And Playing the Role of a Presidential Candidate Eating His Own Words is Senator Ted Cruz
Well, just when you thought that Ted Cruz’s family tree didn’t fork, you find out about branches growing which every way.
On Ted Cruz’s Canadian birth certificate, his mother is listed as Eleanor Darragh Wilson, using the last name of her first husband, Alan Wilson. The Fort Worth native and long-time resident of London, Wilson is now an unwitting player in the drama that surrounds Cruz’s family.
Wilson, who has never previously spoken about his past with the news media, told McClatchy in a telephone interview from London that he did not realize he was connected to the U.S. Texas senator, however indirect. He didn’t realize that his first wife, Eleanor, whose maiden name is Darragh, had such a well-known son, whose citizenship is at issue in the presidential campaign, or that “Wilson” is on the birth certificate.
I gotta say it. I just gotta: Hey, Ted, who’s your daddy?
More family secrets spill forth. It turns out Ted’s mom wasn’t real clear about who she was married to when she had babies.
Now all these family matters don’t mean diddle squat to me, but they obviously matter greatly to Ted because he is real tight with the birthers and he would be the first to preach about having babies out of wedlock.
Too bad he didn’t sugar coat his words because eating them is gonna choke him.
Thanks to Fred for the heads up.
Very possibly a miraculous birth regarding the mother’s side of things but I’ve seen enough of his dad to assure all that he is spawn of Satan
1This is getting to be very much like a bad soap opera! More please!
2DNA quick. Trump must be loving this..
3Please, please, please let this be a twofer toward the demise of Pervangelist Daffy Cr-Ooze Jr. Keep his a$$ets far from the White House and strip him of his Senate seat. Makes one wonder if Ted is sufficiently st00pid to represent himself at his deportation hearing.
4Long time resident of London,huh? Makes it seem possible Cruz Daddy is closer to being Scottish than Trump’s daddy.
5How long until we find out Ted’s mom received government medical assistance at the hospital to pay for his birth? Maybe even food stamps afterward to feed little Teddy, which would be well deserved because look who he grew up to be?
6It’ll all blow over due to lack of media coverage – because Ted is a Republican. And as we all know, It’s OK If You’re A Republican!
IOKIYAR!
7Turns out the old proverb, “People in glass houses…” applies here. Spanky, the Self-Righteous, has some ‘splainin’ to do, along with a heck of a lot of broken glass to clean up.
8So all those news clips etc that came out in 2008 aboot Obama not born in USA etc etc. I clipped and kept many of the st00pider ones. If Cruz IS nominated, I’ll dust ’em off, change the facts but ask the GOP/Ts after each one “I uhhhh wanna see uhhhh a not forged long form birf certificate uhhh.”
Attention GOP/Ts: NIGYYSOBs.
9Okay, I have my suit of armor on, so fire away, but, as I said re Lindsey Graham, I have a rule that here aren’t separate rules for ‘friends’ and ‘enemies.’ I despise Ted Cruz, would actually vote for Trump over Cruz if those were my only choices — and my one-way ticket to Vancouver didn’t arrive before the election.
10‘
Bu ‘birtherism’ is toxic nonsense, in ANY of its forms. (I wish someone would introduce an Amendment saying that any person who has been an American citizen for X years (I’d prefer 10, but I’d even accept twenty) is eligible for President. And if that had been passed, the Republican Party probably wouldn’t be the mess i is, and we’d be debating the effects of the Schwartzenegger Presidency.)
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It was nonsense when it was first introduced by the PUMAs, racist Hillary supporters from the Geraldine Ferraro wing — Palin and McCain, and even WND ignored it, pretty much, during he campaign, though when Farah discovered he money it could make him,, he turned all-in birther — it was nonsense when Trump, Arpaio and the rest used it in 2012, and it is nonsense today when used against Cruz. (Unlike Obama, but like McCain, he was born outside the US So bleedin’ what?)
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Nor do I care how many people his mother may have slept with, or if his “REAL” father is Mick Jagger or Tony Blair, she was a US Citizen, does not and should not figure in the campaign, and the whole issue should be dropped. (Rafael is different, because Ted had used him as a surrogate, so his insanity is pure ‘fair game.’)
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There are enough reasons to vote against Ted the Slimy that if I started listing them, you’d be paying for extra bandwidth and this post wouldn’t be finished before the Nevada primaries. But his birth, his mother’s sexuality, or the like AIN’T ONE OF ‘EM.
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I should state, btw, that I am, myself a bastard — in the literal sense, at least — of questionable parentage. The ‘family story’ was dubious, and I was raised in a lesbian household. And again, so what?
Of all developments, this is not one that I ever remotely considered. So she used Wilson on the birth certificate but, per some sources, was registered to vote in Canada as Cruz several years later. Unless the latter has been disproven and I not read of it. Interesting.
