Texas Dems Surrender-Explaining Dem Redistricting Hypocrisy Nationwide

Summary

Summary of "Texas Dems Surrender-Explaining Dem Redistricting Hypocrisy Nationwide"

Episode Release Date: August 13, 2025
Podcast: Verdict with Ted Cruz
Hosts: Senator Ted Cruz and Ben Ferguson
Produced by: Premiere Networks

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1. Introduction to the Episode

In this pivotal episode of Verdict with Ted Cruz, hosts Senator Ted Cruz and Ben Ferguson delve into the recent developments surrounding Texas Democrats who had fled the state to obstruct the redistricting process. The discussion expands to a broader critique of Democratic-led gerrymandering practices across various states, highlighting perceived hypocrisies and the implications for American democracy.

2. Texas Democrats' Concession and Return

At [03:28], Christiane Amanpour announces breaking news that Texas Democrats, who had fled the state to prevent redistricting by breaking quorum, have conceded and will return to Austin. This move is portrayed as a significant setback for liberals who supported their stance in sanctuary states, as their return signifies compliance and the continuation of the redistricting efforts.

Notable Quote:
"We're gonna give you the facts so that when you're standing around the water cooler, you're gonna know the response to someone who decides to do some pearl clutching of their own."
— Christiane Amanpour [04:50]

3. Legal Mechanisms Enforcing Quorum

Senator Cruz outlines the legal strategies employed by Texas leadership to compel the return of absent Democrats. These include:

• Arrest Orders: The governor and the Speaker of the House have issued orders to arrest Democrats who continue to defy quorum requirements.
• Daily Fines: House Democrats face fines of $500 per day for each day absent. Importantly, these fines cannot be paid from campaign funds, forcing Democrats to cover them personally.

Notable Quote:
"It's amazing how that changes everything for the Democrats. They're like, hold on a second, we can't use campaigns."
— Ted Cruz [08:41]

Christiane Amanpour further explains the constitutional authority underpinning these actions, referencing precedents where absent legislators were forcibly brought back to fulfill quorum through various means, including physical removal.

4. Gerrymandering Hypocrisy: Democratic Practices Nationwide

The hosts pivot to discuss the broader issue of gerrymandering, particularly focusing on Democratic-led states. They argue that Democrats have historically manipulated congressional districts to favor their party, often at the expense of fair representation.

Notable Quote:
"Just about every big Democrat state has gerrymandered the hell out of their map and is frustrating the will of their voters in their state."
— Christiane Amanpour [19:00]

5. Detailed Examples of Gerrymandering in Democratic States

Several states are examined to illustrate Democratic control over congressional districting:

• California:
  58% of voters support Democrats, yet 83% of its 52 congressional seats are held by Democrats.
  "California... 58% Democrat... 43 of 52 seats are Democrat." — Christiane Amanpour [19:00]

• New York:
  56% Democratic vote leading to 73% Democratic seats out of 26.
  "New York... 56% Democrat... 19 of 26 seats are Democrat." — Christiane Amanpour [19:00]

• Illinois:
  54% Democratic support translating to 82% of 17 congressional seats.
  "Illinois... 54% Democrat... 14 of 17 seats are Democrat." — Christiane Amanpour [19:00]

Additional states like Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Massachusetts are highlighted, each demonstrating a significant discrepancy between voter percentages and congressional representation favoring Democrats.

Notable Quote:
"By the way, some of the smaller Democrat states are even more egregious... Democrats have 100% representation in Connecticut's congressional delegation despite 42% Republican vote."
— Christiane Amanpour [22:09] - [23:18]

6. Impact on Representation and Elections

Cruz and Amanpour argue that such disproportionate representation undermines the democratic principle of "one person, one vote," leading to a lack of meaningful political competition and the silencing of minority political voices. They assert that gerrymandering entrenches Democratic power, making it difficult for Republican voters to gain proportional representation despite substantial statewide support.

7. Democratic Hypocrisy and Political Backlash

The episode criticizes Democratic leaders for condemning Texas's redistricting efforts while engaging in similar practices within their own states. The hosts label this as hypocritical, emphasizing that Democrats accuse Republicans of undermining democracy while perpetuating their own manipulative tactics.

