[Angus]

Please don't sign any petitions requesting an amendment of the U.S. Constitution, regarding the Nation of birth for U.S, presidents. Our forefathers worked untold hours putting together a document to guide our country.
they gave us the power to change the constitution to, but change must be for good , sound reason. And for the good of the entire country not just a few.
I am sure Mr. Shwarzenegger would be a model president, but an amendment that would allow him to become eligible to run for president would also allow our Enemies to groom "Manchurian Type Candidates". This could be catastrophic, especially fore future generations of Americans,and for democracy in general.

My 2cents for what its worth.

 

[Ridemonkey]

I agree but for a simpler and more fundamental reason - the constitution does not need to be changed to satisfy the ego of any one man.

 

[Silver]

Besides, there happens to be a bad track record with Austrian born leaders in adopted countries...

 

[gschuette]

I am a Republican and I do not think that an ammendement to allow foreigners to run is a good idea.

 

[Changleen]

In this case I agree, but MunkeeHucker - your reasoning is pretty flawed considering the 'ideas' and 'agenda' of your current 'President'.

On the other hand, in a nation of immigrants, what is a foreigner? Does being born in the US automatically infer a greater degree of insight into what is good for the country, and more importantly, how to implement it? Clearly not.

 

[DRB]

Yeah God forbid that my Chinese born daughter, who became a naturalized US Citizen at the age of 16 months, be able to become President......

f'ing xenophobes.

 

[MTB_Rob_NC]

I agree but for a simpler and more fundamental reason - the constitution does not need to be changed to satisfy the ego of any one man.

 

[I Are Baboon]

Come on, there is NO CHANCE of an amendment for this. Something like 90% of Americans oppose it (don't ask me for sources), including myself.

 

[zod]

Besides, there happens to be a bad track record with Austrian born leaders in adopted countries...

no doubt....

 

[ohio]

Yeah God forbid that my Chinese born daughter, who became a naturalized US Citizen at the age of 16 months, be able to become President......

f'ing xenophobes.

I can't tell if that's sarcasm.

That is a very different situation than someone born AND RAISED in another country. If you want to amend the constitution to include anyone that has been on US soil since they were 2yo or younger, I'm fine with that. But like RM said, we should not be changing the constitution to satisfy the ego of one man, or the ONE-TIME agenda of a political party.

 

[DRB]

I can't tell if that's sarcasm.

That is a very different situation than someone born AND RAISED in another country. If you want to amend the constitution to include anyone that has been on US soil since they were 2yo or younger, I'm fine with that. But like RM said, we should not be changing the constitution to satisfy the ego of one man, or the ONE-TIME agenda of a political party.

No it isn't sarcasm. My daughter, who when she is grown will be every bit as much a US citizen as you or me, can't be President. That goes for the other 15000 plus foreign born adopted infants each year. That number is getting bigger every year. Couple that with the children from Latin America that are coming into this country every year and are being naturalized at very high rate.

Of course you shouldn't change the constitution to satisfy the needs and wants of a single person. But there is a lot more to this then Arnold.

Plus the whole Manchurian Candidate thing is completely stupid.


Edit: I guess I was being sarcastic. How bad is it that I miss my own sarcasm? It just pisses me off that people can't see beyond Arnold.

 

[narlus]

Yeah God forbid that my Chinese born daughter, who became a naturalized US Citizen at the age of 16 months, be able to become President......

f'ing xenophobes.

this nation was based on immigration.

 

[biggins]

i think that they will try to push it. With Arnold in particular i think that they see a great opportunity to secure the next 4 to 8 years for the republican party after bush is out. Again i state that i pledge allegiance no none of the political parties but in all honesty i would rather have arnold as the president than Bush any day.

 

[Silver]

Arnold won't win anyways. The hard right won't vote for him...he's married to a Kennedy.

 

[narlus]

plus he's too socially liberal.

hell, i'd vote for arnold, given the choices between bush and kerry.

 

[henrymiller]

The Constitution:

Article V. - Amendment

“The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.”

So Arnold would need 2/3 of both the house and senate to vote for the proposed constitutional change.
Or

Arnold would need 2/3 of all states call for a convetion for the propsoed constitutional change. And then the propsoed change would have to be passed by 3/4 vote of the of the states.

I don’t see either realistically happening.

Yeah God forbid that my Chinese born daughter, who became a naturalized US Citizen at the age of 16 months, be able to become President......

f'ing xenophobes.

I think it would be harder for a Women to become president then for a forgein born national. And it's legal for a women to become president.

IMO

 

[DRB]

I think it would be harder for a Women to become president then for a forgein born national. And it's legal for a women to become president.

