Will Tanks Roll In Ukraine?

Summary

Summary of "Will Tanks Roll In Ukraine?" Episode of The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson

Release Date: December 9, 2021

In this compelling episode of "The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson," host Ben Ferguson navigates through the intricate and urgent issue of a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine. The discussion provides a deep dive into the geopolitical tensions, historical contexts, and U.S. policy decisions that are shaping the current landscape. The episode also touches on domestic defense policies and engages with listener questions, offering a comprehensive analysis for those seeking informed perspectives on these critical topics.

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1. Escalating Threat: Russia’s Potential Invasion of Ukraine

The episode opens with Senator Ted Cruz highlighting the imminent threat posed by Russia towards Ukraine:

“We are in the early stages of a new presidential administration, which can only mean one Russia is planning to invade a sovereign state... the tanks could start rolling in as little as a month.”
[00:00]

This statement sets a tense tone, emphasizing the urgency of the situation and the need for immediate attention.

2. Historical Context of Russian Aggression

Jimmy Kimmel provides a historical backdrop, recounting Russia's previous military actions:

“We know that Vladimir Putin invaded Georgia during the Bush administration... he invaded Crimea during the Obama administration... now he is poised to go into Ukraine again.”
[09:10]

This context underscores a pattern of Russian attempts to expand its influence over former Soviet states, positioning Ukraine as the next target in this ongoing geopolitical struggle.

3. The Nord Stream 2 Pipeline: A Symbol of Imperial Ambitions

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a critical infrastructure project with profound geopolitical implications.

Jimmy Kimmel explains the strategic importance of the pipeline:

“The pipeline is a symbol... a physical representation of the imperial ambitions of Vladimir Putin. The whole point of the pipeline... is to free up Russia to go pursue whatever imperial ambitions it has in Ukraine.”
[19:37]

Senator Cruz elaborates on his efforts to halt the pipeline:

“I introduced legislation in the Senate to sanction the companies that were building Nord Stream 2... These sanctions are using American economic power to stop military tyrants from dominating Europe and threatening America.”
[19:45]

This segment highlights the bipartisan efforts to curb Russian influence and the critical role of economic sanctions in international diplomacy.

4. Critique of the Biden Administration’s Foreign Policy

The episode delves into the perceived weaknesses of the Biden administration in handling foreign policy, particularly concerning Russia.

Jimmy Kimmel criticizes Biden’s reversal on sanctions:

“Joe Biden needs to bring out a damn pen and piece of paper and impose the sanctions that Congress has mandated.”
[24:20]

Senator Cruz echoes this sentiment, stressing the importance of reinstating sanctions to deter Russian aggression:

“We should use [sanctions]. We should also be providing lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine... if Biden doesn't change course, I think it is the odds are high that within 90 days, Russia will have invaded and sadly, in all likelihood conquered Ukraine.”
[19:45]

This critique underscores the tension between legislative actions and executive policies, advocating for stronger measures to prevent conflict.

5. Domestic Defense Policies: The Draft Debate

Transitioning to national security, the conversation addresses the controversial topic of drafting women into the military.

Senator Cruz vehemently opposes amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that propose drafting women:

“This is so disgusting. This is so backwards. What kind of a country... America is basically safe, basically wealthy, basically secure, and we're going to drag our daughters and send them overseas and draft.”
[25:52]

Jimmy Kimmel reinforces this stance, highlighting the impracticality and ethical concerns:

“Conscripting a woman and putting her in harm's way when there are real biological differences between men and women is putting them at real risk.”
[27:24]

The discussion emphasizes the importance of voluntary service and the complexities of implementing a gender-inclusive draft.

6. Listener Engagement: Addressing Community Concerns

The episode features listener-submitted questions, addressing topics such as Nancy Pelosi’s handling of the January 6th commission and the legal implications of parental liability in school shootings.

Senator Cruz responds to concerns about partisan overreach in the January 6th commission:

“This is a commission set up in Congress that is all Democrats... the conclusions are already decided. This is a political operation.”
[34:25]

Regarding parental liability in school shootings, Jimmy Kimmel discusses the balance between responsible gun ownership and legal accountability:

“If you are recklessly allowing firearms to fall into the hands of a child under your care, who you have reason to know is a danger to others... you could be held liable.”
[40:06]

This engagement highlights the show's commitment to addressing real-world issues voiced by their listeners.

7. Political Insights: Congressman Dan Crenshaw’s Comments

The hosts analyze a viral video featuring Congressman Dan Crenshaw criticizing the Freedom Caucus, exploring intra-party dynamics and public perceptions.

Jimmy Kimmel expresses disappointment with Crenshaw’s remarks:

“I don’t agree with what Dan had to say. I think that’s pretty misguided.”
[43:17]

Senator Cruz adds perspective on political rhetoric and loyalty:

“The purpose of Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger in Congress right now is to do what Democrats want them to do... they're like court jesters in the kingdom of liberalism.”
[46:46]

This segment examines the challenges within the Republican Party and the broader implications for conservative leadership.

8. Conclusion: Balancing Heavy News with Hopeful Wins

The episode wraps up by reflecting on both the serious geopolitical threats and positive political developments, such as successfully opposing drafts and reaffirming conservative values.

