Vice Presidential Politics

[Andrea]

Originally Posted by Orema

I think the majority of the Republicans who've announced they're running for President are actually looking for a shot at being the Vice President. Particularly Trump, Cruz, and Kasich. Trump and Cruz can garner a lot of votes and Kasich's state, Ohio, is a swing state. I think these three will be the top contenders for VP. (Though I do remember, that at this point in the 2008 elections, John Edwards looked damn good and Obama was a long shot. So, I know that anything could happen between now and November 2016.)

So, what happens if Cruz get the VP spot and the President dies? Would the next in line be the Speaker of the House since Cruz can't be President because Cruz was born in Canada? Could Cruz contest being skipped over? Does Cruz have a shot at being the President through the Vice Presidency?

Cruz was born to a U S citizen mother and has every legal right to be president.

[Orema]

Originally Posted by Andrea

Cruz was born to a U S citizen mother and has every legal right to be president.

That's still up for debate by legal scholars—at best, they argue it's likely he could become President and it's almost certain to be contested.

Cruz is too smart to take that chance and lose. He's shooting for the VP spot and my questions still stand.

[Andrea]

Originally Posted by Orema

That's still up for debate by legal scholars—at best, they argue it's likely he could become President and it's almost certain to be contested.

Cruz is too smart to take that chance and lose. He's shooting for the VP spot and my questions still stand.

Interesting. I was not aware any legal scholars were concerned. Was this issue raised when John McCain was running for president? He was born in Panama.

[Orema]

Originally Posted by Andrea

Interesting. I was not aware any legal scholars were concerned. Was this issue raised when John McCain was running for president? He was born in Panama.

Yes, it was raised but (I think) there was less concern because both of McCain's parents were born in the states and his father was serving in the military (as Admiral in the Navy) stationed in Panama at the time of his birth. That, coupled with McCain being a war hero, made his presidency more palatable, I think.

[Andrea]

Originally Posted by Orema

Yes, it was raised but (I think) there was less concern because both of McCain's parents were born in the states and his father was serving in the military (as Admiral in the Navy) stationed in Panama at the time of his birth. That, coupled with McCain being a war hero, made his presidency more palatable, I think.

I disagree that the location of Cruz' birth is an issue as far as Presidential eligibility but am happy to sit back and watch for other thoughts.

[Orema]

Originally Posted by Andrea

I disagree that the location of Cruz' birth is an issue as far as Presidential eligibility but am happy to sit back and watch for other thoughts.

I'm know you're not alone, Andrea but I'm hoping for other's take on this, too.

[TruTexan]

I think Trump will make it an issue, he's already starting to attack others running for office.

[Kobi]

Status as a natural-born citizen of the United States is one of the eligibility requirements established in the United States Constitution for election to the office of President or Vice President. This requirement was intended to protect the nation from foreign influence.

The Constitution does not define the phrase natural-born citizen, and various opinions have been offered over time regarding its precise meaning. The consensus of early 21st-century constitutional and legal scholarship, together with relevant case law, is that "natural born" comprises all people born subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, including, generally, those born in the United States, those born to U.S. citizen parents in foreign countries, and those born in other situations meeting the legal requirements for U.S. citizenship "at birth."

Every president to date was either a citizen at the adoption of the Constitution in 1789 or born in the United States; of those in the latter group, every president except two (Chester A. Arthur and Barack Obama) had two U.S.-citizen parents. Some presidential candidates were not born in a U.S. state or lacked two U.S.-citizen parents. In addition, one U.S. vice president (Al Gore) was born in Washington, D.C., and another (Charles Curtis) was born in the Kansas Territory. This does not necessarily mean that these officeholders or candidates were ineligible, only that there was some controversy about their eligibility, which may have been resolved in favor of eligibility.

Ted Cruz (born 1970), a Republican United States Senator from Texas, announced on March 22, 2015, that he was running for the Republican Party's nomination for president in the 2016 election. Cruz was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to a "U.S. citizen mother and a Cuban immigrant father", giving him dual Canadian-American citizenship. Cruz applied to formally renounce his Canadian citizenship and ceased being a citizen of Canada, on May 14, 2014.

Marco Rubio (born 1971 in Miami, Florida), a Republican United States Senator from Florida, and Bobby Jindal (born in 1971 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana), the Republican Governor of Louisiana, both announced in 2015 that they were running for the Republican Party's nomination for president in the 2016 election. Taitz and Apuzzo each have stated that neither Rubio nor Jindal is eligible because both were born to parents who were not U.S. citizens at the time of their respective births.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natura...was_questioned

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Interesting question. Interesting history. Will be interesting to see how this is handled, which types of legal challenges might ensue and from where.

What was also interesting is that Henry Kissinger was the secretary of state, thus the 4th in line to the presidency, but was German.