FOOLISHNESS
A New Target For Birthers?
Would a Republican get the same scrutiny as President Obama?
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by David Mark
Image: AP
It's never too early for conspiracy theorists. Birthers spent years spreading the lie that President Barack Obama was born outside the U.S. They're next target could be a rising Republican star.
Sen.-elect Ted Cruz was born in Canada in 1970 to American mother and Cuban-born father. The Texas Republican and a tea party favorite, isn't a leading 2016 WH candidate, considering he hasn't even been sworn into the Senate yet. But Commentary's Jonathan S. Tobin writes that in a wide open field such a bid isn't completely out of the question.
Tobin also highlights questions that will inevitably be raised about Cruz's birthplace, though there's no reason to. The same goes for a more likely 2016 Republican candidate, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
"One interesting note about Cruz is that if he does run, his Cuban ancestry isn't the only thing he'll have in common with Rubio. Since Cruz was born in Canada it could feed the conspiracy theorists that have developed some original, if absurd ideas about who is eligible for the presidency," Tobin writes.
"Like George Romney and John McCain, Cruz was not born in the United States. But since his mother was an American, he must still be considered a natural born citizen. But expect some who have questioned Rubio's eligibility (although the Florida senator was born in the United States, his parents were not yet citizens) to probably play the same with Cruz."
Politix analysis and via Commentary.
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