Senator Cruz commends the efforts to maintain national security and uphold constitutional rights:

“Should we bring Liz back on to get to a little bit of mailbag before we go?”
[32:41]

Jimmy Kimmel concludes with a humorous nod to political relief:

“And the most delightful story is that the House of Cuomo has fallen. It reminds us there's always a little silver lining in the storm clouds of politics.”
[49:38]

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Ted Cruz on Russian Invasion Threat
  “We are in the early stages of a new presidential administration... the tanks could start rolling in as little as a month.”
  [00:00]

• Jimmy Kimmel on Nord Stream 2 and Putin’s Ambitions
  “The pipeline is a symbol... a physical representation of the imperial ambitions of Vladimir Putin.”
  [19:37]

• Senator Cruz on Economic Sanctions
  “These sanctions are using American economic power to stop military tyrants from dominating Europe and threatening America.”
  [19:45]

• Jimmy Kimmel Critiquing Biden’s Policy Reversal
  “Joe Biden needs to bring out a damn pen and piece of paper and impose the sanctions that Congress has mandated.”
  [24:20]

• Senator Cruz Opposing Drafting Women
  “This is so disgusting. This is so backwards... we're going to drag our daughters and send them overseas and draft.”
  [25:52]

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Key Takeaways

1. Imminent Threat: There is a credible and urgent threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, influenced by historical aggression and current geopolitical strategies.
2. Nord Stream 2 Significance: The pipeline serves as a critical factor in Russia’s ability to fund military actions, and halting it through sanctions is pivotal in deterring aggression.
3. Biden Administration’s Role: The administration's reversal on sanctions is seen as a pivotal weakness that emboldens Russian actions, necessitating immediate policy corrections.
4. Domestic Defense Policies: The debate over drafting women into the military highlights broader discussions on national security and ethical governance.
5. Engaged Listening: The show effectively incorporates listener questions, addressing real-world concerns with informed perspectives and actionable insights.
6. Intra-Party Dynamics: Criticism of figures like Congressman Dan Crenshaw reflects ongoing tensions within the Republican Party, emphasizing the need for cohesive leadership.

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"The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson" successfully blends serious geopolitical analysis with engaging conversations on domestic policies, providing listeners with a nuanced understanding of the issues at hand. By addressing both international threats and internal political dynamics, the episode offers a well-rounded perspective essential for informed discourse.

Transcript

[Ted Cruz]

We are in the early stages of a new presidential administration, which can only mean one Russia is planning to invade a sovereign state, according to news reports. According to defense ministers abroad, the tanks could start rolling in as little as a month. This is Verdict with Ted Cruz.

[Michael Knowles]

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[Liz Wheeler]

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[Ted Cruz]

Welcome back to Verdict with Ted Cruz. I am Michael Knowles having deja vu all over again.

[Liz Wheeler]

Hold on just a second, Michael. Hold on just a second. Let me jump in here because I think there's another very important topic that we might want to touch on right here at the top of the show. So if I may, Senator Jimmy Kimmel. Can we address this for just a second because Jimmy Kimmel has been going after you for about a week now. Yes, we're laughing because our viewers are probably aware of this. He's been tweeting out some kind of disturbing, disgusting images of you. What do you make of this? What is going on here?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Well, look, Jimmy may be a Russian communist at a minimum. He's clearly disturbed. And I'm kind of reminded of the Mean Girls meme. You're kind of obsessed with me. Every night Jimmy Kimmel seems to be hitting me in his monologue. He put out this really horrific photoshopped image of my head on this fat dude's naked body who is straddling an enormous hot dog, which I don't know if this is like some homoerotic fantasy he has. It's a little frightening. I guess I should be flattered that it is a ginormous hot dog, but I don't understand why this exists in the Twitter sphere. I will say, though, that I do have a standard policy, which is every time Jimmy hits me, and it seems to be a regular, regular occasion, I respond by simply observing that when Jimmy and I last saw each other, we played basketball. We played one on one hoops, and long and short of it. And actually long of it, because it was a really long and ugly game. But the long and short of it is I kicked his ass. And so I've had some fun putting out a highlight video entitled Buckets and Blocks that consists of me hitting jump shots, driving to the lane, driving left, driving right, scoring on him, and then the blocks are just rejecting the hell out of his shots, one after the other after the other. A few times I foul the hell out of him, too. But it is a wonderful reminder that. And by the way, that game came to pass. We actually raised $80,000 for charity to play that game, but neither one of us wanted to lose, and, well, one of us did. And Jimmy seems to be having a really hard time getting over it.

[Liz Wheeler]

Yeah, this is a pretty extreme case of sour grapes, I think, mixing that with his ideology. And, man, like, I think the word you used is correct. It was pretty disturbing, pretty disgusting, the things that he's posting on Twitter.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

It's. You know, I have to say, the. The game was interesting because he didn't have a sense of humor about it. He was, like, really serious. And like, when we walked out on the court, we played at tsu, Texas Southern University. Six thousand people came out to watch the game. I mean, and it was. As we're walking out there, he comes out to confetti cannons and, like, loud music. And we had, you know, Gus Johnson and Isaiah Thomas were broadcasting the event. But as we're walking out, he turns to me and says, prepare to be humiliated. And it was not in jest. It was like Ivan Drago and Rocky IV going, you know, if he dies, he dies. That was essentially his sentiment. And I think he thought he was going to have a great time dominating me. And that is not, in fact, what happened. Now, I will say One of the ESPN announcers had a point. He said, if Dr. Naismith had seen what happened here tonight, he would have invented a different game. It was an ugly game of basketball. But a W is a W is a W. And poor Jimmy's got to live with that the rest of his life.

