Blue City Crime Chaos, it's a Schumer Shutdown & Leftist Judicial Bias at its Best Week In Review

Summary

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Verdict with Ted Cruz – Week in Review

Episode: "Blue City Crime Chaos, it's a Schumer Shutdown & Leftist Judicial Bias at its Best"

Date: October 11, 2025
Hosts: Senator Ted Cruz and Ben Ferguson

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Overview

This episode of Verdict with Ted Cruz serves as a week-in-review, focusing on three major topics:

1. The rise in crime in Democrat-led "blue cities" and conservative efforts to reverse these trends.
2. The ongoing federal government shutdown, its roots, and the political dynamics at play.
3. Outrage surrounding the light sentence given to the attempted assassin of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, which Cruz attributes to leftist judicial activism.

Ted Cruz and Ben Ferguson deliver these topics with a distinctly conservative and combative tone, heavy on criticism of Democratic politicians, policies, and the progressive movement.

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1. Blue City Crime Chaos: Progressive Policies Under Scrutiny

Key Points and Insights

• Senate Judiciary Hearings (01:42): The committee examined crime rates in Democrat-run cities. Cruz claims, “It turns out when you let violent criminals go, when you undermine the police, when you put in place prosecutors who won't prosecute crime, you get more crime.”
• Soros-Backed Prosecutors: Cruz singles out George Soros for funding District Attorneys (DAs) who pursue “soft on crime” policies, notably refusing to fully prosecute serious offenses.
  • In New York, DA Alvin Bragg “declined to prosecute certain misdemeanor felonies, actively working to downgrade felony charges to misdemeanors, and refused to detain criminals before their trials” (02:40).
  • Athens, GA DA Deborah Gonzalez and Milwaukee’s John Chisholm also criticized for leniency and policies leading to tragic outcomes.
• Patterns & Data: Out of the top 20 most crime-ridden cities, “18 of them are controlled by left wing hardcore Democrats” (00:58). Cruz directly correlates rising crime to policy changes in these areas.
• Cruz’s Legislation Response:
  • Points to Trump sending the National Guard to D.C., resulting in murder rates “dropp[ing] 58%” (07:52).
  • Introduced the Clean DC Act to roll back local reforms perceived as soft on crime, with backing from the D.C. Police Union.

Memorable Quotes

• On the consequences of progressive DA policies:
  “This pattern is happening over and over and over again. What is amazing is the Democrats are not learning. They’re not saying, ‘gosh, maybe we should stop siding with the criminals.’ Instead they’re doubling down.” – Ted Cruz (04:11)
• On National Guard intervention:
  “You would think rational people—if Democrats were rational—they’d be celebrating. Wow. The murder rate has plummeted… But they’re not. They’re furious.” – Ted Cruz (07:54)

Notable Testimonies

• Audio clip from the Senate hearing:
  “Prosecute violent criminals. Innocent victims die. Right here in Washington, D.C.… murders in D.C. totaled fewer than 100. By 2023, murders had nearly tripled—274 lives taken in a single year.” – Ted Cruz (05:02)
• D.C. Police Union support:
  “When leaders attack police, communities suffer. When lawmakers strip away tools and protections, criminals thrive. If this is not corrected, the crisis will deepen here and nationwide.” – Head of D.C. Police Union, as recounted by Ben Ferguson (09:12)

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2. The ‘Schumer Shutdown’: Government Gridlock and Political Gamesmanship

Key Points and Insights

• Who’s Keeping the Government Shut? Cruz argues the shutdown’s blame lies squarely with Senate Democrats: “I and every other Republican has voted repeatedly to open up the government. The House... has passed a clean CR… It’s the Democrats who keep voting it down.” (14:47)
• Healthcare for Illegal Immigrants as Point of Contention: Cruz claims Democrats' “real ask” is government-provided healthcare for undocumented immigrants, even if they won’t admit it publicly.
• Democratic Party in Crisis:
  • Cites CBS polling:
    • 64% of Americans describe the Democratic Party as “weak.”
    • 46% say “extreme.”
    • Only 27% say “strong,” and 26% “effective.” (17:23–18:16)
• Political Satire:
  • Cruz discusses a meme and video circulated by his office, using AI to animate images of Democratic Senators in sombreros and mustaches, mocking their approach to immigration and the shutdown debate. Cruz shrugs off accusations of offensiveness as “hysterical” and “obviously AI.” (19:06)
• Prediction:
  • Cruz predicts Democrats will cave, ending the shutdown soon, given the poor polling and lack of public support for their position. (24:34–28:25)
• Illustrative Moment:
  • Plays audio of Chuck Schumer accidentally dismissing a New York Times poll by claiming it’s “biased” and the resulting laughter from Republican senators—showing Dems are “on fire, we don't have a win.” (26:11)