IMO

My ADOPTED daughter is a foreign born national that upon entry to the US became a US citizen. Hence my use of the term naturalized US citizen.

I don't give a rat's ass how hard it might be. Its a matter of opportunity.

How can folks not get past the Arnold thing?

 

[JRogers]

We should not change the constitution for one man? The amendment was put in place, at least in part (xenophobia was an important factor), to block Alexander Hamilton from running for office.

If the citizens of the US don't believe that a naturalized citizen should be able to become president, they will let their voice be heard at the polls. Being born a US citizen does not give a person any more or less worth as a leader. Why restrict it? There's no reason besides the fact that it's already in the books.

 

[DRB]

Article II, Section 1, Clause 5

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

So person born to US parents in a foreign country and living there until at 21 years old would be eligible to be president when they turned 35. BUT my daughter who was born in a foreign country and basically who will have lived here her entire life would not.

 

[zod]

i think that they will try to push it. With Arnold in particular i think that they see a great opportunity to secure the next 4 to 8 years for the republican party after bush is out. Again i state that i pledge allegiance no none of the political parties but in all honesty i would rather have arnold as the president than Bush any day.

The GOP doesn't want Arnold as a president and neither would most of the Republican voters in this country...........he's a RINO

 

[henrymiller]

My ADOPTED daughter is a foreign born national that upon entry to the US became a US citizen. Hence my use of the term naturalized US citizen.

I don't give a rat's ass how hard it might be. Its a matter of opportunity.

How can folks not get past the Arnold thing?

You do have the opportunity to change the Constitution. That’s the only legal way your daughter will ever become president. That is something.

Don’t like it, do something about it politically.

 

[DRB]

You do have the opportunity to change the Constitution. That’s the only legal way your daughter will ever become president. That is something.

Don’t like it, do something about it politically.

I understand perfectly what it will take. Part of it is an education process, which was the point of my posts.

That issue is bigger and more far reaching than Arnold and the next one or two elections. Getting hung up on the whole Arnold thing is shortsighted.

 

[RhinofromWA]

...........he's a RINO

What?

 

[zod]

republican in name only

 

[ohio]

I understand perfectly what it will take. Part of it is an education process, which was the point of my posts.

That issue is bigger and more far reaching than Arnold and the next one or two elections. Getting hung up on the whole Arnold thing is shortsighted.

People are fixating on Arnold, because the amendment being advocated is designed to open the door for him. I understand it opens the door for your daughter too (which I agree is the proper thing); however, that is far too wide a door.

Set the age for naturalization to, say, 5 years old and I'm all for it.

 

[Ciaran]

Article II, Section 1, Clause 5



So person born to US parents in a foreign country and living there until at 21 years old would be eligible to be president when they turned 35. BUT my daughter who was born in a foreign country and basically who will have lived here her entire life would not.

I think that if you are really concerned about your daughter being president then the battle you should be fighting is the one henerymiller mentioned...

"I think it would be harder for a Women to become president then for a forgein born national. And it's legal for a women to become president. "

If you really want her to be president then you may want to work changing the minds of voters. I understand your frustration as you of course want every opportunity available to your daughter, but the sad truth (IMO) is that for a long time to come it will be very difficult for a woman, or a brown person (Mexican, black, middle eastern, indian, etc.) to become pres.

Just my thoughts... your mileage may vary.

 

[jaydee]

I guess if you take to its logical conclusion the argument that the farther back your origins lie in the land you now call the USA the more right you have to be President, then aboriginals would have the greatest right to be President. Its the old "I'm OK but nobody who got here after me has any rights" logic.

 

[DRB]

I think that if you are really concerned about your daughter being president then the battle you should be fighting is the one henerymiller mentioned...

Why should that be the battle to fight? Let's try it another way.

We recently moved. Our new neighbor has a daughter that is one day younger than Willow. She was born here. So I fight the battle to get voters to except a woman and Lisa gets to be President not Willow.

Its pretty much a moot point as I'm sure that Willow is going to be way smarter than that.

 

[bmxr]

People are fixating on Arnold, because the amendment being advocated is designed to open the door for him. I understand it opens the door for your daughter too (which I agree is the proper thing); however, that is far too wide a door.

Set the age for naturalization to, say, 5 years old and I'm all for it.

That still sounds purely reactionary. I was born in the US then left the country until high school. By your logic I would be a danger to elect as President because I lived overseas from 1-5 and beyond... I don't get it. Do you really think it would be possible for someone with a (real) allegiance to another country to be ELECTED?

 

[ohio]

That still sounds purely reactionary. I was born in the US then left the country until high school. By your logic I would be a danger to elect as President because I lived overseas from 1-5 and beyond... I don't get it. Do you really think it would be possible for someone with a (real) allegiance to another country to be ELECTED?

