THE
CASE FOR ARTICLE TWO, SECTION ONE
by Timothy Rollins, Editor and Publisher
February 24, 2004
Sunday,
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) was making the rounds on the talk-show
circuit. Schwarzenegger is in the nation's capital with his fellow governors
to meet with one of their own - President Bush - for their winter meetings with
him. During the course of his discussion with Tim Russert of NBC's "Meet
the Press", the Governator opined that anyone who has been a United States
Citizen for at least 20 years should be eligible to run for the nation's highest
office. A proposed constitutional amendment 'hatched' by Senator Orrin Hatch
(R-UT) might make this possible - were it to pass - which it won't, for a number
of reasons.
Schwarzenegger is right when he says, "There are so many people in this country that are now from overseas, that are immigrants that are doing such a terrific job with their work, bringing businesses here, that there's no reason why not." This may be true on paper, especially when he refers to former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Madeline Albright, both of whom were born in Europe. However, the fact of the matter remains that many people considered Kissinger evil, and as for Madeline not-so-bright, her book "Madame Secretary" probably only sold its copies to former staff members and whatever hangers-on she may have acquired in the four years America was stuck having her further embarrass us during the waning days of the Clinton administration. Albright was clearly a liability for our foreign policy and the damage she inflicted on America is a mess that still needs cleaning up and will for some time to come. A recent review of her book "Madame Secretary" clearly shows that among those who knew her, they felt that Albright was clearly at the bottom of the heap when asked for possibilities for future Secretaries of State. The only reason she got the job was because she was a woman - not because of any legitimate qualifications she brought to the job, because she had none to begin with. If Schwarzenegger was either seeking to make his own case or for that of other foreign-born citizens being elected to the presidency, surely he could have selected better examples.
Hatch is not the only one who has spoken out in favor of amending the Constitution in this manner. Reportedly, former Utah Supreme Court Justice Dallin Oaks has supported the idea of a constitutional amendment for this as well, among others. While I have great respect for the lifetime accomplishments of these men and others who support this, I cannot help but believe they are 'out to lunch' on this issue, especially in a post-9-11 world. It's bad enough that we have Hillary and Bill Clinton and their puppet Terry McAuliffe maintaining a stranglehold on a once-great Democratic Party. To have foreign-born troublemakers in the mix is something our national security cannot afford.
Before anyone goes off and calls me xenophobic, keep in mind one very important factor, and that's this: A foreign-born president (if elected) could be subject to manipulation from forces and sources outside the country that a native-born president isn't. They may have hidden loyalties that could get past the traditional vetting process; and in an age where the Pentagon just recently pulled its head out of its collective keister and scrapped Internet voting on the grounds that voting results could be manipulated by hackers or worse, terrorists, thus corrupting the integrity of our election process and putting the Republic at risk, having a foreign-born president goes contrary to the best interests of our national security and must never be permitted at any cost.
Even if Hatch gets this proposed abortion of an amendment through both houses, there is no way on the good green earth that 38 state legislatures are going to go along with it. People will riot in the streets and descend on statehouses, and if need be, I'll personally lead the way in protests or use whatever mechanisms the law allows to prevent this amendment from ever coming to pass.
The Founding Fathers were blessed with a sense of vision that allowed them to see far into the future. As I have stated before in this column, I believe the framers of the Constitution were wise men raised up by God for that very purpose. To tamper with the Constitution by allowing foreign-born naturalized citizens to serve as President would indeed open a Pandora's Box that would jeopardize the very survival of our nation. I'm simply not willing to take that chance.
Are you? ***
© 2004 Timothy Rollins
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