Notable Quote:
"They don't believe in democracy. They believe in power, raw power."
— Ted Cruz [31:45]

Christiane Amanpour reinforces this point by showcasing statements from Democratic governors that condemn Republican-led redistricting efforts as assaults on democracy, despite their own state's questionable districting maps.

8. Public Perception and Democratic Favorability

The discussion touches on the declining public favorability of the Democratic Party, attributing it to perceived overreach and manipulation in electoral processes.

Notable Quote:
"Democrats are polling 6 points above gonorrhea and 9 points above Ebola. So that's where their radical policies have taken them."
— Christiane Amanpour [35:36]

While the numbers comparing Democratic favorability to diseases are exaggerated for effect, the sentiment underscores the hosts' belief in significant public disapproval of Democratic strategies.

9. Conclusion: Democracy vs. Power

The episode concludes by contrasting Texas's redistricting efforts, portrayed as aligning congressional seats with the actual voter preferences of a predominantly Republican state, against Democratic practices in blue states. The hosts argue that Texas is upholding democratic values by ensuring representation that reflects its voters' will, whereas Democrats prioritize maintaining power over genuine democratic representation.

Notable Quote:
"Nothing says defending democracy like taking your opponent off the ballot and stopping the pesky voters from voting for him. They don't believe in democracy. They believe in power, raw power."
— Christiane Amanpour [31:45]

Final Thoughts

Verdict with Ted Cruz presents a critical examination of redistricting practices in the United States, emphasizing perceived Democratic hypocrisy in gerrymandering. By juxtaposing Texas's actions with those of Democratic-led states, the hosts advocate for electoral reforms that ensure fair representation and uphold the foundational democratic principle that elected bodies should accurately reflect the electorate's will.

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Note: The timestamps referenced correspond to the provided transcript and are included to align quotes with their positions in the episode.

Transcript

[Christiane Amanpour]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Christiane Amanpour]

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[Ted Cruz]

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[Christiane Amanpour]

VGW Group voidware prohibited by law 21/plus terms and conditions conditions apply. I'm Christiana Manpour and I've been on the front lines and interviewing world leaders for more than 30 years.

[Ted Cruz]

And I'm Jamie Rubin, a former advisor.

[Christiane Amanpour]

To both Presidents Clinton and Biden. We were married for 20 years and divorced for seven. Now we've joined forces on the X Files to make sense of how we ended up with no world order. Listen to Christiane Amanpour Presents the X files on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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[Ted Cruz]

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[Ted Cruz]

