Verdict with Ted Cruz - March 21, 2026


The Case is Made on the SAA, When the Bible Becomes a Campaign Prop and a Liberal Icon César Chávez Week In Review


Episode Stats


Length

37 minutes

Words per minute

146.74803

Word count

5,467

Sentence count

323

Harmful content

Misogyny

4

sentences flagged

Toxicity

22

sentences flagged

Hate speech

20

sentences flagged


Summary

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

Ted Cruz lays out why the Save America Act is vital to our nation s voting integrity. Also, a showdown in Texas. And finally, the New York Times is saying Cesar Chavez is a child rapist. It s the week in review.

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.
00:00:04.300 Welcome, it is Verdict with Ted Cruz,
00:00:06.280 the Weekend Review, Ben Ferguson with you,
00:00:08.320 and here are the big stories that you may have missed
00:00:10.280 that we talked about this week.
00:00:11.600 First up, Senator Cruz lays out why
00:00:14.000 the Save America Act is vital
00:00:16.500 to our nation's voting integrity.
00:00:19.480 Also, a showdown in Texas.
00:00:21.760 So who is James Tallarico?
00:00:23.540 We explain it.
00:00:24.840 And finally, the liberal icon and hero of the left, 0.75
00:00:28.380 Cesar Chavez well now the New York Times is saying he's a child rapist it's the week in review and
00:00:35.220 it starts right now so senator let's talk about just first the lay of the land and how we got
00:00:42.060 to where we are today and the vote there's a lot of people wondering what the vote was to move this
00:00:46.400 forward so now there's debate and so tell us who didn't vote for this on the Republican side it
00:00:51.900 was a very tight vote and also explain what's going to happen over the rest of this week
00:00:57.320 Well, the vote on the Senate floor to take up the Save America Act was 51 to 47.
00:01:02.840 So 51 Republicans voted to take it up.
00:01:05.500 The only no vote was Lisa Murkowski out of Alaska. 0.98
00:01:09.420 And then Tom Tillis from North Carolina, who is retiring, did not vote.
00:01:13.200 So he was not a no vote, but he didn't vote.
00:01:15.700 Other than that, every Republican voted to take it up, and we're now in the midst of the battle.
00:01:20.780 Now, we can anticipate the Democrats are a hard no.
00:01:24.220 And so we're taking the case to the American people and trying to build support for it.
00:01:28.680 And so I went to the Senate floor to lay out the case for why the Save America Act is so critical 0.69
00:01:34.160 and why the opposition for the Democrats is so ridiculous.
00:01:39.180 And so here's what I had to say on the floor of the Senate this week.
00:01:43.980 Mr. President, later this year, American citizens across the country will exercise one of their most valuable and sacred rights,
00:01:52.340 the right to vote.
00:01:54.220 A right that has been hard-earned and fought for from the founding generation of our republic to today.
00:02:03.280 And how is the right to self-government, the right to vote, secured?
00:02:07.560 It was secured by American colonists who rejected the royal edict and hurtled tea into Boston Harbor,
00:02:17.100 declaring no taxation without representation.
00:02:20.240 It was secured by ordinary men who seized their muskets and fired the shot heard round the world at Lexington and Concord.
00:02:30.860 It was secured by Continental troops who marched to the fields of Saratoga and the coastline of Yorktown,
00:02:42.720 repeating those immortal words of Patrick Henry,
00:02:45.980 give me liberty or give me death.
00:02:48.540 For nearly 250 years, Americans have cast their votes for leaders at every level, from
00:02:55.940 local officials to state representatives to the President of the United States.
00:03:02.260 Every member of this body is here today because we were elected fairly and honestly and given
00:03:09.080 a mandate by our constituents to serve them here in Washington and to protect the liberties
00:03:15.340 and freedoms our founders fought to preserve.
00:03:20.100 The power of the ballot box determines the course of our nation, the history we are writing
00:03:26.660 and the freedoms that we continue to defend.
00:03:29.600 And while no single ballot in isolation may seem decisive, together the votes of the American
00:03:36.380 people shape the course of our nation and the course of history.
00:03:42.080 But it is worth remembering that our voting system did not begin as it exists today.
00:03:48.580 When this nation was founded, the right to vote was limited, and over time, through debate,
