U.S. Senator Ted Cruz: Not a Canadian

Just so everyone is clear, Ted Cruz officially distanced himself from the one special interest group that could sink his still theoretical run for the Presidency of the United States before it even starts.

Just so everyone is clear, Ted Cruz officially distanced himself from the one special interest group that could sink his still theoretical run for the Presidency of the United States before it even starts. In a statement released last night, the Texas senator renounced any and all claims to his Canadian citizenship, saying "I'm an American by birth, and as a U.S. Senator, I believe I should be only an American."

Cruz is not Canadian and never has been, of course, so why all the hubbub? Well, Cruz was born in Calgary, and even though he has an American mother and a Cuban father, that technically makes him a citizen of the Great White North too. He could even have dual citizenship if he chose to, which includes carrying a Canadian passport, voting in Canadian elections, and even running for Parliament.

After that fact was pointed out by the Dallas Morning News over the weekend, Cruz went on offense to nip any liberal-tinged birtherism in the bud. The Republican senator had already given a copy of his birth certificate to the paper, but then reiterated publicly that he has never pursued his Canadian rights and has "never had to go through a naturalization process after birth to become a U.S. citizen." In case you wondering about that whole "natural born citizen" thing, having a American parent automatically makes you a U.S. citizen, too.

We're still years away from any future presidential campaign, but Cruz is surely desperate to avoid annoying questions that continue to dog President Obama about his own origins. Not that Cruz's tactic will stop people on the lunatic fringe from believing he has no right to serve in the White House. Obama has released plenty of evidence proving he was born in Hawaii, but the conspiracy theories of a secret Soviet-Muslim-Kenya sleeper agent ruling over our country persist even after five years in office and another election.