The END of America WITHOUT a Filibuster; What's at Stake in this Election

Summary

Summary of “The END of America WITHOUT a Filibuster; What's at Stake in this Election”

The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson, hosted by Ben Ferguson and featuring Senator Ted Cruz, delves deep into the critical issue of the filibuster's potential elimination and its profound implications for American democracy. Released on September 27, 2024, this episode provides listeners with an in-depth analysis of the filibuster, the current political climate, and what’s at stake in the upcoming election.

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1. Introduction to the Filibuster Threat

The episode kicks off with Ben Ferguson introducing Senator Ted Cruz to discuss the looming threat of ending the filibuster. Cruz emphasizes the urgency and importance of understanding this legislative tool and its potential dismantling by the current administration.

Notable Quote:

Ben Ferguson [00:01]: “It’s the threat of ending the filibuster. Now, people hear that word and sometimes they just tune in like I don’t know what it means.”

2. Understanding the Filibuster

Senator Cruz breaks down the filibuster, explaining its fundamental role in the U.S. Senate. He clarifies that the filibuster requires a supermajority of 60 votes to pass significant legislation, ensuring bipartisan support and preventing drastic policy shifts without broader consensus.

Notable Quote:

Senator Ted Cruz [00:31]: “The filibuster is actually the requirement in the US Senate that in order to proceed on major legislation, you need 60 votes.”

3. Personal Experience with the Filibuster

Cruz shares his personal experience of conducting a 21-hour filibuster against Obamacare, providing a humanizing glimpse into the endurance and strategy involved. He recounts the challenges, including physical discomfort and the logistical efforts of his team to support him during the marathon session.

Notable Quote:

Senator Ted Cruz [04:25]: “I apologize to the people of Texas that I lacked the fortitude to wear my boots for 21 hours.”

4. The Dangers of Ending the Filibuster

The conversation shifts to the implications of Kamala Harris and the Democrats potentially ending the filibuster. Cruz warns that removing this procedural safeguard would allow majoritarian rule, enabling the passage of extreme legislation without requiring bipartisan agreement.

Notable Quote:

Senator Ted Cruz [13:53]: “She’s talking about fundamentally changing the Senate, and that fundamentally changes the country.”

5. Potential Legislative Consequences

Cruz outlines four catastrophic legislative actions that could occur if the filibuster is eliminated:

1. Federal Takeover of Elections (S1): Centralizes electoral processes, undermines state autonomy, and potentially increases voter fraud.
2. Admission of D.C. and Puerto Rico as States: Adds Democratic-leaning senators, ensuring Democratic dominance in the Senate.
3. Granting Voting Rights to Illegal Aliens: Floods the poll with likely Democratic voters, drastically shifting electoral outcomes.
4. Supreme Court Expansion: Increases the number of justices, allowing for a more liberal-leaning judiciary.

Notable Quote:

Senator Ted Cruz [18:14]: “S1 is designed so that Democrats never lose another election. S1 is designed to massively increase voter fraud on Election Day.”

6. Historical Context and Precedents

Cruz references historical instances where the filibuster was altered, such as Harry Reid’s use of the nuclear option to change judicial nomination processes. He draws parallels to illustrate the long-term, irreversible changes that procedural shifts can impose on the Senate and the broader political landscape.

Notable Quote:

Senator Ted Cruz [40:07]: “If you want to know why Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch were confirmed, it is because the Democrats ended the filibuster for judicial nominations.”

7. The Irreversibility of Structural Changes

Emphasizing the permanence of these structural changes, Cruz warns that once enacted, measures like ending the filibuster cannot be easily reversed. This sets a precarious foundation for future legislative and judicial appointments, potentially leading to a one-party rule reminiscent of authoritarian regimes.

Notable Quote:

Senator Ted Cruz [32:51]: “If Schumer ends the filibuster, no Republican ever wins again. It is one party rule.”

8. The Election’s Pivotal Role

Cruz underscores the pivotal nature of the upcoming election, asserting that the future of American democracy hinges on whether Democrats can secure additional Senate seats to dismantle the filibuster. He portrays this as a do-or-die moment for preserving bipartisan governance and democratic institutions.

Notable Quote:

Senator Ted Cruz [40:42]: “It is the single thing that keeps me up at night that we are that close to losing our entire country.”

