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Fantastic: Congressional Research Service Schooled; Occam's Razor And Natural Born Citizens
Birther Report
5/12/2015
Excerpts:
Of Occam’s Razor and Natural Born Citizens, Part 1
“THE MOST STRINGENT AND IMPENETRABLE BARRIERS”
by Joseph DeMaio, ©2015
— In science and mathematics as well as in other disciplines, including political discourse, there is a principle known as Occam’s razor. Reduced to its essence, it articulates the proposition that the simplest answer or explanation for a result is the one relying on the fewest assumptions. Moreover, the principle postulates that such answer or explanation will likely be the correct one.
If applied to the question of whether the Founding Fathers intended (a) to restrict eligibility to the presidency to persons born here to two parents, a father and a mother, who were at the time of birth already U.S. citizens, or (b) open up eligibility to the presidency to any Tom, Ted, Marco, Bobby, Hillary or Barack at all born here (or maybe not), whether one, both or either of the parents was a U.S. citizen and regardless of whether one, both or either of the parents were from Yemen, Argentina or Kenya and whether here legally or illegally… which one is more likely to be the correct answer?
The following refresher course “hints” that the more “wise and seasonable” answer – and more likely the correct one – is: “a.”
INTRODUCTION
In the continuing saga of who is – and who is not – eligible to serve as president under the “natural born Citizen” clause of the Constitution, Art. 2, Sec. 1, Cl. 5, it bears repeating that the U.S. Supreme Court has not – repeat, not – yet issued a binding decision on the point. While numerous cases have tangentially addressed the issue and/or strongly intimated a ruling on the question, none has yet directly addressed the matter in the context of a sitting president or a viable candidate to the office.
Moreover, while several lower court appellate cases have attempted to raise the issue as to the current occupier of the White House, and, ultimately, reach the Supreme Court for a decision, most have either been dismissed for lack of “standing” in the plaintiff seeking an adjudication of the matter or, even if abstract standing is recognized, denied Supreme Court review by certiorari. As to the denials of certiorari, as P&E readers well know, at least one Supreme Court Justice has articulated the view that, as to the eligibility issue as it might relate to current events, the Court “is evading that issue.”
Accordingly, since the issue persists – and in light of recent attempts to “put to rest” rumors that certain GOP presidential candidates may be, just as is the current usurper of the office, ineligible to hold the office – it is prudent periodically to revisit several salient points supporting the conclusion that the Founding Fathers intended that the term “natural born Citizen” as used by them in the Constitution meant only those persons who, when born, were born to two parents who were both at that time already citizens of this nation. This conclusion is consistent with the teachings of Emmerich de Vattel in his tome, “The Law of Nations” and specifically, § 212 thereof.
There, de Vattel articulates the principle of law that natural born citizens “are those born in the country, of parents who are citizens…” and that “…in order to be of the country, it is necessary that a person be born of a father who is a citizen; for, if he is born there of a foreigner, it will be only the place of his birth, and not his country.”
If one looks closely enough, there are numerous empirical facts validating these principles and their impact on the Founders as they drafted and ratified their new Constitution. These facts, of course, are either ignored or trivialized by those seeking to allow anyone (other than within the diplomat or military exceptions) simply born here – Occam’s razor option “b” above – to be eligible to the presidency. That is not, empirically speaking, what the Founders intended.
So, with apologies (as usual) for the length of this post, let us begin.
THE “NO CITIZEN PARENT/ONE CITIZEN PARENT” STANDARD VS. TWO CITIZEN PARENTS STANDARD
First, as noted here, it is undisputed the Founders were intent on erecting the most stringent and impenetrable barriers available to thwart the entry into the office of the presidency of foreigners and foreign influences. This objective is clearly set forth in various of the notes emanating from the constitutional convention as well as in the recognition of the dangers associated with allowing the possibility of any foreign influence to infiltrate or commandeer the office.
This concern is plainly articulated by Founding Father Alexander Hamilton in Federalist, No. 68: “Nothing was more to be desired than that every practicable obstacle should be opposed to cabal, intrigue, and corruption. These most deadly adversaries of republican government might naturally have been expected to make their approaches from more than one quarter, but chiefly from the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils. How could they better gratify this, than by raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union?” (Emphasis added).
Clearly, the objective and desire of the Founders was not to make it merely “difficult” or “laborious” for a foreigner to access and ascend to the office. Rather, consistent with erecting “every practical obstacle” to foreign entry into the presidency, the objective was to make it virtually impossible for that to happen. To that end, a standard which requires both parents to be citizens at the time of birth – rather than one or neither to be a citizen – presents a far more fortified barrier than one that disregards the de Vattel “two citizen parents” and at minimum, “citizen father” standards, both articulated in § 212 of his treatise.
Some have argued that, after the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) and the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898), mere birth within this nation – regardless of the citizenship of the parents (unless the parents are military or diplomatic personnel of a foreign nation) – is “good enough” and will suffice to constitute the person a “natural born Citizen” for constitutional eligibility purposes.