00:03:54.020 sacrifice, a bloody civil war, and constitutional amendment, the right to vote was quite properly
00:04:01.640 expanded.
00:04:03.780 The 15th Amendment prohibited denying the vote based on race.
00:04:09.220 The 19th Amendment guaranteed women the right to vote, and the 26th Amendment lowered the
00:04:15.560 voting age to 18.
00:04:19.060 At every stage of our constitutional amendment process, the goal was the same – to ensure
00:04:25.160 that the right to vote belonged to American citizens and that it was exercised with integrity.
00:04:33.840 And while our system has evolved, one principle has remained constant.
00:04:40.320 Elections reflect the will of the American people.
00:04:43.840 For a right so sacred, for a privilege so hard fought, it is shocking, it is tragic,
00:04:53.920 how neglected and vulnerable the protection of our elections has become.
00:04:59.620 That is why I'm here today on this very floor, urging the members of this body to pass the
00:05:07.160 Save America Act.
00:05:10.280 It says that when you register to vote in a federal election, you must provide proof
00:05:16.320 that you are a citizen of the United States, and you must provide photo ID to vote.
00:05:23.980 In simple terms, that's it.
00:05:27.600 This is not some radical politicized or weaponized piece of legislation designed to restrict
00:05:34.860 Americans from voting.
00:05:36.360 It is a common sense measure that protects the integrity of our elections by ensuring
00:05:45.280 that American citizens and only American citizens are voting in them.
00:05:52.560 Legitimacy in a democracy rests on two pillars.
00:05:55.020 First, the mechanical integrity of the system to produce a valid result, and second, the public's confidence in that system.
00:06:03.400 If either one fails, the system falters.
00:06:07.560 If both fail, the system collapses.
00:06:11.960 A system that cannot be trusted is a system that cannot govern.
00:06:16.460 If you look around the world, between two-thirds and three-quarters of countries require some form of identification to vote.
00:06:26.160 Why?
00:06:27.680 Because it safeguards the integrity of their elections and reinforces public trust in their system.
00:06:35.180 So it begs the question, why hasn't the United States fully embraced this standard?
00:06:42.400 Well, for the last several months, we have heard claim after claim about how this legislation
00:06:51.500 would somehow inhibit people from voting.
00:06:54.460 That requiring identification is discriminatory and that the American people do not support
00:06:58.880 voter ID.
00:06:59.880 Mr. President, our Democrat colleagues are fond of bellowing into the TV cameras that
00:07:06.720 photo ID to vote is Jim Crow.
00:07:12.320 They tell us with mock earnestness.
00:07:15.560 Now, I will admit, our Democrat colleagues should be experts in Jim Crow, because it 1.00
00:07:23.600 was Democrat politicians who passed the Jim Crow laws.
00:07:28.480 It was Democrat politicians who founded the Ku Klux Klan.
00:07:32.680 It was Democrat politicians for decade after decade who enforced discrimination, separate
00:07:40.640 but equal, poll taxes, and a host of other laws designed to prevent African Americans 0.99
00:07:49.100 from voting. But do you know who has rejected their disingenuous claim that photo ID to
00:07:55.780 vote is Jim Crow? The Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court of the United
00:08:02.720 States, the state of Indiana, passed photo ID law requiring that you show a photo ID
00:08:09.760 to vote. A group of left-wing plaintiffs filed litigation challenging that.
00:08:15.120 The case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court. At the time, I was the Solicitor
00:08:19.780 General of the state of Texas. I led a coalition of states before the Supreme Court defending
00:08:24.740 photo ID to vote. And the left-wing plaintiffs made the same argument that our Democrat colleagues
00:08:31.060 make today, that requiring photo ID to vote would somehow disenfranchise minorities. The
00:08:37.140 The Supreme Court, by a vote of six to three, rejected their argument.
00:08:44.480 The author of the majority opinion was John Paul Stevens.
00:08:47.360 John Paul Stevens was one of the great liberals on the court.
00:08:50.700 He was not a conservative.
00:08:52.100 He was not on the right wing.
00:08:53.420 He was the leading liberal for years on the U.S. Supreme Court.
00:08:57.460 He rejected that claim, and he pointed out that when someone votes illegally, they are
00:09:04.200 stealing the votes of legal voters. They are stealing the votes of American citizens. The 0.74