9. Closing Remarks and Call to Action

Ben Ferguson concludes the episode by urging listeners to understand the gravity of the filibuster debate and its implications. He encourages sharing the episode and staying informed to ensure the preservation of democratic processes.

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Conclusion

This episode of The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson serves as a clarion call to voters about the high stakes involved in the impending election. By dissecting the filibuster's role and the potential fallout of its elimination, Ben Ferguson and Senator Ted Cruz provide listeners with a comprehensive understanding of why this legislative tool is crucial for maintaining balanced governance and protecting American democratic values.

Transcript

[Ben Ferguson]

Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you as always. And Senator, this is one of those shows that I really hope people grab their pens, their paper and they're going to hopefully learn a lot and it's going to deal with something that we're going to break down. It's the threat of ending the filibuster. Now, people hear that word and sometimes they just tune in like I don't know what it means. We're going to explain it to you and what this new threat from Kamala Harris means to this country, to the republic, to democracy in general.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

That's exactly right. We are going to explain in this podcast today, we are less than 40 days out from the election. What are the stakes of the election? And in particular, I want to talk about what the stakes are if, God forbid, the Democrats win the White House, the House and the Senate, and we are literally one vote away from ending the basic liberties we enjoy in America, from ending our democracy as we know it. I'm going to lay out exactly why that's the case and how we are one vote away from that happening.

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, the filibuster is actually very simple to understand. It is the requirement in the US Senate that in order to proceed on major legislation, you need 60 votes. You can't just proceed with 50 votes, but you need a super majority. You need 60 out of 100. There are a hundred senators and almost any major legislation to go forward. You've got to get 60 votes. What it forces you to do is on most major issues to get bipartisan support. It prevents Democrats when they get in office from enacting a radical agenda. Now, there's another meaning of the word filibuster. It's the one many people think of and they think of, of the old movie Mr. Smith goes to Washington. And they think of J. Stewart standing on the Senate floor and talking and talking and talking. And it's true, a filibuster. You'll recall my first year in the Senate, I did a 21 hour filibuster. I stood on the floor of the Senate. I did not sit down. I did not leave the floor of the Senate. I did not go to the bathroom. That's actually the most frequent question I get. No, you cannot go to the bathroom because you cannot leave the floor of the Senate for 21 hours.

[Ben Ferguson]

And a pro tip, right? Do not wear cowboy boots. I think someone told you that, if I remember the story correctly.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, it was actually, if you remember, in 2013, Rand Paul earlier in the year had done an 11 hour filibuster and he was sharing some thoughts on it. And he said, number one, what he said was wear comfortable shoes, which was really good advice. I wear cowboy boots almost every single day in the Senate. The Day of my filibuster, I went the day before and bought black tennis shoes. And I wore black tennis shoes. And I actually have to admit, Ben, I confessed on the floor of the Senate mid filibuster. I apologize to the people of Texas that I lacked the fortitude to wear my boots for 21 hours. And so, but the tennis shoes did, did save my, my, my calves. The other thing Rand said, and this was excellent advice, he said he wasn't taken down by his legs, he was taken down by his bladder. And that was very good advice. And look, I didn't know, I don't know if you ever tried to go 21 hours without going to the restroom.

[Ben Ferguson]

It's not something that's just a long time.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So let me give a very simple principle. Nothing in, nothing out.

[Ben Ferguson]

There you go.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

In the entire course of 21 hours, I drank one very small glass of water and that, that helped.

[Ben Ferguson]

But I ask a personal note here. At what point were you just looking at the clock like it. When did you, when was your first time in your head when you thought about tapping out? How many hours in I got to know.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So actually never. So, so there was an intense point. So I started middle of the afternoon and I went all night and you know, midnight, 1, 2 and 3 in the morning. And about 3 in the morning you're a little bit punch drunk. And Mike Lee is there and, and, and he was there and he's a little punch drunk and, and you know, we're, you know, you just kind of there, There are points during the filibuster where you're just really tired. They had people showing up and participating. Now what you can do in a filibuster is you can yield to a question. And so one of the ways people will support someone in a filibuster is if I'm standing up there filibustering. And let's say Senator Ferguson walks up and can stand and say, will the senator yield for a question? And you can say, I will yield for a question without yielding the floor. I still have the floor. But what someone can do is they can step up and ask a 30 minute question and basically give a speech or say whatever they want. And then at the end of it say, wouldn't you agree? And hand it back to you. So it is a way.

