Schwarzenegger 2020: Equal Opportunity to Govern

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by TGLS

Just a small question, but if Alternate Schwarzenegger is so much of a powerhouse he can make Democrats and Republicans work together, why didn't he win the presidency in 2016?

Because the Alien Space Bats were not able to get the constitutional amendment allowing him to be eligible ratified in time for him to run in that election. That was obviously the goal, but even with paranormal assistance, alt-Schwarzenegger just couldn't see a realistic chance to win the Presidency in that election, not when his opponents could so easily use this legal obstacle against him.

The ASBs are more powerful in 2019 than they were in 2015 and they've had more time. Also, given how much increasing age affects perceived electability, the Alien Space Bats might be willing to consider methods that in 2011 and 2015 were rejected as too risky or messy.

[roguebfl]

Originally Posted by malloyd

Citizenship has always been messily defined pretty much everywhere. There have been people born to US Citizen parents who have been found not to be citizens in actual court cases. Most of those loopholes have been closed since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - the 1948 UN treaty that asserts everyone has a right to a nationality - but it wouldn't surprise me if there are some left, and most presidential candidates are still people born before 1948. Exactly what constitutes "natural born" has apparently never actually been seriously tested in court.

One of them effects younger nieces via my younger sister. My younger sister is natural born US Citizens born in the US but hasn't been in the US since before her 18th birthday so her children don't qualify for automatic citizenship

But the children of my older sister has lived in US after her 18th birthday, so her children are dual citizens

[roguebfl]

Originally Posted by Icelander

The ASBs are more powerful in 2019 than they were in 2015 and they've had more time. Also, given how much increasing age affects perceived electability, the Alien Space Bats might be willing to consider methods that in 2011 and 2015 were rejected as too risky or messy.

It is less age as growing dissatisfaction with the aging generation. As if that generation wasn't falling out of favor the age is instead seen as experience.

[DanHoward]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Not precisely. It's more in the category of "the exact boundaries between legislative and judicial power haven't been explored". There are a fair number of examples of that in US law, because both sides are reluctant to push the issue and have it clearly established against them (the political process will generally favor the stance which makes most sense to the populace).

The Constitution specifically gives Congress the right to legislate the definition of "natural-born citizen". A constitutional amendment is not needed. All that is needed is for the legislature to do its job and clarify the law.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by DanHoward

The Constitution specifically gives Congress the right to legislate the definition of "natural-born citizen".

The constitution explicitly gives congress the power of defining a uniform rule of naturalization. It is generally accepted that this includes the right to define conditions (in excess of those specified by the 14th amendment) that allow someone to have birthright citizenship. That does not mean Congress has explicit authority to define natural-born citizen, except to the extent it interacts with the power to define naturalization.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by Anthony

The constitution explicitly gives congress the power of defining a uniform rule of naturalization. It is generally accepted that this includes the right to define conditions (in excess of those specified by the 14th amendment) that allow someone to have birthright citizenship. That does not mean Congress has explicit authority to define natural-born citizen, except to the extent it interacts with the power to define naturalization.

And while theoretically legal, extending birthright citizenship retroactively to someone born to foreign nationals outside the US would realistically be rejected on a massive scale. If the Alien Space Bats can get that through, they can probably just have him declared emperor by acclamation.

A constitutional amendment that repeals the requirement, or a finding that the 14th amendment already had, at least has a veneer of plausibility if you don't look too closely.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by RyanW

And while theoretically legal, extending birthright citizenship retroactively to someone born to foreign nationals outside the US would realistically be rejected on a massive scale. If the Alien Space Bats can get that through, they can probably just have him declared emperor by acclamation.

A constitutional amendment that repeals the requirement, or a finding that the 14th amendment already had, at least has a veneer of plausibility if you don't look too closely.

A veneer of plausibility is exactly what I'm looking for.

The machinations of the Alien Space Bats* are explicitly supernatural effects. But because of the rules of magic in the setting, paranormal phenomena should be possible to rationalize as some natural, if extremely unlikely, course of events, or it becomes exponentially more difficult to bring about. So, a veneer of plausibility is enough for the effects to be viable as emblematic of magic in the setting.

Of course, the more plausible, the easier to do, which is why I'm looking for the path of least resistance.

*Which is just trope shorthand for whatever supernatural powers and/or patrons alt-Schwarzenegger has.

[AlexanderHowl]

Why Schwarzenegger though? Any ASB would find it much easier to take over the mind of natural born citizen and use them as their puppet. I mean, there are probably 200 million people in the USA who fit the minimum criteria and who would not be completely unacceptable. Anyone with intellectual difficulties, physical difficulties that would make them incapable of enduring the rigors of the job, psychological difficulties that require ongoing medication, and/or felony criminal record would probably be unacceptable to the American people.

Bruce Willis would probably be a better fit. While there would be similar questions as Ted Cruz (he was born in Germany to an American father), he is a natural born US citizen. You would only need him to run for Governor of PA in 2011 (winning instead of Tom Corbitt) and then run for President in 2016. Heck, he would have probably won without any difficulty and, due to his complicated political views, would have been celebrated and condemned by each side of the aisle in Congress equally. By the 2020 election, he would have probably had a high likelihood to win reelection.

[Anders]

Because that's how the world he's placing this in is. Schwarzenegger is president. Ours not to question why, Ours just to do and die.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Why Schwarzenegger though? Any ASB would find it much easier to take over the mind of natural born citizen and use them as their puppet. I mean, there are probably 200 million people in the USA who fit the minimum criteria and who would not be completely unacceptable. Anyone with intellectual difficulties, physical difficulties that would make them incapable of enduring the rigors of the job, psychological difficulties that require ongoing medication, and/or felony criminal record would probably be unacceptable to the American people.

Bruce Willis would probably be a better fit. While there would be similar questions as Ted Cruz (he was born in Germany to an American father), he is a natural born US citizen. You would only need him to run for Governor of PA in 2011 (winning instead of Tom Corbitt) and then run for President in 2016. Heck, he would have probably won without any difficulty and, due to his complicated political views, would have been celebrated and condemned by each side of the aisle in Congress equally. By the 2020 election, he would have probably had a high likelihood to win reelection.

To be clear, the 'Alien Space Bats' are a generic trope shorthand for supernatural powers and/or allegiances that Arnold Schwarzenegger has in this world.

It's not as if there some unified force of informed observers looking at the world from the outside trying to figure out a way to acquire a President. The goal is very much the goal of alt-Schwarzenegger, who in this world, at least, is extremely driven to become the President of the US and has enough paranormal power at his fingertips to at least make a run at it.

Originally Posted by Anders

Because that's how the world he's placing this in is. Schwarzenegger is president. Ours not to question why, Ours just to do and die.

Actually, my campaign is currently on the cusp of 2019, i.e. about 15 months behind us, and Trump is President.

However, the various legislative, constitutional and legal issues surrounding the Equal Opportunity to Govern movement have been major political news for years and while alt-Schwarzenegger is generally considered ineligible to run in 2020, there are commentators who believe that he might run nevertheless.

These cite such possibilities as the EOtG constitutional amendment passed at some point in Obama's second term being ratified before the end of the campaign and/or the result of one or more court case will be that the discriminatory distinction between 'naturalized' and 'natural-born' citizens was made unconstitutional with the 14th Amendment.