Sen. Cruz: Democrats are Engaged in a Double Power-Grab with a Twist
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) this week lambasted Senate Democrats for their brazen attempt to hold on to power by blowing up the filibuster and enact a federal takeover of our elections.
WATCH: Senator Ted Cruz Blasts Democrats for Brazen Attempt to Pass the Corrupt Politicians Act
During his remarks on the Senate floor, Cruz stated:
“We are today seeing Democrats in the Senate, with the active encouragement of President Joe Biden, engaging on not one but two partisan power grabs, and doing them both with a twist. Let me explain. Democrats are desperate to hold on the power. It's their number one priority. It's more important than anything else. It's more important than jobs in our economy to Democrats. It's more important than getting kids back to school. It's more important than defeating COVID. Nothing matters more to today's Democrats than stay in power no matter what. How do we know that? Well, very first bill introduced in the House of Representatives HR 1, the bill many of us call the Corrupt Politicians Act. It's a bill designed to keep Democrats in power forever. That was Nancy Pelosi’s number one priority. The very first bill introduced in this chamber, S1, is likewise the Corrupt Politicians Act—a bill designed to keep Democrats in power forever.”
…
“Now, Democrats want to subject every significant decision concerning voting to the unreviewable—in most instances—arbitrary power of an unelected bureaucrat in the Federal Department of Justice. My state of Texas has 29 million people. Those 29 million people have democratic rights. They have rights to elect legislatures that reflect their views, their policies, and their values.
You know what Senate Democrats say? We don't care. We don't care what those 29 million people want. We the Democrats want to stay in power. So let's take for example, photo ID. I have in my wallet, my driver's license, most people do. Voter ID is a policy that is supported by the overwhelming majority of Americans, roughly 80% of Americans support voter ID requiring a driver's license to vote. Two thirds of African American voters support voter ID.
It is overwhelmingly supported across the country. You know who doesn't support it? Elected Democrats. Sadly, every single Democrat in this chamber has been willing to go on board with proposals to strike down voter ID laws. And here's what the Democrats want to do. They want to say that even though the voters of Texas want voter ID—because we want elections with integrity, we want to know that if you come in and vote and say your name is John Doe, that you're not somebody else pretending to be that person—congressional Democrats don't care.”
…
“We saw Joe Biden give an incredibly demagogic, racist speech, accusing half the country of being racist or being Bull Connor. Democrats say this is Jim Crow 2.0. And, you know, Madam President, ironically, and I think inadvertently, the Democrats are telling the truth. They don't mean to be but they are. What was Jim Crow 1.0? Jim Crow 1.0 were laws that were written almost exclusively by elected Democrats. You look at the authors of Jim Crow—they were Democrats, as were the founders of the Ku Klux Klan. And the purpose of Jim Crow laws was to do one thing: stop the voters from voting Democrats out of office. Because if you look at the African Americans who were freed from slavery, they were electing Republicans. In many instances they were electing black Republicans. And the Democrats didn't want that. How dare the voters select someone not from their party? And so Jim Crow was written to strip the right to vote from the voters who dare to vote against Democrats. We'll fast forward to today. The Corrupt Politicians Act is Jim Crow 2.0. It is once again written by Democrats to strip the right to vote from the American people to prevent them from voting Democrats out of office.”
…
“Senator Chuck Schumer in 2005 gave a speech. I'm going to read to you verbatim what he said. He said ‘they want, because they can't get their way…to change the rules midstream.’ Alright, what would be the effect of that—you change the rules midstream steam, you nuke the filibuster. What would be the effect of that according to Chuck Schumer? The effect of that? ‘To wash away 200 years of history.’ That's what Schumer says is the effect—‘washing away 200 years of history.’ That sounds serious. Anything else? ‘They want to make this country into a banana republic. Where if you don't get your way you change the rules.’ Wash away 200 years of history, make this country a banana republic. That's pretty serious stuff that ought to concern us. But at least that's the worst it gets, right? Well, actually, no. Schumer continued, ‘It'll be doomsday for democracy if we do.’
“Madam President, there are reporters teaming, the United States Capitol. Any reporter who wants to be something other than a partisan shill and mouthpiece for the Democrats ought to ask every single Democrat: ‘Senator so-and-so, do you agree with Chuck Schumer that ending the filibuster will turn our nation into a banana republic? Do you agree, Senator so-and-so, that ending the filibuster would be ‘doomsday for democracy’? And by the way, if there are any reporters left who actually have journalistic ethics, you shouldn't just ask Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. Right now they're the lone Democrats with the gumption to stand up for democracy.”
“But you ought to ask all 50 of them, every single one of the Democrats: Do you agree with Chuck Schumer [that] ending the filibuster is ‘doomsday for democracy’? And if not, why? Is it just that your team is the one that can't get their way? Now it's your side that wants to change the rules midstream. Now it's your side that if you don't get your way you change the rules. Was Joe Biden lying in 2019? Was Senator Schumer lying in 2005? I don't know your ask them. Double power grab with a twist.”
…
“I cannot think of another time when a senator has voted for something that he is called ‘doomsday for democracy.’ That's not just a little hypocritical. And by the way, all the Democrats agreed with it. They were all standing shoulder to shoulder in 2005. When Senator Schumer said this, he was either lying or telling the truth. If he was lying, I guess you should ask him why he was lying. If he was telling the truth, I guess you should ask 48 Democrats who don't care why they're willing to vote for ‘doomsday for democracy.’ You want to understand the dangers of this double power grab with a twist, look no further than the vicious partisan, divisive, hateful speech President Biden gave insulting half this country. Oddly enough, blaming Republicans for the sins of his own party, the Democratic Party who wrote Jim Crow and founded the KKK.”
…
“A double power grab with a twist. Jim Crow 2.0 seizing federal elections, striking down the laws adopted by democratic legislators, putting an unelected radical leftist bureaucrat in charge of elections with more power in this one leftist bureaucrat than all 29 million people in the state of Texas. Doing so by breaking the Senate rules, to change the Senate rules, and the twist you is with a dose of hypocrisy unusual even for this place.”
Listen to Sen. Cruz’s remarks HERE.
###