[Ben Ferguson]

Can you sit down for that? Okay, so you cannot see it.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

You must stay standing. If you sit down, you have yielded the floor.

[Ben Ferguson]

Now can you lean on the podium for that 30 minute question?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Not really.

[Ben Ferguson]

Okay, so it's but it's just a way to just not have to talk.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, it lets you rest your voice for a little bit. And so throughout the 21, 21 hour filibuster, there were multiple people who spelled me and jumped in and. And gave me a period to rest my voice. But. So the longest filibuster in history was Strom Thurmond against the Civil Rights act. And that's 24 hours. I wanted to break that record. Unfortunately, when I was filibustering, Harry Reid had already entered into the Senate floor via unanimous consent, an agreement that at noon the next day, we would immediately proceed to the next matter. So if you seize the floor and there's no unanimous consent request in place, you can keep the floor as long as you want.

[Ben Ferguson]

I had you think you could have made it three more hours? Really?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Absolutely. So I had locked into the Senate rules an endpoint of noon the next day, and I didn't have any way to extend it. So at like 11am I actually had my team go and ask Harry Reid was the majority leader, ask Harry Reid's team if they would allow me to extend it to break Strom Thurmond's record. And Harry, they just said no. I mean, they just. Which I actually, I really dislike that the record for the longest filibuster is, is a Democrat filibustering against the civil rights laws. I mean, I think that needs to be broken. And I have no doubt at 21 hours, I easily could have gone another three hours. That was not an issue at that point. Did you.

[Ben Ferguson]

Now, you've got a sharp mind. And I'm asking the question everybody else is thinking right now. So I'm going to do. Because this is so fun for me, because I'm learning. Did your mind start? And I'm just talking about how many hours were you up? Did you take a nap before you started?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

No. How did you prep? No, it's just. Just an all nighter. I had different material. Now, look, I was filibustering about all of the problems of Obamacare and how it was hurting Texans and hurting Americans. And I was walking through. So a lot of the filibuster. I'm reading people's examples. I'm talking about how individual people are losing their doctor. Remember, Obama lied. If you want to keep your doctor, you can keep your doctor. Well, that was a lie. Many people could not keep their doctor. They could not keep their health insurance. And so I was walking through all the examples of how this was hurting Americans. I was also during that Filibuster. I read a number of tweets on the Senate floor. I think that's the first time in history tweets have been read on the Senate floor. And there was a hashtag that trended, that was make D.C. listen. And it was trending globally.

[Ben Ferguson]

Were you allowed to use a phone or did someone have to print those off?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

They would print them out and hand them to me. And I had staff that was giving me materials that would come in, so people would send in stories, and I'm read them on the Senate floor, people would send in tweets. This was also the filibuster where, you may recall, I read Green Eggs and Ham. Now, do you know why I read Green Eggs and Ham?

[Ben Ferguson]

It was seared girls. Right at bedtime, the time you would normally.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

That. That's exactly right. So. So it was. I mean, the girls were little. I mean that. I mean, they were, what, four and six and. And so three and five. They were younger than that. They were three and five.

[Ben Ferguson]

So one of the first things you ever showed me, if I'm not mistaken, at your house is a picture of them seeing you on tv. Either you show me on your phone, or I think it's framed in your house. Right. And you reading it.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

It's not in my house. It's in my office in D.C. and so that's where it is.

[Ben Ferguson]

