Landmark Supreme Court Decision Prohibiting Racial Gerrymandering plus Dems Go w the Nazi Communist in Maine & Out-of-Control DEI Homeless Policies

Summary

The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson — May 1, 2026

Landmark Supreme Court Decision, Maine’s Leftward Lurch, & Out-of-Control DEI Homeless Policies

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Ben Ferguson and guest Senator Ted Cruz dive deep into three explosive political stories shaping the national debate:

1. A landmark Supreme Court decision outlawing racial gerrymandering in congressional redistricting, with a focus on the recent Louisiana case and its broader implications.
2. The radicalization of the Democratic primary in Maine, with the exit of Governor Janet Mills and the rise of a controversial candidate with both communist ties and a Nazi tattoo.
3. Controversial “DEI” (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) homeless service policies in Portland, Oregon, where prioritization is based on identity and victim status rather than need, resulting in disturbing outcomes.

The episode features unfiltered, behind-the-scenes commentary and is rich with direct quotes, poignant examples, and a tone that oscillates between incredulity, exasperation, and dark humor.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Landmark Supreme Court Decision: Outlawing Racial Gerrymandering

Background & Significance

• The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, struck down a Louisiana congressional map that created a second majority-black district, deeming it an illegal racial gerrymander.
  • “The Constitution prohibits discrimination based on race. And the Supreme Court today in a landmark decision said this racial gerrymandering has to stop.” — Ben Ferguson [04:20]

Historic Perspective

• Ted Cruz recounts his direct involvement in the 2003 Texas redistricting as Solicitor General.
• Describes the convoluted, contradictory legal precedent forcing states to both avoid racial gerrymandering (per the Constitution) and create it (per Congressional Voting Rights Act demands).
  • “The case law at the time was so convoluted and internally contradictory that it made no sense... so much of the litigation was explicitly racial in a way that normal, civilized people, they don’t talk about... and yet it was all very explicitly racist, all about race." — Ted Cruz [11:47]

Decision’s Legal Core

• The Supreme Court addressed whether Section 2 of the VRA constituted a “compelling interest” sufficient to override the Constitution’s standard against racial discrimination.
• Justice Alito, writing for the majority, said no: federal law cannot compel state legislatures to racially gerrymander districts.
  • "The Voting Rights Act was enacted to vindicate the Constitution. It wasn't enacted to direct legislatures: ‘You must discriminate based on race.’” — Ted Cruz [20:30]

Democratic Reaction & Critique

• Democrats condemned the decision, accusing the Court of gutting minority representation.
• Ferguson and Cruz see the outrage as further proof the Democratic Party depends on racial gerrymandering for electoral competitiveness.
  • “The only way an African American or Hispanic can get elected is in a district that is drawn only to elect an African American or Hispanic Democrat. How about winning statewide?” — Ben Ferguson [22:05]

Consequences for Representation

• The hosts argue “safe seats” created by gerrymandering produce extreme politicians.
  • “That’s how you get a Maxine Waters… an AOC…an Ilhan Omar.” — Ben Ferguson [22:45]
• Predicts the ruling will foster districts based on geography and political issues, not racial bean counting.

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2. Radical Shift in Maine: The Rise of Graham Platner

Janet Mills Drops Out

• Democratic Governor Janet Mills, recruited by Chuck Schumer to run for Senate, exited the race after being outflanked by far-left challenger Graham Platner.
  • “Janet Mills is not a moderate. She's a whack job lefty...and even that wasn’t enough for today's Democrat Party.” — Ben Ferguson [25:17]

Profile of Graham Platner

• Platner describes himself as a communist and has a visible Nazi tattoo.
• The hosts highlight a string of Platner's incendiary Reddit posts, featuring misogynistic, racist, and anti-American lines.
  • Dramatic Reading of Platner’s Reddit: “Rape is a real thing. If you’re so worried about it… Why don’t black people tip? ...I got older and became a communist. Still got the guns though.” — [28:41]

Party Reaction

• Despite (or because of) his extremism, Platner’s candidacy is unopposed by mainstream Democrats.
• Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland publicly rationalizes Platner’s Nazi tattoo as a regrettable phase, not a disqualifying issue.
  • “It used to be, like, a disqualifying thing in politics if you had a Nazi tattoo. Used to be, but not right now. Now it’s up for grabs.” — Ted Cruz [31:18]
• Elizabeth Warren is shown campaigning with Platner, illustrating the mainstreaming of the far-left fringe.

