still on a roll) had succeeded.
Birthers would’ve had much less to work on. They would probably have resorted to “he’s not even a citizen” as many claim now, but we’d have been spared the attempts to turn Constitutional law on its head. Funnier? Less funny? You decide…
I think there was a good chance that some change could’ve been made to at least allow for the eligibility of persons who acquire US citizenship not at birth but automatically– for example, adopted infants or other persons whose citizenship is provided for by the Child Citizenship Act. That well has certainly been poisoned.
It was proposed in Congress many times over the years, but never got anywhere.