Something Is Rotten in the State of Cuba

Summary

Long-Form Summary of "Something Is Rotten in the State of Cuba" Episode of The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson

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Introduction: Texas Democrats Fleeing the State

The episode begins with a discussion about Texas Democrats leaving the state to prevent the passage of a Republican-driven voting rights bill. Michael Knowles introduces the topic by highlighting the Democrats' lack of numbers to stop the bill, prompting them to exit Texas altogether.

Michael Knowles [00:00]: "An oppressed people is attempting to flee a tyrannical regime fleeing toward freedom. But the Texas Democrats are being pulled back to their own state."

Senator Ted Cruz responds by criticizing the Democrats' actions, comparing their flight to that of Cuban refugees using private jets adorned with Miller Lite beer labels, suggesting a theatrical rather than genuine pursuit of freedom.

Ted Cruz [00:40]: "It's striking. And it really is typical of Cuban refugees that they jump on a private jet with Miller Lite and basking in national press coverage. They truly are heroic."

Analysis of the Texas Voting Rights Bill

The core of the discussion revolves around the Texas Election Integrity Bill, a legislation aimed at implementing stricter voting measures. Ted Cruz outlines the bill’s key provisions, emphasizing its common-sense approach to securing elections.

Ted Cruz [02:08]: "It requires signatures and signature verification on absentee ballots. It requires an ID for absentee ballots. It requires cameras in counting spaces so that when people are counting the ballots, you'll have a recorded record of it."

Cruz argues that the Democrats' opposition to the bill is politically motivated, aiming to both secure their electoral base and portray Republicans negatively.

Ted Cruz [03:00]: "Democrats have decided it's good politics. Number one, I think they believe voter fraud helps them get elected. But number two, screaming about voter suppression, I think they believe helps them get elected as well."

Democrats' Strategy: Fleeing to Deny Quorum

Michael Knowles questions the legality and strategy behind the Democrats fleeing Texas to block the bill, to which Cruz explains it's a calculated political maneuver to deny a legislative quorum.

Ted Cruz [04:35]: "In order for the legislature to do business, you have to have a quorum. So the reason they fled the state is to deny a quorum."

Cruz shares his personal experience as Texas Solicitor General, recounting historical instances of partisan gerrymandering and legislative tactics used by Democrats to maintain control despite popular Republican support.

Ted Cruz [05:32]: "The Republicans had just taken the House of Representatives... Democrats had very creatively gerrymandered it. So a Republican state elected a majority of Democrats."

Public Support for Voter ID

The conversation shifts to public opinion on voter ID laws, with Cruz highlighting a significant increase in support, attributing it to Democratic efforts to politicize the issue.

Ted Cruz [03:11]: "Used to be 70% of Americans supported voter ID. It's now over 80%. So all of their histrionics have driven up support by 10 points."

This surge in support undermines the Democrats' narrative of voter suppression, demonstrating that voter ID measures enjoy broad bipartisan backing.

Voter Fraud Debate and Democratic Tactics

Ted Cruz delves into the Democrats' stance on voter fraud, presenting two primary hypotheses: either acknowledging widespread fraud or leveraging voter ID opposition to energize African American voters.

Ted Cruz [12:05]: "Yes and no. There are disputes about how widespread election fraud is. It's now, you know, we now see Democrats in the media saying it never, ever, ever happens, which is absurd."

He criticizes the Democrats for fostering a narrative of voter suppression to secure electoral dominance, especially among African American voters who are pivotal to their success.

Cuban Protests and U.S. Foreign Policy

The episode transitions to the situation in Cuba, with massive protests against the Communist regime. Cruz expresses solidarity with Cuban protesters, many of whom are waving the American flag as a symbol of resistance.

Ted Cruz [16:50]: "What's happening in Cuba is an existential threat to the Biden administration, and they're scared."

He criticizes the Biden administration for its lukewarm response to the protests, accusing it of implicitly supporting the oppressive regime by not condemning it outright.

Ted Cruz [17:54]: "One of their foreign policy objectives is to have an embrace of the Cuban communist dictatorship. That was Obama's. Obama had that as a big foreign policy objective. So does Biden."

Biden Administration's Inconsistent Stance

Cruz points out the inconsistency in the administration's approach, noting that while officials speak about peaceful assembly, the reality on the ground is one of violent suppression.

