Once again, National Review editor, columnist and pundit, Rich Lowry, has penned a column without stopping to look at reality. His March 25th NY Post piece, Kasich in La-La Land is fraught with the delusions of which he accuses the Ohio governor. Lowry is under the mistaken impression that if Donald Trump doesn’t get to the 1237 delegate votes at the GOP convention that the delegates’ choice to be the Republican presidential nominee will be Trump or Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Time for a reality check. Without any candidate achieving 1237 on the first ballot, it will not be the convention delegates that will decide whether Ted Cruz will be the GOP nominee – it will be the Supreme Court of the United States. And as soon as Lowry, the Cruz campaign, his pundit supporters, campaign contributors, volunteers and the media who question them realizes that, the sooner the voting public will be spared the delusion that the foreign born Cruz is, without any doubt, a “natural born citizen” constitutionally eligible to be President of the United States.
Contrary to Cruz’ deceitful assertion that “it is settled law” that he is a natural born citizen, the SCOTUS has never ruled that a person born of an American citizen outside of the United States or its territories is a “natural born citizen.” As a lawyer and former Supreme Court clerk, Sen. Cruz should be well aware of that fact. Yet he continues to raise money, possibly under false pretenses, solicit votes, and amass Republican delegates without the absolute knowledge that he is constitutionally eligible to be President of the United States.
Candidate Trump suggested, early on, that Cruz should go to court and file for a declaratory judgment to settle the matter and avoid any conflict concerning his eligibility. Not having done so, nor cited any relevant case law making his position “settled law,” appears extremely suspect. And it is tantamount to journalistic malpractice that the media virtually ignores this issue this far into the campaign with votes already being cast.
Florida Rep. Alan Grayson has gone on the record to say that he will file suit in federal court should Ted Cruz leave the convention as the GOP presidential nominee. Such a suit will inevitably go to the eight person Supreme Court – which may very well cause another major problem. Without an odd number of justices to arbitrate the issue, the decision of the lower court will stand should the Supreme Court justices split 4-4. So eventually, Cruz’ eligibility to become POTUS will become “settled law,” only perhaps not in Cruz’ favor.
Lowry’s denigration of the Kasich candidacy is both insulting and dishonest. It is also irrelevant unless and until Mr. Lowry is honest enough to be willing to admit to his readers that there is a possibility that Ted Cruz is constitutionally prohibited from being the President of the United States. Whereas Gov. Kasich, and all the other candidates merely have to produce their birth certificate.
The Op-Ed Alternative 