Mainstream Republican politicians have to pay lip service to repealing the14th Amendment.

[Marr]

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/boehner-thinks-repealing-fourteenth-a

Can you believe that? It just blows me away. It's not only a radical position, it's radically racist-- but that's what they've been reduced to. I remember when the GOP's game of footsy with bigots and right-wing fundamentalists was actually fairly subtle. They'd sprinkle their otherwise bland talking points with the odd dog whistle phrase, but that was about it. There was no mistaking who was really in charge.

This is Bircher stuff. Even the Republicans used to laugh at them. Now their mainstream politicians have to suck up to these far, far right loons in public and pretend their ideas are workable. It's stunning, and seeing them pay lip service to this 14th Amendment garbage really puts it into sharp relief, at least for me.

[Xipe Totec]

1. Jim Crow in the XXIst century. Repackaged as Jose Cuervo nt

[amborin]

2. K&R

[hansberrym]

3. This is not the slam dunk you think it is.

While the rhetorical charge that Boehner wants to "repeal the 14th amendment" will get some short term gain, it won't take long for the tables to get turned.



http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c103:1:./temp/~c103NUxyqa:e91580:
From Harry Reid's bill:
In the exercise of its powers under section 5 of the Fourteenth Article of Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the Congress has determined and hereby declares that any person born after the date of enactment of this title to a mother who is neither a citizen of the United States nor admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident, and which person is a national or citizen of another country of which either of his or her natural parents is a national or citizen, or is entitled upon application to become a national or citizen of such country, shall be considered as born subject to the jurisdiction of that foreign country and not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States within the meaning of section 1 of such Article and shall therefore not be a citizen of the United States or of any State solely by reason of physical presence within the United States at the moment of birth.

[sarge43]

4. Maybe I'm missing something, but

I'm reading that as saying unless mom is a US citizen at time of your birth, you're not.

[hansberrym]

6. Not quite that narrow, but the point is that Harry Reid proposed the same.

His bill also allowed the children of non-citizens with permanent resident status to be citizens at birth.


Last time I checked, Harry Reid was not a radical racist, and the more this issue gets discussed, the more people will come to see that the real radicals are those who advocate that "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" means everyone (including people in the country illegally) who is not a diplomat.

[pampango]

5. GOP attack on Constitution is suicidal - Orlando Sentinel commentary

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-mike-thomas-14th-amendment-081010-20100809,0,6615378.column

But Republicans have put themselves into a position that disallows compromise. This has devolved into a competition in Republican primaries over who is tougher against illegal immigrants, which we are seeing play out in the governor's race between Rick Scott and Bill McCollum. Any hesitancy over tactics is interpreted as a sign of weakness. I'm just waiting for a political candidate to call for Claymore land mines on the Mexican border. Well, they wouldn't get blowed up if they just stayed put!

In light of this, even those Republicans who know better are keeping quiet on the 14th Amendment. And now party leaders are calling for hearings on the issue without committing to taking any action. That is because nobody actually believes anything will come of this.

It's like the proposal for an amendment banning gay marriage. It gets dragged out and then put away, depending on the needs of that election cycle. But there is a difference. Gays never have been invited under the Republican tent, so losing their vote isn't of concern.

They can argue all they want that this is directed at law-breaking behavior and not Hispanics. But a growing number of Hispanics don't see it that way, and perception is reality in the voting booth. Attacking the 14th Amendment takes us closer to the tipping point at which Hispanics abandon the Republican Party and never look back.