Okay.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah. So. So what happened? When they were little, at night when I was home, I would read them bedtime stories. And it's, you know, it was really fun. I'm sure you read your kids bedtime stories. It's a great thing to do. And so. And I tried to do that every night when I was at home, read the bedtime stories. And so since I was going. We came up. Was actually a guy in my. On my team that came up with the idea of, well, why don't you read him a bedtime story during the filibuster? And so Green Eggs and Ham. When I was a kid, Green Eggs and Ham was my favorite book as a little kid. And I have read it to the girls many, many times. And so we called home and told them, turn on the tv, Turn on C Span. And. And I read them Green Eggs and Ham because it was their bedtime. And the picture you saw is a picture of the two of them. They're both in their pajamas. It's absolutely adorable. Catherine, who's three at the time, they're in matching pajamas, which. Which sadly, they're teenagers now, so they don't match anym five. They matched. It was precious. Catherine is reaching her hand out and touching the TV and is just like in wonderment that, like, wait, Daddy is reading me Dr. Seuss on TV. And it's just the look is, Is hysterical. And. And then Caroline, who's my eldest, whom I adore, she's five, and she's just cracking up laughing. And, and look, Caroline has always been pretty cynical kid. And, and pretty much nothing I've done in the Senate has impressed her. When I, when I came home after that, she looked at me, she had her arms crossed and she went, okay, dad, that was kind of cool. And so it was like, yes, you know, I mean, look, scoring points with, with, with your five year old, it's.

[Ben Ferguson]

Hard with a five year old to score points, let's be honest.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

So, but that's why I read Green Eggs and Ham is because it was bedtime. And. But that filibuster is not the really consequential one, because at the end of the day, a filibuster can delay things for 21 hours or 24 hours. But. But at the end of the day, if there's a dedicated majority that moves forward, you can't talk long enough to stop it. So what the filibuster really is, that is of consequence, is how the Senate rules operate. In order to proceed, to take up most forms of legislation, you must have 60 votes to do what is called invoking cloture, which is just a fancy procedural word for ending debate. Because senators have unlimited debate, you've got to end debate before you have a vote, and that takes 60 votes. The requirement of 60 votes has stopped most of the dramatic and extreme proposals from the Democrats from going into office. And so just this week, Kamala Harris was explicit. She plans to end the filibuster. I want you to listen to her saying that, and then we're gonna talk about what it means, because this is. If she follows through on this, it will be the end of America as we know it. So give a listen to what Kamala said.

[Kamala Harris]

Now, to abortion. You've said you want to work with Congress to pass a federal bill to codify abortion rights. How do you plan to get enough support in Congress to restore abortion rights when you'd likely need to pass a Senate filibuster? You'd have potential legal hurdles.

[Tammy Baldwin]

Well, let me first say to all your listeners, you must reelect your senator, Tammy Baldwin, because we need the votes in Congress to do exactly what you are saying. And that's true. And it is well within our reach to hold onto the majority in the Senate and take back the House. And so I would also emphasize that while the presidential election is extremely important and dispositive of where we go moving forward, it also is about what we need to do to hold on to the Senate and win seats in the House. That being said, I've been very clear. I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe. And we need and get us to the point where we 51 votes would be what we need to actually put back in law the protections for reproductive freedom and for the ability of every person and every woman to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do.

[Ben Ferguson]

So to be clear, what she's talking about in this filibuster is extremely different.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, what she's talking about is ending the requirement that you need 60 votes to move to major legislation allowing the Senate to move forward with just 50 votes and the vice president. Now, let me tell you, and she's tried to frame it in terms of abortion, but she's not talking about limiting it to that at all. She's talking about fundamentally changing the Senate, and that fundamentally changes the country. Let me tell you why. So, look, you and I both hope we have a great election in November. We hope that Donald Trump is reelected president. We hope we have a Republican Senate and we have a Republican House. And if we do, there's a lot of good things that can happen. We'll do another podcast where we talk about the good things that will happen with a great election. But let's focus on this, this podcast, on the bad things that will happen with a bad election. If we wake up the day after Election day and Kamala Harris has been elected president and the Democrats have won the House and the Democrats gain one seat in the Senate, one, here's what happens. So right now, Chuck Schumer has 49 votes to end the filibuster. He needs one more. If he goes from 49 votes to 50 votes to end the filibuster, I want to tell you what January of 2025 will look like. The first thing Chuck Schumer, as the majority leader, will do in January 2025 is eliminate the filibuster forever. And the way that operates, by the way, is doing something called the nuclear option, which is he would move to proceed to a piece of legislation, and they probably do it to something, something abortion related, because that's been the context of the promises that many politicians have made. And he would then ask a question of the presiding officer, a parliamentary inquiry. What is the vote threshold to move to proceed to this? And the presiding officer would say under the Senate rules it requires 60 votes to proceed to this matter. He would then appeal the ruling of the chair. That's called the nuclear option. To appeal the ruling of the chair, you overturn what? The chair has just ruled that it requires 60 votes. In order to overturn the ruling of the chair, you only need 50 votes. So what he would do is appeal the ruling of the chair. You'd have a vote on the Senate floor and 50 Democrats would vote to overturn the ruling of the chair. The vice president in this horrible scenario, it's Tim Waltz would concur. And the result would be, number one, the ruling of the chair is overturned. But number two, that becomes a precedent that binds the Senate and it effectively amends the Senate rule so that it no longer requires 60 votes to proceed to legislation. It requires instead 50. That's a bunch of procedural gobbledygook. The important thing to know about it is with one additional left wing Democrat, just one, Chuck Schumer can end the filibuster. If he does that, let me tell you the first four bills that Chuck Schumer will pass into law now.