00:09:11.520 Supreme Court explained that when photo ID laws have been implemented, minority participation
00:09:17.840 in the election goes up, not down. And the Supreme Court explained that requiring photo
00:09:24.640 ID enhances the integrity of an election and the integrity of democracy. Now, our Democrat
00:09:31.480 colleagues don't want to acknowledge any of those facts. And I guess it's understandable
00:09:37.360 because the American people have heard their specious arguments and they have rejected
00:09:43.220 them. Mr. President, 81% of Americans support requiring photo ID to vote. But my Democrat
00:09:53.640 colleagues might say, what about African Americans? Well, about three quarters of African Americans
00:09:58.520 in the United States support requiring photo ID to vote?
00:10:02.880 How about Hispanics?
00:10:05.040 More than 80% of Hispanics in America support requiring photo ID to vote.
00:10:09.420 How about Democrats?
00:10:12.860 Here's an astonishing statistic.
00:10:15.380 If you get out of elected office, if you ask a Democrat on the street,
00:10:18.700 70% of Democrats in America support requiring photo ID to vote.
00:10:25.240 The one group that doesn't are elected Democrats in the United States Senate and the United States House.
00:10:34.420 And by the way, the premise of their argument that minorities, if you require a photo ID to vote,
00:10:41.980 are not going to be able to vote is frankly insulting.
00:10:46.340 Mr. President, I'm proud to be an Hispanic American.
00:10:48.880 I've been an Hispanic all my life.
00:10:50.220 You know what I've got in my wallet?
00:10:52.980 I have a driver's license.
00:10:55.240 I look at my colleagues across the way, I feel confident they have driver's licenses in their wallets as well. 1.00
00:11:03.780 Hispanics are not morons, African Americans are not morons. 1.00
00:11:09.160 And when you claim minorities can't figure out how to get a driver's license, 1.00
00:11:14.680 well gosh, what do you need a photo ID to vote, to do right now in America?
00:11:20.920 You need a photo ID to purchase alcohol, or to purchase tobacco,
00:11:25.240 You need a photo ID to gamble or purchase lottery tickets.
00:11:30.740 You need a photo ID to go into a bar.
00:11:33.500 You need a photo ID to get on a plane.
00:11:36.460 You need a photo ID to rent a car.
00:11:39.260 You need a photo ID just to drive a car, not even rent a car, drive a car.
00:11:44.400 You need a photo ID to apply for government benefits.
00:11:48.420 You need a photo ID to enroll in college.
00:11:50.880 You need a photo ID to open a bank account.
00:11:55.240 You need a photo ID to check into a hotel, and I got to admit, this is my personal favorite.
00:12:03.260 You need a photo ID, actually two photo IDs, to shovel snow in New York City.
00:12:12.260 These are routine, everyday activities.
00:12:15.180 The gallery is full.
00:12:16.100 I feel confident.
00:12:16.780 Everyone in the gallery who is not a child has a driver's license.
00:12:21.980 And by the way, you wouldn't be admitted to the gallery if you didn't.
00:12:25.240 and I feel confident every member of this chamber
00:12:29.340 has done just about anything I listed well,
00:12:33.080 except shoveling snow.
00:12:34.140 I'm not convinced many of my colleagues have snubbled snow,
00:12:37.620 although they do shovel other things.
00:12:41.260 The question is not whether Americans are bright enough 1.00
00:12:44.860 to obtain photo ID.
00:12:48.100 We know they can, and we know they do.
00:12:50.500 The real question is, why would we not require the same level of verification for something as consequential and vital as voting?
00:13:04.180 Are our Democrat colleagues saying voting doesn't matter?
00:13:08.920 Or is it something else?
00:13:11.980 Voting is not just another everyday activity.
00:13:14.320 It rolls around every year, a few years.
00:13:16.700 and it is the vehicle that protects the principles of our republic
00:13:20.440 in safeguarding what matters.
00:13:23.820 This legislation is necessary because there are individuals and systems
00:13:27.480 that can undermine confidence in our elections
00:13:29.980 if proper safeguards are not in place.
00:13:34.160 And one of the most apparent ways that we've seen
00:13:37.060 is through the masses of illegal immigrants 1.00
00:13:40.540 that our Democrat colleagues let in through open borders over four years.
00:13:44.840 During the Biden administration, more than 12 million illegal immigrants flooded into this country.
00:13:50.920 The vast majority through my home state of Texas.
00:13:54.820 Now, Mr. President, understand, that was not an accident.
