Talk radio host Mark Levin criticized the questioning of Republican presidential candidate Texas Senator Ted Cruz, stating, “just because he [Trump] says something doesn’t mean I have to agree with it like our friends over at Breitbart who are going all kinds of crazy over the birther issue” while addressing the issue over multiple segments of his radio show on Wednesday.
Levin began by saying, “I like Donald Trump. I like him a lot. I think he’s done great things in the last six months, but I’m not chasing shiny objects, and I’m not chasing squirrels. And just because he says something doesn’t mean I have to agree with it like our friends over at Breitbart who are going all kinds of crazy over the birther issue.” He added that the birther issue with both Cruz and President Obama is “stupid,” no one has standing to challenge it, no court would take it up, and is “just not true.” Levin continued that “the liberals love this stuff.”
He then turned to the specific claims that Cruz isn’t eligible, saying that both Trump and columnist Ann Coulter have “taken two positions” on the issue. Levin also dismissed claims by Trump that the Washington Post brought the subject up, not him.
Levin then said anyone who is born to a US citizen can run for president, regardless of where they were born. He then read the 5th clause of Article II, Section I of the US Constitution, and argued that children born to US citizens abroad are natural born US citizens under US law.
He continued by pointing to arguments that child born in the US are not automatically natural born citizens under the 14th Amendment, that he and other conservatives have embraced, contrary to the “amnesty crowd, the establishment Republicans, [and] dummies on TV”.
Levin further said, “We’re not liberals. We try to discern the truth. We try to discern the facts. We try to discern the law. We try to figure out what the framers meant in the Constitution. The framers didn’t reject people who were born of American citizens from being American citizens.” He added that the Supreme Court would never hear such a case because almost no one has standing to bring one, and it would be considered a political question by SCOTUS.
Levin then addressed arguments that someone has to be born to two US citizens in order to be considered a natural born citizen by stating that such a rule appears nowhere in the Constitution. He added, “So, rather than being activists, and liberals, and re-writing the Constitution, and trying to change it to accommodate a candidate, that’s not what constitutional conservatives do. That’s not who we are.”
Levin then declared that Cruz’s eligibility was “resolved,” and questions over Cruz’s eligibility are “for the kooks.”
He then argued that the media loves the questions about Cruz’s eligibility, because it takes attention away from President Obama “eviscerating the Constitution” with his executive action on gun control, and that such questions “played right into the liberal’s hands.”
Levin further stated, “I don’t believe in cults of personality. Some websites do. Some commentators do. Fine. I’m not one of them.” And that “chasing another dumbass issue” wouldn’t help save the country, or change a single vote, but only gives the media an excuse to ignore Obama’s gun control actions.
He concluded the first segment with, “Stop chasing liberal arguments. Don’t accept cults of personality. Be freedom-loving, constitutional conservatives. Have self-respect. Stand on principle. And let us beat the liberals.”
In the second segment, Levin said he would debate, on-air, “any so-called legal scholar, professor, serious commentator, or candidate” on this issue. He added, “And don’t give me Ann Coulter. She’s taken the same — taken different positions on this. And she backed [Sen. Mitch] McConnell (R-KY), and Christie. I don’t need that. Although, I’d be happy to do it, frankly.” Levin continued that he wasn’t attacking Trump, but he is defending the Constitution and would do so “against all comers.”
Levin then played audio of Trump saying that he thinks Cruz is “in fine shape” on his eligibility to run for president back in September. He later argued that it’s not Cruz’s responsibility to get a court to declare him eligible, and that a court wouldn’t do so even if Cruz tried. Levin then challenged anyone who believed Cruz wasn’t eligible to go to court themselves. He further argued that the matter is settled, and “If people want to keep chasing it, it’s because they want radio ratings, or TV ratings…whatever it is.”
Levin re-iterated that Cruz is a natural born US citizen, just as George Romney and Senator John McCain (R-AZ), before adding that the framers were concerned about loyalty to the US, and that this isn’t “much of a concern.” And the matter is “boring.”
In the third segment, Levin cited an article by Ilya Shapiro that argued Cruz is eligible to president, although he objected to Shapiro’s claim that “birth within the nation’s territory regardless of parental citizenship” guarantees natural born citizenship. He further stated that attacking Cruz’s eligibility is something liberals have done, and that “using left-wing arguments against a conservative is unacceptable.”
He later said, “Now, if you’re a solid conservative, if you’re a Reaganite, if you’re a constitutionalist, now’s the time to see who is writing what, to determine whether they are serious about their principles, serious about restoring this republic, serious about the Constitution, and serious about conservatism, or whether they follow a cult of personality.” Levin added that if you don’t believe, as he does, that children born in the US to non-citizen parents are not automatically citizens, the consistent position is that someone born to a US citizen is a natural born citizen, regardless of where they were born, and that Canada’s laws are irrelevant.
Levin closed by stating that he was defending everyone born to US citizens overseas, and that the attacks on Cruz are also attacks on them.
(h/t The Right Scoop)
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.