Sleek design, crystal clear sound and a super comfortable fit. Check out the full [e-mail] welcome. It is Vertic with center Ted Cruz. Ben Ferguson with you. And we get to start with some pretty big breaking news. The Texas Democratic fugitives, they've conceded. They are apparently going to return to Austin as the latest report center. This is certainly going to be tears to many liberals that were cheering them on in sanctuary states. Now they're going to actually have to go back to work.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Well, this is news that broke this evening. The Texas Democrats who had fled the state, the House Democrats defeated quorum in order to stop the redistricting in the state of Texas. They've surrendered. They've admitted defeat. They've announced that they are coming back. We're going to break that down. We're going to tell you why they're coming back. We're going to tell you about what legal authorities the governor and the speaker of the House had and used to force them to come back. And we're also going to talk more broadly about the issue of gerrymandering because we have seen in the last two weeks, we have seen Democrats, we have seen blue state governors, we have seen the media clutching their pearls and saying this is horrible. This is a theft of democracy. And I gotta say, in the annals of hypocrisy, the Democrats reaction to Texas's redistricting may be at the top of the list of utter complete nonsense and hypocrisy. We're gonna give you the facts of what exactly Democrat states do when they draw congressional redistricts and compare it to to Republican states. And spoiler alerts, the Democrat states are much, much, much more egregious in gerrymandering their states than Republican states ever are. We're gonna give you the facts so that when you're standing around the water cooler, you're gonna know the response to someone who decides to do some pearl clutching of their own.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, no doubt. It's really fun when you see the data. They may have Wished they didn't go down this road in Texas. It's gonna have a big impact around the country. Let me tell you real quick about it, my good friends over at Crock, we're doing the show. It's 11:46 Central, 12:46am I am drinking Crockett Coffee right now, decaf, because I want to be able to go to bed after the show. But finding great coffee is actually really hard. And that is why I love Crockett Coffee. Now I'm going to save you a lot of money to try Crockett Coffee. Crockett Coffee is different. It's roasted to perfection in small batches on purpose by experts who love the taste of a great cup of coffee. Now, Buck Sexton and Clay Travis, two of my good friends, they're the ones that started Crockett Coffee because they were tired of giving their money to woke companies. And in the coffee space, there is a lot of woke coffee brands out there. Now, with Crockett Coffee, you get options. You can choose between fresh ground whole bean K cups. That's what I'm now using. I'm addicted to it. And if you're interested in mushroom coffee and the positive benefits that come with enjoying that each day, Crockett Coffee is now producing that as well. Now here's how you're going to try Crockett Coffee and you're going to love it. I want you to save money. Go online to crockettcoffee.com if you use My Name Ben, you're gonna get 20% off your first order. That's crockettcoffee.com use My Name Ben as your promo code. You'll get 20% off. Something else is going to happen. When you choose Crockett Coffee. A portion of your purchase goes support tunnel for Tunnel the Towers Foundation. Because Crockett Coffee, the good people there, they say, hey, we pledge to never forget. So make a difference every cup of coffee. And get small batch premium roast coffee every single day. Crockettcoffee.com My name Ben. 20% off your first order. All right, so this has become like a rallying cry center around the country. Democrats are like, they're gerrymandering down there in Texas. You even have Gavin Newsom getting in on this. He sends a letter to the president's like, well, if you guys don't stop what they're doing there, then we may have to gerrymandering in California and get those seats back that you steal from Democrats. News alert. They've been doing this for decades in California. That kind of backfired on him pretty quickly. But now the Democrats are coming home.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Well, they are. And that's the breaking news this evening. So I'm reading from one news story here in Texas. ABC13 has confirmed with multiple sources that House Democrats will return to Texas. Eyewitness News has not confirmed the date, but we do know that the Democrats believe they've accomplished their mission by killing the first special session and raising national awareness about the mid decade redistricting effort. It is unclear which day they will be in Austin at the Capitol, but they stress that they will push for Hill country flooding relief to be the priority. After our initial reporting online and on television, a spokesperson for the Texas Democratic Caucus sent the following statement to ABC News. Quote, members are still assessing their strategies going forward and are in private meeting to make decisions about future plans. Currently, if and when the Texas House Democrats breaking quorum decide to go home is squarely dependent upon the actions of the governor, speaker and Texas Republicans in charge make with regard to prioritizing flood victims over redistricting. That hurts Texans. So that's their talking point. But the ultimate bottom line is they've announced they're coming back. Now why are they coming back? They're coming back, number one, because the governor and the speaker of the House has issued an order to arrest them, to bring them back forcibly and arrest them. Number two, the speaker of the House has the authority to fine them $500 a day for every day they are absent and break quorum. They change the rules in the House. And by the way, that $500 cannot be paid from campaign funds. You can't raise money for it. It's $500 out of your personal pocket if you refuse to show up.

[Ted Cruz]

It's amazing how that changes everything for the Democrats. They're like, hold on a second, we can't use campaigns.

[Christiane Amanpour]

You're talking about our money. Money? What do you mean money?

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Christiane Amanpour]

And number three, and the governor is proceeding in front of the Texas Supreme Court to seek to declare those offices vacant and remove them from office. And so they were facing a legal barrage and they knuckled under it. They were engaged in. They were engaged in a lot of smoke and mirrors and show they were throwing a hissy fit. But at the end of the day, Ben, mark my words, the result, Texas will pass this redistricting bill and the consequence of it is going to be five additional Republicans elected to Congress from the state of Texas. That is going to happen. And the Democrats, they may decide to play out. And to have their righteous anger while they rush off to their comrades to say, we think it is terrible when Republicans are elected, but they will lose because they don't have the leverage. And I'll tell you, Ben, this is actually a topic that I've got some personal experience in.

[Ted Cruz]

I was gonna say you've dealt with this before, literally in your own life.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Well, so in 2002, Greg Abbott was elected the Attorney General of Texas. He'd been on the Texas Supreme Court, he was elected ag. When he was elected ag, he interviewed this young kid lawyer to be Solicitor General and. Okay, I'm actually gonna take a break. Have I ever told you the story of how I got the job of sg?

