00:05:13.580It doesn't – when you read codifies Roe, you think, oh, it goes back to the way things were before the Supreme Court decides the Dobbs case.
00:05:22.600Well, no, that's not what this bill does.
00:05:24.720If this bill passed, it would be a radical bill.
00:05:28.720It would strike down just about every reasonable common-sense restriction on abortion that has been enacted the last 49 years.
00:05:36.600Under Roe, it's been deemed permissible, even already, for states to limit late-term abortions, for states to restrict taxpayer funding of abortions, for states to require parental consent or parental notification.
00:05:49.040This Democrat bill strikes all those laws down.
00:05:52.620This Democrat bill is the unlimited abortion-for-all bill.
00:05:56.840Think about it for a minute that 49 Democrats were happy to vote for that.
00:06:01.240The only one who voted with the Republicans was Joe Manchin.
00:06:04.540The bill couldn't codify Roe because parts of Roe v. Wade have already been overruled.
00:06:10.380They were overruled by Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which changed some of the reasoning and some of the processes for abortion.
00:06:17.420And so, you know, this has been an ongoing debate for a long time.
00:06:21.460Your colleague, Senator Elizabeth Warren, yesterday said that the Dobbs decision could represent an extremist right-wing Supreme Court imposing its views on the American people because if Roe v. Wade is overruled, then you'll have a situation where the majority of states will impose severe restrictions on abortion immediately.
00:06:41.840If the majority of states are going to impose new restrictions, how is the Supreme Court imposing its views on the people?
00:06:47.700Yeah, this is literally an example where for Democrats in the press, up is down, right is left, everything is backwards and upside down.
00:06:55.980You have Democrats screaming that overturning Roe is an assault on democracy.
00:07:01.600In fact, if the court does overturn Roe, it is a victory for democracy.
00:07:18.120Now, for 185 years, literally from the beginning of our country until 1973, questions of abortion were decided by the voters and by the state legislatures that were elected by the voters.
00:07:30.840They said, we don't believe in democracy.
00:07:32.500And the reason Democrats are freaking out right now is, you know, in poker, a tell is when they do something that gives away what their hand is and they're trying to represent something other than what their hand is.
00:07:47.720Number one, the fact that they're freaking out is a tell that they know their views on abortion are radical and out of touch with the American people.
00:07:58.140Well, 49 of the Democrats today voted for a law that allows abortion up until the moment of birth, literally until the child is being born, this Democrat bill would allow abortion.
00:08:17.100Six percent of Americans agree with the position of 49 out of 50 Democrats and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
00:08:24.220Elizabeth Warren, when she's screaming and ranting and raving, it's because the voters are going to be allowed to do what they think is right and not be subject to her radical decrees.
00:08:36.000Now, the Democrats have another tale, which is you notice that when they're talking about the Dobbs decision, they very, very quickly say, if this decision goes into effect, it will strike down the availability of contraceptives.
00:09:01.060The editorial board, the New York Times suggested that there are multiple states in the union that if they were allowed to would ban interracial marriage.
00:09:22.400And I would note, by the way, that these racist leftists of the New York Times, there may be no one on planet Earth whom they despise more than Justice Clarence Thomas.
00:09:35.980I suspect Clarence Thomas would be quite surprised if he were doing something to strike down interracial marriage.
00:09:42.680But the only people who imagine interracial marriage is going to be struck down is radical leftists because they've never actually met a conservative voter.
00:09:50.640So they think we're all bigoted Klansmen.
00:09:56.940When the Democrats and the press are not defending their positions on abortion, it's because they know their positions on abortion are wildly out of the mainstream.
00:10:09.180So anytime you hear them talking about contraception or marriage, it's because they're trying to change the subject.
00:10:15.620Well, so this raises a question to me that I do not have an answer to, which is why would the Democrats bring up this bill?
00:10:26.360It shows that actually the overruling of Roe is not an assault on democracy, that actually most people don't want this kind of crazy, extreme abortion agenda.
00:10:35.820Elizabeth Warren admitted it herself in this column in Marie Claire magazine.
00:10:40.220Wait, you're reading Marie Claire magazine?
00:15:13.520The particular federal provision you're talking about is 18 U.S.C. Section 1507.