[Liz Wheeler]

Yeah, well, I think that's where we leave that. I mean, he can do his sour grapes on Twitter, but you've always got that win in your pockets.

[Ted Cruz]

All right, Liz, we'll see you back at the end of the show to get into the mailbag. And frankly, I see why you had to get to that topic first, because as disturbing as the invasion by Russia of another country is, nothing could possibly be as disturbing as that photo on the hot dog from Jimmy Kimmel's account. So we will see you at the end of the show. Now, Senator, into another disturbing topic. This is real. I mean, this is not just more media hype about something. We know that Vladimir Putin invaded Georgia during the Bush administration. We know he invaded Crimea during the Obama administration. Now it appears that he is poised to go into Ukraine again. How credible is this? What does the timeline look like? And why are we supposed to care? What are we supposed to do about it?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Yeah, so it is very credible. The timeline is short. So there are right now over 100,000 Russian troops massed on the border of Ukraine. And those numbers are growing. They're growing on a daily basis. And the Biden administration over the past several days has declassified documents that suggest we could see an invasion of Ukraine as early as the beginning of next year, as January or February of next year. You know, there are several points, and this stuff is complicated, but, you know, in many ways, we're getting back to really the origins of verdict. When we started, you know, our very first episode in the basement in the bowels of D.C. on the first impeachment trial, was explaining Ukraine and burisma and impeachment and natural gas and all of that. And remember one of our first episodes? All right, well, what is Ukraine? Let's start with that. You know, Ukraine is a country. It is a country that is to the west of Russia. It is a country that used to be part of the Soviet Union. And when the Soviet Union broke out, it's one of many countries that became its own independent country. Why does Russia want to invade Ukraine? The simple answer. Vladimir Putin's been very candid about it. He has said that he considers the dissolution of the Soviet Union to be the single greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th century. He wants to reassemble the Soviet Union. He has images of Russian greatness and Soviet greatness, and he wants to restore that. And that means he wants to conquer his neighbors. Now, why is this happening now? Some of it is testing a new president. And you're absolutely right that Russia and all of our enemies test a new president. Some of it is a response to Biden's incredible weakness and ineffectiveness in Afghanistan and the disastrous withdrawal and surrender there, which we've talked about on Verdict, made every enemy of America much more likely to engage in aggression against us because they took a measure of the man in the Oval Office and determined Joe Biden is unlikely to do anything about it. But there's another cause here which we've talked about before on Verdict, but I think it is worth drilling down in some detail. And that cause of this Russian hostility is a decision Joe Biden personally made to surrender to Russia on Nord Stream 2, a natural gas pipeline that Russia is building from Russia to Germany. And that decision, Biden took what had been a foreign policy victory that we had won, and he turned it into a loss. And that is the direct but for cause of why Russia's prepared to invade Ukraine. Now, let's start with what does a pipeline have to do with Ukraine? Because that's not immediately evident to someone who is analyzing it and thinking through it.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, I remember I had this thought when you brought it up, Senator, and we've talked about it a little bit on this show. But I would like, because things seem to be coming to a head. So I do wanna be able to understand this. But I think there's this question of, as Barack Obama said, why do I care if Russia exerts influence in its traditional sphere of influence? What do I care about Ukraine? I don't know anything. Most people, as you point out, probably don't even know where Ukraine is on a map. And what does it have to do with this pipeline? I guess I care about pipelines because I care when gas goes through the roof like it is doing right now. But where is the interest for the average American citizen?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

So Vladimir Putin is a bully. He's a thug. He's a tyrant. He commits murder and torture and lies and oppression on a regular basis. And he wants to dominate his neighbors. He wants to rebuild the Soviet Union. Now, look, we spent decades fighting a Cold War. The Soviet Union was a very dangerous adversary. It's not in America's interest to see Putin rebuild the Soviet Union. It's not in America's interest to see an enemy who wants to defeat us get stronger and more powerful when it comes to energy. There's a second component of it, which is that Putin uses energy to blackmail Europe, to force Europe to do what he wants. And, you know, there's a phrase that John McCain used to use that I think is a really apt phrase, which is that Russia is a gas station with a country attached, which is the source of Putin's money that he uses to pay his army, to buy his tanks, to buy his missiles, to develop the nuclear weapons. He has pointed at you right now in Nashville, pointed at every major country in America. The source of that money is energy, selling oil and gas. Now, 2014 was the last time Putin invaded Ukraine, and he invaded a section of Ukraine called Crimea. But then he stopped. He didn't go all the way into Ukraine. He didn't invade the entire country. He didn't go into the. The capital, which, you know, the capital, everyone used to pronounce it Kiev. And now it's considered, I guess, more enlightened to pronounce it Kyiv.

