Verdict with Ted Cruz - August 13, 2025


Texas Dems Surrender-Explaining Dem Redistricting Hypocrisy Nationwide


Episode Stats


Length

33 minutes

Words per minute

164.08224

Word count

5,453

Sentence count

458

Harmful content

Misogyny

9

sentences flagged

Toxicity

26

sentences flagged

Hate speech

1

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Ted Cruz and Ben Fergusons break down why the Texas Democratic fugitives are returning home, and why gerrymandering is worse than ever. Plus, a special offer from Crockett Coffee to help you find great coffee.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.580 Guaranteed human.
00:00:05.220 Welcome. It is Vertical Center Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you.
00:00:09.140 And we get to start with some pretty big breaking news.
00:00:12.180 The Texas Democratic fugitives have conceded they are apparently going to return to Austin as the latest report center.
00:00:20.900 This is certainly going to be tears to many liberals that were cheering them on in sanctuary states.
00:00:27.020 Now they're going to actually have to go back to work.
00:00:30.000 Well, this is news that broke this evening.
00:00:32.380 The Texas Democrats who had fled the state, the House Democrats, defeat a quorum in order to stop the redistricting in the state of Texas.
00:00:39.500 They've surrendered. They've admitted defeat.
00:00:41.920 They've announced that they are coming back.
00:00:43.780 We're going to break that down.
00:00:44.600 We're going to tell you why they're coming back.
00:00:46.140 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.
00:00:52.860 And we're also going to talk more broadly about the issue of gerrymandering.
00:00:56.020 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.
00:01:05.620 This is a theft of democracy. 0.96
00:01:07.580 And I've got to say, in the annals of hypocrisy, the Democrats' reaction to Texas' redistricting may be at the top of the list of utter, complete nonsense and hypocrisy. 0.76
00:01:22.940 We're going to give you the facts of what exactly Democrat states do when they draw congressional redistricts and compare it to Republican states.
00:01:32.480 And spoiler alerts, the Democrat states are much, much, much more egregious in gerrymandering their states than Republican states ever are.
00:01:43.180 We're going to give you the facts so that when you're standing around the water cooler, you're going to know the response to someone who decides to do some pearl clutching on their own.
00:01:52.280 Yeah, no doubt.
00:01:53.060 It's really fun.
00:01:53.840 When you see the data, they may have wished they didn't go down this road in Texas.
00:01:57.280 It's going to have a big impact around the country.
00:01:59.500 Let me tell you real quick about it.
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00:03:38.700 All right.
00:03:39.100 So this has become like a rallying cry, Senator, around the country.
00:03:43.100 Democrats are like they're gerrymandering down there in Texas.
00:03:46.760 You even have Gavin Newsom getting in on this.
00:03:48.820 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.
00:03:59.800 News alert.
00:04:00.680 They've been doing this for decades in California.
00:04:03.500 That kind of backfired on him pretty quickly.
00:04:05.840 But now the Democrats are coming home.
00:04:08.920 Well, they are.
00:04:09.420 And that's the breaking news this evening.
00:04:10.880 So I'm reading from one news story here in Texas.
00:04:13.480 ABC 13 has confirmed with multiple sources that House Democrats will return to Texas.
00:04:19.140 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.
00:04:30.380 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.
00:04:37.900 After our initial reporting online and on television, a spokesperson for the Texas Democratic Caucus said the following statement to ABC News, quote,
00:04:45.480 So that's their talking point.
00:05:10.940 But the ultimate bottom line is they've announced they're coming back.
00:05:14.380 Now, why are they coming back?