[Ben Ferguson]

But before we give you that list, I want to talk to you real quick about the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. And with the rise in anti Semitism and continued attacks on Israel, it is more important than ever to stand with Israel and the Jewish people. And as we are approaching the one year mark of October 7, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews is partnering with over 230 churches and other organizations across America in flags of Fellowship. By planting Israeli flags to remember the over 1,200 victims, you can be a part of Flags of Fellowship as well. There is a tremendous need for food and basic supplies for the evacuated families trying to survive in communities impacted by the ongoing war. You may have seen that Israel has been hit over the last few days again. And that's why I'm asking 1200 of you listening to make a gift of a hundred dollars to help provide emergency food boxes for the displaced families in Israel. Israel needs our support now more than ever. So join me in letting the world know that listeners like you stand with Israel Call to make your gift right now because the need is great. 888488 IFCJ. That's 888-488-4325. You can also give securely online by going to support IFCJ.org that's one word support IFCJ.org or call them 888-488-IFCJ. And I say this sincerely. Thank you for all of you that are getting together and standing with Israel. All right, Senator, so you said four major things that would happen. Let's roll through those, because this is really how I think a lot of people should be looking at the importance of this election.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yes. The first bill Schumer would pass if he ends the filibuster is S1. S1 is the first bill Chuck Schumer introduces in every Senate. S1 is a federal takeover of all elections in America. S1 strikes down every election integrity law in the country. It strikes down every photo ID law in the country. It legalizes ballot harvesting in every state in the Union. It automatically registers to vote millions of felons and it automatically registers to vote millions of illegal aliens. S1 is designed so that Democrats never lose another election. S1 is designed to massively increase voter fraud on Election Day. That would be the first bill Schumer would pass. He has 49 votes to do that. One more would give him the vote he needs. The second thing he would do is add two new states to the union. He would add D.C. and he would add Puerto Rico. By the way, it does not take a constitutional amendment to add a state to the Union. It only takes a law that passes Congress that is signed by the President. Now, that law can be filibustered, but if Schumer ends the filibuster, he can pass it with just 50 votes. The reason Schumer wants to add D.C. and Puerto Rico is because Schumer and The Democrats believe D.C. and Puerto Rico would elect four new Democrat senators. That means if we started next year with 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans in the Senate, we would end next year with 54 Democrats and 50 Republicans in the Senate. Schumer would do that so that the Republicans would never again win a majority in the United States Senate. That'd be the second bill he passes. The third bill he would pass would be to grant amnesty and immediate voting rights to every single illegal alien in America. Now, we don't have a firm count of that, but. But, but it is upwards of 20 million illegal immigrants. We know 11 and a half million have come in under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. We are north of 20 million. If you add them all together in Texas, there are 2 to 3 million illegal immigrants living in Texas. Now, Ben, if they do that, the instant they do that, Texas turns blue.

[Ben Ferguson]

