title:  Karma’s a Bi*ch: Birthers Go To Court To Challenge Rubio’s Eligibility For Presidency
text: They say karma s a bi*ch. It appears that at least two serious contenders for the Republican nomination for the presidency may not be eligible to be president according to birthers. Ted Cruz was born in Canada and Marco Rubio is being challenged as well. This week, Rubio sought to have a Florida complaint on his eligibility thrown out saying the argument  would jeopardize centuries of precedent and deem at least six former presidents ineligible for office. Rubio was born in Florida in 1971. However, Rubio s Cuban immigrant parents did not become U.S. citizens until 1975. That, according to birthers, means he s disqualified from becoming  president under Article 2 of the Constitution, which states that  no person except a natural born citizen   shall be eligible to the Office of President.  This is despite the fact that Rubio was born in the United States. Here is the birther argument about Rubio:  Birthers rely on various passages to back up their argument. One is the treatise The Law of Nations by Swiss philosopher Emer de Vattel, which they say influenced the founding fathers. The natives, or natural-born citizens, are those born in the country, of parents who are citizens.   They also cite the U.S. Supreme Court, which in the 1875 case Minor vs. Happersett, used the term  natural born citizen  in reference to persons who were born in the United States, of U.S.-citizen parents. Birthers argue that since his parents were not citizens when he was born, that disqualifies him from becoming president. Rubio filed a motion to dismiss on Jan. 11. The 34-page filing shows that Rubio s legal team spent considerable time researching the issue. The report concludes the following: Senator Rubio is a natural born citizen of the United States and he is eligible to be President of the United States. Is it karma that the Republicans are now reeling from the prospect of two of their leading candidates being ineligible for the presidency?  Throughout President Obama s seven years in the White House, many Republicans have floated the idea that he was not born in the United States. In fact, they propagated the idea so much that 53% of Republicans believe this nonsense today.Now, it s the Republicans that are destroying any credibility they have left. It s not just Rubio. Trump is after Cruz, saying he s disqualified from being president because he was born in Canada. Trump even plays Born in the USA, by Bruce Springsteen, at all his rallies as a shot at Cruz.The birther movement, which consists of many Republicans, has attacked and tried to discredit the president for years. Now, that same movement is after the very same institution, the Republican Party, that propagated it in the first place.Featured Image: Flickr