Mark Levin: Stop Chasing "Dumbass Issues" Re: Birtherism

"So let me do my best to explain this, in plain English, so liberals can understand it, and goofballs can understand it."

Interestingly, he contrasts the "Birthright citizenship" model with the actual understanding of the issue.

In the Birthright citizenship model (which should really be called the Birthplace citizenship theory), anyone born here is a citizen, even if their parents weren't, and, in fact, even if their parents are here illegally and without the permission of the US.

Levin takes (obviously true) tack that it's not where you were born, it's who you were born to: If you're born to an American citizen, you are automatically a US citizen. Obviously.

Otherwise, what are the children of soldiers serving in Germany? Germans? Stateless persons? Do the infant children of US soldiers serving at Rammstein need to go through the naturalization process?

Of course not.

This has, in fact, become extraordinarily silly. Or, as he says, "This is for the kooks. This is for the kooks."

I think the theories of what constitute a natural-born citizen can be ranked in this order, from greatest restriction to least, though there are some ties here:

1. Only if you are born in America and both parents are themselves US Citizens

2. Only if you are born in America and one parent is a US citizen

3. Only if both parents are US citizens (place of birth irrelevant)

4. If you are born in America to a parent subject to the jurisdiction of the US (that is, with permission to be here)

5. If you are born in America, citizenship or legality of parents (Birthplace citizenship)

6. If one parent is a US citizen (birthplace irrelevant)

7. "All Earthlings are actually undocumented Americans who are just waiting for their paperwork to come through"

7 is the open borders position, though they do not state it so baldly, but they do in fact believe everyone has the right to be a US citizen, upon announcement of their desire to be so.

The actual law is 6, supplemented by 5 (birthplace citizenship), though birthplace citizenship is not required by the Constitution and can, and probably should, be changed. Birthplace citizenship is in place in most of the Americas, which are all countries with a strong, recent colonial tradition; it exists practically nowhere else.

The Americas have not been colonies for quite some time and it's time to do away with this colonial-era relic.

I'd prefer the law to be 6, supplemented by 4 (you must be born of a parent lawfully in America, like Marco Rubio).

1, 2, and 3 are frankly opportunistic arguments which pop up in American history at exactly the same opportunity each time: when a candidate one opposes can be argued to fail one of those stringent tests.

There is no constitutional or legal tradition for them; there is only the political tradition for them. Any time someone was born outside the country, or has one non-American parent, all of a sudden it's time to start arguing for these strict definitions of natural-born citizenship that actually have no particular support in American law or tradition.

The only evidence I hear for these positions is stuff that opponents of Warren G. Harding said, when they were trying to keep Warren G. Harding from being elected president.

What? That's the big guns evidence? A political actor claimed something at one time to try to block another political actor from winning an election?

John McCain continues proving he's the dishonorable snake we always knew he was by disgracefully jumping on this train, just because he doesn't like Cruz, and because he almost certainly secretly, sneakily supports Rubio.

By the way, Hillary says we can't build a border wall, because it's too expensive 'n stuff.

Meanwhile, the media, of course, runs a story based on a Democrat attack ad; but that's what they do, right?

But the story shows Cruz, actually, calmly explaining to an illegal immigrant why Laws Are Good.

Valdez: As a DACA holder myself, I worried about whoever comes next to the presidency and what’s going to happen to people like us. . . I think of myself as part of this community and you know, first day of presidency, you decide to deport, you know, people like myself, you know, it’s just very difficult to process.

Cruz: Well listen, I would note, if you’re a DACA recipient, that means that you were brought here illegally, and violating the laws has consequences. And one of the problems with our broken immigration systems is that it is creating human tragedies. . . but I can tell you what the law is in every country on earth. If I illegally emigrate to England, or Germany, or France, or China, or Mexico and they catch me, they will deport me. That’s what every country on earth does. And there’s no reason that America’s laws should have less respect than the laws of every other country on earth. We should welcome people who come following the laws but there are consequences for breaking the law. And that is part of what makes America the nation that we are.

Finally, in this big immigration dump: Jorge Ramos accuses Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio of "treacherous" behavior to their own kind ("race-traitors" is how people sometimes put it) because, I guess, blatant tribalism and racism is cool so long as you're not a member of the Evil Race.

posted by Ace at 03:58 PM

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