[Ted Cruz]

So I have to refer to one of my favorite dinners as Chicken Kiev. Apparently not Chicken Kiev.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Apparently. Whether it's one syllable or two, I will leave that to the linguists. But the reason he didn't march into all of Ukraine is right now, the principal route that Russia uses to get its natural gas to Europe is going through Ukraine, is pipelines that go right through the middle of Ukraine. And Ukraine makes a bunch of money on these pipelines because it's how they send Russian gas to Europe to heat their homes, to provide energy for their homes. And so Putin faced the risk if he. If he sent tanks into the heart of Ukraine, if he invaded Kiev, that. That those pipelines could be destroyed, that they. That they could lose their ability to get their gas to market. And it protected Ukraine's safety and security. So what did Putin do in response? Well, the very next year, 2015, is when he began building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. And basically what he said is, all right, I don't want to have to go through Ukraine to get my gas to Europe. So let's build a pipeline that goes underwater and goes directly from Russia to Germany that cuts Ukraine out of the process. So then we can march into Ukraine and they can't do a damn thing about it. Well, he began building that pipeline. It took a lot of time. As we got to 2019, the pipeline was nearly complete. And I have been the leading voice, the leading actor in the Senate to stop this pipeline. Because this pipeline, if built, if online, gives Putin billions of dollars to attack Americans, attack our allies. I want Putin weak, and I want him not aggressive and hostile. So in the summer of 2019, I introduced legislation in the Senate to sanction the companies that were building Nord Stream 2. It was bipartisan legislation. I got brought together. Republicans, Democrats, passed it through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, passed it through the entire Senate, passed it through the entire Congress, and President Trump signed it into law. Now, here's something amazing, Michael. They were building the pipeline. They were actively rushing, trying to complete the pipeline. It was about 90% complete when President Trump signed the sanctions into law. They stopped building the pipeline that day, not the next day, not a week later, not a month later, the day the sanctions were signed into law. And they were designed because they would have bankrupted any company that continued to build the pipeline. So what happens next? This is December of 2019. The pipeline lays dormant for over a year. By the way, one of the talking points today is, well, it was 90% done. It was 90% done. Well, that's true, but a 90% done pipeline is 0% done. It doesn't work till you connect both ends and turn it on.

[Ted Cruz]

Unless the oil is gonna jump out and make it that last 10%, then it's useless.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Yep. So for over a year, we had defeated this pipeline. We had won. It was a massive bipartisan victory over Russia, it was a victory for Europe, it was a victory for Ukraine, and it was a victory for America. Then Joe Biden comes to office, and the Biden foreign policy team, number one, their view towards bullies and enemies of America is weakness, is weakness towards the Taliban and Afghanistan, weakness towards the Chinese Communists, weakness towards Iran and weakness towards Russia. But number two, they really elevate Germany in their foreign policy. You know, I've joked that the Biden foreign policy team has votive candles of Angela Merkel under their beds at night, that they just. They worship Merkel for whatever reason, and Germany wants the pipeline. So Biden reversed course and surrendered on these sanctions. And here, it's really quite amazing. The pipeline is stopped the day Trump signs the sanctions. In December of 2019, Joe Biden is sworn into office. January 20, 2021. Do you know what day Putin begins building the pipeline again?

[Ted Cruz]

What day?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

January 24, 2021. Four days after Biden puts his hand on the Bible, Putin begins building the pipeline.

[Ted Cruz]

What you've drawn here that I did not appreciate before. Obviously I understood there's some connection here between this pipeline and what Russia's doing in Ukraine. But the pipeline is a symbol. It's a physical representation of the imperial ambitions of Vladimir Putin. The whole point of the pipeline, other than saving a little bit of money, I guess, is to free up Russia to go pursue whatever imperial ambitions it has in Ukraine. So you kill the pipeline, you kill or at least seriously dampen the imperial ambitions. And if you give the okay on the pipeline, you are tacitly giving the okay on Russia going into Ukraine.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Michael, that's exactly right. And it's a point that I made repeatedly. It's a point that senators, both Republicans and Democrats made over and over and over again. It's also a point that was made by Ukraine and Poland. So this summer, when Biden formally surrendered to Putin and waived the sanctions that were part of US Law, Ukraine and Poland put out a joint statement condemning that decision and saying giving in to Nord Stream 2 creates a grave security threat against Ukraine and Central Europe. Because once the pipeline is on, Putin can drive the tanks into Ukraine and not worry about whether they destroy their pipeline or not, because he has another way to get the gas to market. The amazing thing is. So where are we now on the pipeline? The pipeline is now complete. So Biden surrendered, allowed Putin to complete it, but it's not on yet. And the reason it's not on is before it can be turned on, it has to go through certification, it has to go through the final regulatory approval in Europe before they can turn the pipeline on. Which means Biden can stop this right now if he simply follows the law. So he has waived the sanctions, he could revoke the waiver. And so, you know, earlier today, we had testimony in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from Victoria Nuland, who is the Under Secretary of State. And I asked her directly, could President Biden today impose sanctions on Nord Stream 2 by simply revoking his waiver? She said, yes, he could do it today. If you want to stop Russian tanks from driving in to Ukraine and conquering them, Joe Biden needs to bring out a damn pen and piece of paper and impose the sanctions that Congress has mandated. But he doesn't want to do it. And so Democrats are playing the blame game. It's amazing. You know, you asked, why should we care about Ukraine? Listen, let me be clear. We shouldn't send American troops to go defend Ukraine. I have no interest in sending American soldiers or sailors or airmen or Marines to be in harm's way to go fight the Russian Army. That's a bad idea. But we've got enormous leverage. These sanctions are using American economic power to stop military tyrants from dominating Europe and threatening America. And we should use them. We should also be providing lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine. Ukraine wants to defend themselves, but Russia's got a lot better weaponry, a lot better equipment than Ukraine does. And Ukraine. I went and visited Ukraine back in 2014 and went to the Maiden Square where you had protesters who were being shot in the square when they were standing up. And the people of Ukraine want to be allied with America. They want to be allied with the west, they want to be allied with Europe. They don't want to be subject to Putin and Russia's domination. And it's in our interest for them to be an ally. And so. But you know what? Joe Biden and the Democrats canceled the sale of lethal defensive military equipment to Ukraine. So they're not even helping the Ukrainians defend themselves. And if Biden doesn't change course, I think it is the odds are high that within 90 days, Russia will have invaded and sadly, in all likelihood conquered Ukraine and taken a major step towards reassembling the Soviet Union because Joe Biden is too weak to stand up to Putin. It is astounding.