Memorable Quotes

• On Dems’ Messaging Woes:
  “You are running the Democrat Party Senate campaign… your message right now: two thirds of Americans think we're weak. Half of Americans think we're extreme. We've got a full quarter… who think we're strong and effective. Everyone else, you know, we're full of crap. That is the definition of a political crisis.” – Ted Cruz (18:17)

• On Shutdown Impact:
  “If the government shuts down and everyone yawns and goes about their life, that's a disaster” for big government advocates. – Ted Cruz (27:15)

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3. Judicial Bias: The Kavanaugh Attempted Murder Sentencing

Key Points and Insights

• The Case:
  • In 2022, a (transgender) man planned to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, traveling from California to Maryland with weapons and kidnapping tools.
  • The DOJ sought a 30-year sentence; Judge Deborah Boardman (Biden appointee) instead sentenced him to 8 years, citing both the perpetrator’s gender identity and personal family issues. (31:45)
• Cruz’s Response:
  • Expressed anger, calling Judge Boardman “utterly unfit to be a federal judge.”
  • Accuses Boardman of letting ideology overpower sentencing guidelines: “If you are such a zealot, such a partisan ideologue… you will not acknowledge this is terrorism… because [the perpetrator is] transgender… instead of 30 years, I'm going to give this person eight years.” (40:18)
• Call for Impeachment:
  • Cruz urges the House of Representatives to consider impeachment, insisting judicial refusal to uphold the law in such cases amounts to a breach of public trust.

Memorable Quotes

• On the Sentencing:
  “So you have someone attempting to murder a sitting Supreme Court justice, and the federal district judge who's sentencing the attempted murderer says, I'm heartened. The great thing about this is the parents are now accepting of their psychopathic, murderous son that thinks he's a daughter.” – Ted Cruz (36:40)
• On Judicial Accountability:
  “I would urge the House of Representatives take up impeachment and I would love to have a trial in the Senate. Do we want judges who refuse to enforce the criminal law for psychopathic murderers who are trying to murder Supreme Court justices?” – Ted Cruz (41:05)

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• “Democrat crime policies kill people. Soros DA’s who let murderers out of jail kill people.” – Ted Cruz (06:51)
• “When leaders attack police, communities suffer… If this is not corrected, the crisis will deepen here and nationwide.” – D.C. Police Union Head (09:12)
• “You would think rational people… would be celebrating. Wow! The murder rate has plummeted. But they’re not. They’re furious.” – Ted Cruz (07:54)
• “If this is the case, then why not…does it happen? How many votes do you need to do it?” – Ben Ferguson, on impeachment (39:15)
• “This judge has demonstrated she is utterly unfit to be a federal judge.” – Ted Cruz (40:18)
• Comedic/Satirical moment: AI video of Democratic senators in sombreros and mustaches (19:06–22:46)
• Schumer dismissal of NYT as “biased” and ensuing Senate floor laughter (26:11)

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Important Timestamps

• Start of Crime Segment: (01:42)
• Testimony of Victim's Parent in Congress Referenced: (04:26)
• Senate Hearing Clip on DC Murder Rates: (05:02)
• Discussion of National Guard in DC, Clean DC Act: (07:52)
• Police Union Testimony Supporting Clean DC Act: (09:12)
• Transition to Shutdown Segment: (14:22)
• CBS Polling on Democratic Party Descriptors: (17:23)
• AI Meme and Satirical Segment: (19:06)
• Transition to Judicial Bias/Kavanaugh Segment: (31:00)
• Details of Kavanaugh Assassin Sentencing: (31:45)
• Call for Impeachment of Judge Boardman: (39:29)

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Overall Tone & Style

• Highly partisan, combative, and rhetorical.
• Frequent use of sarcasm, mockery, and meme culture (e.g., AI satire segment).
• Appeals to conservative listeners through emotional anecdotes and “behind-the-scenes” political insights.
• Heavy focus on personal responsibility, law and order, and accusations of leftist overreach.

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Summary

This episode of Verdict with Ted Cruz offers a harsh critique of progressive criminal justice reforms, lambastes Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown (blaming Schumer’s leadership woes and a supposed drive to provide healthcare to illegal immigrants), and expresses anger at what Cruz sees as leftist judicial bias in the sentencing of Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s would-be assassin. The episode is filled with policy breakdowns, data claims, political theater, and memorable moments of candid banter and conservative satire. The tone is fiery, often mocking, and unapologetically partisan.

Transcript

[Ben Ferguson]

This is an I Heart podcast.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

What do you think makes the perfect snack?

[Ted Cruz]

Hmm, it's gotta be when I'm really craving it and it's convenient.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

Could you be more specific?

[Ted Cruz]

When it's cravinient.

[Ben Ferguson]

Okay.

[Ted Cruz]

Like a freshly baked cookie made with real butter, available right down the street at am, pm Or a savory breakfast sandwich I can grab in just a second at am, pm.

