Long-time readers know that I’ve written a handful of posts about a proposed constitutional amendment to alter the “natural born citizen” rule for presidential candidates. While the measure hasn’t generated much attention on Capitol Hill, a comment from Arnold Schwarzenegger is bringing added interest to the amendment in the press.
Article 2, Sec. 1, of the Constitution says you have to be a “natural born citizen” to be eligible to seek the presidency. Currently pending in Congress, however, are two proposals (one in the House, one in the Senate) to allow naturalized citizens to run for the White House.
As I’ve said before, I’m generally opposed to tinkering with the Constitution, but this change has merit. We are a nation of immigrants. Men and women who were 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 at nearly every level. Why should they be prohibited from being president?
On Meet the Press yesterday, in his first appearance on a Sunday morning show, Schwarzenegger suggested the amendment may be a good idea. He explained, after some prodding from Tim Russert:
I think that, you know, times have changed. I think this is now a much more global economy. I think that there’s so many people here in this country that are now from overseas, that are immigrants, that are doing such a terrific job with the work, bringing businesses here and all this, that there’s no reason why not. I mean, the key thing is it’s just that you understand the political system, how it works. And, you know, maybe people can be great contributors. I mean, look at the kind of contribution that people like Henry Kissinger has made; Madeleine Albright. I mean, there’s many, many, many people here that have worked within the government and have done an extraordinary job and not have been born in America.
I certainly don’t share Arnold’s enthusiasm for Henry Kissinger’s “contributions,” but I can largely agree with the sentiment about the amendment.
Some in the media are playing this up as if Schwarzenegger actually intends to launch a presidential campaign. The New York Times reported today that Schwarzenegger “may already be eyeing a bigger stage than Sacramento.”
If you saw the show, this isn’t entirely fair. Schwarzenegger seemed largely focused on his responsibilities in California and only talked about the proposed amendment as an afterthought, and only after Russert brought it up.
And even if Schwarzenegger is harboring presidential aspirations, a quick glance at congressional support for the proposed amendment suggests that a change to the Constitution remains very unlikely.
The Senate effort is being led by Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), of all people, who introduced S. J. Res. 15 in July. Hatch’s proposal hasn’t exactly caught fire. Since the legislation’s introduction, zero senators have signed on as co-sponsors.
The proposal isn’t doing much better in the House. As of this morning, H. J. Res. 59 has the backing of just seven lawmakers — 4 Dems and 3 Republicans. Six were the original sponsors. Only one supporter — Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) — has signed on since mid-June. (Rumor has it Conyers likes the idea so Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm can run for President, despite being born in Canada.)
In other words, Schwarzenegger’s comment may have sparked some interest in the amendment with political reporters, but the fact remains that the effort has virtually no congressional support and is going nowhere fast.