Ted Cruz and Dianne Feinstein had this explosive exchange at a Senate Judiciary Hearing on guns earlier today:
"The question that I would pose to the senior senator from California is," said Cruz to Feinstein, "Would she deem it consistent with the Bill of Rights for Congress to engage in the same endeavor that we are contemplating doing with the Second Amendment in the context of the First or Fourth Amendment, namely, would she consider it constitutional for Congress to specify that the First Amendment shall apply only to the following books and shall not apply to the books that Congress has deemed outside the protection of the Bill of Rights? Likewise, would she think that the Fourth Amendment's protection against searches and seizures could properly apply only to the following specified individuals and not to the individuals that Congress has deemed outside the protection of the Bill of Rights?
"I'm not a sixth grader," said Feinstein. "Senator, I've been on this committee for 20 years. I was a mayor for nine years. I walked in, I saw people shot. I've looked at bodies that have been shot with these weapons. I've seen the bullets that implode. In Sandy Hook, youngsters were dismembered. Look, there are other weapons. I've been up -- I'm not a lawyer, but after 20 years I've been up close and personal to the Constitution. I have great respect for it. This doesn't mean that weapons of war and the Heller decision clearly points out three exceptions, two of which are pertinent here. And so I -- you know, it's fine you want to lecture me on the Constitution. I appreciate it. Just know I've been here for a long time. I've passed on a number of bills. I've studied the Constitution myself. I am reasonably well educated, and I thank you for the lecture."
Finally, in response to Cruz's question, Feinstein likens so-called assault weapons to child pornography, which she suggests is a limit to the First Amendment and can legally be banned.
Senator Ted Cruz, joining Rand Paul's filibuster on the floor of the Senate:
"And I'm pretty certain--for the record, I can confirm that no teleprompter was in front of the senator from Kentucky's desk," said Cruz, taking a shot at President Obama's frequent use of Teleprompters. "Senator Rand Paul, Jimmy Stewart would be proud, sir."
Senator Ted Cruz, joining in support of Rand Paul's filibuster, said today was the first day he had the chance to speak on the Senate floor. "It don't get no better than this," Cruz said, quoting a beer commercial:
Senator Ted Cruz praised Senator Rand Paul on the Senate floor today for his filibuster. "Your standing here today like a modern Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," said Cruz, referencing the famous film, "must surely be making Jimmy Stewart smile."
Neither the secretary of defense nor the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke to the secretary of state during the 8-hour attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012. At a Thursday hearing in the Senate, Republican Ted Cruz asked both Leon Panetta and Martin Dempsey, "In between 9:42 p.m., Benghazi time, when the first attacks started, and 5:15 am, when Mr. Doherty and Mr. Woods lost their lives, what converations did either of you have with Secretary Clinton?"
"We did not have any conversations with Secretary Clinton," Panetta responded.
Republican senator Ted Cruz of Texas said Thursday that Barack Obama is "high on his own power" with regard to the president's announced efforts on gun control. Speaking on Laura Ingraham's radio talk show, Cruz, who was just elected to the Senate last November, said "this is a president who has drunk the Kool-Aid."
On July 31, former Republican senator Bob Bennett made a bold pronouncement on the Fox Business Network. “I do feel that the Tea Party wave is receding,” he said, “and it’s not going to be nearly as big a factor in this election as it was in 2010.” There was a tone of hopefulness in Bennett’s prediction. In 2010, the three-term Utah senator had been one of the Tea Party’s top Republican targets, losing his renomination with a humiliating third place finish at the state GOP convention.
Senate candidate Ted Cruz is projected to win the Republican primary runoff for U.S. Senate in Texas. With 37 percent of precincts reporting, Cruz has won nearly 53 percent of the vote over Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, who has won just under 46 percent. Dewhurst won the four-way GOP primary in May, but did not win the necessary 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff with Cruz.
A final poll of Texas Republican voters from PPP shows Ted Cruz leading David Dewhurst by 10 points in Tuesday's runoff election for U.S. Senate. Cruz, the former state solicitor general and favorite of conservative activists, has 52 percent support compared to 42 percent for Dewhurst, the lieutenant governor. Here's more from PPP's Tom Jensen, who says a Cruz victory is "likely":
Republican Senate candidate David Dewhurst received the endorsement Tuesday of former Dallas mayor Tom Leppert. Leppert, who came in third in the May 29 GOP primary behind Dewhurst and Ted Cruz, did not qualify to run in this month's runoff election.
Leppert's endorsement came shortly after a heated televised debate between Dewhurst and Cruz:
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