The Hosts’ Take

• Ferguson and Cruz argue that the party is “held captive” by its most radical, intersectional activists—a dangerous dynamic for American democracy.
  • “All they care about is power, and the money, the energy, the volunteers, the activists in the Democrat Party are all on the extreme left … and so every one of them is captive to them.” — Ted Cruz [34:15]

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3. “Woke” Homeless Services: DEI Gone Off the Rails in Portland

The Policy Examined

• Portland allocated $1.3 billion by 2024 to address homelessness, spending roughly $200,000 per homeless person.
• Despite this, the homeless death rate quadrupled in five years.
  • “The death rate among homeless people in Portland quadrupled, went up 400% … So when liberals say we are going to focus on the homeless, if you’re homeless, God help you.” — Ben Ferguson [39:28]

The Point System

• Homeless services use a scoring rubric giving “bonus points” for various identity markers:
  • English as a second language: 2 points
  • LGBTQ+ identity or “interest in LGBTQ+ services”: 1 point
  • Pregnant: 3 points
  • Child under 5: 3 points; child under 18: 1 point
  • Domestic violence survivor: 2 points
  • Over 55: 2 points
  • Zero income or homeless for over a year: 1 point
• Ferguson and Cruz ridicule the system as prioritizing identity politics over actual need.
  • “If you say that you know you’re gay or lesbian or transgender. That’s bonus points as well.” — Ted Cruz [36:54]
  • “So, in the Portland world, interest in a culturally specific service is equally prioritized to being a domestic violence survivor.” — Ben Ferguson [41:19]

Systemic Failure & Potential for Fraud

• The hosts suggest that vast sums lead to corruption and ineffectiveness, as money is funneled into bureaucracy and ideological programs rather than practical solutions.
  • “Somebody’s driving a Ferrari. Somebody’s driving a Lamborghini.” — Ben Ferguson [44:35]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Racial Gerrymandering:
  • "The Democrats knew how to ensure that they elected white Democrats, which is they would draw a district where they would put just enough African Americans, but not too many, and just enough Hispanics, but not too many." — Ted Cruz [16:20]
• On Today’s Democratic Party:
  • "Can anyone win a Democrat primary in Maine who doesn't have a Nazi tattoo? Because that's the standard they're holding." — Ben Ferguson [27:36]
• On Portland’s Homeless Policy:
  • "200 grand per homeless resident — you could house them and feed them. 200 grand is a lot of money ... The death rate among homeless people in Portland quadrupled." — Ben Ferguson [37:27]
• On Identity-Based Victim Prioritization:
  • “In the Democrat party, being LGBT or being a racial minority is more privileged than simply being poor and being homeless. It’s a notion that’s called ‘intersectionality.’” — Ben Ferguson [37:27]

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Important Timestamps

• Landmark Supreme Court Ruling Dissection: [03:18] – [24:00]
• Maine’s Primary & Graham Platner Discussion: [25:17] – [34:41]
• Portland’s Homeless Policy & DEI Critique: [36:54] – [44:39]

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Tone and Takeaways

• The episode portrays a sense of urgency and alarm at what the hosts see as radical excesses of Democratic policies and candidates.
• Ferguson and Cruz use direct language, sarcasm, and personal anecdotes to highlight what they see as hypocrisy, failure, and double standards within the political left.
• The discussion is dense with real-life examples and pointed criticisms meant to inform, persuade, and rally listeners who are skeptical of progressive policies and political correctness.

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Summary

This episode offers a combative, right-leaning analysis of major legal and political stories dominating the headlines. Whether outlining the end of racial gerrymandering, the shocking turn of Maine’s Democratic politics, or the unintended consequences of intersectionality-driven homeless policy, Ferguson and Cruz blend legal expertise, political history, and spirited commentary to create a provocative, engaging overview for their audience.