00:15:18.240And it says, whoever, with the intent of interfering with, obstructing, or impeding the administration of justice, or with the intent of influencing any judge, juror, witness, or court officer in the discharge of his duty, pickets or parades in or near a building housing a court of the United States or in or near a building or residence occupied or used by such judge, juror, witness, or court officer,
00:15:43.200shall be fined under this title or in prison not more than one year or both.
00:16:04.120And this is – it is a form of obstruction of justice.
00:16:06.840It is trying to get the judge to change their mind, to change their vote, to change their decision.
00:16:14.320And I'll point out it's not just federal law.
00:16:16.440Well, actually, Virginia law likewise has a provision, and it is Section 18.2-418 and Section 18.2-419 of the Code of Virginia that makes it a crime to picket the residence of an individual.
00:16:36.560And so Virginia likewise, for those justices who live in Virginia, you've got both a federal crime and a crime in Virginia, and this is – going to someone's home, I'm going to suggest, is inherently threatening and intimidating.
00:16:52.640Look, there have been protests on the steps of the Supreme Court, or actually right below the steps of the Supreme Court, from the beginning of our country, from when the Supreme Court building was built and before that in the Capitol.
00:17:18.920That's where their physical safety is.
00:17:20.600What do you make of Chuck Schumer saying that, look, this is the business we've chosen, to quote Hyman Roth in The Godfather.
00:17:27.920There – and Chuck Schumer said that he has protesters at his house three, four times a week sometimes, and if the judges didn't want that, well, they're in the wrong line of work.
00:17:38.400Well, they are in a different line of work.
00:17:39.980This is not the business they have chosen.
00:17:44.580And listen, when I ran for office, when Schumer ran for office, part of the job is to be responsive to the people, and that means protests are a perfectly legitimate part of the political process because each of us elected to the Senate, elected to the Congress, are required or have the responsibility of representing our constituents.
00:18:04.140The justices are not elected representatives.
00:18:06.940Their responsibility is to the Constitution and to the law.
00:18:10.320Now, the Democrats think this is the business the justices have chosen, and when Chuck Schumer stood on the steps of the Supreme Court and threatened the justices by name and said, if you decide this decision wrong, you will have unleashed the whirlwind, he was threatening them.
00:18:29.580And so the job of a politician, the job of a justice is very different.
00:18:33.120There's a reason it is a federal criminal offense to do this to a judge, and it's not a federal criminal offense to do this to an elected official because the jobs are different, and you shouldn't be using threats and intimidation to try to change your judicial decision.
00:18:49.000Now, that being said, I actually think what's happening to elected officials, whether Chuck Schumer or anyone else, has gone too far.
00:18:56.700Look, public service means a lot, but it shouldn't have to entail threats to the safety and lives of your kids.
00:19:06.260I think it should be treated as a criminal offense, protesting a residential neighborhood, that there are time, place, and manner restrictions.
00:19:14.680If a protest is designed to threaten and harass an individual, you can do it at the office, you can do it in the public square, but you shouldn't be allowed to go and harass people at their homes.
00:19:25.300I totally agree. There is nothing in the text or spirit of the First Amendment that says you have a right to go to a residential neighborhood and scare a bunch of kids.
00:19:34.880Schumer is not my favorite person in the world, but I think he ought to be able to sleep at night without people standing outside screaming.
00:19:40.560And by the way, he didn't tell you who it is protesting him.
00:19:43.960It's not conservatives. It's crazy leftists for whom Schumer is not crazy enough.
00:19:49.200That's the interesting thing. There's another senator who I will not name who protesters threw a rock through their window that shattered and cut one of their children quite severely from the shattering glass.
00:20:04.780I am very concerned that we may see violence directed at the Supreme Court at these justices.
00:20:10.940This is the kind of extreme hatred and violence that the Democrats embrace if it favors their partisan ends.
00:20:22.960There is some good news. I mean, one, I think the reason they're doing this is because they're losing in the political arena and so they're getting desperate.
00:20:28.820But two, you also, I felt, introduced a great bill on a completely different topic, but, well, not a completely different topic, actually, because the bill you introduced was about my body, my choice.
