United States Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is officially running for president and unlike the pictures of Kim Kardashian’s butt, which, let’s be honest, most of us have seen before, his candidacy might actually break the Internet. As the country reacts to the Texas legislator’s announcement following his speech at the Jerry Falwell-founded Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., sarcastic social-media posts with #TedCruzCampaignSlogans are coming fast and furious.
Though many tweets are from partisan corners, the entire country and all political leanings are weighing in, some positive, but mostly not.
Your Racist Uncle’s Favorite Candidate #TedCruzCampaignSlogans
— Jill Biden – SLOTUS (@JillBidenVeep) March 23, 2015
By election time in the fall of 2016, voters will decide. But whether Cruz is a legitimate candidate to face a challenger that November will be borne out of the primary next May. Texans thought he was fit to be a senator, but is Cruz nearly mainstream enough politically or will he adopt positions that a majority of Americans agree with if only to get elected?
The short answer is a definitive NO. Cruz is sicking to those Texas guns possibly attached to the rack on his pickup truck. Or maybe that’s just one image he wouldn’t argue with being conjured as he seeks to appeal to potential conservative and independent voters. During the speech to announce his candidacy, Cruz predictably rehashed political points meant to rile up the right wing of the Republican party. If elected, Cruz promised to repeal Obamacare, abolish the Internal Revenue Service and install a flat tax to replace the current system. And he has already begun doing media appearances to get his message out to voters. On Tuesday, he chatted with “CBS This Morning” and attempted to assure voters that he can be trusted as Commander-In-Chief with this solemn promise: “I’ll tell the truth and I’ll do what I said I would do.”
Immigration: Worked For me, But That’s Where It Needs To End #TedCruzCampaignSlogans — Sarah Wood (@SarahWoodwriter) March 23, 2015
But will Cruz even get the chance to run? In a coincidental twist, he may face some similar opposition to his candidacy like what Barack Obama dealt with regarding where he was born, yet from a very different crowd.
Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution says, “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.” This is a vestige of the War of Independence when the framers were concerned an outside European influence could successfully win the presidency and in effect revert the newly independent country to a monarchy under control of a foreign power.
Cruz was born in Canada, but he has U.S. citizenship because his mother was born here. Focusing on where he was born, though, instead of his potential policies, which are far-out even to many conservatives, is waste of time. Maybe this part of the Constitution should be changed, but the problem with that is it would require an amendment or a definitive ruling by the Supreme Court. Both of these are highly unlikely and would be complete headaches to get done.
To clear any remaining issues regarding rules for U.S. citizenship, the new Congress passed an amendment to naturalize the children of parents who were born abroad. The Naturalization Act of 1790 stated that “the children of citizens of the United States, that may be born beyond sea, or out of the limits of the United States, shall be considered as natural born citizens: Provided, that the right of citizenship shall not descend to persons whose fathers have never been resident in the United States.”
Any hopes that Cruz will be deemed ineligible are a far-left pipe dream. He should be allowed to express his views and run for president as the right of any American that fits the criteria. It will be up to the voters to decide if his ideas and policies are fit for the office of the president — the most powerful and critical job in our entire American government.
Noah Zuss is a reporter for TheBlot Magazine.
