I know there are some Republicans who would enjoy seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger become governor of California, but I thought I could take solace in the fact that the Terminator could never be President. After all, he was born in Austria, and Article 2, Sec. 1, of the Constitution says you have to be a “natural born citizen” to be eligible to seek the presidency.
According a post I saw at Demagogue, however, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has a plan to change that.
It turns out Hatch quietly introduced a constitutional amendment in the Senate last week called the “Equal Opportunity to Govern” amendment, or S. J. RES. 15. According to the proposal, “A person who is a citizen of the United States, who has been for 20 years a citizen of the United States, and who is otherwise eligible to the Office of President, is not ineligible to that Office by reason of not being a native born citizen of the United States.”
Hatch said, “The purpose of the native-born citizen requirement has long passed, and it is time for us — the elected representatives of this nation of immigrants — to remove this impediment.”
What motivated Hatch’s to launch this new effort? It’s hard to say; he didn’t make much of a fuss about it, but many in the media are noting that the constitutional amendment could help Schwarzenegger, who has helped Hatch raise money in the past, seek the presidency after serving as governor of California (which is quite a leap considering Schwarzenegger hasn’t even run for office yet).
I should note, of course, that this effort isn’t exactly generating a lot of buzz. When Hatch introduced S. J. RES. 15, he was able to garner exactly zero cosponsors in the Senate.
There is, however, a similar measure pending in the House. H. J. RES. 59 is identical to Hatch’s amendment in the Senate, except it has a longer citizenship requirement — 35 years instead of 20. Oddly enough, while the Senate effort is being led by a conservative (Hatch), the House effort is sponsored by Vic Snyder (D-Ark.), a moderate. In fact, the House bill has six co-sponsors — 3 Dems and 3 Republicans — including the very liberal Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and the very conservative Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).
And, it turns out, this isn’t the first time such a change was considered. Thomas Jefferson apparently wanted Albert Gallatin, who served as his secretary of commerce and James Madison’s secretary of state, to be able to run for president. Since Gallatin was born in Sweden, he could not, much to Jefferson’s chagrin.
To tell you the truth, this isn’t something I’d ever given much thought to, but it’s not a horrible idea. Though am I hesitant to agree with Hatch, we are a nation of immigrants. Men and women who may been born elsewhere come to the United States, become citizens, and are just as much a part of this country as those of us who were born on American soil. They pay taxes, vote, serve in the military, and hold elected office, just like citizens who were born here. Why should they be prohibited from being president?
For those of you concerned that this could open the door to well-known, naturalized citizens running for the White House as Republicans — Schwarzenegger, Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Mel Martinez — it could just as easily help Democrats, including Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, whom I believe would make an excellent presidential candidate were it not for the fact that she was born in Canada.