[Ted Cruz]

No.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Okay, so I'm in dc, I'm working in the George W. Bush administration, I'm the head of policy at the Federal Trade Commission. And a buddy of mine calls and says, hey, Greg Abbott was just elected ag. And I said, well yeah, I knew that I wasn't a complete idiot. And he said, well, he's looking for an sg. Are you willing to have your name considered? And I said, well, let me think about it, let me talk with Heidi and I'll call you back tomorrow and let you know. And I talked with Heidi, I said, what do you think? She said, absolutely, yes, put your name in. I think that's great. So I pulled together a resume, I sent it down and a day or two later I got a call asking me to come down to Austin to interview. So I did. I went down and interviewed. Now, I didn't know Greg Abbott at all. And I frankly assumed I'd never get the job. That he would hire someone who he'd known 20 years. That's kind of the way of the world. He'd hire a buddy of his, another lawyer he knew.

[Ted Cruz]

He's a baseball 101 in politics, right? You go with someone you're familiar with.

[Christiane Amanpour]

So I went down there. Now I'm 31 years old, I'm a kid, I do the interview, I don't know him at all. And a couple days later I'm actually out with Heidi. We're in California at her parents house and it's about six in the morning, we're both asleep in bed and my cell phone rings. I answer it and it's Greg Abbott. And he's calling to offer me the job of sg. And I was floored. But I gotta tell you, Heidi almost fell out of bed, she was so shocked. And she told me, she said, well look, I told you to Interview because I knew there was no chance you could get the job. I knew it was absolutely hopeless. And I actually almost didn't get the job. Abbott told me later that he almost didn't make me the offer because he didn't think I had the experience. Because he didn't think I had the experience to be a very good oral advocate. At the time, I had only.

[Ted Cruz]

You didn't put debate champ on your resume. I'm a little disappointed in you there.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Well, it was there, but at the time, I had only argued two cases in my life. So I was 31.

[Ted Cruz]

You were green.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Now, I won both of them. The two cases I'd argued, I'd won. One was a court of appeals case in private practice, and the other was in a federal district court in New York on behalf of the ftc. Now I will say in the case in New York, on the other side was the head of litigation at Crevasse, Swain and Moore, which is one of the top law firms in the country. And I took him on and beat him in court. And so those two arguments, I leaned in hard and said, look, I've done two arguments. I'm two. And oh, they were both hard cases. They mattered. And somehow, you know, if you ever saw the job, if you ever saw the movie Chicago with Richard Gere.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Where they go. And now a tap dance. So I get the job, I head back to Texas. I'm in Austin. Spring of 2003, the Texas House, for the first time in decades, becomes Republican.

[Ted Cruz]

Yep.

[Christiane Amanpour]

And so the Texas House begins to do mid decade redistricting. Now, what is mid decade redistricting? Ordinarily, redistricting happens right after the turn of the decade. So you get a new decade, you get a new census, and with a new census, you do redistricting with the new numbers that have come out from the census. That's how it ordinarily happens. Well, back in 2001, Texas had done redistricting, but the Democrats controlled the House. And so Texas had the most egregious partisan gerrymander in the country, because even though Texas was voting overwhelmingly Republican on the statewide level, Texas was electing a majority of Democrats to the congressional delegation. The Texas Democrats had drawn a map to elect the opposite congressional delegation from the way the state was voting. And it was the nastiest partisan gerrymander in the country by the Texas Democrats. That's what they'd done. So in 2003, when Republicans took the House, they decided, okay, we're going to do redistricting. Yeah, so that we can draw a map that elects a congressional delegation that reflects the values of the voters of Texas. So they did so. And the Texas Democrats in 2003 did exactly what the Texas Democrats did in 2025, which is they fled. They said, run away, run away. And so the House Democrats, they went north to Ardmore, Oklahoma, stayed a little Holiday Inn just over the, over the Red river. And that the Senate Democrats, they went to New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, to a fancy, a very fancy hotel. And I thought it was really funny that the senators, the Democrat senators were going to a Shishi hotel and that the House members were at a Holiday Inn in Oklahoma. But so one of the first things that happen is that the speaker of the House, Tom Craddock, a great guy, picks up the phone and he calls Greg Abbott, the brand new attorney General, and he says, general, can I arrest the fleeing House Democrats? And Abbott said, I don't know. He said, let me, let me figure it out. So Abbott picks up the phone, he calls me. I'm brand new in my job. As SG goes, Ted, the speaker wants to know, can he arrest the fleeing Democrats who are fleeing the state? I said, general, I don't know. Let me research it. I'll give you an answer. So I sat down, I did the legal research. It turns out the answer is unequivocally yes. And the reason is the Texas Constitution has a provision in it that is copied word for word from the United States constitution. And the U.S. constitution has a provision that gives both houses of Congress the power to forcibly compel the attendance of absent members so that members do not have the right to defo, Defy a quorum. And in fact, multiple times that has been used carrying House members or senators into the chambers in leg irons, in handcuffs. And so I came back and said, the answer is unequivocally yes, you can arrest them. Now, it became a little bit complicated when they crossed state lines, because crossing state lines, particularly going into states with Democrat administrations, it is possible that if Texas DPS troopers showed up there, that those states could try to prosecute the officers for kidnapping. That was a possibility. If the governor or the local DA decided to be belligerent, you could get into uncharted legal territory. And so the safest answer is that.

