I still don't understand why we need rules to limit who we can vote for president. If the majority of Americans don't want a foreign born president they won't vote for him/her. The point of a democracy is to voice your opinion with your vote.
Honestly All Rights and Privileges should be granted to everyone that is granted citizenship. Instantaneously. People are saying he would not win anyway . . . to me that is BULL There are ALOT of things that were legalized with that Ideal. . . .Somethings were not made illegal for the same reason . . . Like that packets of silicon in your shoe that says. . DO NOT EAT . .. it means someone did it and in this case. . Arnold may not win .. . but eventually someone will Like I said. . . .once the American Political scene opens up . . . .a Wealthy person from France will stand a better shot at president that a middle class guy from Ohio Rocket River
You have to protect the public interest. Everything is not about protecting the majority or the public want. Sometimes the minority is just as important to protect. And foreigners, ironically, understand that very concept. So you could say that if all american voted in a foregin born president that would be just. And it would be. But that doesn't make it right. It's not in the long term good of the country. It's not in the public interest. So while the popular vote is important, it's not the end all be all, and that's why you have things like the electoral college, state consitutions, the bill of rights, and yes, the law that only a natural born citizen may become president. They exist because they protect both the majority and the minority. In this case, the law is there to protect the people against themselves.
originally posted by NyQuil82 I'm not the only one who didn't know what this meant. Meritocracy: system in whichthe talented are chosen and moved ahead on the basis of their achievement 2: Leadership chosen on the basis of intellectual criteria This race pitting the Bush money against the Heinz/Kerry money proves we don't live in a meritocracy
my austrian wife would not even vote for arnold. it's ironic but in austria arnie is seen as a joke, he was elected to office in california but would have no chance in his home country.
Why are you being such a douche? I'm sure we agree on a lot of things and this one thing has you treating my like I'm some country club yuppie. I don't know how pointing out that my parents are foreigners is in any way similar to the old "some of my friends are black" cliche. You must be foreign, that's the only reason I can think that you'd take one line from me and start calling me xenophobic. If you've got a chip on your shoulder, you'd better find another way of dealing with it.
He won as a republican candidate in one of the most heavily populated liberal states. Do you really think he wouldn't win the presidential election? "Iran need to stop being such nuke girlie-men and disarm"
Here's some sarcasm for you, you change your underwear everyday (hopefully), does that make you a liberal?
He won a recall election against the incumbent and a whole array of challengers. Running against a single Democrat opponent will be an entirely different story.
As an American citizen who is barred from the Presidential office of the United States because my parents happened to be living in Nantes, France, when I was born, I have to say Hell No we shouldn't change the rule. We have millions upon millions of people who are eligible for that office; we likely have thousands of people who could do the job of the president as well as the jokers we actually elect. Are we shooting ourselves in the foot somehow by eliminating a handful of interested candidates on this criterion? No. And, second of all, would anyone consider changing the Constitution so that I can be president? No, so why should we consider it for Arnold? And third, if I was president and we got in a tussle with France, and my advisors were telling me that I should drop the bomb on Nantes, I don't think I'll be doing that. I'll bomb the hell out of Austria though.
That only means you are not a true American. May be we should never send any African Americans to any conflicts in Africa, any Asian Americans to Asia, and Polish Americans to Poland. I just don't see how could they shoot at anyone that looks like them. Let change the Constitution, so only the direct descendants from Mayflower could be voted in to the White House. And the last but not least, no Jews should be allowed too, I just don't see how an American Jew could drop the A bomb on Israelis when they turn against us. No wonder Al Gore lost the bid four years ago.
While I don't think a foreigner should be a President, I would love some one like Arnold to be president. He's some one that talks Republican but governs like a Kennedy. Very much like Bill Clinton that talks liberal, but runs a very right ship. IMO that's what we need to have a bi- partisan leadership and bridge the country.
i apologize for being a douche, but i wasn't calling you xenophobic, I know you're not (then again if you assume that anyone who calls someone "xenophobic" is a foreigner...). point i was making is that America is by its nature xenophobic, all nations are. Patriotism, nationalism, by its nature is xenophobic, and we've been going through one of our most patriotic periods ever, and alot of it is reflected through our policies towards foreigners and those that look like foreigners. I guess overall, saying "some things should never change" is a very broad statement, especially since the nature of the law is xenophobic. 2nd even if i was calling you xenophobic, citing some connection you have with foreigners doesn't counter that. i think i stated in another thread that some of the most anti-immigration people came from immigrant families themselves. my parents are republicans, does that mean that I can't dislike republicans? ill admit i was on autofire, anyone who gives me that response is going to get a similar response from me. seriously, no hard feelings, i wasn't civil.