00:13:58.140 That was not something the Democrats could not stop.
00:14:01.980 That was their desired outcome.
00:14:04.360 How do we know that?
00:14:06.500 Because the instant President Trump was sworn into office for his second term,
00:14:12.480 illegal border crossings plummeted 99%.
00:14:21.640 Overnight.
00:14:25.320 The Democrats said, no, Joe Biden can't secure the border.
00:14:29.660 He needs new legislation.
00:14:31.240 We now know that was a lie.
00:14:35.580 It was objectively false.
00:14:37.620 And they knew it was false.
00:14:39.140 well
00:14:41.700 if they could have secured the border for four years
00:14:44.740 and they chose not to
00:14:45.680 they chose to let murderers into this country 0.99
00:14:48.840 they chose to let rapists into this country 0.79
00:14:50.800 they chose to let child molesters into this country 0.78
00:14:53.540 they chose to let gangbangers into this country
00:14:56.520 they chose to let terrorists into this country 0.53
00:14:59.220 we've had four radical Islamic terror attacks
00:15:04.020 in the last two weeks
00:15:05.120 why Mr. President
00:15:09.580 would the Democrats choose to allow
00:15:12.460 more than 12 billion illegal aliens
00:15:14.500 to invade this country 0.60
00:15:15.720 and I'm going to suggest
00:15:18.280 the obvious reason
00:15:19.520 because the Democrats
00:15:22.480 look at those illegal aliens 1.00
00:15:23.840 and they want them to cast vote
00:15:25.220 for Democrats in federal elections
00:15:27.100 why are the Democrats lined up
00:15:30.840 and say no no no
00:15:32.800 under no circumstances
00:15:34.080 should we test to see if you're an American citizen.
00:15:37.840 Under no circumstances should we require photo IDs.
00:15:44.200 You know, there was one activist a few years ago
00:15:46.220 who filmed himself going into a D.C. polling place.
00:15:50.160 D.C. polling place said, sir, what's your name?
00:15:54.100 And he said, my name is Eric Holder.
00:15:56.580 Now, this activist was not the Attorney General of the United States at the time.
00:16:00.720 But yet D.C. handed him a ballot and said, Mr. Holder, please cast your vote.
00:16:08.920 The Democrats are lined up in this chamber because they want our elections to be insecure.
00:16:19.400 They want voter fraud to be rampant and to be easy.
00:16:24.880 ask yourself
00:16:27.440 do the American people have a difficult time
00:16:30.500 buying a beer
00:16:31.180 do they have a difficult time getting into
00:16:34.460 an R-rated movie, do they have a difficult time
00:16:36.420 getting on an airplane, well yes
00:16:37.820 because the Democrats have refuses to
00:16:40.340 fund the TSA and so they're long lines right now
00:16:42.640 but the lack of a photo ID is not an impediment
00:16:46.560 that stops people from flying
00:16:47.820 this debate is about something very simple
00:16:54.200 Do our elections matter? Does our democracy matter?
00:16:58.060 And boy, Mr. President, I've got to say, that is a phrase the Democrats love.
00:17:03.640 That they are defending democracy.
00:17:07.920 It's interesting, their voice usually drops an octave when they say that.
00:17:12.080 They clutch their pearls.
00:17:15.380 And that's just the men.
00:17:18.860 Defending democracy is what they say.
00:17:21.880 ask yourself
00:17:24.600 why are they not
00:17:27.400 concerned at all
00:17:28.300 about 12 million
00:17:31.040 illegals who they let into this country voting 1.00
00:17:32.980 illegally
00:17:33.340 I'll submit
00:17:36.020 Occam's razor provides
00:17:39.280 the simplest solution is usually
00:17:41.080 the right one the simplest solution is very
00:17:43.040 clear the democrats in this
00:17:45.080 body want illegals to vote for
00:17:46.700 they want
00:17:49.180 power enough that they are more than
00:17:51.120 happy to undermine democracy, to try to seize power. I get that from their personal self-interest.
00:18:01.240 But it is not in the interest of the men and women they represent. It is not in the interest
00:18:05.100 of the people of America. This bill is rightly called the Save America Act.
00:18:13.500 And Mr. President, if we were voting on the merits of what was good for America,
00:18:19.160 what was good for democracy, what was good for American citizens, the vote would be 100 to nothing.
00:18:28.360 Although I would note on the other side of this building at the State of the Union address that you were at, that I was at,
00:18:33.700 we saw why our Democrat colleagues are so adamantly opposed to this bill.
00:18:39.900 President Trump turned to the Democrats on the right side of the floor of the House,