[Ben Ferguson]

I'm seeing a pattern here.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, yeah, we're talking about what I.

[Ben Ferguson]

Crave, which is anything from am, pm.

[Ted Cruz]

What more could you want? Stop by A and PM where the snacks and drinks are perfectly craveable and convenient. That's cravy. Ampm Too much Good stuff.

[Ben Ferguson]

Welcome. It is Verdict with Ted Cruz, the Weekend Review and Ben Ferguson with you. And here are some of the big stories that you may have missed that we talked about this week. First up, fighting the crime epidemic in liberal blue cities. Donald Trump taking it on and having massive success. So why are Democrats still fighting against him even when the data shows it's working? We'll have that for you. Also, the government shutdown is continuing. And and is there an end date in sight? We'll have that as well. And finally, Justice Kavanaugh, attempted murder suspect given an incredibly light sentence due to a radical judge. It's the Weekend Review and it starts right now. All right, I wanna move to something else then. That's really important. The Senate Judiciary is having a big hearing and it deals with blue city chaos, Democratic run cities. The report that's out now is pretty clear. Out of the top 20 most crime ridden cities, 18 of them are controlled by left wing hardcore Democrats. And you guys are now looking into this. So what does this actually mean?

[Ted Cruz]

Well, this week the Judiciary Committee held a hearing on out of control crime in Democrat cities. And it really is horrific the policies. It turns out when you let violent criminals go, when you undermine the police, when you put in place prosecutors who won't prosecute crime, you get more crime. This summer the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley's the chairman, put out a report that showed that the Biden Department of Justice sent taxpayer funded grants to Soros backed soft on crime NGOs. And in particular, here's what the report said. Under the Biden Harris administration, the Vera Institute was awarded millions of taxpayer dollars to prop up left wing district attorneys who would then partner with the Vera Institute to implement Soros backed progressive policies. These policies included prioritizing violent criminals over victims and declining to fully prosecute felony charges including assault, kidnapping, rape and murder. And here's some of the key findings from the report. In New York, New York County DA Alvin Bragg partnered with the Vera Institute and declined to prosecute certain misdemeanor felonies, actively working to downgrade felony charges to misdemeanors, and refused to detain criminals before their trials. Meanwhile, Bragg attempted to prosecute President Donald Trump for federal campaign finance violations. In the year 2025, there were over 48,000 individuals arrested for misdemeanors in New York county. Wow. But only 3,000 of them were detained. 48,000 arrested, 3,000 detained in Georgia. Athens DA Deborah Gonzalez partnered with the Vera Institute and pledged to protect illegal immigrant defendants and release criminals on bonds that did not require the posting of money. In Wisconsin Milwaukee D.A. john Chisholm partnered with Avere Institute to implement progressive soft on crime policies and reportedly told the Milwaukee Sentinel, journey, quote, is there going to be an individual I divert or who I put into a treatment program who's going to go out and kill somebody? You bet. That is the Soros DA bragging he's going to release criminals who murder people. And in 2020, the Milwaukee DA's office released a criminal twice before. He ultimately drove an SUV through a Christmas parade, killing six and injuring 62 others. This pattern is happening over and over and over again. What is amazing is the Democrats are not learning. They're not saying, gosh, maybe we should stop siding with the criminals. Instead they're doubling down.

[Ben Ferguson]

They're doubling down. And you see these stories that pop up. And there was one dad that went before Congress to testify about his daughter and just how many times the man that killed his daughter, that took his daughter's life, had been arrested and released. And if you didn't hear that, people should go listen to it because I think it's really important. But we're seeing this happen where criminals are being caught and released dozens of times. Like dozens of times, Senator. And they're just like, yeah, so what, they go out and then they kill somebody? Like, okay, maybe we should, I guess, lock that guy up. My bad. It's insane.

[Ted Cruz]

Well, and here was a portion of the hearing this week. Give a listen. Prosecute violent criminals. Innocent victims die right here in Washington, D.C. in 2012, murders in D.C. totaled fewer than 100. By 2023 murders had nearly tripled 274 lives taken in a single year. These are the real world consequences of Democrat crime policies that let murderers go.

[Ben Ferguson]

And the policy to be clear, center, is a simple one. DA's were instructed when they took money, basically From Soros, they're bought and paid for by Soros. And what they were instructed to do was to have prison reform and bail reform. They wanted people out of the prisons, they didn't want people to go to prisons, they didn't want people to be held in prison because of bail. And so that is part of what they're advocating for here.