Transcript

[Martha Stewart]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Martha Stewart]

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[Ted Cruz]

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[Ben Ferguson]

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[Ted Cruz]

it is Verdict with Center Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you as well. It's nice to have you with us. If you're listening on the radio right now, welcome as well. And don't forget this show you're listening to right now, we do it as a podcast three days a week. So make sure you download Verdict with Ted Cruz wherever you get your podcast. And if you want to watch the show, you can watch this episode as well on YouTube or on Facebook. We put it up there each and every episode that we record so you can watch it. Make sure you subscribe on the YouTube channel as well. Center We've got a lot to talk about, including the Supreme Court on Wednesday in a Pretty significant ruling six to three, it made liberals heads explode. The Louisiana 2024 congressional map, it was redrawn to create a second majority black district constituted an illegal racial gerrymander. That is what they've decided. And of course the left is furious right now for this, saying that this is racism run amok. The Supreme Court's illegitimate. I guess we should now pack the court again as soon as they get back in power. Right? Because that's what they're planning on doing anyway.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, the Supreme Court's decision this week outlawing racial gerrymandering was was a landmark decision. It was incredibly important. For decades there has been a practice of drawing congressional districts based on race, deliberately segregating people based on whether they're African American or white or Hispanic, and putting them into districts segregated based on race. The Constitution prohibits discrimination based on race. And the Supreme Court today in a landmark decision said this racial gerrymandering has to stop. As you noted, the Democrats are losing their mind over this because theirs is a party that is built on racial discrimination. And indeed, the fact that they are competitive, they are close to having a majority in the House of Representatives, is driven in a big part by their blatant gerrymandering. Both political gerrymandering and racial Gerrymandering. We're going to break down what that decision means, what precisely the court held and why it was correct. We're also going to talk about an amazing thing that happened this week in Maine. The incumbent Democrat governor of Maine, Janet Mills, was running for Senate and she dropped out. She dropped out because in today's Democrat Party, she was not nearly crazy enough to win a primary. Instead, the Democrats want a self declared communist with a Nazi tattoo that is now the beating heart of the Democrat Party. We're going to talk about that and what that means for the country. And finally, we're going to talk about DEI programs run amok in homeless services and Portland, Oregon, giving special priority if you happen to be lgbt.

[Ted Cruz]

If you have homeless services. Yeah.

[Ben Ferguson]

You know, if you're just some poor white schlub who's starving and out on the street. Nope. You rank last in the left hierarchy of who deserves care. We're going to give you the facts and bring the receipts on that one as well.

[Ted Cruz]

It's like a psa. If you're homeless, tell them you're the opposite sex of what you are. You'll get fed really well and get some great benefits in liberal cities. It's truly.

[Ben Ferguson]

Ben, how is that not, not a joke like what you just said.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Ben Ferguson]

Is actually accurate and it's so insane that a normal, rational person listening to it must be saying that makes no sense. That's the reality we're living in and

[Ted Cruz]

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[Ben Ferguson]

So I can. But, but let me step back for a minute. Let me give a little broader context. So two decades ago in 2003, I started as the solicitor general of Texas, which is the chief lawyer for the state in front of the U.S. supreme Court. 2003 was the first time Republicans had won a majority in the house of representatives in decades. And so we now had a majority in both the house and the senate at the state legislature. And so Texas redistricted in 2003. It was a mid decade redistricting at the time that had not been done very often. And, and they did it because Texas at the time in 2003, Republicans were winning a significant majority of the statewide vote and yet the congressional delegation was majority democrat. It was the most egregious partisan democrat partisan gerrymander in the country. The democrats had drawn it to elect Democrats even though the voters were voting for the opposite party. And so the state legislature came in, redrew the map. The result of it was it elected five additional republicans. But, but I was the lawyer who was charged with day one, number one, with advising the legislature while they were drawing the map, number two, with defending the map in the federal district court when the democrat plaintiffs challenged it. And then number three, I argued the case before the US supreme court defending the map and ended up winning a landmark 5, 4 decision upholding that map. And so there was a good two years of my life when I lived in the world of redistricting. And I got to tell you, Ben, the case law at the time was so convoluted and internally contradictory that it made no sense. So on one hand, the Supreme Court had said for a long time the fourth Amendment, the protection of equal protection under the laws, and the 15th amendment, the protection that no one shall be denied the right to vote based on race, that that prohibited racial gerrymandering, drawing lines based on race. And yet at the same time, the prevailing Supreme Court precedent was that the Voting Rights Act, a statute passed by Congress, essentially mandated redistricting based on race. So you had these two lines of cases that just made no sense because they contradicted each other. And I gotta say, having been part of the process and at the time the legislature was drawing the lines, it was a very political process. And I was instructed on behalf of the AG's office that I'd come in and say, look, if you need legal advice, I'll give you my best legal advice.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Ben Ferguson]

If you want to make a political determination, do you want to take out this congressman or that congressman? You're entitled to make that determination. You're an elected state legislator. I'm not. So if you're going to engage in those political determinations, I'm going to step outside and when you need me for a legal opinion, I will give it to you. I will tell you, Ben, after going through that process, after going through the litigation, I wanted to take a shower because there was so much of the litigation that was explicitly racial in a way that normal civilized people, they don't talk about the black seat, the Hispanic seat, the white seat, and yet it was all very explicitly racist, all about race. That's what the court turned around. We're going to explain more in just a minute.