[Ted Cruz]

This is a scary prospect, obviously, but it's very important. And people should bookmark this episode if you're listening to it, because what you're saying is, right now, it's not too late. Joe Biden can't just say, well, whoopsie daisy, there was nothing I could do. It is not too late. There are actually concrete measures you could take right now that could stop this, that could prevent this next step in Russia's imperial ambitions. As usual, of course, we're running late, but I do have to get to one story before we get to the mailbag. And it's on this very same point of not too late. There are things we can do right now to maintain our way of life and protect our freedoms and our rights. There was a move by Democrats, and unfortunately, some Republicans I saw went along with this during the debate over the National Defense Authorization act that would draft women, that would create this system where women could be drafted potentially to go die overseas. We touched on it when this was being debated on the show. I just had a visceral reaction to it. I thought, this is so disgusting. This is so backwards. What kind of a country? America is basically safe, basically wealthy, basically secure, and we're going to drag our daughters and send them overseas and draft. I thought, what reasonable person could ever get behind this? But it looked like it was a done deal. And then just in the past few days, you and some of your colleagues sponsored and co sponsored an amendment to rip this out of the ndaa, and that appears to be successful.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Well, look, that's exactly right. And it's. For over a decade, there's been this effort to try to make girls and women subject to the draft, subject to being forced into the military against their wishes. And it is driven by the Democrats. The Democrats emphatically want to be able to draft our daughters. And sadly, there are a bunch of compliant Republicans that are scared to stand up to it. They think, oh, well, if I say we shouldn't draft our daughter, somehow I don't like women. What utter garbage. Listen, I've got two daughters. If my girls want to serve in the military, God bless them, I will encourage them. I will cheer them on. That is a choice that is open to them. If they decide they want to serve in that capacity, bravo. That's their choice. But there's a difference between opening up our military. We have men and women who serve honorably, voluntarily and forcibly. Conscripting a woman and putting her in harm's way when there are real biological differences between men and women. And to force women into the military, into combat against their wishes is putting them at real risk. Are there some women that are badasses? Are there some women that could whip your butt or whip my butt? Sure. But probably not every woman. I'm confident, Michael, there is at least some woman who you could beat arm wrestling.

[Ted Cruz]

I hope so. I appreciate your confidence in me, Senator. I'm not totally sure, but thank you for the compliment.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

I'm with you. I believe in you on that. But, you know, this battle, and I gotta say, it was really looking bad that the Democrats were ramming this through, that half of the Republicans were surrendering on this. And there's a long history on this issue. So I gotta tell you, I've been fighting against this for. For nine years. And on the Senate Armed Services Committee, you know, one of the biggest proponents of drafting our daughters was John McCain. John McCain loved the idea. And he was chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. I was on the Armed Services Committee, and I would battle him. I'd argue and yell, and McCain would curse at you. I mean, he was. He had a temper and he would yell and curse, and we had some epic battles.

[Ted Cruz]

I seem to recall he said some not. Not very polite things about you on. On occasion, every now and again.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

He called me a wacko bir. I thought that was particularly nice. In fact, I had some activists who gave me a baseball cap with wacko Bird written on it and a picture of Daffy Duck. But so what would happen every year in the Senate Armed Services Committee is he would fight for it, ram it through, and he would get enough Republicans to go along with the Democrats that he would succeed in that. But I would work with conservatives in the House, and we'd pull it out. And so I won those battles year after year after year, much to his volcanic rage. He was furious about it. So there's an interesting story on this, Michael. So beginning of 2017, Donald Trump's the new president. He nominates to be the general counsel of the Army, a guy named Ryan Newman. Now, Ryan is a great guy. He was my chief counsel in the Senate. Ryan was a West Point graduate, served in the army, was a captain in the Army. Ryan clerked on the US Supreme Court for Justice Alito. Ryan was a student of mine at the University of Texas Law School. So when I was teaching Supreme Court litigation, he was one of my very best students. And so I was very enthusiastic when President Trump nominated Ryan to be the General counsel of the Army. So Ryan's hearing, his confirmation hearing is set. The day before his hearing, he goes in to meet with the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, John McCain, and he sits down in McCain's office, and McCain asks him, says, ryan, what are your views on drafting women? And Ryan gave exactly the right answer for a lawyer nominated to that job. And he says, senator, that. That is a policy decision for Congress to make. Congress is elected to make that policy decision. If I was confirmed as general counsel of the Army, I would implement whatever policy decision Congress made, which is exactly the right answer. McCain looks at him and goes, bullshit. I want your personal views. And Ryan says, well, sir, personally, I think it's a bad idea. McCain looks at him and says, get the hell out of my office. Throws him out of his office. Wow. Cancels his hearing the next day. And for the next couple of months, McCain refused to have a hearing with him. And ultimately, the Trump White House withdrew the nomination and they named him instead. Deputy General Counsel at the Department of Defense, which doesn't require a senate confirmation. So McCain was so off about the fact that I had been leading the fight for years against his efforts to draft our daughters, that he torpedoed an incredibly qualified guy's nomination to be general counsel of the army because he was mad at him, and he was really mad at me. And I gotta say, you know, John McCain was an incredible war hero, but he may be rolling over in his grave because once again, we've beaten the efforts of the bad guys to try to draft our daughters. And force them into combat.