Ted Cruz [18:27]: "The Biden admin doesn't say that [Cuban protesters] have that right. They are standing up in the face of tyranny. But the Biden admin doesn't say that."

He suggests that the administration's reluctance to condemn the Cuban government stems from ideological alignments with the Democratic base, which tends to overlook socialist regimes’ failings.

Immigration Policies and Cuban Refugees

The discussion ties immigration policies into the broader narrative of political strategy, highlighting the Biden administration's stringent stance on Cuban immigrants despite the high influx of illegal immigration from other countries.

Michael Knowles [23:22]: "We have to leave it there, Senator. But I'm sure there will be many more developments, hopefully on the side of Libertad."

Cruz draws parallels between past and present immigration waves, referencing the Mariel boatlift and current policies that deter Cuban refugees while allowing significant numbers from other nations, which he frames as politically motivated to influence voter demographics.

Ted Cruz [21:02]: "They're saying, surge to the border if you're statistically likely to vote for Democrats and please do not come."

Conclusion: Political Hypocrisy and Future Outlook

The episode concludes with a critique of Democratic tactics, accusing them of undermining democratic processes while simultaneously claiming to protect democracy. Cruz pledges to continue opposing these measures, emphasizing the need for the legislature to uphold the will of the people.

Ted Cruz [09:58]: "They’re trying to pull a political stunt to stop them from doing the will of the people."

Michael Knowles echoes these sentiments, underscoring the irony of Democrats opposing measures that have broad public support while suppressing their opposition.

Michael Knowles [09:07]: "It’s just so ironic that the people who are always clamoring on about our democracy and the threats to our democracy are, in this case, actively stopping the operation of the legislature of the lawmakers."

Key Takeaways

• Texas Democrats' Flight: Democrats leaving Texas to block the Voting Rights Bill is portrayed as a strategic move to deny quorum and halt legislation that enjoys broad public support.
• Voter ID Support: Voter ID laws have seen a significant increase in public backing, countering Democratic claims of voter suppression.
• Cuban Protests: The episode draws parallels between Cuban protesters seeking freedom and Texas Democrats' political maneuvers, criticizing the Biden administration's lack of decisive action against oppressive regimes.
• Immigration Policies: Immigration policies are depicted as tools for political gain, with selective enforcement influenced by potential voter demographics.
• Democratic Hypocrisy: The narrative suggests that Democrats are undermining democratic processes while advocating for democracy, highlighting a contradiction in their political stance.

Notable Quotes

• Ted Cruz [02:08]: "It requires signatures and signature verification on absentee ballots... requires cameras in counting spaces."
• Michael Knowles [03:11]: "Used to be 70% of Americans supported voter ID. It's now over 80%."
• Ted Cruz [17:54]: "One of their foreign policy objectives is to have an embrace of the Cuban communist dictatorship."
• Michael Knowles [09:07]: "They’re always clamoring on about our democracy... are actively stopping the operation of the legislature."

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This episode of "The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson" offers a critical examination of Democratic strategies in Texas, voter ID legislation, and the Biden administration's foreign and immigration policies, intertwining them with the ongoing protests in Cuba. Through incisive commentary and historical context, the hosts argue that current political maneuvers by Democrats are contradictory to their proclaimed values of upholding democracy and voter rights.

Transcript

[Michael Knowles]

An oppressed people is attempting to flee a tyrannical regime fleeing toward freedom. But the Texas Democrats are being pulled back to their own state. This is Verdict with Ted Cruz. Welcome back to Verdict with Ted Cruz. I'm Michael Knowles. I think something's going on in Cuba as well. We'll get to that a little bit later. But, Senator, first I've gotta ask you about those poor Texas Democrats. There's a voting rights bill going through Texas right now. The Democrats didn't have the numbers to stop this Republican bill, and so they just left the state.

[Ted Cruz]

You know, I gotta say, it's striking. And it really is typical of Cuban refugees that they jump on a private jet with Miller Lite and basking in national press coverage. They truly are heroic. You know, Kamala Harris compared them to the civil rights protesters on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. If you take away the cops and the dogs and the billy clubs and the bleedings and the broken bones and you replace it with a private jet and Miller Light, they're exactly the same.