00:05:15.900 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.
00:05:24.060 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.
00:05:31.860 They changed the rules in the House.
00:05:34.620 And by the way, that $500 cannot be paid from campaign funds.
00:05:38.060 You can't raise money for it.
00:05:39.440 It's $500 out of your personal pocket if you refuse to show up.
00:05:43.540 It's amazing how that changes everything for the Democrats.
00:05:46.140 They're like, hold on a second.
00:05:46.900 We can't use campaign funds.
00:05:47.700 You're talking about our money?
00:05:48.880 What do you mean money?
00:05:51.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:05:51.640 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.
00:06:02.680 And so they were facing a legal barrage, and they knuckled under it.
00:06:08.260 They were engaged in a lot of smoke and mirrors and show.
00:06:17.140 They were throwing a hissy fit.
00:06:19.040 But at the end of the day, Ben, mark my words, the result, Texas will pass this redistricting bill.
00:06:28.020 And the consequence of it is going to be five additional Republicans elected to Congress from the state of Texas.
00:06:34.000 That is going to happen.
00:06:34.980 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.
00:06:47.060 But they will lose because they don't have the leverage.
00:06:51.000 And I'll tell you, Ben, that this is actually a topic that I've got some personal experience in.
00:06:55.820 I would say you've dealt with this before, literally, in your own life.
00:06:59.480 Well, so in 2002, Greg Abbott was elected the attorney general of Texas.
00:07:06.800 He'd been on the Texas Supreme Court.
00:07:08.140 He was elected AG.
00:07:09.480 When he was elected AG, he interviewed this young kid lawyer to be solicitor general.
00:07:18.600 And, okay, I'm actually going to take a break.
00:07:21.220 Have I ever told you the story of how I got the job of SG?
00:07:24.620 No.
00:07:25.020 Okay.
00:07:26.660 So I'm in D.C.
00:07:28.300 I'm working in the George W. Bush administration.
00:07:30.840 I'm the head of policy at the Federal Trade Commission.
00:07:33.960 And a buddy of mine calls and says, hey, Greg Abbott was just elected AG.
00:07:39.060 And I said, well, yeah, I knew that. 0.99
00:07:40.540 I wasn't a complete idiot. 0.99
00:07:42.540 And he said, well, he's looking for an SG. 0.95
00:07:45.180 Are you willing to have your name considered?
00:07:48.440 And I said, well, let me think about it.
00:07:49.800 Let me talk with Heidi, and I'll call you back tomorrow and let you know.
00:07:53.320 And I talked with Heidi.
00:07:54.500 I said, what do you think?
00:07:55.280 She said, absolutely.
00:07:56.440 Yes, put your name in.
00:07:57.640 I think that's great.
00:07:58.720 So I pulled together a resume.
00:08:00.220 I sent it down.
00:08:01.660 And a day or two later, I got a call asking me to come down to Austin to interview.
00:08:05.140 So I did.
00:08:05.620 I went down and interviewed.
00:08:07.040 Now, I didn't know Greg Abbott at all.
00:08:09.920 And I frankly assumed I'd never get the job.
00:08:13.160 That he would hire someone who he'd known 20 years.
00:08:15.980 That's kind of the way of the world.
00:08:17.240 He'd hire a buddy of his, another lawyer he knew.
00:08:19.240 Inside Baseball 101 in politics, right?
00:08:21.480 You go with someone you're familiar with.
00:08:23.200 So I went down there.
00:08:24.460 Now, I'm 31 years old.
00:08:26.200 I'm a kid.
00:08:27.960 I do the interview.
00:08:29.360 I don't know him at all.
00:08:31.580 And a couple days later, I'm actually out with Heidi.
00:08:36.040 We're in California at her parents' house.
00:08:38.820 And it's about 6 in the morning, but we're both asleep in bed.
00:08:42.200 And my cell phone rings.
00:08:43.420 I answer it, and it's Greg Abbott.
00:08:45.740 And he's calling to offer me the job of SG.
00:08:49.800 And I was floored.
00:08:52.640 But I got to tell you, Heidi almost fell out of bed. 0.98
00:08:55.900 She was so shocked.
00:08:57.920 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.