If Chuck Schumer, you say that and they're going to say, okay, how, how does it instantly turn blue? So explain that.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Because if Chuck Schumer and the Democrats grant immediate voting rights to every illegal alien in Texas, there are 2 to 3 million illegal aliens. They would vote overwhelmingly Democrat. The Democrats believe this. And the effect of that would be every single statewide elected official in Texas would lose the next election. The governor would lose. The Lieutenant governor would lose. The Attorney General would lose. We have nine Republican Supreme Court justices. All nine would lose. Texas would immediately become California. It would not be slow. It would not be gradual. It would be instantaneous. With 3 million additional illegal aliens voting in the next election. Texas is California. That's number three. And then number four, they would pack the United States Supreme Court. They would grow the Supreme Court from nine justices to 13 justices. Now, it does not take a constitutional amendment to change the number of justices on the court. That can be done by statute. But that statute can be filibustered if you get rid of the filibuster. The schumer only needs 50 votes plus the vice president. They would add four left wing justices to the court. It would go to 13 justices. And I got to tell you something, Ben. Look, I am, you know me well, I'm an optimist. I believe in America. I believe the future of America is bright. I believe tomorrow is brighter than today. I believe we are moving in a good direction in that scenario. I have no answer. I view what I've just described as a system ending event. You look through history. Great nations rise, great nations fall. Yeah, there is. I view what I just described as the end of the United States of America as we know it. And there's no way to turn that back. And here's the terrifying thing, Ben. I don't believe a word of what I just said is hyperbole. I don't believe I'm exaggerating anything. Chuck Schumer has 49 votes to do everything I just described. And I think most Americans have no idea that we are one Senate seat away from that calamity, from that irreversible situation. I know that most Texans have no awareness that Texas is that close to flipping instantly blue. I think a lot of Texans view, well, even if everything goes crazy in the rest of the the country, we'll be fine. We're Texas. We're going to be just fine. This scenario, you want to ask what keeps me up at night? It is the scenario I just described. And we are literally one vote away from that happening.

[Ben Ferguson]

So let's look at the evidence to really back up what you just said. And you look at the Democrats. They have for the last several years really been trying to undermine the Supreme Court. They have leaked from the Supreme Court. The Roe v. Wade decision, for example. The Democrats have been trying to intimidate Supreme Court justices. And, and we saw just how hostile they allowed people to get towards the Supreme Court justice in their homes. I mean, the, the, the media has been undermining the Supreme Court as well and acting like the Supreme Court is, is this outdated body that should be changed. So when you say that we're one vote away and this is what would happen, they're the ones that have been doing all the things you would do for this possible opportunity if it actually arises. And you can say, yeah, like we've been saying this for years, we think the Supreme Court should be packed, right?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look, that's correct. And here's the math. Today there's a 51, 49 Democrat majority in the Senate. However, of those 51, there are two Democrats, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, who have both voted against ending the filibuster. So Chuck Schumer tried to end the filibuster. They had a vote on it. And 49 Democrats voted to end the filibuster. Had either mansion or cinema flipped, they would have had the votes. But the two of them are the only things that stopped it. Now I'm going to tell you something we know for an absolute certainty. In January of next year, neither mansion nor cinema will be there.

[Ben Ferguson]

Very true.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Both of them, their terms are done. Neither of them are running for reelection. It's a hundred percent. They will be gone. That means that Schumer is going into this election with 49 votes to end the filibuster. If he picks up one anywhere, he gets to 50. And if Tim Waltz is the Vice President, he has everything he needs to to end the filibuster. And, and I want to make a point here also, you notice none of the things I listed were, were economic. I, I didn't list in, in the calamity, in, in, in the, the Parade of Horribles. I didn't list 70% marginal tax rates. I didn't list massively confiscatory death taxes. I didn't list wealth taxes that tax you on unrealized capital gains. I didn't list banning fracking and shutting it down oil and gas exploration in the United States. I didn't list nationalization of mineral rights. Look, to be honest, the economic stuff, the socialism that follows like night follows day, because The Democrats top priority, the four things I listed are all about seizing control and making it permanent, making it impossible that Democrats ever lose. And you know, there's something deeply Freudian about how Democrats behave because they talk incessantly about saving democracy. And yet today's Democrats are profoundly anti Democratic. Their number one priority is making it so the voters can never ever, ever, ever, ever vote them out of power. And once they're in power, look on the economic stuff, the only constraints are just how crazy are Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren willing to go. But, but it, it is. Look at countries like Venezuela. Once you get one party locked in power with no ability to constrain them, the country goes downhill incredibly quickly. And I think terrible policies, um, look, policies I, I didn't mention gun confiscation, going after the second amendment, going after religious liberty, going after the first Amendment. They packed the Supreme Court. You're not going to have the, the, the courts backstopping any of the rights in the Bill of Rights. All of that happens as a matter of course. Schumer's first focus is power. And if he can lock in power forever, that really is the end of our democracy. And ironically it's the number one priority of today's Democrats.