[Michael Knowles]

And there is a little bit of an irony here where the Texas Democrats are fleeing a bill that would in part require you to show an ID to vote. They needed the ID to buy the Miller Light, which was famously photographed on their voyage out, and to get on the damn plane and to get on the. Yes, even for private. That's true. They would still need to show their id, but they'd.

[Ted Cruz]

By the way, all these Democrats want to mandate masks on planes. None of them had masks on planes.

[Michael Knowles]

So this was a ridiculous fight. I mean, really not great pr. You see all these Texas Dems fleeing, but what is the legal aspect here? I mean, why do they need to flee the state to stop this bill?

[Ted Cruz]

Well, listen, this is a political stunt. And they flew to Washington because they knew that they would get a bear hug from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and Schumer and Pelosi and all the Democrats and all the media, and they would treat them, you know, what a chance to be. I'm Martin Luther King. I'm fleeing the state. What nobody talks about is what actually the Texas Election Integrity Bill does.

[Michael Knowles]

So what's in the bill?

[Ted Cruz]

So it's a series of common sense steps. For example, it requires signatures and signature verification on absentee ballots. It requires an ID for absentee ballots. It requires cameras in counting spaces so that when people are counting the ballots, you'll have a recorded record of it. There's a reason nobody talks about these because everyone hears them and goes, well, okay, that makes a Lot of sense. Democrats have decided it's good politics. Number one, I think they believe voter fraud helps them get elected. But number two, screaming about voter suppression, I think they believe helps them get elected as well. And so they want to do everything they can to. To portray Republicans as a bunch of crazy Klansmen.

[Michael Knowles]

Yeah, Racist.

[Ted Cruz]

And so that's their narrative. They're sticking with it.

[Michael Knowles]

So there are a lot of surveys out on this that show broad support for voter ID and basically all the bill.

[Ted Cruz]

Used to be 70% of Americans supported voter ID. It's now over 80%. So all of their histrionics have driven up support by 10 points, and it's.

[Michael Knowles]

Got broad support among all demographics. It's not just white people. It's not among black people.

[Ted Cruz]

But Kamala did explain that minorities are not smart enough to get an id. Hispanics, we Hispanics, we don't know how to do these fancy driver's licenses. And I love that she explained, the country folk, they don't have this fancy technology. If you're out there, there are no copy machines. There's no electricity, there's no smartphones. Cause listen, country folk, they're making moonshine, and they're sliding on the hoods of their cars. That's all they're doing. Because Kamala really has her finger on the pulse of rural America.

[Michael Knowles]

But this is what is so strange to me about the whole episode, is this is an issue that is really popular. Voter rights. Very popular. Vast majority of people want it. The Democrats have come out against it. They've said a lot of things, wittingly or unwittingly. That is very insulting Trump to the base here. And they seem to be undermining democracy in the sense that the voters of Texas send their representatives to the legislature. The legislators are passing this bill. The Democrats don't have any legal way to stop it. So then, as far as I can tell, they violate the law by leaving the state.

[Ted Cruz]

So in order for the legislature to do business, you have to have a quorum. And so the reason they fled the state is to deny a quorum. So there's not right now a quorum in the House of Representatives. Now, interestingly enough, I have some history on this issue. So I started as Solicitor General of Texas in 2003. 2003. The Republicans had just taken the House of Representatives, and they began to do congressional redistricting. The Democrats didn't want them to do congressional redistricting. Now, the reason was, at the time, Texas had what had been widely reported as and was in fact, the most partisan gerrymander in the country done by Democrats. So even though Texas was voting by a big margin Republican, its congressional delegation had a large majority of Democrats. Cuz they had very creatively gerrymandered it. So a Republican state elected a majority of Democrats.

[Michael Knowles]

It's strange because Republicans are always the ones accused of the gerrymandering. But it's both parties do this sort.