I don't know where you got "a danger to be elected." I was pointing out that the situations are different for his daughter, compared to Arnold, and it is not necessary to relax the requirements all the way to Arnold to allow for his daughter's eligibility. I never stated Arnold was a danger (well not in terms of his loyalties, at least). Geesh, who's being reactionary here?

And no I don't think it's possible for someone with an allegiance to another nation to be elected to presidency in the US (though it has happened in Peru), but there is an issue of international perception. For the same reason we would be afriad of electing a Jewish president, because of a percieved automatic allegiance to Israel.

 

[splat]

We should not change the constitution for one man? The amendment was put in place, at least in part, to block Alexander Hamilton from running for office.

Actually your wrong with that !

Our fore put an exception in the constitution to allow Hamilton to Become president

.........or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution........

Hamilton , While Born In England was a citizen by then.

and while I like Arnold over the clowns we have had latlely , I do not Believe we should change the constition.

 

[bmxr]

I don't know where you got "a danger to be elected." I was pointing out that the situations are different for his daughter, compared to Arnold, and it is not necessary to relax the requirements all the way to Arnold to allow for his daughter's eligibility. I never stated Arnold was a danger (well not in terms of his loyalties, at least). Geesh, who's being reactionary here?

And no I don't think it's possible for someone with an allegiance to another nation to be elected to presidency in the US (though it has happened in Peru), but there is an issue of international perception. For the same reason we would be afriad of electing a Jewish president, because of a percieved automatic allegiance to Israel.

Danger comes from what is implicit in your acceptance of someone who becomes a citizen at 1 year of age vs any other age. What's the difference? One's formative years? Even then, so what? What is your 1 year cutoff based on? If there is no explicit or implicit danger then why would it make a difference. "Geesh" right back at 'ya. .

Our allegiance to Israel is already perceived for what it is, strong and mostly unwavering. Other than the fact that he is a democrat , I don't see anything wrong with having someone like Joe Lieberman as President.

 

[-BB-]

Why not also extend the 8yr 2 term limit?

We could have an Arnie/Clinton race.



I like both of those guys, but I still don't want either to have a chance to race.

Nor do I like bush, but as Aaron said, change in general is bad...

 

[TheMontashu]

I don't want Arnold as governor much less as the president of this county. He is no republican, he’s pro gay marriage, pro stem cell research, and anti gun. I think he is way to lax on illegal immigration policies. I’m not totally sure where he stands on economic issues, but he did try and triple the vehicle registration tax if I’m not mistaken.

Was that a coherent enough post for you guys

 

[ohio]

Danger comes from what is implicit in your acceptance of someone who becomes a citizen at 1 year of age vs any other age. What's the difference? One's formative years? Even then, so what? What is your 1 year cutoff based on? If there is no explicit or implicit danger then why would it make a difference. "Geesh" right back at 'ya. . .

I didn't pick the age of 1 based on any scientific study. I am pointing out there there IS a difference between living here from age 1 versus living here starting at age 18. I think where we disagree is you're willingness to "so what?" the formative years. They're called "formative years" for a reason, you know.

Our allegiance to Israel is already perceived for what it is, strong and mostly unwavering. Other than the fact that he is a democrat , I don't see anything wrong with having someone like Joe Lieberman as President.

You misunderstand me. I also don't have a problem with a Jewish president. Hell, I'm Jewish. But you're in a state of denial if you don't think that there will be a (most likely unfair) perception of allegiance to Israel, beyond our official policies. Anyway, that's really only a side issue.

The real issue is those formative years. So you spent yours outside our borders? Were you raised by Americans, were you living on a US military base? If not, then yes, I would certainly have more of a problem electing you than say DRB's daughter, but I'm not going to bother complicating the wording of the constitution over it.

 

[RhinofromWA]

republican in name only

I know.

sorry, my stupid attempt on a play on names.....:

 

[DHanamal]

Besides, there happens to be a bad track record with Austrian born leaders in adopted countries...

Haha good point...

 

[T-Dog]

.......but he did try and triple the vehicle registration tax if I’m not mistaken.

Was that a coherent enough post for you guys

Actually, smart guy, one of the very first things that Arnold did was to REPEAL the increase in the car registration tax which was put into place by Gray Davis.

 

[TheMontashu]

Actually, smart guy, one of the very first things that Arnold did was to REPEAL the increase in the car registration tax which was put into place by Gray Davis.

Thats why I said if im not mistaken i wasn't totaly sure

 

[binary visions]

Thats why I said if im not mistaken i wasn't totaly sure

So, by "if I'm not mistaken", you really mean, "I have no clue whatsoever, and the truth is probably the complete opposite of what I just said."

Gotcha.