[Ben Ferguson]

Let me go back to a very consequential vote and I just want to remind people perspective on this filibuster in the 60 plus when we go back to Obamacare. What was the number on Obamacare? How many votes did that pass with? Do you remember?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well the way they passed Obamacare was through a special budget procedure called budget reconciliation. And budget reconciliation is the most important exception to the filibuster. Budget reconciliation comes from a law called the Budget act of 1975. And it's a special procedure for adopting a budget. And under that statute it is exempt from the filibuster. So you can pass it with a majority. That's how they did Obamacare, is they did it using budget reconciliation. By the way, the Trump tax cuts were passed using budget reconciliation. Um, so they were not subject to the filibuster. No Democrat voted for the Trump tax cuts. Um, if you look at things like the, the, the Orwellian named inflation reduction act that was passed by the Democrats using budget reconciliation. So there are things that can be done that, that typically involve spending and taxing that can be done with just 50 votes. But the structural changes to our republic, things like the federal takeover of all elections in this country, or adding two new states to the union, or granting immediate voting rights to every illegal alien In America, that cannot be done through budget reconciliation. Packing the Supreme Court cannot be done through budget reconciliation. The statute lays out specific categories of what can and can't be done through reconciliation. So the sort of simplest way to think about it is spending and taxes. You can get around the filibuster. Everything else, as a general matter, you can't see.

[Ben Ferguson]

And that's why I want to remind people, because we were talking about that during the time and it came up that you know the 60 votes and how important it is, and it's a hard threshold. If you change it and you think about how consequential, for example, Obamacare was and during that time when there was almost a super majority and yada, yada, yada, and you go, okay, there's a reason why it was set up this way. The entire United States of America's history changes if you get rid of this. Am I wrong?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

You are absolutely right. Look, if Schumer ends the filibuster, no Republican ever wins again. It is one party rule. And so ask yourself, how has Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro been for Venezuela? That will be. And, and listen. Some people listening might say, oh, come on, that's, that's too much. You shouldn't compare Kamala Harris to Nicholas Maduro. Well, if their policy is to lock themselves and their party into power forever and to disempower the voters from ever, ever, ever being able to take them out of power, that is exactly what Chavez and Maduro have done. That's what Castro have done. It is the strategy of dictators. And it is shocking thing that today's Democrats no longer believe in order to save democracy, they're willing to destroy democracy.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah. And that's. That is really sad. I want to tell all of you about something really cool that I got to do and that was do training this past week with Burna with less lethal and the burner systems. It was unbelievable. Now increased crime and violence around our country. We need to remember that personal safety and security for you and your family is the most important thing in life. And I'm a massive advocate for the second Amendment. If I didn't have a firearm with me one day, I wouldn't be here today. I had to use it to save my life. Thank goodness I had that. But there's many times where you need to be able to defend yourself and de escalate a situation without having to worry about the irreversible consequences of deadly force. And that is where there is something that you can now have. And that is Burner Less Lethal Pistol Launcher A burner can save two lives. It can save your life and the life of someone else. So don't compromise on your peace of mind. It is a fabulous compliment to owning firearms. And if you or your family is in the situation where you feel threatened, you can now start with less lethal. It is also legal in all 50 states and no permits or background checks are needed. Now I have these and I own them. I also got them for my sister in law, my mother in law, my own mother, my sister and my wife. It is amazing. Now I own these and I want you to check them out. You should look at them for your family members. Especially if you have a daughter that maybe is living off at college by herself or living at a new location and she's by herself and you want to have something there to help protect her. Burner is the answer and it's designed for easy use by all age groups 18 and over. The burner launcher has powerful deterrents like tear gas and kinetic rounds. With a 60 foot range, one shot can incapacitate attackers for up to 40 minutes. And after doing the training, I can tell you they're not joking. It is also used by government agencies and law enforcement around the country and more than a half million units have already been sold. So visit Burna B-Y-R-N-A.com verdict that's Burna B Y R N A.com verdict and get 10 off your purchase. That's B Y R N A.com Verdict for 10 off Berna.com verdict Center Let me ask two questions to wrap this up. There may be people that say, look, if there is a. Let's say they get it and they get rid of the filibuster, it'll come back in a couple years. Maybe there's like a little bit of an overreaction here. I go back in history and I'm a student of history. You are and you love history as well. When consequential things usually happen within our government, a great example is Obamacare. Once it's done, it is extremely hard to undo it. And so if people think, well maybe they do it and we'll get it back, maybe they throw four more people on the Supreme Court, but we could get it back to nine if we really wanted to. How impossible would it be to undo some of the things you talked about if it actually went into effect because the Democrats win in November?