[Ted Cruz]

That is great stuff. You know, I'm sure having Professor Cruz on the old CV may not have helped your friend very much in this meeting with Senator McCain, but this is really great stuff. And I didn't know that. I didn't realize that McCain had been pushing so hard for that. There are a number of Republicans who were pushing for it. Frankly, I found it disqualifying. I just, I felt if you were of the view that we should forcibly draft America's daughters. You just don't get it. There's just something has gone wrong in your political vision. I did not think that we were gonna be able to get it out this time. I thought that the Democrats had succeeded. And so seriously, I mean this, I hate to give a sincere compliment on the show, but great stuff. Just kudos. Thank you. Great stuff. I am so glad that you and some of your colleagues were able to pull this out and do the right thing. Absolutely wonderful. Should we bring. This is too nice. I feel awkward being this nice. Shall we bring Liz back on to get to a little bit of mailbag before we go?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

By the way, speaking of someone who could beat both of us, arm wrestling Liz.

[Liz Wheeler]

Well, we'll have to save that at least for episode 100. We can't pull that out in episode 98. But, Michael, you might have to continue to feel awkward for just another second because I do have to echo what you were saying. Senator Cruz, on behalf of my daughter, I thank you for fighting this fight. It's the right thing to do. And it's a politically incorrect fight in this era of critical gender theory that the left is trying to force on all of our children. But I sincerely thank you for fighting this fight on behalf of America's daughter and my own daughter. That being said, we have great questions from our Verdict plus Community tonight from our subscribers over on Verdict and anybody who is not already a subscriber on Verdict. We have a great deal between now and Christmas, you can become an annual subscriber for the very low, very cheap amount of money, $56 a year. This is basically the cheapest that you'll ever see it. So please join us over there if you want exclusive access to the senator to be able to ask questions to Michael and to the senator on these episodes. So, Senator Cruz, the first question is, of course, for you from Flo Brenton. This is a pretty interesting one. She says, I love Verdict, but right now, Nancy Pelosi is abusing her position with her January 6th Soviet Style Commission, the DOJ is at her beck and call. I cannot enjoy the entertainment of verdict. Flo says while our Constitution is being torn to shreds and not a single Republican congressman or senator stepping up to the plate to protect us. This is disgraceful. It's time to take care of business. So, Senator Cruz, my question is, how do you address this anger that's not just felt by flow, but by the American people regarding how the Democrats are handling the January 6th commission?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Well, listen, Flo is exactly right that what Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats are doing is a sham. It is a political kangaroo court. This is a commission set up in Congress that is all Democrats. And then when Kevin McCarthy, the leader of House Republicans, named some Republicans to it, Nancy Pelosi said, no, you can't have the Republicans you want. And so she put Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger on there instead. Which when you have a Democratic speaker picking who she wants, Let me tell you, the conclusions are already decided. This is a political operation. The conclusions are that every Republican in America is a terrorist and the only hope for America is for Democrats to rule us as our benevolent dictators for the next thousand years. That's the conclusion of the Nancy Pelosi January 6th Commission. That is designed to be the conclusion. It is the purpose of the show trial and it is consistent with the abuse of power we've seen from the Democrats. You know, I will say Flo's question talked about the Department of Justice and their abuse of power. And you're right that this is an incredibly political Department of Justice. I can tell you that I for one, am doing everything humanly possible to try to hold DOJ to account, to hold the Attorney General to account, to shine a light on their abuse of power, to shine a light on their partisan and political witch hunts and persecution of people for their political views, including free speech. Whether it is targeting parents for going to school boards and speaking out or targeting people on January 6th who engaged in peaceful protest, that is protected by the Constitution. Violence is not. If someone engaged in violence on January 6 or any other day of the year, if you violently assault a police officer, I don't care if your politics are right wing or left wing. I don't care where you fall. If you engage in violence, you should be prosecuted. But the Democrats are cynically using those that did engage in violence as an excuse to target and go after the political speech of millions of Americans they just happen to disagree with. And it is a total abuse of power. And I agree. We need to do everything we can to hold them accountable.