[Ted Cruz]

Of thing and it's shameless. And actually we had testimony in the trial over redistricting about there was a way Southern Democrats would gerrymander, which is you draw a district that had just enough African American voters, but not too many, and just enough Hispanic voters, but not too many. Why would they do this? Because their objective was to elect a white Democrat. And what the data showed is if you put too many African American Democrats in a district, they'd elect a black Democrat. If you put too many Hispanic Democrats in a district, they'd elect an Hispanic Democrat. The people drawing this didn't want a black Democrat or Hispanic Democrat, they wanted a white Democrat. So what they would do is they shrink those two numbers. And in a primary, if you had say a black Democrat against a white Democrat, the white Democrats and the Hispanic Democrats would both vote for the white guy. And so the white guy would win. If you had an Hispanic Democrat versus a white Democrat, the white Democrats and the black Democrats would vote against the Hispanic Democrat. And so you'd get the white Democrat win the primary. And then in the general, the Hispanic Democrats and black Democrats would vote for whoever the Democratic nominee was. And so it was a. And by the way, all of this came as testimony in the redistricting trial from Eddie Bernice Johnson, who is an African American woman, a congresswoman who was a state senator and was fighting against the redistricting. So saying black Democrats are getting screwed by these white Democrats. So that's the backstory of why Texas was redistricting. The Texas Democrats didn't want them to redistrict. They liked a Republican state sending Democrats to Congress. So they did the same thing. I mean, fleeing the state is not new. The House Democrats, they went up to Ardmore, Oklahoma. The Senate Democrats later went to Albuquerque, New Mexico for the exact same purpose, to deny a quorum, to shut down the legislature. So I was just a few weeks into the job, it just started. And the speaker of the House, guy named Tom Craddock, who is a tough old West Texan knife fighter. Tom calls Greg Abbott, who was the attorney general, he's now the governor, but he was My boss, and he calls Abbott and says, can I arrest fleeing legislators? And Abbott, in turn, calls me and says, ted, can Craddock arrest fleeing legislators? And I said, general, I don't know. Let me go research it and I'll figure it out. So I go research it Turns out there's a clear answer to this. So the Texas Constitution has a provision that explicitly authorizes compelling the attendance of absent legislators. That provision, in turn, is copied word for word from the U.S. constitution. So the U.S. constitution has the exact same provision. And there's a long history, particularly in Congress, of using that to order the arrest of fleeing legislators and to bring them in. The authority is there, literally to bring them in, if necessary, in handcuffs and leg irons. Bob Packwood was brought in physically carried under the floor of the Senate because he was trying to defeat a quorum, and the sergeant at arms physically carried him to produce him there. All of which is to say, how does this Texas Democrat stunt end? It's gonna end eventually. They're gonna come back to Texas. They're in D.C. right now, I assume, going to Georgetown cocktail parties, although three of them now have Covid, which proves God really does have.

[Michael Knowles]

They should put their masks on.

[Ted Cruz]

But eventually they'll come back to Texas. Abbott, the governor, said he'll keep calling special sessions over and over again until they passed voter integrity laws. And they're going to arrest him when they come back. And so whenever they come back, they will be arrested. Now, look, it's important to know it's not arrest to go to jail. It's not a crime. It's not sending him to Sing Sing. It is physically, if necessary, seizing them and moving their bodies to the floor of the House because that gives you a quorum. And the reason the Texas constitution and the US Constitution give you this power is it is you shouldn't have the right to shut down the operation of the legislature. The legislature exists to do the will of the people. And these Democrats are trying to pull a political stunt to stop them from doing the will of the people.

[Michael Knowles]

It's just so ironic that the people who are always clamoring on about our democracy and the threats to our democracy are, in this case, actively stopping the operation of the legislature of the lawmakers. So you've got this scene playing out in Texas.

[Ted Cruz]

And by the way, they want to kill policies that the overwhelming majority of voters support. So voter ID, we talked about 80% of Americans support them in Congress. So these Texas Democrats are lobbying for S1, the corrupt politicians Act. That bill would strike down every voter ID law in the country. 80% of Americans support it. So when you see Democrats saying we wanna protect the right to vote, unless these pesky people vote for things we don't like, like voter id, then the heck with the right to vote, we're gonna strike it down anyway. I mean, that's the Democratic position.

[Michael Knowles]

Well, there is this strange fact, and I think it actually ties down to our neighbors 90 miles south. You've got policies like voter ID, you've got policies like immigration reform where the vast majority of Americans want to have voter ID and want less immigration, and the vast majority of people in the ruling class don't want voter ID and want more immigration, legal and illegal, I guess, in many cases. So how is that the case? How does the ruling party, the uniparty, the regime, whatever you want to call it, why is it that this elite group is able to and is even desirous of so undermining the will of the people in our democracy?