11Micr, Presidential nominee? Not so fast Teddy; it seems you do not meet the qualification to be a US Senator.
“No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. [U.S. Constitution, Article I, section 3, clause 3]”
http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Constitutional_Qualifications_Senators.htm
Recall the pervangelist, Texas!
12Well, the line for the mother’s name does say “Name of Mother Before Marriage” so if she kept Wilson after her divorce from Wilson then listing herself as last name Wilson on the Cruz birth certificate was correct.
I think the key question is whether or not she was still a US citizen when Cruz was born. If she was, then Cruz was a citizen from the moment of his birth. Natural born or not? Let’s get the question settled once and for all.
13I was about to say that I didn’t think Cruz had in fact been born, but rather had crawled out from under a damp rock, but that would insulting to many self-respecting and environmentally useful creatures who live under damp rocks.
Then I thought of something else that would have insulted those useful creatures, dung beetles….
He’s pretty much in a class by himself, not in a good way. Class of two, really, throwing Trump in.
14Prup (aka Jim Benton), Arnold was sufficiently bad as Gropinator of CA, tyvm.
Fact: Raphael Cruz, Jr. was born in Canada. Question: was his mother a US citizen at that time?
15@Prup (aka Jim Benton)
Thanks for analyzing my point however indirectly. It is ridiculous. In 2008, in 2012 with Obama and in 2016 with Cruz. However the GOP/Ts have earned a bit of “payback is a mother******” from Dems in general and this one in particular. Every relative and frenemy that emailed me Obamahate in 2008 and 2012 will get it back in spades if that nitwit Cruz is their nominee.
And again I say, I dont care who the Dems nominate dont care who the snacilbupeR nominate. Morning after the Dems nominate and I sober up, Game On! Micr’s in 100%.
16Prup, the point is, as usual with snacilbupeR of the teabagger side especially, the Hypocrisy. Oozy Croozy would be a bigger nightmare than Shrub, regardless of parentage. Hypocrite is only one of many unpleasant descriptors for the Raphael the Oooooze.
17Prup,
I agree the Ted Cruz birther nonsense is a lot of empty hot air.
But what about the multiple congressional committees on Bengazi? Was Hillary in on the ground in Libya? Even if she was there, like an armed forces commander, when was the last time one of them was brought before a congressional committee to answer questions about battlefield decisions?
Is Bernie Sanders a Socialist? Enough so that Fox News needs to use Socialist Bernie Sanders as a salutation more often than Mr. or Senator? It’s all hot air, and hot air is fair game.
18Nefer, I also caught the distinction that Cruz’s mother’s name PRIOR to marriage is listed, rather than her married name with Cruz senior. Rather odd way to do this as it is generally mother’s maiden name, not prior name before this marriage.
19Yeah, I re-read it but I think it’s pretty clear that it’s the hypocrisy that I’m talking about, not who had a baby when. Cruz is only getting a mirror held in front of himself as his throws criticism of the morals and the birthright of others.
20Miss Juanita Jean, I’m with you. When I call Ted a rat bastard, I am not referring to his parents’ marital status. Only status I care about is whether this rat bastard’s mother was a US citizen at the time of his birth. Rat Bastard is a term of endearment for guys like Ted.
There should be a special select House committee to discuss deportation hearings. Elijah Cummings would be my choice to investigate this matter. Trey Gowdy and that little punter from Bang ’em Young are too inept. Those two were whupped by a couple of women.
21Cruz was born in Canada, thus Canadian according to their laws. Mother was American (as far as is lnown). That would make Cruz Canadian by birth and American by parentage. A claim of dual citizenship can and has been made. Cruz reportedly renounced his Canadian citizenship last year (papers please) but has yet to furnish proof.
But Cruz did not enter this country until he was 4. His birth certificate was available to his parent(s) within a month of his birth clearly listing him as Canadian. Why his parent(s) didn’t file the paperwork then to have Cruz listed as American is the question I have. It’s not hard to do. Americans in foreign countries do it all the time. This is getting weird.
22JAKvirginia, if Ted has a Form FS-240, he’s an American citizen. As a constitutional lawyer he should know that and produce his document. Eh Ted?
23I know about tedcruz’ daddy. From Indiana. Hoosier daddy!
24PKM, I’m hoping you didn’t mean to say that being “whupped by” a woman means that a man is inept, implying that an ept man would always whup the woman in the race….
25Rhea, I have the same question for PKM. It sure sounds like “whupped by a woman” was supposed to be derogatory. PKM, splain yerself.
26What I find fascinating is that, way more than 200 years after the Constitution was written, there doesn’t appear to be any clear definition of “natural born citizen”. The 14th Amendment is generally accepted as defining anyone born within the US as a citizen, but the anti-immigration faction is trying to call that into question. But when a US citizen gives birth elsewhere, it was always my understanding that the child is a US citizen. And natural-born, with no naturalization application or test required. Incredibly, this has never been tested in the courts. So which is it; Lineage or Location? Or either, or both?