[Ted Cruz]

It's comprehensive and it's at every stage. It's a left wing agenda that wants to, number one, abolish the police, wants to defund the police. And by the way, that's not just empty rhetoric. If you look at jurisdictions across the country. In Minneapolis, they slashed funding for the police department. In New York City, the NYPD, they cut over a billion dollars from the NYPD's budget. In Austin, Texas, our home state, $150 million cut from the police department. So that's one way they do it, is they attack the police directly to wanting to either abolish or defund the police. But secondly, they go after DA's. And George Soros has spent tens of millions of dollars funding DA campaigns for radicals who've gotten elected in many major cities across the country. And when they get in, they refuse to prosecute violent criminals, they downgrade felonies to misdemeanors, they abolish cash bail. So they catch a murderer, they let him go. They catch a violent criminal, they let him go. Here's another portion from the hearing. You know, it's clear from this hearing the Democrat talking points have come out. Both Senator Padilla and Senator Booker spent a great deal of time talking about, quote, red states. There's a reason they were talking about red states, because unfortunately, most red states have blue cities, and that's where the crime is. If you want to look at in 2023, the large cities with the most homicides per 100,000 people, number one was New Orleans, Louisiana. Number two was Memphis, Tennessee. Number three was St. Louis City. Number four was Baltimore City. Number five was Washington, D.C. democrat crime policies kill people. Soros DA's who let murderers out of jail kill people.

[Ben Ferguson]

So when you look at this being exposed the way that you guys are doing it, what is going to be the mechanism that can obviously help stop this from happening? And how can Congress use that leverage?

[Ted Cruz]

Well, there are lots of things we can do. One is what President Trump has done, which is he sent the national guard to Washington, D.C. and the result of that is the crime rates have plummeted. The murder rates have dropped 58%. Now, you would think rational people, if Democrats were rational people, they'd be celebrating. Wow. The murder rate has plummeted. That means people are alive because the National Guard is there stopping murders. But they're not. They're furious. And I'll tell you, in the wake of George Floyd dying.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Ted Cruz]

The D.C. city Council passed a soft on crime package of legislation that lessened the penalty for violent crime across the board. That tied the police hands and made it much, much harder to prosecute crime. And the result was crime rose dramatically. Carjacking and violent crime rose dramatically. I've introduced legislation in the Senate called the Clean DC Act. Clean DC act reverses those 2022 laws. It reinstates tougher penalties on violent crimes and it allows the police to actually go after the violent criminals. At the hearing, the head of the D.C. police Union testified and he explicitly asked the Senate to pass my legislation. Pass the Clean DC Act. Give a listen to the head of the D.C. police Officers Union.

[Ben Ferguson]

That is why we also support the Clean DC Act. It begins the process of undoing harmful legislation, restoring balance and rebuilding MPD strength. This is not just a DC issue. Other cities that embrace the same policies are now facing the same consequences. The lesson is clear. When leaders attack police, communities suffer. When lawmakers strip away tools and protections, criminals thrive. If this is not corrected, the crisis will deepen here and nationwide. I urge Congress to act, support the Clean DC act, roll back field legislation and work with law enforcement instead of against us. Officers want nothing more than to protect their communities, but they cannot do it alone. Again, I thank you for the opportunity to testify and I welcome any questions the committee may have. Thank you. One of the things, Senator, I like about where you guys are going with this is that this is not going to be a short term thing. This is actual reform you are advocating for to make sure that these cities don't go back to these liberal policies where innocent people are dying every single day.

[Ted Cruz]

No, that's exactly right. And the first obligation, the first obligation the President, the Commander in Chief has is to protect this nation, to keep us safe. The first obligation, really every elected official should, should, should put front and center is protecting the health and safety of the men and women you're elected to represent. And you know, it is striking, just like we talked about a minute ago with the shutdown where the Democrats are engaged in gaslighting. You heard in the segment, I was talking about what both Cory Booker and Alex Padilla said in that hearing where they both had talking points almost exactly the same, where they said, well, you know, there are bad crime stats in a bunch of red states and they went through a bunch of red states and they're right. There are red states where the crime stats are problematic. My response, which they have no refutation to, is that is entirely driven by the blue cities in those red states that are governed by left wing Democrat mayors and left wing Democrat DA's who refuse to prosecute violent crime. And so yes, look, Memphis, Tennessee was number two on the list. Now Tennessee is a red state. But you know, God help you if you live in Memphis when you have local officials who will not prosecute the bad guys. And that's true in Baltimore, that's true in New Orleans, that's True in Washington D.C. and rather than address it and admit it and fix it, the Democrats are trying to distract people by engaging in dishonest rhetoric.

