I’m proud to have met Senator Tammy Duckworth and work on her first campaign. Despite being a double amputee and Purple Heart receiving veteran of the Iraq War, she has always had her patriotism and American identity questioned by her political opponents. Every single time she dresses them down like no one else can. Read this Op-Ed and tell me she won’t make mincemeat of the cowardly Mike Pence in a debate.
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We’re sure she’s eligible, right? She was born abroad, but maybe parental citizenship takes care of it.
Yes. She’s in a similar situation to McCain I believe. Born abroad to an American parent on American territory.
My understanding is that McCain was born in the Canal Zone, which was part of the US at the time. Later Carter transfered, or gave, the Canal Zone to Panama. I don’t think there is any similar situation with Duckworth. I believe she was born in Thailand and not in any zone which might have been considered part of the US. That being the case, the issue would likely revolve around the meaning of the words “natural born citizen.” Very ambiguous at best.
One key consideration of a VP nominee should be considerations of the line of attack that will be used against them. For example, if it were Val Deming we would hear a constant recitation of her record standing with police officers who were accused of excessive use of force. It would erase any positives her candidacy would bring to the ticket. I think Duckworth would be great if it were not for the cloud she would bring over her eligibility to be president. Some think she is ineligible because she was born in Thailand. Others think that’s not the case. One could argue it either way. The point being that her eligibility would become “the issue” around her VP candidacy,and become a huge negative for the Biden/ Duckworth ticket. It would raise issues about Biden’s judgement. Imagine a scenario under which she is elected VP and called upon to become the President because of Biden becoming incapacitated. I think it would likely generate litigation to prevent her from becoming President. Her eligibility could well be decided by the Supreme Court. I think this is an issue that the Biden campaign would be well advised to avert by not choosing Duckworth. I suspect they are smart enough to get that.
If the National Review is conceding she’s a citizen, I don’t see the big deal.
For those wondering, Duckworth is eligible to be president and counts as a “natural-born citizen,” despite being born in Thailand, because her father was a U.S. citizen, and thus she was a U.S. citizen from the moment she was born. As the Congressional Research Service concluded:
The weight of legal and historical authority indicates that the term “natural born” citizen would mean a person who is entitled to U.S. citizenship “by birth” or “at birth,” either by being born “in” the United States and under its jurisdiction, even those born to alien parents; by being born abroad to U.S. citizen-parent
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/tammy-duckworth-is-auditioning-to-be-bidens-running-mate/
You may not have felt the questions raised by Trump and others over Obama’s birth certificate were a big deal either. I don’t recall the National Review’s position on it.
I’m sure she will get attacked, as she already has been by Tucker Carlson and company. So far they seem to have raised her name recognition and amplified her bid. When they’ve gone low she’s fought back. I think that’s an asset in a Veep.
Those attacks on Obama did not stop him from becoming president or getting re-elected. I think the voters gullible enough to buy that lie wanted to believe it since they already opposed Obama. Similarly this line of attack reveals more about the attacker than the target.
Sure, the scurrilous attacks on Obama ultimately failed. But, not before he produced a copy of his Hawaii birth certificate months before the 2008 election. The birth certificate proved that Obama was born in Hawaii, therefore rendering the question of his eligibility mute. In Duckworth’s case, the location of her birth will not be in dispute. The dispute will be over interpretations of the meaning of the words “natural born citizen.” The question remains unsettled and would likely become the central issue around Duckworth’s candidacy. The question can not possibly be resolved before the election in November. So, it would raise a further question, that being, “Why would Joe Biden choose a running mate who may not be eligible to become President?” It becomes a circular debate that cannot be resolved. It ultimately becomes a hurdle for the Biden campaign, despite the other obvious assets Duckworth would bring to the ticket.
I disagree with that. She has proof that her father was a citizen serving his country abroad while she was born on an American base, no different from Sen. McCain. The only people critiquing her will be right wing racists obsessed with birthright citizenship and not anyone who matters to swing voters. You really think Don Lemon will treat it like the missing plane for 24 hours? It’s an issue that has only come up on the fringe. The birther charge ultimately backfired.