[Ted Cruz]

Why, by the way, Democrats have all picked these liberal cities like Illinois, where the governor says, we're going to back you. We've got you. Come here. You'll be safe. We won't let them arrest you. Right?

[Christiane Amanpour]

It is more complicated to do it in a liberal jurisdiction. If you have someone who is partisan and politically motivated. What is unambiguously clear is that when the Texas Democrats are back in Texas, you can arrest them and you can forcibly produce their bodies on the floor to get a quorum. So this will end, they will lose, and the Texas legislature will pass this redistricting.

[Ted Cruz]

By the way, if you are arrested and taken to the floor the way that you were described, I think a lot of people just want to know this around the country. You can be there, like, not wanting to be there. Right. They can drag your butt literally into the chamber, and you're counted there as a human being that's a member of the legislature, and that's how you get to a quorum. It's not forcing you to vote. Right. It's just that you're present.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Correct. And it can be literally with handcuffs and leg irons. I mean, it can be now. It's not being arrested for a crime. You're not going to jail. It is the authority to physically force your presence in the room, because the reason they're fleeing is the requirement that there be a quorum. The legislature cannot do business if there are not sufficient members there for a quorum. And that's why both the United States Constitution and the Texas Constitution give the authority to physically compel presence, because no individual member has a right to prevent the body from being able to legislate, from being able to do its fundamental constitutional responsibility.

[Ted Cruz]

So they're back now. And this is actually brought up, I think, a bigger issue, and I want to take the time. I actually think this may be one of the biggest backfires in political modern history, in my opinion, on an issue of gerrymandering. A lot of people, I don't think, understood just how much abuse of power with Democrats in charge in different states, with gerrymandering, and how many conservatives were so underrepresented in Congress. A great example of that is California. There's several other states that have, like, zero representation of conservatives of Republican members of Congress, because the way they have drawn the district lines to make sure that it's almost all Democrats all the time. And a lot of people did not know how much abuse there was, how much gerrymandering was happening all over the country in Democratic states until the big Texas issue happened. I think this could be a backfire for Democrats.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Look, just about every big Democrat state has gerrymandered the hell out of their map and is frustrating the will of their voters in their state. So let me give you some specific examples. California, biggest Democrat state in the country. In 2024, 58% of Californians voted Democrat, 38% voted Republican. So 58% Democrat. They have a total of 52 congressional seats. Of those 52, 43 of them are Democrat, nine are Republican. What does that mean? It means The Democrats win 58% of the vote in California and they get, wait for it, 83% of the congressional delegation. That's what they Democrat there. So the 38% of Californians that vote Republican get a total of 17% of the congressional delegation. They're basically shut out. How about New York? New York, 56% of New Yorkers vote Democrat, 43% vote Republican. There are 26 congressional seats in New York. 19 of them are Democrats, seven are Republican. What does that mean? It means Democrats get 56% of the vote statewide in New York, and they get, wait for it, 73% of the statewide congressional delegation. How about Illinois? All right, Illinois is really egregious. Illinois. 54% of people in Illinois vote Democrat. It's not that huge a margin. 44% for 43 point, 43% vote Republican. There are 17 congressional seats from Illinois. 14 of them are Democrat. Only three are Republican. So here are the numbers. Democrats in Illinois get 54% of the vote, and they get 82% of the congressional delegation.