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[Martha Stewart]

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[Martha Stewart]

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[Ted Cruz]

so let's get back to it. You were mentioning a moment ago. You're in the room. You're seeing how the Politics has worked in the past where they were. They were literally designing districts all over the country based on race. If it's a white district, a black district, a Hispanic district, the list goes on and on. And now the Supreme Court has made it pretty darn clear. Yeah, that way of doing business is not going to work anymore.

[Ben Ferguson]

But by the way, I'll give you a little history as to how sordid racial gerrymandering has been, particularly by Democrats. So when we were trying the Texas redistricting case in 2003, we had testimony on the stand from Eddie Bernice Johnson. Eddie Bernice Johnson was an African American woman, a member of Congress from Dallas, and she had been a state Senator when the 1991 redistricting map was drawn, which. Which is what really put in place the egregious Democrat gerrymander. And she testified about how Martin Frost. Martin Frost was a Democrat congressman from Texas. He'd really driven the gerrymandered. And she. She said Democrats knew how to ensure that they elected white Democrats, which is they would draw a district where they would put just enough African Americans, but not too many, and just enough Hispanics, but not too many. And she said the reason is in a Democrat primary, if you had a black candidate run, the Hispanics and the white Democrats would all vote against the black candidate. If you had an Hispanic candidate, one run, the African Americans and the whites would all vote against the Hispanic candidate. And so Eddie Bernice Johnson testified that the Democrats knew how to put just enough that neither a black candidate nor an Hispanic candidate could win the primary. But then what would happen is when a white Democrat won every. All the Democrats would come together and support the white candidate. And the general, the white candidate would win. So we had a system where in Texas, a large majority of Texans were voting Republican, and yet we were electing a congressional delegation that was majority Democrat, and it was a bunch of white Democrats. And what the state legislature did in 2003 is they essentially obliterated the white Democrats. They ended that partisan gerrymander.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Ben Ferguson]

And that racial gerrymander. And it ended up electing a number of more Republicans. But that. It. I hated litigating this kind of case because I don't like talking about the black seat, the white seat, the Hispanic seat. Looks, I'm the first Hispanic senator from Texas. But. But I don't consider myself. I'm not a senator for Hispanics. I'm not a senator for whites. I'm not a senator for blacks. I'm a senator for Texans. I'm elected by 32 million Texans. It's my job to represent everyone. And the left is so bean countery that what happened in Louisiana is you had a court decision that ordered Louisiana to. They had one black Democrat seat in the congressional delegation. And the court said it is mathematically possible to draw a second black Democrat seat. Now the seat was ugly as can be. It ran diagonally the entire length of the state. It like reached out. You know, you look at the origin of the word gerrymandered. You know the origin of the word gerrymander, don't you Ben?

[Ted Cruz]

Give me, give me that. Give me the history.

[Ben Ferguson]

So it was Elbridge Jerry, who was one of the founding fathers, one of, one of the original framers of our country, who was a congressman at the beginning of the country. And he had a district that was so ugly it was drawn and it looked like a salamander. And so gerrymander is a combination of his name, Gerry and salamander. And it's a long practice. But what the court had ordered, the lower court had ordered the state of Louisiana, because it is mathematically possible to draw a line where you just look for every black Democrat. You put them all in one district and they could win two congressional seats. If it's possible to do it, you must do it. That's what the court had ruled. That went up to the U.S. supreme Court, and the U.S. supreme Court overturned that. And the technical legal question they were analyzing is whether complying with Section 2 of the Voting Rights act constitutes a compelling interest under the Constitution. Now what does that mean? That sounds like gobbledygook. So the Supreme Court had long held that both the 14th Amendment, the Equal Protection Clause and the 15th Amendment, the Prohibition, the protection of the right to vote based on race, that both of those made it illegal to draw lines based on race. And in order to overcome that prohibition, you had to clear what is called strict scrutiny. Strict scrutiny is a legal standard that takes a compelling government interest that is as narrowly tailored as possible. That's the only circumstance in which you can survive strict scrutiny. Well, the court had never answered the question for 30 years whether complying with section 2 of the Voting Rights act constitutes a compelling state interest that lets you essentially ignore the Constitution's prohibition on, on, on. On racial discrimination and gerrymander based on race. And the court 6, 3. A decision by Justice Alito said no, no, a statute from Congress. Look, the Voting Rights act was enacted to protect people's rights to vote. It was enacted to vindicate the Constitution. It wasn't enacted to direct legislatures. You must discriminate based on race. And I gotta say, Ben, the reaction of Democrats to this decision, it has been hysterical. They are losing their minds.

