Schwarzenegger may challenge law to run for President

[Miles]

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[ElectionsGuy]

Oh dear, the nation doesn't want Schwarzenegger as president and the challenge probably won't pass. As much as I like Arnold as an actor in movies, he's a horrible politician.

[Senator Spiral]

I would be fine with scrapping the natural-born citizen clause for being eligible to be president, but Ahnold isn't for the job by any stretch.

[Donerail]

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

It's sorta hard to launch a legal challenge to a requirement that is in the Constitution.  You'd have to argue that one of the later Amendments somehow implicitly nullified it.  I don't see it.

About the only loophole I can see is annexation.  If we were to annex Austria and thus bring it into the United States, then as a natural born citizen of our 51st State, the Governator would be eligible to become President.

[badgate]

[Pheurton Skeurto]

Came here to post this.

[Maxwell]

He was an enormously incompetent Governor of California, irrelevant.

[Bacon King]

It's sorta hard to launch a legal challenge to a requirement that is in the Constitution.  You'd have to argue that one of the later Amendments somehow implicitly nullified it.  I don't see it.

About the only loophole I can see is annexation.  If we were to annex Austria and thus bring it into the United States, then as a natural born citizen of our 51st State, the Governator would be eligible to become President.

There was a case last year where someone sought to have the "natural born citizen" clause repealed via the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause and the suit failed. The only other remotely logical I can think of would be the claim that the right to run for president is covered by the 9th amendment, it something?

[SteveRogers]

Hmmm...

You can't really challenge a constitutional provision unless you're arguing that two provisions are contradictory or that a later amendment supersedes an older provision.

I don't think you could argue the 14th amendment negates the Article II natural born citizen clause. The 14th amendment's equal protection clause only applies to the states.

My guess would be that you'd have to argue the Federal equal protection guarantee, as read into the 5th amendment (though not until 1954) , contradicts the  Natural Born Citizen clause.

It's a fun though experiment, but I can't really see the Supreme Court going for that.

[morgieb]

Wouldn't get past the primary and was an incompetent governor anyway.

Still the law should be scrapped though.

[Mr. Morden]

It's not true:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/10/18/schwarzenegger-denies-hes-aiming-for-president/

[Maxwell]

It's not true:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/10/18/schwarzenegger-denies-hes-aiming-for-president/

Didn't think so.

[hopper]

He wasn't a very good governor so I don't think he would make even a decent president.

[H. Ross Peron]

I would be fine with scrapping the natural-born citizen clause for being eligible to be president, but Ahnold isn't for the job by any stretch.

[Tender Branson]

LOL, good luck ...

Maybe he can team up with Ted Cruz, the Canadian ...

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

LOL, if he ran, he could spend $62 million and not get the hypothetical delegate that Guiliani got. Only a true Republican hack would claim that he was a better governor than Jerry Brown.

[Tender Branson]

Speaking of Arnold:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDxn0Xfqkgw

He should better stick with acting ...

[PokemonMaster]

When Arnold Schwarzenegger dies, he should become Eternal Governator of the California People's Republic.

[Indy Texas]

"Mr. Schwarzenegger, on what grounds are you challenging this? Have you ever actually read the Constitution?"

"I was elected to lead...not to read."

[Antonio the Sixth]

How in the world do you "challenge" a constitutional provision?!?

[Pheurton Skeurto]

"I was elected to lead...not to read."

I still think this is one of the funniest things the Simpsons has ever done.

[Bacon King]

How in the world do you "challenge" a constitutional provision?!?

Ernest and I touched on this above- you'd have to argue that a constitutional amendment had already implicitly removed the requirement. One might also argue that the text is interpreted incorrectly but that wouldn't do any good for Arnie because he's obvs not a "natural born citizen" of the US, regardless of the term's precise meaning.

[minionofmidas]

Of course he is - he's a natural at being an American!

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

"Mr. Schwarzenegger, on what grounds are you challenging this? Have you ever actually read the Constitution?"

"I was elected to lead...not to read."

For some reason they also have a parody character, Rainier Wolfcastle.