By Alicia M. Cohn - 02/01/12 01:08 PM ET Conservative Joseph Farah on Tuesday evening predicted that 10 percent of the Republican vote would fail to get behind Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as the hypothetical vice presidential nominee because they will believe the circumstances of his birth make him ineligible.
Farah has been one of the most prominent and persistent voices of the so-called birther movement, which argues that President Obama is not eligible to be president of the United States due to doubts about his birthplace and the citizenship of his parents.
Farahs objection to Rubio might serve as a rallying cry to voters convinced that Obamas presidency is illegal according to the rules set out in the Constitution.
Rubio is not eligible, Farah told Fox News host Sean Hannity. Hell lose 10 percent of the Republican vote because he is not a natural-born citizen. Weve been through this with Obama now for four years.
Rubio was born in Miami in 1971. Farahs argument against Rubios natural born status relies on a strict definition also used by Farah and others who raised doubts over Obamas eligibility. The strict definition requires that both parents be legal citizens at the time of the birth.
Rubios parents became naturalized citizens in 1975, but were permanent legal residents of the United States when Rubio was born, according to Rubios office. Rubios official biography has already been scrutinized, due to questions over the date his parents arrived in the United States as Cuban exiles.
Farahs website, World Net Daily, is now reporting on the potential controversy under the category Certifigate. The website first raised the question in May, but Farah raising the issue in a national television appearance could be a signal of things to come should Rubio appear on the Republican presidential ticket later this year.
You want to open that can of worms again? Farah warned.
Last April, Obama released his own long-form birth certificate, which proved his birth in Hawaii, in an effort to silence persistent accusations that he wasnt born in the United States.
Rubio, who is popular with both conservatives and Hispanic voters, continues to come up as the most likely possibility for the vice presidential slot, and each of the front-runners for the GOP nomination have consistently raised his name as part of their prospective short list for vice presidential candidates. Rubio has said he does not expect to be asked to join the ticket, but also maintains he will do anything he can to support the nominee.