[Ted Cruz]

So the two issues are a little bit different in that when it comes to illegal immigration, you're right that every Democrat and about half the Republicans want unlimited illegal immigration. And it is the uniparty. It is the elected members of Congress who are basically in bed with big business and want cheap labor.

[Michael Knowles]

Yeah.

[Ted Cruz]

Voter id, the politics are a little bit different because it is essentially every Democrat who wants to get rid of voter ID and every Republican wants to keep it. So there's not. You don't have this big block of Republicans that are wobbly on voter id. You know, why do the Dems want to get rid of voter id? To be honest, I don't know.

[Michael Knowles]

Let's just steal elections, right? I mean, to be too blunt about it.

[Ted Cruz]

Yes and no. There are disputes about how widespread election fraud is. It's now, you know, we now see Democrats in the media saying it never, ever, ever happens, which is absurd. There are real disputes about how widespread it is. I don't know. So the Democrats opposition to voter ID is one of two things. Either one, they know it's really widespread.

[Michael Knowles]

Yeah.

[Ted Cruz]

And they have operations in to bring massive numbers of illegal aliens and get them to vote, and that's why they don't want voter id. That's one hypothesis that is consistent with why do you go to the mat to try to defeat voter id. The other hypothesis is that there's some voter fraud concerning voter id, but that it's a good issue, they believe to inflame African American voters.

[Michael Knowles]

Because the idea is Republicans are only supporting voter ID because black Voters are going to have more trouble. Or it's.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, because if you're a Democrat scaring black voters, that voter suppression is happening, that Republicans are Klansmen, that they are Bull Connor. Now, never mind Bull Connor was a Democrat. Never mind that the people that wrote Jim Crow were Democrats. Never mind that the people that founded the Ku Klux Klan were Democrats. Never mind that all of these racists who committed horrific acts were, almost without exception, Democrats. Today's Democratic Party, they have one game plan. You remember when George W. Bush was running for president and you had James Byrd, an African American, who had been dragged to his death in Jasper, Texas, a horrific crime. Now, the people who did that were sentenced to death. I mean, they were caught, they were prosecuted. They were sentenced to death. The NAACP ran an ad, a TV ad, attacking George W. Bush with images of the chains dragging behind the car, basically blaming him for this horrific racist murder. And in fact, if you remember, you're too young to remember this debate, but I'll tell you so. I was a policy staffer on the Bush campaign. I remember the debate that Bush has with Gore where Gore hits him on it and basically blames him for this horrible racist murder. And Bush goes, well, we sentenced him to death. What else do you want us to do besides put him to death? But that is their game plan, election after election. So part of this hysteria from Democrats over voter ID is I think they want to scream voter suppression because they want. Critical to their winning elections is having African American voters terrified, energized, showing up in massive numbers and voting overwhelmingly Democrat. And if black voters were voting their economic interests, the policies of Democrats are terrible for the African American community. If black voters were voting for, who's gonna provide hope in education, school choice? The policies of the Democrats are terrible for the black community under Donald Trump, with the lowest African American unemployment, the lowest African American poverty in history. Those are really inconvenient facts if you're Democrats trying to get monolithic support for black voters. So what do you do? You paint this specter of voter suppression. I think it's. Much of it, I think is a really cynical political strategy.

[Michael Knowles]

And there's a strange circumstance. So we're in Florida right now, 90 miles south. There are massive protests going on. The government in Cuba, the Communist dictatorship clamping down. So you've got elite people, you know, people who are part of the media, people who are part of the political establishment here, decrying the oppression of America, denigrating the American flag, saying it's a symbol of Hatred. Meanwhile, the people in Cuba who are protesting their own government are waving the American flag. I visited Cuba a few years ago. People wear the American flag as a symbol of protest.

[Ted Cruz]

I knew there was something shady about you, Michael.

[Michael Knowles]

You know, I was trying to stir up the revolution even then. But this is a very strange circumstance.

[Ted Cruz]

Did you get any Che Guevara tattoos?