Thus, under this theory, an “anchor baby” born to two alien non-citizens merely present here from another country – whether Yemen, Argentina or Kenya and whether here legally or illegally – would make the child a “natural born Citizen” eligible to serve as president. Without regard to the practical likelihood of that person being actually elected – an issue completely unrelated to constitutional eligibility – this cannot be what the Founders intended. Chief among the advocates for this expansive reading of the term are the lawyers at the Congressional Research Service (“CRS”) (see, e.g., http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42097.pdf) as well as distinguished former attorneys with the Office of the United States Solicitor General.
As noted by the U.S. Supreme Court in Minor v. Happersett, 88 U.S. 162 (1875), while there have been doubts about claims to status as a “natural born Citizen” regarding persons born to non-citizen parents, there have “never” been any doubts as to such claims with respect to persons born here to two citizen parents. See Minor, 88 U.S. at 167-168.
Even if that recognition by the Supreme Court be deemed non-binding “dicta” as contended by the CRS lawyers – and persuasive arguments exist that the Court’s recognition of that fact is not dicta, but instead a necessary component of the holding in the case – it is nonetheless “dicta” by the U.S. Supreme Court which clearly articulates a true, empirical fact, as noted here.
Accordingly, the notion that the Founders consciously intended to design and select a lower standard of presidential eligibility (e.g., the Yemeni anchor baby option) when a higher standard existed (§ 212, de Vattel) strains credibility and plainly turns the intent of the Founders regarding insulation of the presidency from foreigners and foreign influence on its head.
Indeed, under the “open borders” policies of the current regime, the CRS interpretation of the eligibility clause converts the constitutional barrier intended to be erected by the Founders into a “fast-track” lane for the precise end they sought to avoid and prevent. For this reason alone, the expansive theory conflating “native born citizens” with “natural born citizens” as advocated by the CRS and the former lawyers at the Solicitor General’s Office is poorly reasoned and thus, intellectually flawed.
Second, although the 2011 CRS “Report re: Qualifications for President and the ‘Natural Born’ Citizenship [sic] Eligibility Requirement” grudgingly cites the decision in Minor, it trivializes and minimizes the Court’s observation that there had “never been doubts” with regard to the status of persons born here to two citizen parents as being “natural born citizens.”
.................................................. ...
[Part 2 to follow shortly.] (May 12, 2015) © 2015, The Post & Email. All rights reserved. Source link. - http://www.thepostemail.com/2015/05/...tizens-part-1/
View the complete Birther Report presentation at:
http://www.birtherreport.com/2015/05...-research.html
Birther Report
5/12/2015
Excerpts:
Of Occam’s Razor and Natural Born Citizens, Part 1
“THE MOST STRINGENT AND IMPENETRABLE BARRIERS”
by Joseph DeMaio, ©2015
— In science and mathematics as well as in other disciplines, including political discourse, there is a principle known as Occam’s razor. Reduced to its essence, it articulates the proposition that the simplest answer or explanation for a result is the one relying on the fewest assumptions. Moreover, the principle postulates that such answer or explanation will likely be the correct one.
If applied to the question of whether the Founding Fathers intended (a) to restrict eligibility to the presidency to persons born here to two parents, a father and a mother, who were at the time of birth already U.S. citizens, or (b) open up eligibility to the presidency to any Tom, Ted, Marco, Bobby, Hillary or Barack at all born here (or maybe not), whether one, both or either of the parents was a U.S. citizen and regardless of whether one, both or either of the parents were from Yemen, Argentina or Kenya and whether here legally or illegally… which one is more likely to be the correct answer?
The following refresher course “hints” that the more “wise and seasonable” answer – and more likely the correct one – is: “a.”
INTRODUCTION
In the continuing saga of who is – and who is not – eligible to serve as president under the “natural born Citizen” clause of the Constitution, Art. 2, Sec. 1, Cl. 5, it bears repeating that the U.S. Supreme Court has not – repeat, not – yet issued a binding decision on the point. While numerous cases have tangentially addressed the issue and/or strongly intimated a ruling on the question, none has yet directly addressed the matter in the context of a sitting president or a viable candidate to the office.
Moreover, while several lower court appellate cases have attempted to raise the issue as to the current occupier of the White House, and, ultimately, reach the Supreme Court for a decision, most have either been dismissed for lack of “standing” in the plaintiff seeking an adjudication of the matter or, even if abstract standing is recognized, denied Supreme Court review by certiorari. As to the denials of certiorari, as P&E readers well know, at least one Supreme Court Justice has articulated the view that, as to the eligibility issue as it might relate to current events, the Court “is evading that issue.”
Accordingly, since the issue persists – and in light of recent attempts to “put to rest” rumors that certain GOP presidential candidates may be, just as is the current usurper of the office, ineligible to hold the office – it is prudent periodically to revisit several salient points supporting the conclusion that the Founding Fathers intended that the term “natural born Citizen” as used by them in the Constitution meant only those persons who, when born, were born to two parents who were both at that time already citizens of this nation. This conclusion is consistent with the teachings of Emmerich de Vattel in his tome, “The Law of Nations” and specifically, § 212 thereof.