[Ted Cruz]

And some of the governor, I'm sure, was like, come on down, Texas. We'll keep you safe here. We're experts in this. We know exactly what we're doing with this.

[Christiane Amanpour]

And by the way, some of the smaller Democrat states are even more egregious. So, for example, Connecticut, Trump won 42% of Connecticut. You know how many Republican House members there are in Connecticut?

[Ted Cruz]

I'm going to guess zero to one zero. There you go.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Democrats have 100%. New Mexico. Trump won 46% in New Mexico. You know how many Republicans are elected in New Mexico to Congress?

[Ted Cruz]

Is it zero again?

[Christiane Amanpour]

Zero.

[Ted Cruz]

Wow.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Three Democrats, zero Republicans.

[Ted Cruz]

By the way, is that not the actual definition of gerrymandering? When you have 47% or 43%, 3% going for a party and they get zero representation in Congress?

[Christiane Amanpour]

Yep. Maryland. Maryland. Trump won 34% of the vote in the state. And you know how many Republicans they have in their delegation?

[Ted Cruz]

One.

[Christiane Amanpour]

One. Andy Harris is the only one.

[Ted Cruz]

There we go. I like.

[Christiane Amanpour]

And by the way, you know what their Democrat governor is saying?

[Ted Cruz]

What? Texas is terrible.

[Christiane Amanpour]

If Texas does this, we'll get rid of the only Republican we elect. We'll take it to zero. We want it to be 100% New Jersey. New Jersey. Trump won 46% of New Jersey. There are 12 congressional seats. Republicans have three of them.

[Ted Cruz]

Incredible.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Oregon. Trump won 41% of the vote in Oregon. Republicans have one out of the six seats. And here's the one I love. Massachusetts.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah.

[Christiane Amanpour]

The People's Republic of Massachusetts. Trump won 36% of Massachusetts in 2024. There are nine congressional seats out of Massachusetts. How many Republicans do you think they elect?

[Ted Cruz]

I'm gonna go with zero again.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Zero. Goose egg. Understand that Massachusetts is so egregious. They say the 36% of you Republicans in the state, you get nothing. That is their answer. Nothing whatsoever. And to give you a sense of just how ridiculous these Democrat politicians are, the governor, Mara Healey, a Democrat, threatened to redistrict in Massachusetts in retaliation for Texas. So right now, Massachusetts elects nine Democrats and zero Republicans. After she redistricts, I guess they'll still elect nine Democrats and zero Republicans. They've literally maxed out their gerrymandering, and yet they're still engaged in theater.

[Ted Cruz]

So let me ask you this question. You. You hear these numbers. This is where I think Democrats screwed up nationwide when they were coming to the aid of the Democrats from Washington. I mean, from Texas, they're like, you know, we're going to stand by you and we'll gerrymander, gerrymander even more if they take away seats from you in Texas. Yada, yada, yada. Now people see this. We're talking about it. Everyone else in the political world is talking about it. There's a lot of Republicans are gonna be angry. How do you fight back if you're in a state where, I don't know, 30, 40% right of the. Or more than 40%. Some of these states are voting Republican and they're getting zero representation in Congress. What do you do now? Is there a legal way to say this is gerrymandering?

[Christiane Amanpour]

Well, look, they are being shown to be complete hypocrites. And I want you now to listen to this clip from NBC where the governor of Illinois, Governor Pritzker, is called out on his utter hypocrisy. Give a listen.

[Jamie Rubin]

Every major group that grades the fairness of congressional maps gives your state an F. Common cause, a nonpartisan government watchdog. Even says your map, and I'm gonna quote, represents a nearly perfect model for everything that can go wrong with redistricting. And I guess the question is, you talk about preserving democracy. How do you preserve democracy if you're using the same tactics? That you've criticized Texas Republicans for.

[Christiane Amanpour]

But as I say, what they're talking about is a distraction. The reality is that the violation of people's voting rights is what Texas is attempting to do.

[Ben Ferguson]

That's what's wrong with their efforts right now. And the fact that the president of.

[Christiane Amanpour]

The United States knows it and nevertheless.

[Ben Ferguson]

Is asking them to do it.