[Liz Wheeler]

It is disappointing, too, I think, to see the Republicans, Cheney and Kinzinger, acting like Democrats when they have a responsibility to their constituents and to the American people to make sure that the DOJ isn't abusing their power. But they're not living up to that responsibility. So the next question is from our tried and true friend here on Verdict. This is real truth. Cactus, she asks, what happened at the school in Michigan was terrible. I do think on a legal level it is strange that they're pursuing charges against the parents. She asks, has this ever been done before? Do you think it will set a legal precedent to press charges against the parents of children who commit violent acts?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Well, it's a good question. And we don't know all of the facts of what happened there. It was a horrific school shooting of yet another troubled teenage boy who took a gun to school and opened fire on his classmates. And we've seen far too many of those horrifically across the country. I've seen too many of those in the state of Texas. I was at the Santa Fe High School just outside of Houston on the morning of that horrific shooting. And Santa Fe High School's less than an hour from my house. So I was there within minutes after the shooting. And it remains one of the worst things I've ever seen in my life. We've seen far too many of these. Whether the parents can and should be held to account depends on the facts and circumstances of what happened, and it also depends on what the state law is. My understanding is in this circumstance that the parents had purchased the firearms, had kept them in an unlocked drawer, I believe, where their teenage son could access them. And it also appears from some of the back and forth that the parents had good reason to know or at least very seriously suspect that this was a deeply troubled child who could well be a danger to others. And if those are the facts, I think there are a lot of states, Michigan and others, where parents could be held liable if you, you know, I'm a gun owner, but I keep, I keep our firearms locked up because I don't want our kids accessing our firearms. And I think responsible gun owners, that's what we do, is we don't want to see children, particularly young children, playing with guns, having an accidental shooting. Lots of bad things can happen when kids have access and unrestricted access to guns, all the more so depending on the facts of what the parents knew about their son. And if there were, from the early discussions, the texts that were going back and forth between the shooter and his mom, it certainly seems like the parents knew that this was a very unstable and very dangerous kid. And I would say that there's a fairly long standing principle, certainly of civil liability, but even of criminal liability, if you are recklessly allowing firearms to fall into the hands of a child under your care, who you have reason to know is a danger to others.

[Ted Cruz]

Senator, that answer was absolutely outrageous because you have violated the rule of modern political discourse. You didn't make it completely reductive and simplistic. And so I think what everyone is expecting is you need someone to say absolutely, 100%, ban all guns, repeal the Second Amendment, and throw anyone who owns a gun in the clink. Or you can do whatever you want with your gun and you can leave 20 rifles on the roof of your home and with big signs that say, come take this rifle right here. But of course, that's not the case. There is such a thing as prudence, and our liberties require that we exercise them with prudence. And so I think that's a terrific way to view it. And it's. Obviously, it's going to change state by state. And political activists are gonna try to exploit these events as often they do to score whatever ideological point they have. But what's much more interesting than those shallow ideological points are the details or the facts and the questions of prudence.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Right.

[Liz Wheeler]

Because the mother allegedly texted her son, don't do it as soon as she heard it on the news. The father reportedly called the police and reported that his gun was missing. He said he suspected that it was his son that was shooting. So these parents had some awareness. It also should spark the conversation, not just about the laws that are currently on the books, but how should this be handled? If parents are aware of this, are they culpable? Should they be liable? What should the laws be? And that's a policy discussion that politicians should have, as well as talking about the diversionary policies that some of these schools have implemented when they see red flags from these students, including violent drawings and violent comments, and how they handle that outside of the criminal justice system.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Now, look, I think that's exactly right. And you look at some of these shootings, you look at the shooting in Parkland in Florida, and there were all sorts of warning signs that that shooter. And by the way, one thing as a consistent policy matter, I do, I will not say the names of any of these shooters. These evil bastards who commit mass murder, they want their names to go down in infamy. And I very consciously will never repeat their names because I'm not interested in giving them that infamy. But the Parkland shooter, there were multiple interactions with law enforcement. And, Liz, you pointed out a policy that politicians have put in place that when you have people that engage in acts of violence and threats against fellow students and the schools cover it up and the schools don't report it to law enforcement and the schools don't treat it seriously, it has the potential of escalating and putting the lives of other students at real risk.

[Liz Wheeler]

Right. And that'll certainly be interesting to watch unfold in the case of what happened in Michigan because the student apparently had been called into the office for making violent comments and the school told his parents to get him counseling. Now, we don't know all the details of whether that should have been escalated to law enforcement, but there were certainly those red flags. Senator, the next question is from Brent. Brent asks about a video that has gotten quite a bit of attention online. It's of Congressman Dan Crenshaw throwing shade at the Freedom Caucus. Like I said, this has made the rounds. Interesting comments from Congressman Crenshaw here. What is your stance on this video, on the comments from Congressman Crenshaw?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Listen, I've seen the video. I don't agree with what Dan had to say. I like Dan. I like him personally. I think he's. He's talented. I'm certainly grateful for his service to our nation. He lost an eye defending the nation. I'm grateful for that. And he's a charismatic guy. He's got a sense of humor. He's got some verve, and he's willing to fight. All of those are good things. In this video, he's singing the praises of Adam Kinzinger and he's crapping all over the Freedom Caucus. I think that's pretty misguided. I think Kinziger has gone completely off the rails. And there's a reason that he's not running for reelection, because Kinziger couldn't get reelected. And I think the Freedom Caucus, they are consistently the strongest conservatives in Congress. And, you know, there is a particular contempt that some congressional moderates have for conservatives who actually follow through on their promises. And, you know, it was interesting. I think the phrase that Dan used, he said, well, there are performance politicians and there are legislators. It is always a problem whenever you see someone use a word like legislator and their voice always drops an octave. I don't know why, but it's much more serious when it's a legislator. What they mean is someone who's going to cut a bunch of deals With Democrats and give in. What they mean are the kind of Republicans who voted with the Democrats on the big infrastructure bill that just came in. That's what they mean. And actually the other phrase, he didn't use it, but I was kind of surprised he didn't. The other phrase that you see congressional mods, they love to use is they say there are workhorses and show horses. And what's a show horse? A show horse is anyone who actually does what they promised their constituents they would do as compared to the workhorses who suck up to the Democrats and do what the Democrats want them to do. And you know, look, I guess it is easy sometimes for people to fall into that rhetoric. I think Dan was wrong in this one.

