This is BS
Focusing on the 14th Amendment instead of the place of Harris's birth doesn't make the argument less racist.
@NancyCooperNYC should study the history of the 14th Amendment (added after the Civil War to give equal rights to Blacks) to see why undermining it is racist.
Focusing on the 14th Amendment instead of the place of Harris's birth doesn't make the argument less racist.
@NancyCooperNYC should study the history of the 14th Amendment (added after the Civil War to give equal rights to Blacks) to see why undermining it is racist.
2/
@NancyCooperNYC says that the 14th Amendment is the one of the most "studied" parts of the Constitution.
The reason?
Because of non-stop attempts on the part of racists, segregationists and former Confederates to find ways around the 14th Amendment.
@NancyCooperNYC says that the 14th Amendment is the one of the most "studied" parts of the Constitution.
The reason?
Because of non-stop attempts on the part of racists, segregationists and former Confederates to find ways around the 14th Amendment.
3/ Did you know that as of January 2017, 42% of Republicans still believed that Obama was born in Kenya? (Link in the next tweet)
Allowing this to stand as a valid Constitutional argument could undermine Kamala Harris for the rest of her career.
Allowing this to stand as a valid Constitutional argument could undermine Kamala Harris for the rest of her career.
4/ People hear these arguments at family gatherings and from neighbors. Most people don't know how to respond to what sounds like a valid argument.
I entirely disagree that we should fail to call this out.
Here's what you need to know . . .
I entirely disagree that we should fail to call this out.
Here's what you need to know . . .
5/ The phrase "natural born" appears in Article II of the Constitution. The Constitution, as adopted in 1789, allowed slavery and viewed Blacks as inferior.
This view was so repugnant to so many that we fought a thing called the Civil War.
The Confederacy lost. . .
This view was so repugnant to so many that we fought a thing called the Civil War.
The Confederacy lost. . .
6/ After the Confederacy lost, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were added to the Constitution. The 13th and 15th outlawed slavery and gave Black men the right to vote.
The 15th Amendment was obviously not widely honored for about 100 years.
The 15th Amendment was obviously not widely honored for about 100 years.
7/ The 14th Amendment contains the "due process" and "equal protection" clauses, which not only freed the enslaved people, it gave them equal rights.
It also clarified what made a person a citizen.
The South and Confederate sympathizers hated this. And I mean hated.
It also clarified what made a person a citizen.
The South and Confederate sympathizers hated this. And I mean hated.
8/ The idea was to instantly give all the freed slaves the full rights of citizenship. None of them had parents who were citizens. Yet all were born here.
Hence, the 14th Amendment makes clear that anyone born here was a citizen.
Hence, the 14th Amendment makes clear that anyone born here was a citizen.
9/ Confederate-sympathizing courts, including the Supreme Court in 1896 (Plessy v. Ferguson) took the teeth out of the "equal protections" clause by holding (for example) that racial segregation didn't violate the 14th Amendment as long as facilites were equal (which never were.)
10/ Notice the word "person." Pretty clear, right?
Turns out that was a highly "studied" and "litigated" word.
19th century courts concluded that women were not "persons" under the 14th Amendment.
Turns out that was a highly "studied" and "litigated" word.
19th century courts concluded that women were not "persons" under the 14th Amendment.
11/ The reason? Well, infants are also "people" but we don't let them vote.
Women were classified with infants and incompetents. While certainly "people" they weren't included in the word "person" in the 14th Amendment.
So that, @NancyCooperNYC, is what we mean by "studied."
Women were classified with infants and incompetents. While certainly "people" they weren't included in the word "person" in the 14th Amendment.
So that, @NancyCooperNYC, is what we mean by "studied."
12/ John Eastman ran for Attorney General in 2010. He didn't make it out of the Republican Primary.
Wanna know who won the election for AG?
Yup, Kamala Harris. sfexaminer.com/news/da-harris…
Why wasn't that disclosed in the article, @NancyCooperNYC ?
Wanna know who won the election for AG?
Yup, Kamala Harris. sfexaminer.com/news/da-harris…
Why wasn't that disclosed in the article, @NancyCooperNYC ?
13/ Just as racists and Confederate-sympathizers hate the "due process" and "equal protections" clauses and the word "persons" in the 14th Amendment, they also hate the "people born here are citizens" part.
Why do you think Trump wants to get rid of it?
nytimes.com/2019/08/22/us/…
Why do you think Trump wants to get rid of it?
nytimes.com/2019/08/22/us/…
14/ John Eastman has been trying to help Trump figure out a way to get around birthright citizenship.
The argument is that actually, the 14th Amendment doesn't allow for birthright citizenship, something that makes ZERO sense. . .
thepantheronline.com/news/chapman-l…
The argument is that actually, the 14th Amendment doesn't allow for birthright citizenship, something that makes ZERO sense. . .
thepantheronline.com/news/chapman-l…
15/ . . . given the fact that the 14th Amendment was added to the Constitution in 1868 after the Civil War for the sole purpose of making freed slaves citizens.
Because none of their parents were actually citizens, by Eastman's argument, no freed slaves were citizens.
Because none of their parents were actually citizens, by Eastman's argument, no freed slaves were citizens.
16/ Follow that to its logical conclusion and Eastman is arguing that nobody who came from slavery is a citizen today unless somewhere along the line, an ancestor became naturalized.
So yes, @NancyCooperNYC, this is an ugly, vile, racist attack on Kamala Harris.
So yes, @NancyCooperNYC, this is an ugly, vile, racist attack on Kamala Harris.
17/ No surprise, the Trump campaign is right on it, helping to spread this baseless rumor.