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Ted Cruz]

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[Ben Ferguson]

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[Ben Ferguson]

Now on to story number two. Is this gonna be a really long term shutdown or is this gonna be something that's gonna get resolved pretty quickly? So let's talk about you in Washington last week there were votes and movement, but it did not move enough to make the government go back to actually working for the American people. When you left D.C. what was the temperature? And you said now Democrats you feel like are actually freaking out.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, look, I and every other Republican has voted repeatedly to open up the government. The House of Representatives has passed a clean cr, a clean continuing resolution that keeps the government open. And it's the Democrats who keep voting it down. And we're going to this week we're going to be back in. We'll be in Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, maybe Friday. Every day we will vote to open the government. Right now if the Democrats don't change every day the Democrats will vote to keep the government shut down. And the challenge is they don't have an off ramp. They're trying to make up all sorts of things to say we're going to shut the government down because of X. Because of. Yeah, they're claiming it's all about that they really, really, really want to give health care to illegal aliens. Actually, ironically, they're not claiming that. That's in the language of the bill they keep voting for. So every Democrat keeps voting for a bill that would provide government provided health care for illegals. And then they're going on TV saying what us? No, no, no, we don't want health care for illegals. Who's ever heard of such a thing? That's not possibly what we want. So there's a level of incoherence in terms of what their ask is but there's a reason for that. They don't actually have a real ask. What they have is a political problem for Chuck Schumer. When he last kept the government open, he came very close to losing his job. The radical left wing rose up. They were furious. I gotta say, Ben, it is astonishing. Every single Democrat Senate candidate in the country who has been asked, do you support Chuck Schumer to remain the Democrat leader in the Senate, not one, not a single incumbent, not a single challenger has said, yep, he's our leader. They're all running terrified. So you want to know why there's a shutdown? Because Schumer needs to beat his chest. Now, at some point he'll stop beating his chest and the government will reopen. But, but just this week, CBS did a poll and I got to say, the Democrats numbers are near an all time low. The Democrats favorability rating is at 34%, 66% unfavorable. And it really is striking. So CBS, now this is not a right wing poll. This is cbs. Cbs. Asked what words describe the Democrat Party, what do you think the number one word was?

[Ben Ferguson]

I'm going to guess it wasn't like inspirational, like hope and change back in the day when Obama was around.

[Ted Cruz]

Weak.

[Ben Ferguson]

There you go.

[Ted Cruz]

Weak. Weak was. 64% of Americans polled said the Democrat Party is weak. What do you think the number two word was?

[Ben Ferguson]

I'm going to go with not strong.

[Ted Cruz]

Extreme. 46% said extreme. So weak and extreme are the top two words. Now after that, you've got reasonable. Reasonable is at 44% strong. You actually asked about strong. What percent do you think say the Democrat Party is strong?

[Ben Ferguson]

I mean, if I had to guess, I'd say 35%.

[Ted Cruz]

27.

[Ben Ferguson]

Wow. So even lower than I thought because 35 was not like a good number, by the way.

[Ted Cruz]

And by the way, effective. What percent do you think say the Democrat Party is effective?

[Ben Ferguson]

I'm gonna say based on what you just said a moment ago, 25%.

[Ted Cruz]

26.

[Ben Ferguson]

There you go. Okay, good.

[Ted Cruz]

So, all right, think for a minute. You are running the Democrat Party Senate campaign, the Democrat Party House campaign. Your message right now. Two thirds of Americans think we're weak. Half of Americans think we're extreme. We've got a full quarter of Americans who think we're strong and effective. So we're telling you quarter of Americans, we are strong and effective. Everyone else, you know, we're full of crap. That is the definition of a political crisis. You want to know why my colleagues are nervous? Look, I. This past week I sent out a meme, so you may have seen. In fact, I know you've seen Ben. President Trump sent out a meme of Hakeem Jeffries wearing a sombrero with a big handlebar mustache, by the way.

[Ben Ferguson]

So good and hilarious and just funny. And people need to calm down. But of course, Democrats start screaming racism right away.

[Ted Cruz]

Look, it was funny as crap. It was AI. So it had Chuck Schumer saying, all right, nobody's voting for Democrats because they know our bs and we would have actually played the meme, but the AI curses a number of times. And this is a family friendly podcast, so we're not going to play the curse words here. But I have to admit, I doubled over laughing. And look, it's obviously AI. Nobody thinks it's real. Yeah, Schumer actually said, we, the Democrats are full of crap. Like, it's obvious they're lying. But what people have gone nuts about is Hakeem Jeffries is there. They're saying, okay, nobody votes for us. Everyone hates us. So we've decided to go all in on free health care, free illegals, because maybe the illegals, they don't speak English, so maybe they'll support us, at least for a while, till they discover how horrible we are, and then they won't support us either. That. That's a paraphrase of what Schumer says in the video. And you have Akeem Jeffries at a sombrero and a big mustachio next to him. And I have to admit, my team, we took a video. There are 44 Democrats who keep voting to shut the government down. So we took pictures of all 44 of those Democrat senators, and we used a little bit of AI and we stuck sombreros and. And big old mustaches on them. And we put it out. And we. And we put it out. Actually, I want to play the tune, and we're not going to play the whole thing, but I want to play the tune that we put it out to because it's. It's very neutral and non political. Give a listen to the song that we put out. And mind you, while you're listening to this song, you have a cascade of 44 Democrat senators with sombreros and big handlebar mustaches. Give a listen. Campbell is never gonna beat me in November Donna's gotta make the country better than you can remember. Campbell is never gonna beat me in November Campbell is never gonna be me in November Donna's gonna make the country better than you can remember. Campbell is never gonna be me in November.