00:09:04.860 I knew it was absolutely hopeless.
00:09:06.840 And I actually almost didn't get the job.
00:09:10.060 Abbott told me later that he almost didn't make me the offer because he didn't think I had the experience to be a very good oral advocate.
00:09:21.960 At the time, I had only—
00:09:23.700 Hold on.
00:09:24.080 You didn't put debate champ on your resume?
00:09:26.160 I'm a little disappointed in you there.
00:09:27.480 Well, it was there.
00:09:28.800 But at the time, I had only argued two cases in my life.
00:09:32.500 So I was 31.
00:09:33.720 You were green.
00:09:35.220 Now, I won both of them.
00:09:37.000 The two cases I'd argued I'd won.
00:09:38.640 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.
00:09:47.500 Now, I will say, in the case in New York, on the other side was the head of litigation at Crevasse, Swain & Moore, which is one of the top law firms in the country.
00:09:56.180 And I took him on and beat him in court.
00:09:58.640 And so those two arguments, I leaned in hard and said, look, I've done two arguments.
00:10:02.860 I'm 2-0.
00:10:03.460 They were both hard cases.
00:10:04.860 They mattered.
00:10:06.380 And somehow, you know, if you ever saw the movie Chicago with Richard Gere, where they go, and now, a tap dance.
00:10:17.160 So I get the job.
00:10:19.280 I head back to Texas.
00:10:21.860 I'm in Austin.
00:10:23.960 Spring of 2003, the Texas House, for the first time in decades, becomes Republican.
00:10:30.880 Yep.
00:10:31.140 And so the Texas House begins to do mid-decade redistricting.
00:10:36.220 Now, what is mid-decade redistricting?
00:10:38.720 Ordinarily, redistricting happens right after the turn of the decade.
00:10:42.860 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.
00:10:50.040 That's how it ordinarily happens.
00:10:51.400 Well, back in 2001, Texas had done redistricting, but the Democrats controlled the House.
00:10:59.200 Yeah.
00:10:59.760 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.
00:11:15.960 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.
00:11:30.640 That's what they'd done.
00:11:31.700 So in 2003, when Republicans took the House, they decided, okay, we're going to do redistricting so that we can draw a map that elects a congressional delegation that reflects the values of the voters of Texas.
00:11:44.340 So they did so.
00:11:45.960 And the Texas Democrats in 2003 did exactly what the Texas Democrats did in 2025, which is they fled.
00:11:53.520 They said, run away, run away.
00:11:55.980 And so the House Democrats, they went north to Ardmore, Oklahoma, stayed a little Holiday Inn just over the Red River.
00:12:02.860 And the Senate Democrats, they went to New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, to a fancy, a very fancy hotel.
00:12:12.060 And I thought it was really funny that the senators, the Democrat senators were going to a shi-shi hotel and that the House members were at a Holiday Inn in Oklahoma. 0.88
00:12:21.440 But, so one of the first things that happened 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.
00:12:34.060 And he says, General, can I arrest the fleeing House Democrats?
00:12:41.080 And Abbott said, I don't know.
00:12:42.400 He said, let me let you, let me figure it out.
00:12:44.560 So Abbott picks up the phone.
00:12:45.980 He calls me.
00:12:46.680 I'm brand new in my job as SG.
00:12:48.520 He goes, Ted, the Speaker wants to know, can he arrest the fleeing Democrats who are fleeing the state?
00:12:55.320 I said, General, I don't know.
00:12:56.820 Let me research it.
00:12:57.940 I'll give you an answer.
00:12:59.400 So I sat down.
00:13:00.520 I did the legal research.
00:13:01.500 It turns out the answer is unequivocally yes.
00:13:06.180 And the reason is the Texas Constitution has a provision in it that is copied word for word from the United States Constitution.
00:13:13.920 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 defy a quorum.
00:13:27.620 And in fact, multiple times that has been used, carrying House members or senators into the chambers in leg irons, in handcuffs.
