Republican presidential candidate and Texas Senator Ted Cruz dubbed the Supreme Court’s rulings on Obamacare and same-sex marriage as “some of the darkest 24 hours in our nation’s history” on Friday’s “Sean Hannity Show.”
Cruz began by saying, “Today is some of the darkest 24 hours in our nation’s history.” And “Yesterday and today were both naked and shameless judicial activism. Neither decision, the decision yesterday re-writing Obamacare, for the second time. Six justices joined the Obama administration. You now have Barack Obama, Kathleen Sebelius, and six justices responsible for forcing this failed disaster of a law on millions of Americans and simply re-writing the law in a way that is fundamentally contrary to their judicial oaths. And then today, this radical decision purporting to strike the marriage laws of every state. It has no connection to the United States Constitution, they are simply making it up. It is lawless, and in doing so, they have undermined the fundamental legitimacy of the United States Supreme Court.”
Cruz then touted the constitutional amendment he introduced that he stated would “protect the authority of state legislatures to define marriage as the union of one man and woman. We should pass that amendment,” and legislation stripping the federal courts of jurisdiction on marriage.
He further lamented the willingness of Republicans and Congress to push these issues, adding that “A lot of Republicans put out statements today saying they were unhappy, and they were crying crocodile tears. Because privately, they’re celebrating and popping champagne, they’re thrilled, number one, that the court didn’t throw Obamacare back in the laps of Congress…they don’t want to actually stand up and do anything to stop it. And they were overjoyed at the marriage decision, because they don’t want to defend marriage and they’re running away from it. And it is fundamentally dishonest and corrupt.”
Cruz continued that there was one positive, that the Supreme Court had made the 2016 election “a referendum on repealing Obamacare.” And “if you’re a 2016 presidential candidate, and you’re not prepared to stand up and lead that fight and campaign every day on repealing every word of Obamacare, then you need to get out of the way, because that’s what this election is all about.
He also discussed the possibility of impeaching justices, saying that “by no measure” did the Obamacare and gay marriage rulings constitute “good behavior.” However, he pointed out that the Senate would not impeach Justice Kennedy. He further criticized Chief Justice John Roberts, who he argued “was not an umpire, he jumped onto one of the teams and became effectively a member of the Obama administration re-writing the laws.”
Cruz then turned to other potential judicial reforms, such as retention elections, and predicted that if Congress does not enact structural changes to the judiciary, there would be increased support for an Article V Convention of the States.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.