00:18:45.240 and it gave him an opportunity to demonstrate with absolute clarity.
00:18:49.280 He said, if you agree, our first priority should be to fight for American citizens
00:18:55.880 and not for illegal aliens, please stand.
00:18:59.760 And every single Democrat in Congress remains seated.
00:19:07.620 Not a one of them.
00:19:09.920 I would note, as we're on the floor today, of the 47 Democrats in this body, only one.
00:19:15.240 is here on the floor.
00:19:17.560 But a whole lot more were on the floor during the State of the Union.
00:19:20.500 Every one of them chose to remain seated
00:19:22.540 because they could not support the statement
00:19:24.980 that we need to support American citizens and not illegal aliens. 0.85
00:19:29.920 That's why they opposed the Save America Act.
00:19:34.040 Because they want to be handed power over this country
00:19:36.860 by the illegal aliens they let into this country.
00:19:41.220 That's why we need to save America.
00:19:45.240 and it's why I urge every member of this body to pass the Save America Act.
00:19:51.260 Now, if you want to hear the rest of this conversation,
00:19:53.960 you can go back and listen to the full podcast from earlier this week.
00:20:15.240 For just $4.99, it's for a limited time.
00:20:19.900 You've got to try breakfast at A&W.
00:20:23.860 A participating A&W locations in Ontario.
00:20:28.600 Now on to story number two.
00:20:31.040 So, Senator, there's something very interesting that keeps brewing, and it's a theme in Texas.
00:20:35.740 that theme now is Democrats keep trying to find radical liberals that they masquerade into some
00:20:44.140 sort of like moderate to then run for the Senate. But if you just go back and look at their own
00:20:49.160 words, they're moonbats. Yeah, look, so the Democrats in Texas have nominated for the U.S.
00:20:56.360 Senate this guy named James Tallarico, who was a state representative. He'd only been in the
00:21:03.100 legislature a couple of years he had not achieved much of anything and and and why did they pick
00:21:08.380 some like some young state rep to be their senate nominee well turned out the guy went to seminary
00:21:13.820 and they're like oh look this is great now look today's modern democrat party they hate people 0.96
00:21:18.900 of faith unless you happen to be an islamist and you're trying to kill people they like them 1.00
00:21:22.440 but but other than islamists that are trying to murder people anyone of faith they can't stand 0.98
00:21:27.160 and they especially can't stand christians yes but i think the democrats are frustrated that
00:21:32.520 they keep losing in Texas. They keep getting their butt kicked. And so they're like, all right, 1.00
00:21:35.700 we need to find someone. And they're like, oh, this guy went to seminary. He speaks, he speaks
00:21:40.740 Christian. This is their theory of the case. Like he can talk to those strange people who believe in
00:21:46.600 that Jesus guy. That's how Democrats... He's read that Bible thing before, right? 0.51
00:21:51.160 Strategists are thinking. And the only problem is like, this guy is weird. And again, don't take
00:21:59.440 my word for it. I'm just going to introduce you to James Tallarica. First of all, all right,
00:22:03.940 let's listen to this preacher talk about God. What does he have to say about God? Well, give a listen.
00:22:08.100 The first two lines of the Bible, the first two lines in Genesis, use two different Hebrew words
00:22:17.600 to describe God. One is the masculine Hebrew noun for divinity. The second is the feminine Hebrew
00:22:27.840 renown for spirit. God is both masculine and feminine and everything in between. God is
00:22:38.280 non-binary. In Genesis 1.26, God speaks of God's self in the plural, saying, let us make human
00:22:48.820 beings in our image to be like us that's the infinite multitude of god the masculine the
00:22:59.140 feminine and everything in between trans children are god's children made in god's own image 1.00
00:23:09.400 now senator i've heard of stretches before using you using the bible but when you're like let me
00:23:15.340 just take you the very beginning and here's how i'm going to morph that into like this like that's
00:23:19.880 a whole new level and and even the room the people around him are kind of like looking like is he
00:23:23.860 really is he really doing this it's a great video look god ain't nine non-binary and and yes god is
00:23:30.560 plural because you've got the the the the trinity of god the father god the son god the holy spirit