[Christiane Amanpour]

That is what's wrong with what we're seeing right now. Democracy is at stake.

[Ted Cruz]

I love it. They always go back to democracy is at stake. Senator, like, don't answer the question.

[Christiane Amanpour]

How do you know that a Democrat is lying?

[Ted Cruz]

They start talking about democracy at stake.

[Christiane Amanpour]

His lips are moving.

[Ted Cruz]

Yeah, that's true.

[Christiane Amanpour]

It is utterly brazen. So let's go back to the numbers because the numbers matter. So Illinois, 54% of people in Illinois vote Democrat. And yet their map right now elects 82% of the congressional delegation is Democrat. Now Texas. Texas right now, today, Texas, 56% of the state in 2024 voted Republican. Our map, we have 38 seats in it, 24 Republicans, 14 Democrats. That means that right now in Texas, 54% of the Republicans elect 63% of the congressional delegation. So it's slightly more than the statewide percentage, but not nearly as egregious as the other states. Now, what Texas is doing is redrawing the districts so that five new Republicans are likely to be elected. So instead of breaking down 2414, it is likely to break down 29 to 9. That means that we would go from 63% of the congressional delegation being Republican, we would go from that to 76%. Now, 76% is still lower than California, which is 83%. It is lower than Illinois, which is 82%. And it's obviously lower than Massachusetts, which is 100%. And the irony, the loudest voices that are denouncing what Texas is doing are the governors of California, Illinois and Massachusetts. Three Democrat hypocrites that are all saying, you guys are drawing your maps. Not nearly as bad as we've drawn it, but how dare you get even close.

[Ted Cruz]

And by the way, don't forget the New York governor Hochul got in on this as well. She was called out for it on Fox News Channel. Listen to this.

[Jamie Rubin]

Summarized it. They said it was only three years ago that New York's Democratic legislature drew up a map so brazenly contemptuous of basic rules that govern a district's contiguousness that the state's Democrat dominated court of appeals threw it out. The New York Times at the time called those maps comically Contorted. That's their quote. So your state's highest court at the time, all the judges appointed by Democratic governors, they threw the maps out. So fair to say Democrats have done what they're now accusing Republicans of doing? No, we followed the rules. We do it every 10 years. We base it on that. You didn't follow the rules. Well, we did follow the rules. So the court was wrong, but we followed the rules.

[Ted Cruz]

We followed the rules. No, you didn't. The court said you did. No, no, we follow the rules. No, no, the court said you didn't follow the rules. That's how bad they were in New York on that, Senator.

[Christiane Amanpour]

And understand in New York, Democrats get 55%, 56% of the vote and they get 73% of the congressional district. And by the way, the way they do that in New York is they break up Long island, they break up Republican parts and try to elect Democrats there. The way they do it in California is they break up Southern California, they break up Orange county and they try to break up Republican votes. The way they do it in Chicago is they break up the more conservative votes that are outside of Chicago. All of that. That's the strategy the Democrats do. And listen, the reason Texas is acting to do this is because it matters. Number one, nationally, if we have a Republican majority in the House, we have a very slim majority right now. Electing five new Republicans will make a difference, will significantly increase the chances of keeping a Republican majority in, in the 2026 election. But it also reflects the values of the voters of Texas. Texas is a red state. Texans want low taxes, we want low regulation, we want a secure border, we support law enforcement, we support keeping our families safe, we support the Constitution, we want free speech and religious liberty in the Second Amendment. Texans believe in fundamental liberty, fundamental values. And today's left wing lunatic Democrat party is directly contrary to the values of the people of Texas. And so what the legislature is doing is drawing a map that will elect a congressional delegation that reflects the values of the voters. That is not only not contrary to democracy, that is the essence of democracy, which is allowing the voters to actually elect representatives who share their values. And what the Democrats are mad about is that this map will allow the voters of Texas to elect representatives who share their values. And in their view, anytime you hear a Democrat use the words assault on democracy, what they really mean is electing Republicans. It's just about power. It's why these same hypocrites did everything they could to remove Donald Trump from the ballot.