[Michael Knowles]

I was gonna wear the. There's a shirt of Che Guevara wearing a Che Guevara shirt. I think that's, you know, that was put out by the Onion or something like that because it's become so popular. I mean, American students wear Cuban revolutionaries all the time.

[Ted Cruz]

Impulsive.

[Michael Knowles]

Now, the Biden administration refuses to call out any of this. They're talking about the evil oppression of the Texas Republicans, but they won't mention the word communism. And Mayorkas, the DHS secretary, is saying, do not. If you're fleeing Cuba, do not come to the United States, even as we're having the highest levels of illegal immigration, often encouraged by Democrats from other countries.

[Ted Cruz]

Look, what's happening in Cuba is an existential threat to the Biden administration, and they're scared. You know, I gotta say, my reaction. And we've talked a lot about my family story on this pod, but my reaction watching it, it's powerful. Seeing people who are standing up and protesting, taking to the streets in Havana and Matanzas, which is where my dad was born, Santiago, across the country. And the folks who are protesting are risking their lives, and they're Right now, and they're being killed. They're being beaten, they're being tortured. I mean. I mean, it is. It is an act of incredible courage to stand up against this regime. Watching the reaction of Democrats is surreal. So the Biden administration is rooting for the communist regime.

[Michael Knowles]

Yeah, but by the way, I don't think that's hyperbole. They're now blaming it on a lack of COVID vaccines or, quote, unquote, economic mismanagement. They're not coming out and calling for a regime change in Cuba or talking about communism. They seem to be on the side of the regime.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, and listen, one of their foreign policy objectives is to have an embrace of the Cuban communist dictatorship. That was Obama's. Obama had that as a big foreign policy objective. So does Biden. When they're actively beating protesters in the street, it makes it hard for them to carry out their foreign policy objective of saying, aren't they really nice communists? So that's one factor. There's just another factor that today's Democratic Party Likes communists. They glorify. These are the kids who in college had Che Guevara T shirts on.

[Michael Knowles]

Right?

[Ted Cruz]

I mean, that's their ethos. And so you look at Biden administration, put out their kind of first statement. They put out as a tweet, said they're exercising their right to peaceful assembly. It's like, no, they don't have a right to peaceful assembly. And the stormtroopers who come beat them show they don't have that right. They are standing up in the face of tyranny. But the Biden admin doesn't say that. And then the second thing they said that was particularly funny, they said it was all about access to Covid vaccines. It's like, no. They are chanting Libertad. They're chanting freedom, Liberty. They're chanting down with the dictatorship. Jen Psaki, her statement that they're upset about mismanagement. But the protesters aren't chanting manage better.

[Michael Knowles]

Yeah.

[Ted Cruz]

Like, this is dumb. And so you gotta stop and ask, okay, why are they doing this? It's not that Psaki or Biden or Blinken, it's not that these people are stupid. It's that what they believe is in conflict with speaking the truth about what's happening. They don't wanna condemn communists.

[Michael Knowles]

You're saying the existential threat posed by the Cuban protests to the Biden administration is that it undermines their own ideological.

[Ted Cruz]

So there are different aspects of it. You take the Bernie Sanders of the world and Elizabeth Warrens and AOCs, the avowed socialists. Did space aliens, like, capture them and spirit them away? Like, these guys have been utterly silent. Why? Is it because they're socialists and the Cuban dictatorial government is socialist and they don't like admitting that every place on earth that you've had socialist dictatorships have been murdering, torturing, abusive, oppressive regimes. It's inconvenient. If you're an American socialist saying, we want socialism here. Watching how crappy socialism is in Cuba makes that argument tough. So the hard left that's driving the Democratic Party, they hate this. Right now, Biden can't denounce communism without pissing off the left in his party. And he probably wouldn't anyway. He can't stand strongly with the protesters because their foreign policy objective is to get in bed with the storm troopers that are beating them right now. And they're also terrified of a massive wave of immigration from Cuba. And it's twofold on that. Number one, you know, Majorca is saying, no Cubans.

[Michael Knowles]

Yeah, right.

[Ted Cruz]

Mind you, across the southern border, we're on pace for over 2 million people to cross illegally this year.

[Michael Knowles]

And they're like something like 180,000 or 188,000 people in June alone. I mean, that's a shocking, shocking number.