[Ben Ferguson]

Hey, Margarita.

[Ted Cruz]

When I dance, I do the margarita.

[Ben Ferguson]

Shake it on my trail.

[Ted Cruz]

I can't pay now they all love me. Cause I'm Dante and every good American wants me. Votes for me. Joe just beat on himself the third time this week. Votes for me. Joe just peed on himself the third time this week. Pamela's never gonna be me in November. Donna gonna make the country better than you can remember. All right.

[Ben Ferguson]

I got to say, you know that Donald Trump loves this kind of stuff. I cannot wait to see what he says to you when you guys hang out next.

[Ted Cruz]

Look, it's hysterical. And you got to envision, if you haven't watched it online while the song is playing, we've just got image after image of Democrats. So we have Chris Van Hollen sitting down with the MS.13 member having a daiquiri with a giant sombrero and a handlebar mustache. We just have fun with it. By the way, I will say the Macarena. So, as you know, my communications director is named Macarena Martinez. She's fantastic. Really, really good. But I was talking to, like, several of the young staffers in my office, and I said, you know, there's only one member of our staff who has been the title of a number one song worldwide. And, like, the 22 year olds in my office had no idea what I was talking about.

[Ben Ferguson]

Isn't that amazing?

[Ted Cruz]

Like, they've never heard of the Macarena.

[Ben Ferguson]

You're aging us right now.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah. Like it's, it's, it's for all of us. So this pod has a lot of younger listeners. There was a song, what, 20 years ago? 25. Long time ago.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, long. Longer than that, maybe. Yeah.

[Ted Cruz]

That was the Macarena. And there, there was a dance. I, I will say, if you've never seen it, there's an image you don't want to see of Hillary Clinton dancing the Macarena. And it is amazing. It will, it will make you feel like the gif of, of Homer Simpson wanting to pour bleach in your eyes. You do not want to see Hillary. Trust me. Do not Google Hillary Clinton dancing the Macarena. You will never be the same.

[Ben Ferguson]

Was that, wasn't that, was that at the Democratic Convention? I'm having a flashback right now.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ben Ferguson]

We're trying to be cool, right? And it just completely backfired.

[Ted Cruz]

It was horrible. Now, I will tell you, when I sent out this, this video of all the Democrats, Tim Kaine, Democrat from Virginia, who. Tim and I are friends, but, but he, like, popped me Back on Twitter, he's like, hey, did you buy those sombreros in Cancun? Which I was. I immediately responded, yes, I did. And by the way, Tim, instead of making dumb, dumb jokes about Cancun, how about we reopen the government? Since half of your friggin state Virginia works for the government and you've taken away all their paychecks. And he didn't like that. So I will say on the Senate floor, I was giving Tim a little bit of grief for that and he was kind of, he's like, did you like my Cancun joke? And I'm like, yeah, but I'd like it better if you open the government.

[Ben Ferguson]

If you open the government. So, all right, look into your crystal ball. Based on what it was, what D.C. was like in the mood when you left, going back in there on Monday, do you think that we will get the government reopen this week or do you think that that Schumer's gonna still dig in?

[Ted Cruz]

No, I think they caved this week. And I wanna play for you. So last week Schumer was on the Senate floor and I wanna paint the picture. He's giving a speech for one of the multiple times the Democrats are voting to shut the government down. And they know the polling is going terribly. And so Schumer got up and his line, he said, well, okay, they're polls that Republicans are talking about, but those are biased Republican polls. And he says, well, it's the New York Times, but it's biased. And I gotta say, I was standing 10ft away from Schumer and I and every other Republican just cracked up laughing because he's like claiming the New York Times is a biased right wing publication. And it was spontaneous. We did not organize this. We just like doubled over laughing. And Schumer, he stammered, he stopped. He's like, I mean, it was. Look, who knew Schumer could be so funny. I want you to play the video is better, but I want you to play the audio of Schumer saying this and the spontaneous reaction, appeals of laughter on the Senate floor. Now, I know the leader is going to show a poll that says that Democrats will be blamed for the shutdown. There are many more polls that show Republicans are blamed for the question in that poll is biased. Biased in the New York Times, but it's biased if you turn the. That's true. I don't always believe the New York Times. You can be sure of that. Neither do you. Okay. No one.

[Ben Ferguson]

It's amazing, by the way. Like, you hear him there it's kind of like he realized he stepped in it and he. And even his throat off.

