It won’t be the “big court” that will decide it, but a judge in Illinois has agreed to hear a case that’s been dogging a major Republican presidential candidate ever since he entered the race.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas was born in Canada; his mother is American, a U.S. citizen. HisĀ father is Cuban.
Cruz has maintained that because Mom is an American, he was a U.S. citizen the instant he was born. Thus, says the candidate,Ā he is eligible to run for president as a “natural born citizen.”
But a fellow who happens to support Ben Carson, another GOP presidential candidate,Ā has filed a lawsuit to challenge Cruz’s assertion.
Of course, we have Donald J. Trump continuing to threaten to sue.
The Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill., has agreed to hear the case. I wish the U.S. Supreme Court would hear it; perhaps it will … eventually.
To be honest, I am tired of this kind of hatchet-job politicking on candidates. I do not want Cruz to become president of the United States. However, I believe he is right to say that he is fully eligible to run for the office.
I’m not a legal or constitutional scholar, but the way I read U.S. law as it refers to citizenship, the senator has made his case.
I doubt a lower court decision is going to provide any closure. Still, I am glad that someone with legal authority — and presumably the educational background — to make an informed decision will take us closer to ending this ridiculous discussion.