00:23:38.200 Three in one, but that does not mean that, you know, he says, well, God created male, female, and everything in between.
00:23:47.960 No, no, he created Adam, he created Eve, and he stopped.
00:23:52.400 He didn't create a third creature that was neither male nor female.
00:23:57.040 He created both.
00:23:59.160 Okay, so you might say, all right, that's fine, but maybe that's just sort of a curious theological quirk.
00:24:07.580 Well, he had more to say about people who are transgender, and it might kind of surprise you.
00:24:13.420 Listen to what he had to say about the trans community.
00:24:17.820 Before we go further, I want to acknowledge that our trans community needs abortion care, too.
00:24:23.860 Defending trans Texans is something we have to do every day.
00:24:27.160 Now, that one, if you're not watching this on YouTube, I just want to set the stage, Senator.
00:24:32.620 There is literally communion table behind him.
00:24:36.800 two candles that are lit and he's like now let me just tell you the trans community they need
00:24:40.880 abortion care too like i'm just curious like where in the scripture is that is that in there
00:24:45.660 like i i'm waiting you know this guy that went to ministry like like i just want to know where
00:24:51.020 he found that the guy says that in a church and i guess is pretending to be a preacher but you
00:24:56.520 understand this is his priority abortions for people who are transgender like like that i'm
00:25:02.020 Sorry, that is just out there, and this is the pressing priority.
00:25:07.960 But look, I've got to admit, the reason he's saying all of this is that he's got to apologize for his own overwhelming masculinity.
00:25:20.120 And again, don't take my word for it.
00:25:23.340 Give a listen to him explaining.
00:25:25.200 No need to sit and cry over your whiteness or your masculinity.
00:25:30.700 Use it.
00:25:31.380 Yep. Use it to do something. Yeah. Let's be productive. I mean, amen, pastor on that one,
00:25:36.640 right? Like that is just preach. Sign me up. Where can I go to get more of that?
00:25:41.740 Okay. I look, I got to say, for those of y'all who are not watching on YouTube,
00:25:45.200 you really should watch on YouTube because no need to cry over your masculinity.
00:25:52.080 Said no person who had even a shred of masculinity. I mean, this is a guy who makes
00:25:57.860 pete budigieg look manly um you're not lying by the way this is a guy if like a soy latte could
00:26:04.900 speak that would be democrat james tallarico that is my new official analogy that you've ever said
00:26:11.820 on this show that is number one now i i and by the way okay so so he's not very masculine he's
00:26:20.320 crying about his masculinity what little little of it he has but but at least he's an american
00:26:24.820 right? I mean, he's at least proud of America. Well, not so much. Give a listen to what he has
00:26:30.700 to say about that. I often think when reclaiming symbols, I think about the American flag. I think
00:26:36.360 the Confederate flag is a symbol of treason and terrorism. But the American flag is such a
00:26:41.520 complicated symbol for most of us. And in many ways, like Jesus, like the cross, it's been
00:26:46.080 co-opted and in some ways, its true meaning has been betrayed. By the way, I didn't know that
00:26:54.020 We had co-opted Jesus so much.
00:26:56.560 Like, that's breaking news there, Senator.
00:26:58.940 So, look, this is a supposed pastor who is embarrassed about Jesus,
00:27:03.800 embarrassed about the cross, and now embarrassed about the American flag.
00:27:07.980 But, okay, look, you set everything else aside.
00:27:11.000 It's Texas.
00:27:12.080 At least he stands with barbecue, right?
00:27:14.800 Yes, that's true.
00:27:16.260 No, it's not.
00:27:18.200 Give a listen to what he has to say on meat.
00:27:20.600 We have, I think, heard more and more issues of animal welfare.
00:27:25.140 I think not just because it's the right thing to do and the moral thing to do,
00:27:28.780 but also it's, as all of you know, necessary to fight climate change.
00:27:32.600 It is now existential that we try to reduce our meat consumption
00:27:37.120 and that we try to respect animals in all aspects of society.
00:27:41.280 And so I am proud to say that our campaign has officially become a non-meat campaign.
00:27:47.260 So we have we are we are only buying vegan products from our local vegan businesses.
00:27:57.320 The guy hates barbecue.
00:28:00.680 Perfect for Texas. 0.60
00:28:02.080 They found their candidate.
00:28:03.980 The Democrats understand Texans.