[Ted Cruz]

He really was like, I'm standing 10ft from him and all of us, we like, okay, the microphone on the Senate floor, when you're speaking, you have a little microphone on your lapel. Nobody else is mic'd. That gives you a sense of how loud the laughter was. That. That's all coming through Schumer's mic. And we were just doubled over laughing. And you watch his expression. He's like, oh, oh, oh, oh, wait. Okay, okay. That's really dumb. Oh, crap. Yeah, okay. The New York Times is a right wing biased publication. Yeah, maybe that's not. Like, this is why my prediction is the shutdown will end this week, because I think the Democrats, as much as Schumer feels he's in trouble with the left wing, I think a lot of the Democrats say, we're on fire, we don't have a win. This is not going well. There's a combination of two things. One, an awful lot of Americans, the government is shut down and they don't care. It doesn't impact their lives. That is the nightmare for any big government Democrat is if the government shuts down and nobody notices. And look, during government shutdown, 83% of the government keeps functioning. So the military functions, law enforcement functions, the FBI functions, border patrol functions, ICE functions, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, all of that function, VA benefits continue. And so it is a nightmare if your entire political career is built on telling the American people the most important thing in your life is the federal government. If the government shuts down and everyone yawns and goes about their life, that's a disaster. But a second disaster is to the extent people are focused. So listen, if you're going to D.C. this week and you wanted to go to the Smithsonian and go see the Air and Space Museum, you can't because the Democrats shut down the Smithsonian, they shut down Yellowstone national park and all the national parks. And so people are going to get pissed off gradually over time. But I think the vast majority of people are blaming the Democrats, saying, why are they shutting this down?

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Ben Ferguson]

I want to get back to the big story number three of the week you may have missed. I want to move to another topic that we mentioned earlier and that is there is a lot of quiet outrage for people that have been paying paying attention to the Brett Kavanaugh assassination scandal. You have a quote transgender man who planned to assassinate Brett Kavanaugh, only receiving eight years for that crime. There are a lot of people that are upset and angry about it. I'm one of Them I think you are as well. And. And somehow, I guess being transgender now has. Allows for you to have less accountability for your actions. Explain this one.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah. I have to admit, this story makes me incredibly angry when I saw it. I read the news story this week. I was literally yelling out loud as I was reading my phone. Heidi and I and our daughter Caroline, we were in New York this weekend. I was with a half dozen NYPD cops. And I gotta admit, I vented to the cops who were all pissed about this. So the man who planned to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh In 2022, he flew from California to Maryland. He arrived there, he had with him, he had a knife, he had a gun, he had duct tape, he had zip ties. And he had planned to murder not just Brett Kavanaugh, but a total of three Supreme Court justices. He was deranged, and he was caught on the street right outside Justice Kavanaugh's home. And by the way, he was also threatening Justice Kavanaugh's wife. Wife and their two daughters. Well, this guy was prosecuted quite readily. And the Department of justice asked for 30 years, which is a pretty reasonable sentence for someone trying to kill a Supreme Court justice. Well, this left wing judge, her name is Deborah Boardman. She's a Joe Biden appointee to the federal. To the Maryland federal court. She made a 22 year downward departure. So instead of 30 years, she sentenced him to eight years. And her reasoning was essentially, instead of 30 years, you get eight. Why? Because you're transgender. Here's what Judge Boardman said. Quote, under the law, I must consider the sentencing guidelines. The guidelines in this case are 360 months to life. It's important to understand the Supreme Court stance on guidelines. They used to be mandatory, but in a case called Booker, the Supreme Court held they were advisory. The judge acknowledged that, quote, this case did involve domestic terrorism, but she undid most of the terrorism enhancement created by the Sentencing Commission and said, quote, I have not seen evidence that the Sentencing Commission relied on evidence that it would reduce recidivism. The sentencing took more than seven hours, and she discussed at length her justification for the light sentence. Here's what she said. Ms. Rosky, of course, she calls the man a woman because she's a leftist. Ms. Roski came out to herself. To herself, like, this is a private. Like, just in the quiet of night. I. I've decided I'm a woman. Ms. Rosky came out to herself as transgender in 2020, but kept it a secret. Ms. Roske's sister came out as gay two years prior. But Ms. Roske saw their parents struggle to recognize her sexuality with their religious beliefs. By the way, it is not subtle or implied. The judge thinks religious beliefs on this are horrible and terrible, and you are bad if you have religious beliefs concerning sexuality. The judge continues, quote, I am heartened that this terrible infraction has helped the Rosky family accept their daughter by. By which she means Nicholas Roski for who she is. So you have someone attempting to murder a sitting Supreme Court justice, and the federal district judge who's sentencing the attempted murderer says, I'm heartened. The great thing about this is the parents are now accepting of their psychopathic, murderous son that thinks he's a daughter. The mother of the murderer told the judge on Friday that, quote, I've attended PFLAG meetings. I have attended PFLAG meetings and learned about the LGBTQ community. I am committed to going on this journey with Sophie, by which she means her son Nicholas. She was frustrated with what was going on in the world, and we weren't a safe place to process it. And by the way, the Daily Wire in their story, the next sentence says, as his mother wept, Nicholas Roski also choked up, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. Now, here's what the judge continued saying, quote, any prison time is punishment for her. The length doesn't need to be particularly long. Unduly harsh conditions make a difference, too. She will be imprisoned in a male facility even though she is a transgender prisoner, pursuant to an executive order from the president. Before the executive order, that wasn't the case. In other words, this judge really wanted to send this dude to a woman's prison where after attempting to murder a sitting Supreme Court justice, he could assault women who were incarcerated. This is. I want to be clear. This is lunacy. This is nuts. I have to admit, I literally yelled and cursed out loud. Listen, number one, Brett Kavanaugh's a friend. I've literally known Brett Kavanaugh for 30 years. His wife, Ashley, Heidi and I were with Ashley on the 2000 George W. Bush campaign. She's a West Texas girl. She's a wonderful woman. They have two daughters who went through an utter nightmare going through his confirmation hearing night after night after night. The Kavanaugh house, along with the house of every Supreme Court justice, had angry, violent left wing protesters out front screaming, violating federal law. It is a crime to protest at the home of a justice seeking to change the decision of an opinion. And yet the Biden Justice Department refused to enforce that law. They would not prosecute those felonies. And the heated rhetoric. Look, this is very much like what we're seeing with ICE where Democrat rhetoric gets the lunatics in their party energized to go commit crimes of violence. I want to be clear. Violence is never, ever, ever justified. So I'm not advocating violence against any Democrat. I'm not advocating violence getting any left wing judges or justices. Violence is wrong. And by the way, when it comes to politically motivated violence, it is almost exclusively a left wing phenomenon. Look, when George Floyd died, we saw riots in American cities on fire being burned to the ground. We saw police cars being firebombed. We saw people being murdered. When Charlie Kirk was murdered, we saw prayer vigils across the country as people went out and lit candles and prayed and sang together. And we did see violence, but not from the people supporting Charlie Kirk. Instead from the same left wing violent activists who were attacking the people in prayer vigils. There is a difference. And I have to say, this judge, this judge has demonstrated she is utterly unfit to be a federal judge. I think the House of Representatives should seriously contemplate impeaching this judge. And I don't.