[Ted Cruz]

They're basically saying that there's never gonna be an African American ever elected office again in Louisiana is what they've is how they're trying to play this right now, which is also absurd.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, you know, it's interesting because the way the Democrats are, their view is the only way an African American or Hispanic can get elected is in a district that is drawn only to elected Hispanic or African American Democrat. How about winning statewide? Look, I'm Hispanic. I'm elected statewide. Tim Scott is African American. He's a Republican. He's elected statewide. But you know what? When you're elected statewide, you have to appeal to people more broadly. When you're in an egregiously gerrymandered congressional district, you end up only appealing to the extremes. That's how you get a Maxine Waters. That's how you get an aoc. That's how you get an Ilhan Omar. Because their districts are drawn where the only voters they're listening to are the radical zealots. The Ilhan Omar is listening to the Somali fraudsters, because that's who elects her. The result of this is states now will not be able to draw districts based on race. They'll draw them based on political issues, based on geography, based on history. And you will end up hopefully having members of Congress that represent the citizens more fairly.

[Ted Cruz]

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[Ben Ferguson]

Well, something really significant happened this week, which is in the Democrat primary in Maine, Janet Mills, the incumbent governor, a Democrat, was running. Now, Janet Mills had been recruited to run by Chuck Schumer. Yeah, she had a ton of money. Schumer said, this is the best candidate for we, the Democrats, to beat Susan Collins. Who's the incumbent Republican senator? Janet Mills. Let's be clear. Janet Mills is not a moderate. She's a whack job lefty. Look, Janet Mills, how did she get known nationally? She got known nationally for fighting with Donald Trump at a gathering of governors where she said, damn it, in Maine we will fight to the death so that boys can compete in girls sports and men can compete against women in women's sports. That's.

[Ted Cruz]

And that went viral, by the way. It was like a, it was a shouting match in an awkward situation with the President. And that was like her moment.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, so. So she is a hardcore left wing Democrat supported by Chuck Schumer, the Democrat leader, the incumbent governor with a ton of money. In a normal world that's almost like designed in a lab. The best candidate the Democrats could find to beat an incumbent Republican senator.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, you've literally won statewide. You could win statewide again. This is not hard.

[Ben Ferguson]

Well, except for the fact that Bernie Sanders and the wacko left wing of the Democrat Party recruited this guy named Graham Platner. Now Graham Platner is being marketed as an oyster farmer, a blue collar guy. Yeah, Graham Platner is a self described communist. That's what he says he is. Yes, Graham Plattner.

[Ted Cruz]

By the way, believe them when they tell you who they are because that's exactly who this guy is.

[Ben Ferguson]

Graham Platner has a Nazi tattoo on his chest. He's a communist who is wearing a Nazi tattoo. He is also viciously misogynist. He has attacked women and said, said, said when if they get raped, it's. It's women's fault. That's who he is. He was running against Chuck Schumer's choice and Janet Mills just dropped out because the Democrat Party. One of the most consequential things that has happened in the last few years is the Democrat Party has become radicalized and extreme. And now I think it's a very good question. Can anyone win a Democrat primary in Maine who doesn't have a Nazi tattoo? Because that's the standard they're holding. And I want you to listen to. This is an ad that the nrsc, the National Republican Senatorial Committee put out in response to this. And it's simply someone reading Graham Platner's Reddit post he's posted on Reddit. I'm gonna apologize and explain what Reddit

[Ted Cruz]

is so people understand. Maybe you're not familiar with it. I want people to understand exactly what that is.

[Ben Ferguson]

It's this sort of chat room that is used and it's used often by a lot of people who are very fringe. And, and so these are actual things that Graham Platner has typed in. And I'm going to apologize. A number of these things are pretty graphic. But this is what the now almost. Almost certain to be Democrat nominee for Senate in, in, in Maine. This, this is in his own words, word for word, what he said. Give a listen.

[Ted Cruz]

And now for a dramatic reading of Graham Platner's Reddit comments.