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Well, understand that the four things I listed are all structural. So once they happen, you can't Undo them. If you have 20 million illegal immigrants voting, Democrats win. Texas isn't the only state that turns blue. North Carolina turns blue. Georgia turns blue. Arizona turns blue. I mean, I mean, you have suddenly swing states that are not swing states anymore. This is why the Democrats, they're just focused on power. You look at, if it's right, D.C. will elect Democrats for all eternity. If it becomes a state. Puerto Rico, I don't think it's 100% correct that Puerto Rico would only elect Democrats. We have seen Republicans elected in Puerto Rico, although partisan politics doesn't line up in Puerto Rico exactly like it does in the mainland. But if the Democrats are correct that that's four new Democrats in the Senate, it is very difficult to see a map that ever again elects a Republican majority in the Senate. So there will never be an opportunity to reverse it. And by the way, you can look to what happened with the Supreme Court. So if you look at Supreme Court nominations, Harry Reid exercised the nuclear option, the same method for ending the filibuster for legislation. Harry Reid exercised the nuclear option to end the filibuster for judicial nominations. And he did so when he did so, I remember I was on the Senate floor and he did exactly what I said. He asked for a ruling from the chair. He appealed the ruling of the chair, and all the Democrats voted with him, and they overturned it. And so to confirm a judge, you only need now 50 votes, plus the Vice President. And I remember being on the Senate floor, I turned to Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, and all the Democrats were voting like lemmings to end the filibuster. And, and, and I told her, then I said, you, you realize the consequence of this? We are going to get more justices like Clarence Thomas at Antonin Scalia. And that is unequivocally correct. And in fact, if you want to know why Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch were confirmed, it is because the Democrats ended the filibuster for judicial nominations. If they hadn't, there is no chance on earth Kavanaugh or Amy Coney Barrett gets confirmed because it would have taken 60 votes, and there weren't going to be 60 votes for any nominee that had a proven record of being conservative. So it changed markedly the kinds of judges that Trump could nominate. Once the change is made procedurally, it never, ever, ever goes back.

[Ben Ferguson]

Final question for you, and that is, you look at what you just said in this show, and it changes my perspective. And I do this with you three days a week and talk politics every day. Because the easy issue, right, is the economy, stupid. And that's the number one issue. Most voters say number two, they say the border. This issue to me now after we've gone through it is even bigger than those two issues when it comes to the future of this country. Is that a fair take in terms.

[Senator Ted Cruz]

Of long term future? Yes, it is absolutely a fair take. It is, as I said, the single thing that keeps me up at night that we are that close to losing our entire country. And I think almost everyone is oblivious to it. Look, you and I are both Texans. How many Texans do you know that realize that we could be three months away from Texas becoming California, becoming a bright blue plate state? By the way, if that happens, I'll make a crazy prediction that I hope and pray never comes true. If the Democrats end the filibuster, if they grant voting rights to every illegal alien in America and every illegal alien In Texas, Beto O'Rourke would be the next governor of the state of Texas. I don't think that's an exaggeration. I think that is actually quite likely.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, well, it's the reason why Democrats are importing so many illegal immigrants right now. They think they can give them the right to vote, give them citizenship and bam. As you described it, it changes everything in one day. I hope all of you listening will really take this show and share it with your friends. Put it up on social media so others hear it. This is why I love doing this show with the Senator, because I feel like I learn things and I hope you do as well and we get to talk about these important issues. Don't forget, hit that subscribe or auto download button so you never miss an episode. We do this Monday, Wednesday, Friday and a week in review recap on Saturdays and on those in between days, grab my podcast, the Ben Ferguson Podcast. I'll keep you up to date on the news on those in between days and breaking news as well. So grab the Ben Ferguson podcast as well and the center and I will see you back here on Saturday for the weekend review.