[Ted Cruz]

Yep.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Because Nothing says defending democracy like taking your opponent off the ballot and stopping the pesky voters from voting for him. They don't believe in democracy. They believe in power, raw power. So they're perfectly comfortable with Massachusetts having 100% of its delegation being Democrats. But they're furious if a Republican state actually tries to have its delegation reflect the views of its voters. That is the beauty of democracy. And if you think I'm being too harsh, if you think I'm being too, too harsh and too judgmental of the Democrats, I want you to listen to my erstwhile opponent, Beto O'. Rourke. Now, Beto, you recall, ran against me in 2018 for the Senate. He became a cause celeb. All of the Democrats, all of the media, their hearts went pitter pat and he was a phenom and he came within a few points of beating and he lost. And then he ran for president as a Democrat and he lost. And then he ran for governor against Greg Abbott and he lost. So at this point he's over three and he's kind of off about it. And, and, and so when he's off about it, he's really honest and candid. Give a listen to what Beto had to say.

[Ben Ferguson]

You're not going to let him stop us. Are you with me on that? It also means, as Mark was saying earlier, we don't await the punch thrown by these would be fascists to land. We punch first and we punch harder. We want California and New Jersey and Illinois and Maryland and every other state where the Democrats hold the Governor's mansion, the assembly and the state Senate to redraw their congressional districts now. Not wait for Texas to move first to maximize Democratic party advantage. Listen, you may say to yourself, well, those aren't the rules. There are no refs in this game.

[Christiane Amanpour]

The rules.

[Ben Ferguson]

We are going to win whatever it takes, we're going to take this to him in every way that we can.

[Ted Cruz]

You got to love Beto there. Family values guy, right? That's why he's such a just dynamic candidate.

[Christiane Amanpour]

But look, he is honest. This is today's Democrat party. It is about power. Nothing else matters. Democracy doesn't matter. The will of the voters doesn't matter. It is they're imposing their radical left wing values and the reason they have to be so obsessed with power is their ideas are unpopular. If you put a referendum in front of the American people, you want open borders, overwhelming majority of Americans say no, no we don't. You put a referendum in front of the American people, hey, do you want to release murderers and rapists and child molesters. American people say no. Hey, do you want to confiscate everyone's guns? The American people say no. And hey, do you want boys competing in girls sports? The American people say no. And so if you're a party whose entire platform is wildly unpopular is on the 20 side of 8020 issue, after 8020 issue, after 8020 Issue, the only way you can implement your crazy ideology is through brute force and power. And Beto, I'll commend him for being honest. He's just interested, ironically, in being a fascist, in being a totalitarian. The language he uses. He doesn't want the voters to have a say. He wants to force his radical policies on them. That's what the Democrats are revealing to the whole country.

[Ted Cruz]

Just put it in perspective. Democratic favorability is the lowest in history of CNN polling. What is your view of the Democratic Party? Only 28% of Americans say that they have a favorable opinion of the Democratic party. Right now, 54% unfavorable of the Democratic Party. Only 16% of Americans have no opinion. That is the lowest in history of CNN polling that came out today.

[Christiane Amanpour]

To put it in perspective, the Democrats are polling 6 points above gonorrhea and 9 points above Ebola. So that's where their radical policies have taken them. And by the way, for the fact checkers, I made those numbers up. I don't actually know where either of those diseases poll.

[Ted Cruz]

I like it. Don't forget we do this show Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Hit that subscribe or auto download button. Make sure you share this podcast wherever you can on social media and the center and I will see you back here in a couple of days.

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Ted Cruz]

And I'm Jamie Rubin, a former advisor.

[Christiane Amanpour]

To both Presidents Clinton and Biden. We were married for 20 years and divorced for seven. Now we've joined forces on the X Files to make sense of how we ended up with no world order. Listen to Christian Amanpour presents the X files on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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[Ben Ferguson]

I'm Rodney Williams. And I'm Travis Holloway. Welcome to the wealthbreak podcast, a real conversation about finance. Let's be honest, building wealth doesn't look the same for everyone.

[Christiane Amanpour]

I feel like sometimes being broke is.

[Jamie Rubin]

A cycle and that we might have.

[Ben Ferguson]

To revisit that and we're not stopping at success stories.

[Jamie Rubin]

What happens when it doesn't go right? How do you cope with it?

[Ben Ferguson]

Because wealth isn't just about money, it's about creating a life where you thrive and help others do the same. Listen to the Wealth Break podcast on the iHeartradio app.

[Christiane Amanpour]

This is an iHeart podcast.