[Graham Platner (Reddit Comments Reader)]

Holy. How about people just take some responsibility for themselves and not get so up they wind up having sex with someone they don't mean to rape is a real thing. If you're so worried about it to buy Kevlar underwear, you think you might not get blacked out up around people you aren't comfortable with. Why don't black people tip? I work as a bartender and always amazes me how solid the stereo prototype is. Living in white rural America, I'm afraid to tell you, they actually are. I got older and became a communist. Still got the guns though. I don't trust the fascists to act politely. I did used to love America, or at least the idea of it. These days I'm pretty disgusted by it all. Feel free to back it up with facts. Facts. This was the gayest, not in a fun way thing I've ever seen.

[Ted Cruz]

This has been a dramatic reading of Graham Platner's Reddit comments. Now, now that is all real. He wrote all of that and word for word, Credit Party saying this.

[Ben Ferguson]

And by the way, Ben is in D.C. ben, that may be the most we've had to bleep out anything on Verdict since we've been doing the show.

[Ted Cruz]

That's actually. Yeah, probably very accurate.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yes. Like, like every post we have to bleep out because it's filled with profanity. He's attacking women who are victims, victims of rape. He's attacking African Americans. He's attacking homosexuals. But understand, there is a hierarchy in the Democrat Party, and at the top of the hierarchy are Islamists and communists. And if you're an Islamist and communist, then you can hate. You know, Mandami has all these comments slamming homosexuals, but that's okay. If you're an Islamist and communist. That is. That. That. That is like the purest of the left wing. I want you to listen.

[Ted Cruz]

For a party that likes to say that Donald Trump is Adolf Hitler, I'm pretty sure this is the only guy that I know that's running for office right now on the Democrat or the Republican side that has a Nazi tattoo. Just. Just want to clarify that.

[Ben Ferguson]

To the best of my knowledge, no member of the Senate has a Nazi tattoo. And I'm not aware of any, any candidate for Senate who has a Nazi tattoo. I want you to listen to Chris Van Hollen, who's an incumbent Democrat senator from Maryland, defending his Nazi tattoo and defending his saying that women should, quote, act like an adult to avoid rape. Give a listen. This is an incumbent Democrat senator saying, oh, this is. This is just fine with us.

[Ted Cruz]

The dude has not had a Nazi tattoo. I mean, let's be clear about what's going on here.

[Ben Ferguson]

I mean, is that.

[Ted Cruz]

How do you view that? I mean, that seems to be at least somewhat disqualifying and traditional, certainly historically. I mean, let's take a couple issues, including the comments he's made in the past. I mean, he's been very clear that he went into combat on behalf of the United States. He went through a really rough period, PTSD type period. And he is himself said there are lots of things he's done and said that he completely regrets. And I do believe people should have second chances and that people can learn from their mistakes. And I think he's been doing that center. I love there how they're like, at the beginning, they're trying to be nice about. They're like, I mean, it used to be like, A disqualifying thing in politics if you had a Nazi tattoo. Used to be, but not right now. Now it's up for grabs. We'll flip a coin and see what happens. And then you have the senator, they're going, well, you know, you got to understand him. He went through a lot. So therefore we're going to get him and get a jail free card because he went through a lot. And you know, when you go through a lot of Nazi tattoos are just one of the things you decide to put on your body.

[Ben Ferguson]

Look, the Democrat defense of this is people make mistakes. That was just a phase, by the way. They're not defensive about him saying, I am a communist like that. That represents where the Democrat Party is. By the way. There's another image while he's on the campaign trail where he does what is a flat out Nazi salute. I mean, arms straight up Sig Heil. You remember when the media went crazy when Elon Musk was, was at a stadium and he beat his chest and waved and they said, oh, that's a Nazi salute. And like every media outlet, what this guy did, I don't know how to describe it other than he held his

[Ted Cruz]

arm up in a. Hitler would have been proud. That's the best way to put it.