00:20:41.520Namely, it was to give American service members to protect them from being punished for refusing to take the experimental COVID vaccines.
00:20:50.040Well, that's right. So the bill I introduced this week is a bill. It's called the Allowing Military Exemptions Recognizing Individual Concerns About New Shots Act or the Americans Act.
00:21:03.520Oh, you guys with your acronyms, that is the best acronym I've heard in a long time in legislation.
00:21:10.980Well, I'd like to claim credit. I can't. It was the great, great guys on my team that came up with it.
00:21:16.300But I laughed out loud and said, let's go with it. And the bill, 13 other senators joined me in introducing it.
00:21:23.380And the bill is very simple. The bill would stop the military from firing soldiers and sailors and airmen and Marines if they declined to take the COVID vaccine.
00:21:33.420We're seeing thousands of soldiers and sailors and airmen and Marines and Coast Guardsmen and Guardians threatened with being fired.
00:21:42.060We're seeing cadets at our service academies threatened with being thrown out.
00:21:47.420We're seeing people in the reserves being thrown out. It is grotesque. It is wrong. It is an abuse of power.
00:21:54.000This bill says you can't throw anyone out because they declined to get a vaccine.
00:21:58.420It also says if someone has been thrown out, they can come back in if they want, that it's their choice.
00:22:04.820If they want to come back in, they can do it. And if they choose not to come back in, if you have discharged them, it's something less than honorable discharge that will adjust their discharge status to reflect their actual service.
00:22:17.800In other words, we shouldn't be weakening our ability to defend this nation, to keep this nation safe because of a political agenda from the left.
00:22:27.660But it's your body, your choice. You ought to be able to decide whether or not to take the COVID vaccine.
00:22:33.340And this should be a simple common sense bill, which means, of course, the Democrats are likely to oppose at party line.
00:22:40.880Of course, you'll notice there will just be a one hour period where they stop chanting my body, my choice.
00:22:46.680That is while your bill is up for debate. Then after they'll they'll, of course, go right back to it.
00:22:50.760Before we go, as usual, running late, I do want to get to a few mailbag questions from our wonderful Verdict listeners.
00:22:56.720You can join. Not you, Senator. I think you're already a member.
00:22:59.620But you, you out there in the tubes land, you can join Verdict Plus over at Locals.
00:23:04.480You can subscribe, get lots of extra content.
00:23:06.440We've got our friend Liz Wheeler hosts a series there with Senator Cruz's cloakroom.
00:23:11.040And you can submit your questions to the mailbag.
00:23:12.960So, Senator, rapid fire round. First up from Stephen. Very important question.
00:23:17.620Ted, Michael, how do you take your coffee? Cream, no sugar. Lots of cream, though.
00:23:22.980I like my coffee like I know I'm not going to quote that line from Airplanes, but I do take my coffee black.
00:23:29.020Great movie. One of the greatest movies of all time from Rod.
00:23:33.540Senator, why is the GOP still so focused on the fiscal side of things when voters care about the social side?
00:23:40.620I don't know. Do you even agree with that premise, Senator?
00:23:42.680It depends who in the GOP. I think there is a generational difference.
00:23:47.460I think there are particularly Republicans who have been in Congress a long time who are your kind of traditional.
00:23:55.440You could call them business Republicans or if you want to be more pejorative, you could call them country club Republicans who tend to want to tax a little bit less, spend a little bit more and run away from the social issues.
00:24:07.060I actually think those numbers are shrinking.
00:24:08.900I think more and more people recognize there is a culture war going on and we didn't start it.
00:24:16.560The left has decided to try to destroy our culture.
00:24:20.140Look, we have an incoming Supreme Court justice who can't tell you what a woman is.
00:24:24.320We have Disney that has promised that they will have a gay or transgender character in every movie they put out.
00:24:31.660By the way, I will note again when Verdict was on the road that the one quip I said of, you know, parents would like to be able to trust their movies and not have to worry about turning on some movie and seeing Mickey going at it with Pluto.
00:24:47.260Oh, my goodness, the left lost their mind that I'm sorry.
00:24:52.320All the in-depth constitutional analysis that we may have had in the podcast got dwarfed by the image of one little mouse and one little dog doing unspeakable things.