00:13:37.980 And so I came back and said the answer is unequivocally yes, you can arrest them.
00:13:42.080 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.
00:14:00.680 That was a possibility if the governor or the local D.A. decided to be belligerent, you could get into uncharted legal territory.
00:14:08.880 Is that 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.
00:14:18.880 We won't let them arrest you, right?
00:14:20.780 It is more complicated to do it in a liberal jurisdiction if you have someone who is partisan and politically motivated.
00:14:28.760 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.
00:14:41.660 So this will end, they will lose, and the Texas legislature will pass this redistricting.
00:14:48.060 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?
00:14:57.240 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.
00:15:05.760 It's not forcing you to vote, right? 0.88
00:15:07.460 It's just that you're present.
00:15:08.980 Correct, and it can be literally with handcuffs and leg irons.
00:15:12.740 Now, it's not being arrested for a crime.
00:15:16.860 You're not going to jail.
00:15:18.720 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.
00:15:28.800 The legislature cannot do business if there are not sufficient members there for a quorum,
00:15:33.220 and that's why both the United States Constitution and the Texas Constitution give the authority to physically compel presence
00:15:41.500 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.
00:15:51.200 So they're back now, and this has actually brought up, I think, a bigger issue, and I want to take the time.
00:15:57.460 I actually think this may be one of the biggest backfires in political modern history, in my opinion, on an issue of gerrymandering.
00:16:04.580 A lot of people, I don't think, understood just how much abuse of power with Democrats in charge in different states with gerrymandering
00:16:15.500 and how many conservatives were so underrepresented in Congress.
00:16:20.220 A great example of that is California.
00:16:22.980 There are several other states that have, like, zero representation of conservatives or Republican members of Congress
00:16:29.120 because of the way they have drawn the district lines to make sure that it's almost all Democrats all the time.
00:16:36.120 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
00:16:42.680 until the big Texas issue happened.
00:16:45.300 I think this could be a backfire for Democrats.
00:16:47.960 Look, just about every big Democrat state has gerrymandered the hell out of their map
00:16:54.520 and is frustrating the will of their voters in their state.
00:16:58.440 So let me give you some specific examples.
00:17:00.220 California, biggest Democrat state in the country.
00:17:03.400 In 2024, 58% of Californians voted Democrat, 38% voted Republican.
00:17:09.300 So 58% Democrat.
00:17:11.720 They have a total of 52 congressional seats.
00:17:15.780 Of those 52, 43 of them are Democrat, 9 are Republican.
00:17:22.000 What does that mean?
00:17:22.760 It means the Democrats win 58% of the vote in California and they get, wait for it, 83% of the congressional delegation.
00:17:32.220 That's what they've done.
00:17:34.360 So the 38% of Californians that vote Republican get a total of 17% of the congressional delegation.
00:17:41.940 They're basically shut out.
00:17:44.240 How about New York?
00:17:46.360 New York, 56% of New Yorkers vote Democrat, 43% vote Republican.
00:17:53.560 There are 26 congressional seats in New York, 19 of them are Democrats, 7 are Republican.
00:18:00.040 What does that mean?
00:18:01.000 It means Democrats get 56% of the vote statewide in New York and they get, wait for it, 73% of the statewide congressional delegation.
00:18:12.460 How about Illinois?
00:18:14.000 All right, Illinois is really egregious.
00:18:16.720 Illinois, 54% of people in Illinois vote Democrat.
00:18:20.680 It's not that huge a margin.
00:18:23.600 44%, 43% vote Republican.
00:18:28.840 There are 17 congressional seats from Illinois, 14 of them are Democrat.