[Ben Ferguson]

And, and of course, Elizabeth Warren was campaigning with him saying, this is my kind of guy. Understand, this is no longer fringe in the Democrat Party. Someone who says they're a communist, someone who says women effectively deserve to be raped, someone who, who, who wears a Nazi tattoo and doesn't apologize for it. That is now an unbeatable candidate in a Democrat primary. The incumbent Democrat governor, with the support of Chuck Schumer could not win and had to drop out. And, and, and that's a dangerous dynamic, that these people are no longer fringe in the Democrat Party. And, and I'm not saying every Democrat agrees with them, but I don't know a single Democrat other than John Fetterman. And again, we keep saying John Fetterman is the, the exception that proves the rule of other than John Fetterman, that I don't know a single Democrat who said, you know, maybe he shouldn't have gotten a Nazi. Nazi tattoo. Like, just. They won't do that because all they care about is power and the money, the energy, the volunteers, the activists in the Democrat Party are all on the extreme left. And so every one of them is captive to them. And I gotta say, that's not healthy for America. Ben, I worry. I would like to see two functioning, rational parties in Our country. America's better.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, America's better when it's over.

[Ben Ferguson]

Now, when you have Democrats that are not so far left wing as to be like on the utter fringes, and yet that's where they've gone. And I don't see anyone in the Democrat Party trying to pull them back. And that's ultimately, that's very bad because these people, they're getting elected and they're driving the Democrat Party further, further and further into crazy town.

[Ted Cruz]

I want to take a quick moment and talk to you about an incredible organization and it is called Compassion International and how you can get involved. I want to be honest with you for a second about how an act of compassion really feels. A couple of years ago, I made the choice to partner with an amazing organization called Compassion International. Why? Because I wanted to sponsor a child in need. It was a nice idea, sure, but I had no idea just how much that simple act would change my life as well. I sponsored Nadia and got to watch her life change right in front of my eyes. Going from starving literally alone on the streets to getting the health care and education she needs to reach her God given full potential. I got to be a part of that change. And the light of that compassion not only illuminates in her, it illuminates now in me. That is the power of compassion. The light of Christ shines on all of us. Feel it for yourself and change literally a child's life. Change the world and you also change yourself. You can sponsor child today. Visit compassion.com that's compassion.com Senator, this might be one of the most entertaining stories that I've seen in a long time. If you want to know how bigoted the Democratic Party is, look no further than how they treat homeless people. They've got a scoring mechanism. Now you get bonus points for certain things while being homeless in America. And then you get services, AKA rewarded based on your race and your sexual identity. Now this is like English as a second language gets you two points. So just think of that as a jumper. If you're pregnant, that's a three pointer. We give you more points if you're pregnant. If you're a child under 5, you get 3 points. If you're a child under 18, you only get 1 point. So in other words, and if you're head of household and you're under 18, we give you bonus points. Two points for that. There's an actual quota list of points you receive depending on how you describe yourself. And if you say that you know you're Gay or lesbian or transgender. That's bonus points as well.

[Ben Ferguson]

So look, we talked a minute ago about the, the hierarchy of victim groups. In the Democrat party, it's, it's a notion that's called intersectionality. And in the Democrat party, being LGBT or being a racial minority is more privileged than simply being poor and being homeless. And let's talk, we're going to talk about Portland, Oregon, because Portland, Oregon is almost like a deranged faculty lounge experiment gone awry. Yeah, I'm going to read from an article in ProPublica. To be clear, ProPublica is not a right wing outlet. It is a left wing wing outlet. But, but here's what they described, Quote. As the city of Portland, Oregon clawed its way out of the pandemic, it faced a new set of crises. The city's homeless population was growing. Tents lined some city blocks. High powered business associations held press conferences demanding the city remove homeless people and touted self funded surveys saying that without action, businesses and residents would flee the city by late spring 2021. The city committed to a new strategy that then Mayor Ted Wheeler said would, quote, reprioritize public health and safety among homeless Portlanders, ultimately allocating $1.3 billion by the end of 2024. Now let's see what the results were. Although the city spent roughly $200,000 per homeless resident, now let's stop and think 200 grand per homeless resident. You could house them and feed them. 200 grand is a lot of money. That's what they spent. What do you think it did? What do you think? Massively spending and saying we're prioritizing the safety of homeless people. What do you think it produced?

[Ted Cruz]

I'm gonna guess close to nothing because it's a government program and liberals are in charge. Sorry, call me a cynic.

[Martha Stewart]

Cynic.

[Ben Ferguson]

You're not cynical enough. Nothing would be better. Close to nothing would be better. The death rate among homeless people in Portland quadrupled, went up 400%. The death rate went up from 113 in 2019 to more than 450 in 2023. So when liberals say we are going to focus on the homeless, if you're homeless, God help you. Because at least in, in Portland, what that meant was the death rate quadrupled. Now, they also put in place, as you referenced, an elaborate point system.