00:28:06.400 As before, if you want to hear the rest of this conversation on this topic, you can go back and download the podcast from early this week to hear the entire thing.
00:28:14.400 Canadian women are looking for more 1.00
00:28:17.180 More out of themselves, their businesses
00:28:19.100 Their elected leaders, and the world around them
00:28:21.440 And that's why we're thrilled to introduce
00:28:23.220 The Honest Talk Podcast
00:28:24.720 I'm Jennifer Stewart
00:28:26.280 And I'm Catherine Clark
00:28:27.500 And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women
00:28:31.160 Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers
00:28:34.820 All at different stages of their journey
00:28:36.960 So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us
00:28:40.260 Listen to The Honest Talk Podcast on iHeartRadio
00:28:42.880 or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
00:28:46.200 I want to get back to the big story number three of the week you may have missed.
00:28:50.580 All right, finally, Senator, let's wrap with a story that another hero of the left,
00:28:57.280 yeah, it looks like it was a crazy person that is now going to go down in history in disgrace.
00:29:02.800 This time it's a guy by the last name of Chavez. 0.94
00:29:07.240 So this is our hypocrisy, not just trifecta, but four of a kind. 0.96
00:29:11.700 So we started with Kathy Hochul, the hypocritical Democrat governor of New York. 1.00
00:29:17.220 We then went to James Tallarico, the very, very strange Democrat nominee for the Senate. 0.75
00:29:22.160 We then went to Joe Kent, the previous Trump supporter who has decided now that Trump is under an assassination threat from Israel.
00:29:31.440 And finally, Cesar Chavez.
00:29:33.200 Who is Cesar Chavez?
00:29:34.220 He is a hero to the Democrats, a hero to the left, an icon. 0.80
00:29:37.840 He was a union organizer for the United Farm Workers, and he is revered, except for the fact that that famed right-wing publication, the New York Times, just published an expose that for years he was raping little girls. 0.62
00:29:55.640 And they come with the receipts that he had raped little girls year after year after year, and the left had covered it up.
00:30:03.780 They'd covered it up because they agreed with his politics.
00:30:06.200 And I got to say that there's a really good opinion piece that the Daily Wire ran by a woman named Ariana Guajardo, who's a Texan and a Latina.
00:30:17.000 And here's what she wrote. I want to read a good chunk of it because it actually is a good insight.
00:30:22.140 It's entitled, The Left Hid Cesar Chavez's Rapes and Turned Him into a Saint.
00:30:27.800 she begins when I was in college I passed the Cesar Chavez statue every day on my walk to class
00:30:35.760 at the University of Texas now Cesar Chavez is the name of the road I take to work and it's a big
00:30:42.040 road right in downtown Austin for years Chavez was presented as the figurehead for Mexican Americans
00:30:49.100 a symbol we were expected to revere but he represented a collectivist ideology that
00:30:55.960 perpetuated ethnic tribalism. After the New York Times broke the story of his sexual abuse of
00:31:02.520 young girls, this false idol is finally toppling. My only hope is that he is not replaced by another.
00:31:10.960 Chavez has long been celebrated as a symbol of the civil rights era and as a champion of labor
00:31:15.880 unions in America. He co-founded the United Farm Workers Union to fight for better condition for
00:31:21.560 migrant laborers. But in truth, he exploited the very people he claimed to protect, while tying 0.92
00:31:28.120 Mexican Americans to socialist ideology, which is of course what the Democrats want. He carefully 0.94
00:31:33.980 crafted a public image as a family man devoted to Catholic social teaching, but the reality
00:31:40.320 was much darker. Chavez's philosophy echoes Marxist rhetoric about the proletariat and the
00:31:47.240 bourgeoisie. At a UFW convention in 1981, Chavez proclaimed, I would not take one cup of coffee
00:31:56.700 from a grower, and he means a farmer. There's not a good one. I hate them. A few presents, a little
00:32:03.580 talk, then the noose. That's how capitalism works. This is the hero of the left. It isn't just his
00:32:12.760 rhetoric that sounds alarm bells. Early in his career, he worked with Saul Alinsky, the community
00:32:18.620 organizer who defined the modern leftist playbook in Rules for Radicals. Chavez and the UFW later
00:32:25.620 implemented Alinsky's tactics, fostering confrontational, divisive organizing. Then
00:32:31.840 there is the recent revelation of his extensive sexual abuse of minors. The behavior is not