[Ted Cruz]

It's over a 400% increase from last year. The numbers are staggering. And it's pure open borders on a southern border. But Mayorkas stands up and says, we don't want Cubans. Look, do you think anyone told them that Cubans vote Republican? I mean, it kind of makes you think that might be a factor there. But they're also looking. I've talked a lot about Biden as Jimmy Carter 2.0. The Mariel boat lift is very real in terms of there was this massive influx of Cuban refugees on boats. And by the way, what Castro did, so he said, you can bring your boats over to take people out of Cuba. And tons of people came from Miami, brought their family over. What Castro did, he emptied the jails and the lunatic asylum. So he put crazy people and criminals. You see the movie Scarface? Yeah. Like Scarface is about, you know, one of those criminals that he stuck on a boat and sent over. You know, I mean, it's Scarface, by the way, one of my top three all time favorite movies. Ravenga. And actually in Scarface, they're chanting libertad. Libertad.

[Michael Knowles]

They're not chanting Covid vaccines. Covid vaccines. It's not every. Would be anachronistic and they wouldn't do it anyway.

[Ted Cruz]

By the way, there's also a great scene where Manolo is talking to this very pretty girl in a bikini. And Tony goes to this little kid, said, hey, look over there. You see that guy? He's gonna stick his tongue out like that. He's gonna stick his tongue. What is that? Is that like a lizard or something? There are lots of lines in that movie I can do, most of which would elevate the rating of this podcast and might make it no longer child friendly.

[Michael Knowles]

You know, they always say Republicans need to go more on the offensive. They need to get more aggressive. And I can imagine no better way than through our rhetoric and through the instruments of politics to say, say hello to my little friend. Which would be, obviously the legislative act.

[Ted Cruz]

Knew I could prompt you into a Tony Montana impression.

[Michael Knowles]

Yes, I mean, this. I was wondering what the effect was in Cuba. Cause look, I care about Cuba. I like Cuban culture. I have Cuban friends. But I think a lot of Americans, they want to know, what does this mean for us? What does this mean for. For the United States?

[Ted Cruz]

I think Michael just did. Some of my best friends are Cuban.

[Michael Knowles]

Some of my best friends are Cubans. But I mean, you are seeing the working out of real ideological problems and hypocrisy on illegal immigration. They're saying, surge to the border if you're statistically likely to vote for Democrats and please do not come. And by the way, one of the objections here is they'll say, well, the reason they're telling the Cubans not to come is because the passage is very dangerous if you swim or take a raft from Cuba to Florida, as if crossing the southern border is a cakewalk.

[Ted Cruz]

You know, it seems to me the solution is to send a private jet with Miller Light.

[Michael Knowles]

Yes. That's the only way out of it. To flee the oppression. Oppression real in some places and imagined in others. We have to leave it there, Senator. But I'm sure there will be many more developments, hopefully on the side of Liberdad. I'm Michael Knowles. This is Verdict with Ted Cruz. My little friend. We are going to be taking Verdict on the road. We are partnering with the Young Americas Foundation. We're going to multiple schools. I think we're going to six schools and universities with YAF. You can go to yaf.org verdict right now to request that we come to your school. The deadline is August 18th. Senator, should we go to the really nice, wonderful conservative schools with the Young America's foundation or should we go to the crazy leftist, insane schools that are going to run us out of town on the rail?

[Ted Cruz]

Well, it seems to me that should be up to the listeners, a verdict to decide. And so you tell us, if you're a student right now, you might be at one of the few havens of sanity and you say, hey, come cheer us on and reach out to us. On the other hand, you might be behind enemy lines, surrounded by Bolsheviks and Mensheviks and looking for a Berlin airlift. You know, my guess is we're open to doing a little of both. But it's really the incredible listeners of Verdict who are gonna make that decision.

[Michael Knowles]

We wanna free the students on campus. We wanna free all of us here in this country. So make sure you get Those names in yaf.org verdict August 18th is the deadline.

[Ted Cruz]

This episode of Verdict with Ted Cruz is being brought to you by Jobs, Freedom and Security Pack, a political action committee dedicated to supporting conservative causes, organizations and candidates across the country. In 2022, Jobs, Freedom and Security PAC plans to donate to conservative candidates running for Congress and help the Republican Party across the.