There, de Vattel articulates the principle of law that natural born citizens “are those born in the country, of parents who are citizens…” and that “…in order to be of the country, it is necessary that a person be born of a father who is a citizen; for, if he is born there of a foreigner, it will be only the place of his birth, and not his country.”
If one looks closely enough, there are numerous empirical facts validating these principles and their impact on the Founders as they drafted and ratified their new Constitution. These facts, of course, are either ignored or trivialized by those seeking to allow anyone (other than within the diplomat or military exceptions) simply born here – Occam’s razor option “b” above – to be eligible to the presidency. That is not, empirically speaking, what the Founders intended.
So, with apologies (as usual) for the length of this post, let us begin.
THE “NO CITIZEN PARENT/ONE CITIZEN PARENT” STANDARD VS. TWO CITIZEN PARENTS STANDARD
First, as noted here, it is undisputed the Founders were intent on erecting the most stringent and impenetrable barriers available to thwart the entry into the office of the presidency of foreigners and foreign influences. This objective is clearly set forth in various of the notes emanating from the constitutional convention as well as in the recognition of the dangers associated with allowing the possibility of any foreign influence to infiltrate or commandeer the office.
This concern is plainly articulated by Founding Father Alexander Hamilton in Federalist, No. 68: “Nothing was more to be desired than that every practicable obstacle should be opposed to cabal, intrigue, and corruption. These most deadly adversaries of republican government might naturally have been expected to make their approaches from more than one quarter, but chiefly from the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils. How could they better gratify this, than by raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union?” (Emphasis added).
Clearly, the objective and desire of the Founders was not to make it merely “difficult” or “laborious” for a foreigner to access and ascend to the office. Rather, consistent with erecting “every practical obstacle” to foreign entry into the presidency, the objective was to make it virtually impossible for that to happen. To that end, a standard which requires both parents to be citizens at the time of birth – rather than one or neither to be a citizen – presents a far more fortified barrier than one that disregards the de Vattel “two citizen parents” and at minimum, “citizen father” standards, both articulated in § 212 of his treatise.
Some have argued that, after the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) and the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898), mere birth within this nation – regardless of the citizenship of the parents (unless the parents are military or diplomatic personnel of a foreign nation) – is “good enough” and will suffice to constitute the person a “natural born Citizen” for constitutional eligibility purposes.
Thus, under this theory, an “anchor baby” born to two alien non-citizens merely present here from another country – whether Yemen, Argentina or Kenya and whether here legally or illegally – would make the child a “natural born Citizen” eligible to serve as president. Without regard to the practical likelihood of that person being actually elected – an issue completely unrelated to constitutional eligibility – this cannot be what the Founders intended. Chief among the advocates for this expansive reading of the term are the lawyers at the Congressional Research Service (“CRS”) (see, e.g., http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42097.pdf) as well as distinguished former attorneys with the Office of the United States Solicitor General.
As noted by the U.S. Supreme Court in Minor v. Happersett, 88 U.S. 162 (1875), while there have been doubts about claims to status as a “natural born Citizen” regarding persons born to non-citizen parents, there have “never” been any doubts as to such claims with respect to persons born here to two citizen parents. See Minor, 88 U.S. at 167-168.
Even if that recognition by the Supreme Court be deemed non-binding “dicta” as contended by the CRS lawyers – and persuasive arguments exist that the Court’s recognition of that fact is not dicta, but instead a necessary component of the holding in the case – it is nonetheless “dicta” by the U.S. Supreme Court which clearly articulates a true, empirical fact, as noted here.
Accordingly, the notion that the Founders consciously intended to design and select a lower standard of presidential eligibility (e.g., the Yemeni anchor baby option) when a higher standard existed (§ 212, de Vattel) strains credibility and plainly turns the intent of the Founders regarding insulation of the presidency from foreigners and foreign influence on its head.
Indeed, under the “open borders” policies of the current regime, the CRS interpretation of the eligibility clause converts the constitutional barrier intended to be erected by the Founders into a “fast-track” lane for the precise end they sought to avoid and prevent. For this reason alone, the expansive theory conflating “native born citizens” with “natural born citizens” as advocated by the CRS and the former lawyers at the Solicitor General’s Office is poorly reasoned and thus, intellectually flawed.
Second, although the 2011 CRS “Report re: Qualifications for President and the ‘Natural Born’ Citizenship [sic] Eligibility Requirement” grudgingly cites the decision in Minor, it trivializes and minimizes the Court’s observation that there had “never been doubts” with regard to the status of persons born here to two citizen parents as being “natural born citizens.”
.................................................. ...
[Part 2 to follow shortly.] (May 12, 2015) © 2015, The Post & Email. All rights reserved. Source link. - http://www.thepostemail.com/2015/05/...tizens-part-1/
View the complete Birther Report presentation at:
http://www.birtherreport.com/2015/05...-research.html