00:18:36.840 Only three are Republican.
00:18:38.620 So here are the numbers.
00:18:40.260 Democrats in Illinois get 54% of the vote and they get 82% of the congressional delegation.
00:18:49.740 By the way, this is why the governor, I'm sure, was like, come on down, Texas.
00:18:52.560 We'll keep you safe here.
00:18:53.760 We're experts in this.
00:18:54.860 We know exactly what we're doing with this.
00:18:57.240 And by the way, some of the smaller Democrat states are even more egregious.
00:19:01.960 So, for example, Connecticut, Trump won 42% of Connecticut.
00:19:08.620 You know how many Republican House members there are in Connecticut?
00:19:11.740 I'm going to guess zero to one.
00:19:13.720 Zero.
00:19:14.580 There you go.
00:19:15.380 Democrats have 100%.
00:19:17.600 New Mexico, Trump won 46% in New Mexico.
00:19:22.480 You know how many Republicans are elected in New Mexico to Congress?
00:19:26.900 Is it zero again?
00:19:28.440 Zero.
00:19:29.260 Wow.
00:19:29.660 Three Democrats, zero Republicans.
00:19:32.260 By the way, is that not the actual definition of gerrymandering when you have 47% or 43% going for a party and they get zero representation in Congress?
00:19:41.020 Yep.
00:19:41.600 Maryland.
00:19:42.820 Maryland, Trump won 34% of the vote in the state.
00:19:47.100 And you know how many Republicans they have in their delegation?
00:19:51.820 One.
00:19:53.000 One.
00:19:53.920 Andy Harris is the only one.
00:19:55.260 There we go.
00:19:55.880 And by the way, you know what their Democrat governor is saying?
00:19:59.720 What?
00:20:00.420 That Texas is terrible?
00:20:02.020 If Texas does this, we'll get rid of the only Republican we elect.
00:20:05.540 We'll take it to zero.
00:20:06.660 We want it to be 100%.
00:20:08.240 New Jersey.
00:20:11.240 New Jersey.
00:20:12.220 Trump won 46% of New Jersey.
00:20:15.180 There are 12 congressional seats.
00:20:17.520 Republicans have three of them.
00:20:19.880 Incredible.
00:20:20.880 Oregon.
00:20:21.260 Trump won 41% of the vote in Oregon.
00:20:25.640 Republicans have one out of the six seats.
00:20:29.240 And here's the one I love.
00:20:31.980 Massachusetts.
00:20:33.420 Yeah.
00:20:33.860 The People's Republic of Massachusetts.
00:20:36.480 Trump won 36% of Massachusetts in 2024.
00:20:42.400 There are nine congressional seats out of Massachusetts.
00:20:44.580 How many Republicans do you think they elect?
00:20:47.600 I'm going to go with zero again.
00:20:49.000 Zero.
00:20:49.820 Goose egg.
00:20:51.020 Understand that Massachusetts is so egregious, they say the 36% of you Republicans in the
00:20:55.880 state, you get nothing.
00:20:58.600 Yeah.
00:20:58.860 That is their answer.
00:21:00.060 Nothing whatsoever. 0.99
00:21:00.940 And to give you a sense of just how ridiculous these Democrat politicians are, the governor, 0.93
00:21:07.940 Mara Healy, a Democrat, threatened to redistrict in Massachusetts in retaliation for Texas. 1.00
00:21:14.780 So right now, Massachusetts elects nine Democrats and zero Republicans.
00:21:19.380 After she redistricts, I guess they'll still elect nine Democrats and zero Republicans. 0.90
00:21:25.040 They've literally maxed out their gerrymandering, and yet they're still engaged in theater.
00:21:34.420 So let me ask you this question.
00:21:36.220 You hear these numbers.
00:21:37.460 This is where I think Democrats screwed up nationwide when they were coming to the aid of the Democrats
00:21:42.900 from Washington, I mean, from Texas.
00:21:44.800 They're like, you know, we're going to stand by you, and we'll gerrymander even more if they
00:21:49.820 take away seats from you in Texas, yada, yada, yada. 0.55
00:21:52.880 Now people see this.
00:21:54.780 We're talking about it.
00:21:56.180 Everyone else in the political world is talking about it.
00:21:58.180 There's a lot of Republicans that are going to be angry.
00:22:00.440 How do you fight back if you're in a state where, I don't know, 30, 40 percent, right,
00:22:04.620 of the, or more than 40 percent in some of these states are voting Republican, and they're
