In the early 1960’s Hollywood released an intriguing movie about the then current fears of a socialistic (Communistic) take over of our government called “The Manchurian Candidate.”\u00a0 The movie had a first-rate cast that included Frank Sinatra, Angela Lansbury, Laurence Harvey and Janet Leigh.\u00a0 The plot portrayed a platoon of former Korean War POW’s that had been “brainwashed” by a committee of Communist acolytes, from both communist countries and the US, who were part of a plot to take over the US presidency.\u00a0 A Manchurian general had conditioned, in a Pavlovian way, Laurence Harvey to respond to a conditioned stimulus in any manner that his American operative wished … namely to kill the president.\u00a0 In the movie the Communists had arranged to make Harvey’s character very respectable … namely, he was a Congressional Medal of Honor winner.\u00a0 The movie was gripping and believable … much better than its 2004 politically correct sequel … but what it showed was how a foreign enemy, a foreign ideology could take over our political system.<\/p>\n
Is it possible for a foreign interest, or more insidiously, a foreign ideology to take over our government?\u00a0 The Framers of the Constitution thought so … that is why they inserted the “natural born citizen” clause in the Constitution.\u00a0 As Paul, our esteemed co-blogger, has pointed out, that clause was inserted so that no president could be under the control of a foreign national or ideology during his (or her) formative years.\u00a0 Of course, the fear in 1787 was that the thousands of property owning Tories who vacated the colonies during the Revolutionary War by going to Great Britain would return, bringing their English (foreign) spouses along with their highly prejudiced … “brain washed”… young children.\u00a0 Since these children’s parents had actively opposed the revolution, in many cases having fought it, and had, at the very least, “consorted with the enemy,” did we want the children raised under those influences eligible to be president?\u00a0 The Framers forbid it in the Constitution.<\/p>\n
OK, but that was in the 18th Century … what does that have to do with today?<\/p>\n
Let’s look at a theoretical situation.\u00a0 Suppose that an impressionable young woman who was raised by a family of committed socialists from mid-western America, say Kansas, goes off to college and meets a soul-mate, a committed handsome young Islamic Communist from Africa, say from Kenya, falls in love, becomes pregnant and marries him.\u00a0 The child, a little boy, is named with a traditional Islamic name, that of his father as is customary in his father’s religion.\u00a0 He is not “natural born,” because although he is born on American soil, in Hawaii, to an American mother, and because of that is certainly an American citizen, he is not “natural born” because his father is a foreign national.\u00a0 His father most certainly has anti-American prejudices and, as a Communist, is deeply committed to an ideology that is the antithesis of American freedom and to the advancement of the struggle of international socialism.\u00a0 His father is committed to the overthrow of the American way of life.\u00a0 In this scenario do we detect some of the antecedents to the fears of the Framers?<\/p>\n
So let’s carry this on a little further.\u00a0 Say the father tires of his immature young bride and his responsibilities to her.\u00a0 He leaves her destitute in Hawaii,\u00a0 and returns to his tribe in Kenya.\u00a0 The terrified girl, with her baby, still consorting with the only people that she knows, the socialists and communists at her school, finds a young Islamic communist from Indonesia who falls in love with her, marries her and takes her to his homeland.\u00a0 Our little boy is now enrolled in a “madrasa” where he is taught to hate, among other things, the “great Satan,” America.\u00a0 So our little boy, during his all important formative years is being taught to hate not only America, but the American way of life.\u00a0 He is becoming an expert at hating a country that he has never seen … a country of which he is a citizen.\u00a0 But going on … chances are that the impressionable young girl has grown up quite a little because she is “not in Kansas anymore.”\u00a0 It is difficult comprehend how a modern American woman (or any modern woman) could subordinate herself to a misogynistic religion that reduces women to something less than a chattel.\u00a0 It is probable that our imaginary girl would have left our Indonesian Muslim after 8 or 10 years to return to the island paradise of Hawaii.\u00a0 Our boy would have been thrust into a foreign “Christian” society\u00a0 and would probably had a lot of trouble adjusting.\u00a0 Let’s say that our girl’s father, the one that had taught her about the glories of Communism, had retired to the island and our boy and his mother, having no other place to go, moved in with him and his wife.\u00a0 Our boy can’t get along in public school, where the bible is read and the “Pledge of Allegiance” is given daily.\u00a0 Grandpa embarks upon home schooling our bright boy, but is soon in over his head, but he has an ace in the hole.\u00a0 Because of his activism in the movement, he has wide acquaintance with the Communist intelligentsia.\u00a0 One of his favorites is the editor of the “Daily Worker,” the communist newspaper.\u00a0 Grandpa eventually persuades the editor to tutor our bright boy.\u00a0 After much success and many years our tutor, using the monetary resources of the communist party, hatches a plan to drive our boy into the apex of political society.\u00a0 He sends the boy all over the world to help his education; he gets our boy into the best schools;\u00a0 he sees to it that the boy gets the best grades;\u00a0 he sees to it that our boy is a BMOC (big man on campus);\u00a0 when our boy leaves school, he places him in a political environment that will provide a voting block to elevate him into politics;\u00a0 he introduces him to successful political and religious radicals;\u00a0 he teaches him how to speak, how to be a gentleman;\u00a0 he surrounds him with radical thinkers, money men, campaign managers and … eureka … the first thing we know our boy is in the state and then the US Senate, one step away from the presidency.\u00a0 First thing you know, our little boy, a Muslim and Communist is President.<\/p>\n
What do you think our boy would do if he became President?<\/p>\n
I am guessing that you can easily figure it out … and it would not be good for the traditional American system … but it would be “fundamental change.”<\/p>\n
Were the Framers correct?\u00a0 Should we make it impossible for a foreigner to become president?<\/p>\n
Could we have a “Manchurian Candidate” become President?\u00a0 … my answer is YES … and I think that we may have already done it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the early 1960’s Hollywood released an intriguing movie about the then current fears of a socialistic (Communistic) take over of our government called “The Manchurian Candidate.”\u00a0 The movie had a first-rate cast that included Frank Sinatra, Angela Lansbury, Laurence … Continue reading