That's how he does it. Here's my comment, moderated away, on his post on
On the other hand, we can find lots of quotes, both historical and modern, asserting that any native-born citizen is a natural-born citizen. For a partial list see Dr. C's page:
http://www.obamaconspiracy.org/2009/01/ ... ion-pages/ I have more, in case anyone wants them.
Even if we grant that the matter was debatable a century ago, the debate was over before Barack Obama was born. Modern references are in uniform agreement that all native-born citizens are natural-born citizens, potentially eligible to be president. I'll repeat the citations upon request.
In the article, our host makes the point that "Bingham’s definition of 'natural born citizen' (born of citizen parents in the US) was never challenged on the floor of the House." That's a weak point because Bingham's argument did not state a definition of the term; it asserted that the conditions of Houard's birth qualified, as clearly they did.
Moreover, if the fact that a claim went unchallenged is a fair point, what about the claims made in our time? Such as:
"Clearly, someone born within the United States or one of its territories is a natural born citizen." -- Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT), before the Senate Judiciary Committee, 05 Oct 2004.
"It is well settled that 'native-born' citizens, those born in the United States, qualify as natural born.” -- Jill Pryor, 'The Natural-Born Citizen Clause and Presidential Eligibility: An Approach for Resolving Two Hundred Years of Uncertainty', 97 Yale Law Journal 881-889 (1988).
"Natural born citizen. Persons who are born within the jurisdiction of a national government, i.e. in its territorial limits, or those born of citizens temporarily residing abroad." -- /Black's Law Dictionary/, Sixth edition.
Correct me if I'm wrong on this: No one challenged those clear statements on our issue, at least not until 2008 when the issue became the particular individual rather than the principle. From the day Barack Obama was born until he declared himself a candidate for the presidency, the contemporary legal references implied that he was a natural-born citizen, and no one was saying different.
Incidentally, there are other ideas in our host's article that I am reluctant to let go unchallenged, lest lack of challenge be taken for assent. For example, I could write paragraphs challenging, "The courts don’t want to hear from you", and I'd be happy to cite and quote the unanimous three-judge panel on the appeal of /Ankeny v. Daniels/. If it's on, I'm game, but at this point I think I might be in wearing-out-my-welcome territory.
I tried to tease him into approving the comment with that last bit. That kind of thing worked on Phil over at TRSoL, but Leo is smarter.
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