00:22:09.900 getting zero representation in Congress?
00:22:12.260 What do you do now?
00:22:13.560 Is there a legal way to say this is gerrymandering? 1.00
00:22:16.800 Well, look, they are being shown to be complete hypocrites. 0.96
00:22:20.360 And I want you now to listen to this clip from NBC where the governor of Illinois, Governor 0.99
00:22:26.980 Pritzker, is called out on his utter hypocrisy. 0.86
00:22:31.120 Give a listen. 0.78
00:22:32.440 Every major group that grades the fairness of congressional maps gives your state an F.
00:22:38.100 Common cause and nonpartisan government watchdog even says your map, and I'm going to quote,
00:22:43.580 represents a nearly perfect model for everything that can go wrong with redistricting.
00:22:48.780 And I guess the question is, you talk about preserving democracy.
00:22:51.420 How do you preserve democracy if you're using the same tactics that you've criticized Texas
00:22:56.180 Republicans for?
00:22:57.740 But as I say, what they're talking about is a distraction.
00:23:01.840 The reality is that the violation of people's voting rights is what Texas is attempting to
00:23:07.620 do.
00:23:07.820 That's what's wrong with their efforts right now.
00:23:10.580 And the fact that the president of the United States knows it and nevertheless is asking
00:23:15.780 them to do it.
00:23:16.900 That is what's wrong with what we're seeing right now.
00:23:20.000 Democracy is at stake.
00:23:21.860 I love it.
00:23:22.800 They always go back to democracy is at stake, Senator.
00:23:25.700 Like, don't answer the question.
00:23:27.000 So, Ben, how do you know that a Democrat is lying?
00:23:29.960 They start talking about democracy at stake?
00:23:32.260 His lips are moving.
00:23:33.660 Yeah, that's true.
00:23:34.540 That's true.
00:23:34.960 It is utterly brazen.
00:23:37.460 So let's go back to the numbers, because the numbers matter.
00:23:42.100 So Illinois, 54 percent of people in Illinois vote Democrat.
00:23:46.260 And yet their map right now elects 82 percent of the congressional delegation is Democrat.
00:23:53.080 Now, Texas, Texas right now today, Texas, 56 percent of the state in 2024 voted Republican.
00:24:03.180 Our map, we have 38 seats in it, 24 Republicans, 14 Democrats.
00:24:09.960 That means that right now in Texas, 54 percent of the Republicans elect 63 percent of the congressional
00:24:18.860 delegation.
00:24:19.660 So it's slightly more than the statewide percentage, but not nearly as egregious as the other states.
00:24:26.040 Now, what Texas is doing is redrawing the districts so that five new Republicans are likely to be elected.
00:24:33.820 So instead of breaking down 24, 14, it is likely to break down 29 to 9.
00:24:41.120 That means that we would go from 63 percent of the congressional delegation being Republican.
00:24:47.460 We would go from that to 76 percent.
00:24:51.140 Now, 76 percent is still lower than California, which is 83 percent.
00:24:57.800 It is lower than Illinois, which is 82 percent.
00:25:03.940 And it's obviously lower than Massachusetts, which is 100 percent.
00:25:08.540 And the irony, the loudest voices that are denouncing what Texas is doing are the governors of California, Illinois and Massachusetts. 0.80
00:25:19.220 Three Democrat hypocrites that are all saying, you guys are drawing your maps, not nearly as bad as we've drawn it. 0.94
00:25:28.020 But how dare you get even close? 0.98
00:25:30.600 And by the way, you don't forget the New York governor, Hochul, got in on this as well.
00:25:36.480 She was called out for it on Fox News Channel.
00:25:38.620 Listen to this.
00:25:40.080 Summarized it.
00:25:40.640 They said it was only three years ago that New York's Democratic legislature drew up a map so brazenly contemptuous of basic rules.
00:25:47.260 The governor district's contiguousness that the state's Democrat dominated court of appeals threw it out.
00:25:53.120 The New York Times at the time called those maps comically contorted.
00:25:56.980 That's their quote.
