Republicans want to dump the 14th Amendment to get rid of the "thems."

[Cyrano]

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution says that if you're born in the U.S., you're an American citizen with no ifs, ands or buts about it.

But of course, the Republican's "concerns" are about "the usual suspects" --people who were born here, but who they don't want here. (i.e. Mexican babies who were born shortly after their mothers crossed the border.)

Actually, I'm all for it as long as it contains a clause that states that Republicans born in the United States can be deprived of their citizenship by a simple majority vote of congress.

Republicans just love passing laws that don't apply to them. I wonder how they would feel about the 14th Amendment if they themselves became the primary targets?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/02/jon-kyl-repeal-14th-amendment-immigrant

[Deep13]

1. Guess Lee should have done better at Gettysburg then. nt

[Arkana]

2. Gee, and here I thought they held the Constitution sacrosanct.

For a document they revere, they sure want to make a lot of changes--banning abortion, banning gay marriage, banning flag burning, and now dumping the 14th Amendment to keep out "undesirables".

[JuniperLea]

4. All those laws and government involvement in people's lives...

From the idiots who are always saying we need less government and less government involvement in our lives.

[JuniperLea]

3. Well, THOSE Americans just aren't American enough! Harrumph!

I'm just sick of all the attacks on people, period. If we spent half as much time and money worrying about why people come here and who is hiring them, there would be no problem. We spend money all over the world, but here we are with a next door neighbor and we can't figure out how to help. Ridiculous. No one is really interested in helping, or "fixing" some problem. They just want to use this "issue" as a means to whip the masses to a froth so it appears someone is doing something and that's why you should vote for them... basically saying, I'm a racist, so are you, let's pool our hate and get something done! Grrr.

[LatteLibertine]

5. President Obama sez

"Don't try it."

/>

[Cyrano]

6. If the Republicans regain control of congress,

they'll find a way to "prove beyond a reasonable doubt" that Obama's not an American born citizen. Pelosi and Reid will probably be next.

Will the American people ever learn that the Republicans aren't playing by any rules except the ones they make up -- along with the help of Fox News, and the Teabaggers.

[CrispyQ]

7. Isn't the 14th what corporate personhood is (falsely) based on?

Will they throw that out too?

[havocmom]

8. Babies born to recently arrived mothers would be tip of the iceberg

Patriot Act already did an end run around ANYBODY's rights. With the 14th gone, 'ownership society' could easily come to very vile levels which would please corporations.

Imagine: 'only property owners' have birthright. Morph into 'only owners of property valued over XYZ' have birthright. How long before 'only special people with approved bloodlines and properties' have birthright? Suddenly all are created equal, but some pigs are more equal than the rest of the farm animals. Slavery might be just fine for those with no birthright.

Kyl is vile. And this is just the beginning. The owners of the ownership society are not being coy anymore.

[Cyrano]

10. Actually, even with the 14th Amendment in place, all of us are

virtually owned by the corporations. For all practical purposes they can do just about anything they want to do to us.

There may be a way out of our current servitude but, short of dusting off the guillotine, I don't know if it will come about in our lifetimes.

[havocmom]

15. We can, collectively, try to sue when they damage us too blatantly

Without our birthright, kiss even that last resort buh-bye.

Yes, they own the means of food, so they own us. Am in the middle of seeing what corporate farming means to Americans. They do not want ANY of us to have ANY ability to be even marginally self sufficient.

Wanna talk security of the homeland? Talk food for the masses. We don't have security because food is controlled by corporations. And they want to make sure we can't grow a salad.

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. You mean go back to the 18th century?

[havocmom]

19. Actually, thinking more the Seventh Century

That seems to be where the owners of society are taking us. They, of course, will keep lurching bravely into the techno-comfort of the future.

[Cyrano]

20. Given all the world-wide cheap labor available today, we are

nothing more than excess baggage.

We are no longer necessary, needed, or wanted.

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. Actually more white males had the franchise in the 17th

than the 18th... of course we also had convict labor, and white slaves, but those two are SHHHH, can you keep a secret?

[havocmom]

22. White males will be as SOL as the rest of us very soon

Slavery to the corporate empires will be the uniting bond for all humankind.

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. Yeah but since I am in the midst of actually reading

primary sources for that period... I was all but amused when I read how the franchise was taken away from whole groups of people by the 18th century. Hell, they did not make it a secret... how the House of Burgess, in Virginia for example, became an institution for those who were the landed gentry. Like that has not happened recently... see US Senate...

This is when I go... history has definite echoes, but since we don't teach THAT history... it is easier to repeat it. I mean, not like it's never happened before.

That said, I am hoping that before we reach that point people will finally take to the streets... not counting on it... but perhaps they will... even if Bacon's revolt failed...

Also preparing classes, so in the midst of selecting what matters about things like that.

[MyNameGoesHere]

9. There is an overt war being declared on non-white races

by the Reich wing. I think they know they cannot win the Presidential election so the strategy is to get back all congressional seats and state and local spots. You have to ask yourself, with all the blatant racist initiatives of late, why is there a record number of African Americans running as repukes this time? And then there is the South Carolina thing. Lot of strange overt racist stuff going on. I do not think it a coincidence.

[Bitwit1234]

11. First is has to be approved by 2/3 of the House and Senate

do you think that will happen? Then 3/4of the States must ratify it. Do you think that would happen. That is at least 39 states...I don't think these bunch of ignorant republicans know how the Constitution is amended.

[Cyrano]

13. My guess is that if they ever regain the White House and congress,

they'll just erase it. Playing by the rules isn't something they do. Just look at the eight years of Cheney/Bush. They totally demolished the Constitution, yet there was no revolution.

[CoffeeCat]

14. I don't think they care...

...about how the Constitution is supposed to be amended.

We've lost the right to privacy with all of the illegal surveilance. We also lost Habeas Corpus.
We're also supposed to have free and fair elections.

These people don't care about procedure anymore.

[DBoon]

12. That part was intended to ensure former slaves would be citizens

that lack of formal birth documentation would not result in emancipated slaves being declared non-citizens

The Republican's tricks are entirely designed to circumvent this intent - they again want to make "the others" into something less than a full citizen protected by the constitution

[lpbk2713]

16. Anyone who isn't one of the privileged class is excess baggage.

It's one of their basic fundamentals. That's what being a rethuglican is all about.

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. You know what amazes me

having worked at the border... no I don't recall pregnant women in Mexico crossing the border to get them famous anchor babies. Hell, if you ask border patrol agents if that is common? They will also tell you that no, it is not.

But that is just me.

Racist is, racist does, and who is next?