[Ted Cruz]

There's also just an easy trap that unfortunately some I know a number of my conservative friends have fallen into, which is, and especially this is true in D.C. you start to believe the things that you hear everyone talking about. And so if you hear constantly that Liz Cheney is this great Republican leader or Adam Kinzinger even more ridiculous, if you hear it enough and you're surrounded by it, you kind of start to believe it, or at least some people do. And I just think that, as you said, Senator, a little earlier when we were Talking about the January 6th committee, the purpose of Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger in Congress right now is to do what Democrats want them to do. They might have an R next to their name, but their actual utility at the crucial fights is to act as the sort of court jesters in the kingdom of liberalism. That's why they'll go on cnn. They won't generally go on the conservative channels. And so talk about a performance that we're seeing. Talk about showboating. That to me is the most spectacular, sensationalist performance of them all. And you can see it on cnn. And when you look at the Republicans who are constantly on CNN bashing other Republicans, to me those are the real performers.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Well, and their purpose is even more than that. It's to be a beard. It's to cover up what's going on. This is a kangaroo court. And they're there because they have an R after their name. And it's to dress it up as something it is not so that it has some modicum of credibility. And listen, the reality of it is going to be Kinziger is not running for reelection cuz he couldn't get reelected. I think Liz Cheney is extremely likely to be beaten in her primary because she has basically told Republicans and conservatives in the state of Wyoming, piss off. And I think in a little over a year, both of them will be regular contributors on msnbc. And so they're auditioning for MSNBC right now. And that's not exactly, that is not exactly worthy of dropping your voices, your voice two octaves and calling them great legislators as a result.

[Ted Cruz]

That's right. This is the feeling you have. It's like when you see a friend of yours making any kind of decision that you don't think is a great one, you say, no, Dan, get away from Kinzinger. Don't, don't do it. Don't, don't, don't believe the lies because we're talking about truth and lies. I generally find that when I tune into cnn, I'm seeing a lot of lies. And when I tune into cnn, I tend to see a lot of Adam Kinzinger.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

You know what you're not seeing when you tune in to cnn? Chris Cuomo.

[Ted Cruz]

It's too soon, Senator. It's too soon.

[Liz Wheeler]

But oh my goodness.

[Ted Cruz]

But so right.

[Liz Wheeler]

It's also the only reason that I'm, the only reason I'm grateful for videos like this is because it shows us as the voters, the true of the people who are supposed to represent us. So it better informs our vote. So I'm disappointed in what Crenshaw said, of course, but it does show us a little bit of his decision making process or his judgment. And for better or for worse, we do need to know that as the voters. On that note, if there is anybody on a college campus across the country who wants to bring verdict with Ted Cruz, the senator, with Michael Knowles to their campus this coming spring, submit your application by December 15th. You can [e-mail] that is yaf.org verdict to bring verdict live to your college campus. It's a great old time. December 15th is the deadline, though, so submit those applications very, very soon.

[Ted Cruz]

Excellent. Thank you, Liz. And Senator, I am so glad that you got to the most delightful news story where there's a lot of heavy news stories today, you know, talking about what's going on in Russia, how there a little bit of hope, there is still time maybe to stop things if Biden will stand up and do it. The wins that we've had where we're pulling some of our conservative friends back from the precipice. But the most delightful story is that the House of Cuomo has fallen. It reminds us there's always a little silver lining in the storm clouds of politics.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Michael, I will note one of my favorite words foreign words is schadenfreude, the German word for taking pleasure in the suffering of others. And I'll suggest perhaps a slight tweak to that, which is let us revel in shadden Fredo taking joy in the suffering of Fredo Cuomo, the troubled younger brother who I believe was last seen in a rowboat on Lake Tahoe saying Hail Mary. And now he is on CNN no more.

[Ted Cruz]

A legislator, a basketball champion, and a linguist as well. Senator, thank you very much. I'm Michael Knowles. This is Verdict with Ted Cruz.

[Liz Wheeler]

So I tried to get the great and powerful J Hay to draw cactus on the Vesta board for this little bit that we're doing, but he could not produce. So let me just tell you, we have a 20% off sale on the Verdict merch store right now. You can get one of those sweet, sweet cactus hats. I would put one on for you to model it, but I'm a little vain of my hair today. I think I'm having a pretty good hair day, so I didn't want to mess it up. But go over to verdict with TedCruise.com shop and if you use the promo code Santa then you will get 20% off the entire shop between now and Christmas. 20% off. That's a really good deal. We have T shirts, we have cactus merch, we have hats. We have all kinds of cool stuff over there. Between now and Christmas, you get the great deal. 20% off if you use the promo code code Santa, then I don't know. In the meantime, maybe the great and powerful J hey will figure out how to put a T shirt or a cactus on the vestiboard. But while he's figuring that out, I invite you join us verdict with TedCruz.com shop to buy really cool merch. You get 20% off if you use the promo code Santa at checkout. That's actually pretty good.

[Michael Knowles]

This episode of Verdict with Ted Cruz is being brought to you by Jobs, Freedom and Security pac, 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 nation.