00:32:39.140 distinct from other far left figures such as joseph stalin to mao to kim jong-il communist
00:32:45.840 and socialist leaders often share a troubling connect connection to sexual predation we should
00:32:52.320 not be surprised that evil ideology attracts evil people by the way that's a sentence worth
00:32:59.860 remembering. We should not be surprised that evil ideology attracts evil people. If the warning
00:33:09.480 signs around Chavez have existed for decades, why did he become the face of an entire ethnicity in
00:33:16.180 America? Partly because he was effective at mobilizing Mexican Americans in California,
00:33:20.920 using rhetoric that created a lasting us versus them mentality. But how did that ideology extend
00:33:29.560 to Texas. Chavez never belonged to the Tejano heritage the same way he does in Chicano culture.
00:33:37.080 The Chicano culture and movement are a direct outgrowth of the California Hispanic labor
00:33:43.140 movement in the 60s and 70s. On the other hand, the Tejano culture traces back to the Mexican
00:33:49.540 settlers of Texas prior to Texas independence and is a component of what created the Texas identity.
00:33:56.080 That history is also tied to farming and a cowboy ethos that is incompatible with Chavez's ideology.
00:34:05.940 Texas agriculture thrived because of ranchers like my ancestors who embraced a free market approach, not because of unions or collectivist movements.
00:34:17.460 Before the New York Times expose, one could argue that Chavez fought for Mexican-Americans and deserved gratitude.
00:34:23.960 Yet his legacy has encouraged a troubling mindset. To be loyal to one's Hispanic heritage, one must embrace left-wing ideology. On campus, I was often labeled a, quote, race traitor at conservative events, accused of, quote, wanting white approval or dismissed as, quote, too white passing to comment on border and immigration issues.
00:34:47.140 By the way, Jorge Ramos on Spanish television accused me of being a traitor to my race, so I'm quite familiar with that.
00:34:56.960 The type of tribalism promoted by Chavez is just like any other kind of identity politics, limiting and stereotyping the people it is intended to empower.
00:35:07.560 In the political climate in which Texas Hispanics are considering Republicans on the ballot, it is clear why the left is feeling threatened.
00:35:17.140 So why is the street in Austin named after Cesar Chavez?
00:35:20.800 Why did his statue watch me as I walked to class?
00:35:23.720 The answer is clear.
00:35:25.980 Ethnic tokenism. 0.54
00:35:27.540 It was fitting for Bill Clinton to award him a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
00:35:32.800 By the way, Bill Clinton, speaking of sexual predators, there may have been a reason there.
00:35:36.800 And for Joe Biden to display his bust in the Oval Office. 0.98
00:35:41.660 Joe Biden literally put up a bust of Cesar Chavez, who was a child rapist, in the Oval Office. 0.91
00:35:47.960 Chavez represents the Hispanic worker, the political left wishes we all were, 0.83
00:35:55.220 obedient to a union boss and beholden to collectivist ideology.
00:36:01.020 The UFW announced it will not be celebrating Cesar Chavez Day this year amid the allegations.
00:36:06.020 The idol, all Hispanics were once expected to adore, is finally falling from his pedestal. 0.99
00:36:12.840 My hope is that we do not replace him with another.
00:36:17.140 Look, I think that is exceptionally well written.
00:36:20.020 Well done.
00:36:20.500 And I have to give a little credit to The New York Times for actually publishing it.
00:36:23.680 Yes.
00:36:24.560 Agreed.
00:36:26.120 Like, I'm shocked.
00:36:27.760 I really am.
00:36:28.720 Now, to be clear, Chavez is not a current leftist leader.
00:36:31.580 If he was a current leader of the Democrat Party, I don't think they would have published it.
00:36:37.060 But given that he's dead and buried, I think it was after the fact. 0.98
00:36:42.620 and look what is sad is that so many Democrats so many leftists knew that he was a child rapist 0.86
00:36:49.880 and they kept their mouths shut because ideology mattered more than truth or protecting kids
00:36:56.400 as always thank you for listening to verdict with Senator Ted Cruz Ben Ferguson with you don't
00:37:02.260 forget to download my podcast and you can listen to my podcast every other day you're not listening
00:37:06.280 to verdict or each day when you listen to verdict afterwards I'd love to have you as a listener to
00:37:10.960 Again, the Ben Ferguson podcast, and we will see you back here on Monday morning.