[Ben Ferguson]

And by the way, how hard is that and how often does that happen for what you're describing right now? Because everybody listening is going to be like, hold on a second, if this is the case, then why not we do it? Does it happen? How many votes do you need to do it? How does that work?

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, it's happened a number of times. There have been multiple federal judges who've been impeached and removed from office. Typically they are impeached after committing a crime, something like committing accepting bribes. So Alcy Hastings, for example, was a federal judge who was convicted of accepting bribes as a judge. He was removed from office and then he turned around and ran for Congress as a Democrat and got elected as a congressman. So he was a Democrat congressman who had been impeached and removed from office for being a federal judge taking bribes. So that I'm going to let you draw all the inferences you want. Those facts are objective. It is not easy to impeach a judge, although under the Constitution, to impeach a judge, it takes a majority vote in the House of Representatives. And I actually think in this instance, a judge who thinks someone trying to murder a Supreme Court justice because he disagrees with a decision the Supreme Court justice is rendering, that is a fundamental assault on our judicial system, on the rule of law, on the basic protection of rights all of us have. And if you are such a zealot, such a partisan ideologue that you will not follow the sentencing guidelines, you will not acknowledge this is terrorism. And instead you say, you know what? This person's transgender. And my ideology is such that I love transgenders. And so instead of 30 years, I'm going to give this person eight years. And by the way, I really think this man should be in a woman's prison. But that mean, mean president won't let me do that. I believe. And I don't know this woman at all. I don't know this judge. But just how she conducted herself in this proceeding to me demonstrates she is completely unfit to be a federal judge. I would urge the House of Representatives take up impeachment and I would love to have a trial in the Senate. Do we want judges who refuse to enforce the criminal law for psychopathic murderers who are trying to murder Supreme Court justices? I think the obvious answer is also.

[Ben Ferguson]

On brand with the American.

[Ted Cruz]

I'll tell you this, no Democrat wants to defend the other side.

[Ben Ferguson]

As always, thank you for listening to Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you. Don't forget to download my podcast and you can listen to my podcast every other day. You're not listening to Verdict or each day when you listen to Verdict afterwards. I'd love to have you as a listener to again the Ben Ferguson Podcast. And we will see you back here on Monday morning. This is an iHeart podcast.