00:25:58.100 So your state's highest court at the time, all the judges appointed by Democratic governors, they threw the maps out.
00:26:04.180 So fair to say Democrats have done what they're now accusing Republicans of doing.
00:26:09.200 No, we followed the rules.
00:26:10.640 We do it every 10 years.
00:26:12.640 We base it on census.
00:26:13.740 But the court said you didn't follow the rules.
00:26:15.100 Well, we did follow the rules.
00:26:16.320 So the court was wrong?
00:26:17.860 Well, we followed the rules.
00:26:19.680 We followed the rules.
00:26:20.660 No, you didn't.
00:26:21.200 The court said you didn't.
00:26:22.000 No, no, we followed the rules.
00:26:22.880 No, no, no.
00:26:23.460 The court said you didn't follow the rules.
00:26:25.180 That's how bad they were in New York on that, Senator.
00:26:28.180 And understand, in New York, Democrats get 55 percent, 56 percent of the vote, and they get 73 percent of the congressional district.
00:26:37.800 And by the way, the way they do that in New York is they break up Long Island.
00:26:43.260 They break up Republican parts and try to elect Democrats there.
00:26:47.520 The way they do it in California is they break up Southern California.
00:26:50.060 They break up Orange County, and they try to break up Republican votes.
00:26:53.580 The way they do it in Chicago is they break up the more conservative votes that are outside of Chicago.
00:26:58.180 All of that, that's the strategy the Democrats do.
00:27:02.460 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.
00:27:13.300 We have a very slim majority right now.
00:27:15.140 Electing five new Republicans will make a difference, will significantly increase the chances of keeping a Republican majority in the 2026 election.
00:27:26.620 But it also reflects the values of the voters of Texas.
00:27:31.640 Texas is a red state.
00:27:33.300 Texans want low taxes. 0.99
00:27:35.100 We want low regulation.
00:27:36.840 We want a secure border.
00:27:38.060 We support law enforcement.
00:27:39.600 We support keeping our families safe.
00:27:41.380 We support the Constitution.
00:27:42.880 We want free speech and religious liberty in the Second Amendment.
00:27:46.180 Texans believe in fundamental liberty, fundamental values.
00:27:52.320 And today's left-wing, lunatic Democrat Party is directly contrary to the values of the people of Texas.
00:28:00.520 And so what the legislature is doing is drawing a map that will elect a congressional delegation that reflects the values of the voters.
00:28:08.900 That is not only not contrary to democracy, that is the essence of democracy,
00:28:14.020 which is allowing the voters to actually elect representatives who share their values.
00:28:21.000 And what the Democrats are mad about is that this map will allow the voters of Texas to elect representatives who share their values.
00:28:29.420 In their view, anytime you hear a Democrat use the words assault on democracy, what they really mean is electing Republicans.
00:28:39.760 It's just about power. 0.97
00:28:41.300 It's why these same hypocrites did everything they could to remove Donald Trump from the ballot. 0.96
00:28:47.420 Because nothing says defending democracy like taking your opponent off the ballot and stopping the pesky voters from voting for him. 0.98
00:28:55.380 They don't believe in democracy.
00:28:57.320 They believe in power, raw power.
00:29:00.560 So they're perfectly comfortable with Massachusetts having 100% of its delegation being Democrats.
00:29:05.580 But they're furious if a Republican state actually tries to have its delegation reflect the views of its voters.
00:29:13.020 That is the beauty of democracy.
00:29:15.520 And if you think I'm being too harsh, if you think I'm being too harsh and too judgmental of the Democrats,
00:29:24.120 I want you to listen to my erstwhile opponent, Beto O'Rourke.
00:29:27.780 Now, Beto, you recall, ran against me in 2018 for the Senate.
00:29:32.560 He became a cause celeb. All of the Democrats, all of the media, their hearts went pitter-patt.
00:29:38.500 And he was a phenom.
00:29:40.060 And he came within a few points of beating me.