Personally, I’m of the either/or school. Appealing as it would be to disqualify Cruz, it’s a cheap, invalid way to exclude him from the race. And every bit as cynical and offensive as the incessant harassment of Obama by the Birthers. No surprise that Trump is a source of both.
27So Ted’s accomplishments now include being illegitimate AND a bastard.
28Taking notes here….
29Well, I find it a matter of intelllectual curiosity. It is a fact that while other offices are required to be “citizens” the President is required to be a “natural born citizen”. And it is not clear whether citizen is the same as natural born citizen. Legal scholars actually have a difference of opinion on this. I think it would be nice to have it clarified by the supreme court. We shouldn’t have a constitutional requirement where we aren’t quite sure what it means. McCain, btw, was born to american parents on an american military base – which counts as American controlled territory. Canada does not count as an American controlled territory. Which makes Cruz a perfect test case, unless his mom turns out not to be a US citizen. I don’t doubt that Cruz would be found to be eligible, but I honestly think it should be decided once and for all.
30She was registered to vote in Canada? You know what they call that? A Canadian citizen!
Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit!
31Maggie –
32Yes, but there’s no evidence so far that she ever renounced her US citizenship. So she could be a dual citizen, or possibly the Canadian equivalent of a permanent resident.
Rhea, those two goofballs had their heads handed to them by Sec/Sen Clinton and Cecile Richards. Neither of the ladies broke a sweat, while the two bozos went rushing of the cliff. It was a thing of beauty. No, the lads are not inept for having been whupped by women. They’re complete clowns for their lack of preparation and ineptitude for selling BS which is snacilbupeR 101.
33Oops, sorry Debbo. Finally had time to read back all the comments, so let me apologize to all the ladies and men who were offended by “whupped by two women.” Again, it was a thing of beauty and what I failed to say was yes, those two idiots had their heads handed to them like only a woman could. Seriously, I doubt many guys in similar circumstances could have nailed those two sorry hides to the wall with such grace and diplomacy. It was meant as a compliment, but so awkwardly stated that I do apologize for my poor selection of words and lack of clarity.
34Well if his mother was registered to vote as a citizen, and was not, that is voter fraud. And you know how R’s hate voter fraud. Sauce up for gander on three.
35This is one time that the 18th c. definition of “natural born” may be unclear to modern readers. Since “other than natural” methods weren’t commonly available (C-sections being nearly always fatal, attempted in very few circumstances, and artificial methods of conception completely unavailable) it meant–and Madison’s comments on it in the Constitution make clear that it meant, someone born within the territory–the actual land–of the United States.
It was intended to be a requirement beyond citizenship itself; it was intended to require a President to be unequivocally the product of the society which he (then, or she, now) would serve as chief executive. Madison wanted that because he thought it would be more likely to produce Presidents that were committed to this country with no lingering attachment to another, and who were saturated in the values and attitudes of the country–knew them, even if disagreeing with some of them.
We can of course decide to amend the intent and make citizenship alone sufficient. But it’s important to understand why it was phrased that way, how it was discussed, why it became a requirement in the Constitution. It’s important to see it in historical context rather than dismissing it as stupid.
In the case of Cruz, his retaining his Canadian citizenship until well after he was elected to the US Senate is clearly a violation of the Constitution, and very clearly exhibits the kind of dual allegiance Madison was concerned about when he insisted on (and spoke for) an additional requirement for a President to be “natural born.” Someone holding dual citizenship has one foot in each country. And being so, is not as firm a citizen of either, as someone who has committed to one or the other. So Cruz has shown his contempt for the Constitution by not renouncing his Canadian citizenship well before running for office here….and that counts, even though–assuming his mother was a US citizen at his birth–he had from birth the right to American citizenship later if he chose. He did not, upon reaching legal adulthood, make a clear choice of the US as his country (by right of his mother’s citizenship) and transfer his citizenship then. He straddled the line.
The objection to John McCain (quickly squelched by the GOP) was that he was born outside the country…but the counter argument in his case was that he was born in the Canal Zone, which counted as US territory (albeit on a long lease) at the time. Similarly, children born to American citizens on what counted as US territory (in an embassy, or a military base, perhaps) might be considered “natural born.” But Cruz was born in a foreign country. His claim to citizenship required notification to the US, approval of his mother’s claim of citizenship (and as someone who had lived outside the country for years, she would have to show proof), and his own independent action when he came of age.
Does that paper trail exist? Yeah, it was easier before 9/11, and easier for a white person than a person of color.
The infuriating thing is that President Obama *was* natural born: Hawaii was a state like any other state. His mother was living in the United States both before his birth and after, before they moved to Indonesia. All the birther crap about him is unjustified because the paper trail is there.
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