[Ted Cruz]

I mean, and this is not a joke, like it's literally. And they even tell you, like, hey, you can't get double points if you get points in one category compared to another category. So if you're paying pregnant and under 18, that's bonus points, but only if you haven't already gotten points for being pregnant on another, another piece of paper for another point system. It's just, it's unbelievable how well organized it is.

[Ben Ferguson]

So look, and I'll say actually pregnant makes some sense. Prioritizing pregnant women, that, that has a reasonable basis. You are more vulnerable. But English as a second language, that was worth two points. Uh, head of a household under 18, that was worth two points. Interest in LGBTQ services, that was worth one point.

[Ted Cruz]

Just interest. So just make sure you say, I, I, I, I think I've thought about being gay or transgendered or a lesbian. And then you get one bonus point.

[Ben Ferguson]

So total disabilities impacting entire household, ability to secure housing. I don't even know what that means, but it's worth three points.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, there you go.

[Ben Ferguson]

Interest in culturally specific services, that's two points. Again, I don't know.

[Ted Cruz]

By the way, comparing that just so you understand how woke this is, if you are over the age of 55, 55 plus, which is a higher vulnerable category, I think we can all agree on that. For homelessness, you get two points. For that, you get the same number of points. If you're interested in culturally specific services, you can just catch up to somebody that's 55, 60, 70, 80, 85, 90 years old.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah. And also worth two points as being a domestic violence survivor. Now, now that actually is rational and makes sense that you would prioritize domestic violence survivors. But in the Portland world, interest in a culturally specific service is equally prioritized to being a domestic violence server survivor. Now, how about this? What do you think being poor is like? Like having, let's say, something crazy, zero income. Like if you're trying to help homeless people, having zero income, you would think

[Ted Cruz]

that would be one of the top scoring things on a sheet because that would get you obviously to be homeless. So you would think, like, that would be worth something. Right. Guess what?

[Ben Ferguson]

One point.

[Ted Cruz]

It's not one point.

[Ben Ferguson]

One, one point.

[Ted Cruz]

And if you're homeless for a year or more, you only get one point. But if you are currently homeless, this is what's weird. Currently homeless gets you two points. Wouldn't that also mean you get one point for being homeless for like 12 months or more or no income? I, I don't know. I, like, this is DEI on a whole nother level of stupid.

[Ben Ferguson]

Look, look, here's what they said they've done. So, so Multnomah County, Oregon, which is home of deep blue Portland where deaths of homeless people quadrupled between 2019 and 2023. The county screening tool for housing services is designed. And this is a quote from the county to, quote, prioritize BIPOC households. LGBTQIA2s plus.

[Ted Cruz]

Yep.

[Ben Ferguson]

And people with disabilities lease.

[Ted Cruz]

Yes.

[Ben Ferguson]

Again, this is not. They're spending 200 grand per homeless person.

[Ted Cruz]

With 200 grand, you can buy somebody a house.

[Ben Ferguson]

You could buy someone a house. Yeah, but. But you could pay. Would make too much sense. You could pay rent for a long time. You could get someone a hotel room, you could feed them, you could get the medical care. And yet the death rate quadrupled because they were more interested in LGBTQ elementop. Like. Like the number of letters there. I can't even. It reminds me of that crazy Canadian who got up and gave this incredibly long stream that I'm pretty sure was her wi fi password. But they're more interested in their woke policies than they are actually in helping someone who needs help. And that's trash mentioned.

[Ted Cruz]

200,000 a person. Just to put it in perspective, with everything we know, you got to ask yourself the question, how much fraud's involved here?

[Ben Ferguson]

Massive. Massive.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, it's hard to spend that much money. 200,000. It's going to be interesting to watch. See what?

[Ben Ferguson]

Somebody's driving a Ferrari. Somebody's driving a Lamborghini.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, there's. Yeah, you're absolutely right about that one. Don't forget, we do this show Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Hit that subscribe auto download button. You've been listening to Verdict with Ted Cruz. We will see you on the podcast this week and back on this radio station next week in this is Martha

[Martha Stewart]

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[Martha Stewart]

People at work supported me while I

[Ben Ferguson]

was going through treatment by not treating me like somebody who was going through treatment.

[Martha Stewart]

Treatment sucks.

Cancer sucks. Being engaged with work really helped too. I just knew I was going to beat this thing.

[Graham Platner (Reddit Comments Reader)]

Research shows there is a significant connection between the ability to continue to work and cancer recovery. We can make work a better place for healing.

[Martha Stewart]

Learn more and sign the [e-mail].