Countdown to Extinction: The 2016 Presidential Election

[(poco) Sforzando]

I don't see him doing any ass kicking any time soon after that disaster with the #blacklivesmatter trolls.

Au contraire, he is significantly ahead of Hillary Clinton in one recent New Hampshire poll (granted, it's from a neighbor state to his home Vermont), and he consistently draws larger crowds than any other candidate, Republican or Democrat.

Now just imagine one year from now - not Hillary vs. Jeb, but Bernie vs. The Donald for the general. Ain't going to happen, but it sure would be fun.

[Karl Henning]

All right, so I misread the headline:

Donald Trump Jury Duty:  Will He Be Pickled?

[Karl Henning]

Hillary Clinton e-mails: Her tactics take a political toll

"For various reasons, the Clintons don't seem to be able to learn some of the most basic lessons" about the appearance of impropriety, says Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.

[Karl Henning]

A recent Reuters poll found that 3.3 percent of Democrats would vote for Gore in the 2016 election, the same percentage as those who would vote for actor George Clooney.

Al Gore vs. Hillary Clinton? Gore 2016 campaign rumors.

Me, I wonder if the best that can be said for Gore is, he is no worse than Hillary . . . .

[Brian]

The George Clooney thing reminded me: my friend and I were discussing this question. Which pop culture celebrity do you think would make the best president?

We both agreed on Jay Z for his business acumen and negotiating skills. Anybody got a better celebrity president idea?

[Todd]

Anybody got a better celebrity president idea?

Donald Trump.

[Jo498]

Schwarzenegger - the Terminator! but he was not born in the US, unfortunately

[(poco) Sforzando]

Schwarzenegger

Ineligible. Not born in the USA. This provision was stipulated in the Constitution to protect the new nation from the possibility of a "desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils" (Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist 68).

(Actually, if Republicans get their way, they would abolish the right to citizenship for all children born on U.S. soil, a protection explicitly guaranteed by the 14th amendment to the Constitution. But of course as we all know Barack Obama violated this rule because his Hawaiian birth certificate doesn't prove he was born in Hawaii; just ask Donald Trump.)

[Jo498]

So why should an Austrian certificate prove birth in Austria?

[Todd]

Ineligible. Not born in the USA. This provision was stipulated in the Constitution to protect the new nation from the possibility of a "desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils" (Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist 68).

The requirement now is to be a "natural born citizen," not born in the USA.  Alas, to the best of my knowledge, there is no federal statutory definition of "natural born citizen" currently on the books.  Surely a child born overseas to an active duty US servicemember, diplomat, or citizen would count as a natural born citizen of the USA.  Surely you do not want to deprive Ted Cruz of the right to run for President . . .

Actually, if Republicans get their way, they would abolish the right to citizenship for all children born on U.S. soil, a protection explicitly guaranteed by the 14th amendment to the Constitution.

I think it is safe to say that Section 1 of the 14th Amendment will not be repealed. 

[Brian]

I think it is safe to say that Section 1 of the 14th Amendment will not be repealed.

But Donald Trump has that in his policy statement, and as he told Maureen Dowd, "I am a man of great achievement. I win, Maureen, I always win. Knock on wood. I win. It's what I do. I beat people. I win."

[Todd]

But Donald Trump has that in his policy statement, and as he told Maureen Dowd, "I am a man of great achievement. I win, Maureen, I always win. Knock on wood. I win. It's what I do. I beat people. I win."

It is hard to argue with such profound eloquence as delivered by The Donald.

[Karl Henning]

He [Reagan] had a great heart, and I have a great heart.

No one thought to tell The Donald that it means ever so much more when someone else says it of you.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

  Surely a child born overseas to an active duty US servicemember, diplomat, or citizen would count as a natural born citizen of the USA.   

This is correct. I was born in India, when my dad was working at the US embassy in New Delhi. So I'm a natural born citizen (although I had to get a sort of naturalization certificate when we moved back).

[Karl Henning]

Hope you got the long form        0:)

[(poco) Sforzando]

The requirement now is to be a "natural born citizen," not born in the USA.  Alas, to the best of my knowledge, there is no federal statutory definition of "natural born citizen" currently on the books.  Surely a child born overseas to an active duty US servicemember, diplomat, or citizen would count as a natural born citizen of the USA.  Surely you do not want to deprive Ted Cruz of the right to run for President . . .

Please, don't tempt me. And various Republicans such as Scott Walker have explicitly argued for a repeal of birthright citizenship, on the alleged grounds of abuse (e.g., immigrants coming to the US briefly solely to have a child here and then leaving). Steve King of Iowa (he of "calves the size of canteloupes" fame) has introduced legislation attempting to limit such citizenship, on the grounds that the amendment was not intended to protect babies born to undocumented parents. Well, tough noogies, Steve, the amendment specifically says, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

Schwarzenegger himself thinks he's ineligible, and he was not "born overseas to an active duty US servicemember, diplomat, or citizen": "Everyone knows that if I was American-born I would probably run for president. I could do a better job than these guys can, trust me. . . .  [What, better than The Donald?] That job's not available and I am not going to complain about it because everything that I have accomplished in my life is because of America," Schwarzenegger told The Daily Telegraph. "So I'm not going to complain about the one job that I can't do."

But the fact is that, on the one hand, America prides itself on being the melting pot, and on the other, it resists (often with pathological intensity) any efforts from newcomers to assimilate. This happened with the Irish, the Italians, the Jews, and now it's the turn of the Hispanics. Too bad for Republicans, but this is no longer the country of rich old white men.

[Ken B]

But the fact is that, on the one hand, America prides itself on being the melting pot, and on the other, it resists (often with pathological intensity) any efforts from newcomers to assimilate. This happened with the Irish, the Italians, the Jews, and now it's the turn of the Hispanics.

Do, please, explain how citizenship and immigration works in Germany and Switzerland.

[Purusha]

The resistance comes from the fact America was never a "melting pot".

[(poco) Sforzando]

Do, please, explain how citizenship and immigration works in Germany and Switzerland.

Please, it's hard enough explaining how it works in the USA. But I have heard that those two countries, along with Austria and Japan, are among the hardest to achieve citizenship.

[(poco) Sforzando]

The resistance comes from the fact America was never a "melting pot".

It is and it isn't. The ideal was there, as happened when my grandparents came to Ellis Island from Lithuania and Poland around 1915:

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

But the ideal has always met with resistance, the ultimate and obvious case being the case of American blacks following emancipation. But of course, we have been told by Bill O'Reilly of Fox News, in conversation with another rich white guy, that racism is no longer an issue in this country. I'm sure Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Michael Brown will be delighted to hear that.