00:29:42.100 He lost.
00:29:43.740 And then he ran for president as a Democrat, and he lost.
00:29:47.020 And then he ran for governor against Greg Abbott, and he lost.
00:29:50.100 So at this point, he's 0 for 3.
00:29:52.360 And he's kind of pissed off about it.
00:29:53.800 And so when he's pissed off about it, he's really honest and candid.
00:29:58.400 Give a listen to what Beto had to say.
00:30:00.240 We are not going to let him stop us.
00:30:02.340 Are you with me on that?
00:30:04.780 Andale! 0.99
00:30:06.760 It also means, as Mark was saying earlier, 0.75
00:30:11.100 we don't await the punch thrown by these would-be fascists to land.
00:30:16.200 We punch first, and we punch harder. 0.88
00:30:19.300 We want California, and New Jersey, and Illinois, and Maryland,
00:30:23.380 and every other state where the Democrats hold the governor's mansion, 0.50
00:30:27.100 the assembly, and the state senate to redraw their congressional districts now,
00:30:31.800 not wait for Texas to move first, to maximize Democratic Party advantage.
00:30:37.040 Listen, you may say to yourself, well, those aren't the rules.
00:30:40.880 There are no refs in this game. 1.00
00:30:42.540 F*** the rules. 0.99
00:30:43.280 We are going to win whatever it takes. 0.99
00:30:45.720 We're going to take this to them in every way that we can.
00:30:50.360 You've got to love Beto there.
00:30:51.980 Family values guy, right?
00:30:53.240 That's why I say he's such a just dynamic candidate.
00:30:56.160 But look, he is honest.
00:30:58.240 This is today's Democrat Party.
00:31:00.160 It is about power.
00:31:02.120 Nothing else matters.
00:31:03.340 Democracy doesn't matter.
00:31:04.620 The will of the voters doesn't matter.
00:31:06.600 It is their imposing their radical left-wing values.
00:31:10.320 And the reason they have to be so obsessed with power is their ideas are unpopular.
00:31:14.720 If you put a referendum in front of the American people, you want open borders?
00:31:19.040 No.
00:31:19.340 The overwhelming majority of Americans say no.
00:31:21.180 No, we don't.
00:31:22.060 You put a referendum in front of the American people.
00:31:24.140 Hey, do you want to release murderers and rapists and child molesters?
00:31:27.320 American people say no.
00:31:28.740 Hey, do you want to confiscate everyone's guns?
00:31:31.060 The American people say no.
00:31:32.980 Hey, do you want boys competing in girls' sports? 0.99
00:31:35.600 The American people say no.
00:31:36.920 And so if you're a party whose entire platform is wildly unpopular, is on the 20 side of 80-20 issue after 80-20 issue after 80-20 issue, the only way you can implement your crazy ideology is through brute force and power.
00:31:54.000 And Beto, I'll commend him for being honest. 0.84
00:31:57.300 He's just interested, ironically, in being a fascist, in being a totalitarian.
00:32:02.840 The language he uses, he doesn't want the voters to have a say.
00:32:07.060 He wants to force his radical policies on them.
00:32:10.480 That's what the Democrats are revealing to the whole country.
00:32:12.940 Just put it in perspective, Democratic favorability is the lowest in history of CNN polling.
00:32:19.020 What is your view of the Democratic Party?
00:32:20.600 Only 28% of Americans say that they have a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party right now.
00:32:27.480 54% unfavorable of the Democratic Party.
00:32:31.600 Only 16% of Americans have no opinion.
00:32:34.740 That is the lowest in history of CNN polling.
00:32:37.380 That came out today.
00:32:38.520 To put it in perspective, the Democrats are polling six points above gonorrhea and nine points above Ebola.
00:32:47.040 So that's where their radical policies have taken them.
00:32:50.360 And by the way, for the fact checkers, I made those numbers up.
00:32:53.380 I don't actually know where either of those diseases poll.
00:32:56.620 I like it.
00:32:57.540 Don't forget, we do this show Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
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