Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-CA) absence from the Senate and the Senate Judiciary Committee especially has gravely concerned the Left, and even has them "pissed" as they claim her absence is holding up judicial nominees. In his "Verdict" podcast posted on Wednesday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who also serves on the committee, held nothing back when it comes to how the radical left is "pissed," and the nuances of why that is.
🚨 NINE Biden family members got millions of dollars from communist China! Plus Dems go Wild, Attack Dianne Feinstein.🚨 @benfergusonshow https://t.co/yRoSBRX8dp
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) April 19, 2023
Speaking with co-host Ben Ferguson, Cruz reminded just how much the left and even members of her own party hate the 89-year-old senator, and for how long. It was in 2020 when Feinstein hugged then Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) after the confirmation hearing of now Justice Amy Coney Barrett. It wasn't Feinstein who replaced Graham when Democrats took control, but now Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL).
Cruz had something to point out about that, especially about the noteworthy timing of it all. "Now, Dianne Feinstein was slated to be the next chairman of the Judiciary Committee if the Democrats took the majority. Because the radical left wing was so angry, within days, Chuck Schumer announced Feinstein is no longer in line to be chairman of the Judiciary Committee," Cruz outlined, going on to mention quite the illustration. "Basically, he took Feinstein to a back alley and effectively shot her. And it was giving in to the most extreme left-wing voices the Democrat Party."
This move, Cruz explained, actually went against Senate rules. Feinstein's fellow Democrats have that much contempt for her. Durbin is the chair, as the next most senior member. He's also the majority whip, though. "Under Senate rules typically, the majority leader, the minority leader, the majority whip, the Minority Whip can't be a committee chairman also. There's a basic principle that if you have one leadership position, you can't have another one," Cruz laid out.
"Well, the Democrats decided, 'screw that. We're gonna make Dick Durbin both Majority Whip and Chairman of the Judiciary Committee.' Why? Because the radical left is so pissed at Dianne Feinstein," the senator emphasized.
From the Senate floor on Tuesday, when Graham formally blocked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-NY) request to replace Feinstein on the committee, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made clear it's "the small fraction of their nominees who are so extreme, so extreme, and so unqualified, that they cannot win a single Republican vote in committee" who are affected.
Cruz made the same point during the podcast, but went into detail of how Democrats don't have as much of an argument that they think they do, and that it is because of how Graham has voted for so many of President Joe Biden's judicial nominees.
"But, given that Lindsey [Graham] votes for practically all of them, the Democrats can move almost the entirety of Biden's judicial slate," Cruz illustrated. "The ones they can't move are the most radical or the most extreme or the or the nominees that are so extreme. They can't get even a single bipartisan vote. And the reaction of the radical left wing, number one, their primary reaction is throw Dianne Feinstein out force her to resign, shame her thrower out of the Senate," he explained.
While Schumer attempted to replace Feinstein with Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) by unanimous consent, Cruz explained that the majority leader could have also attempted to do so by a full vote. He offered though that the chances he'd get 10 Republicans were "really, really low," reminding that he and other senators, including and especially those on the committee, have come out against the idea.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who is on the committee, was among the first to confirm she would not vote for such a replacement. In a statement for Townhall on Tuesday, she offered that the "left doesn't know to define a woman, but they sure know how to discriminate against one." Blackburn memorably asked now Justice Kentaji Brown Jackson if she could define a woman during her confirmation hearing last year, though she claimed could not, as she's "not a biologist."
While Democratic men have put their sexism on display by calling on Feinstein to resign, female Democrats like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) are resisting the call to do so themselves. This is especially the case if they don't call on Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) to resign given his absence due to his health concerns. While Fetterman returned when the Senate came back from its recess, him chairing a subcommittee on Wednesday did not go well.
He's actually only been in the Senate for a few days, since getting elected, Cruz reminded, adding "none of these radicals who are calling to throw Dianne Feinstein out are calling to throw Fetterman out."
There's another kind of racism and sexism Cruz was clear about, in that Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has made clear he will only appoint a black woman to replace Feinstein. "So if you're white, you need not apply. If you're a man, you need not apply. If you're Hispanic you need not apply. He is openly and explicitly racist and sexist and saying who he will appoint. Now, if you look at the primary contenders, there's only one of those candidates who's an African American woman," he said, referring to how Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) is running to replace the retiring Feinstein in that 2024 Senate race.
It's worth reminding that Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), the first sitting member of Congress to publicly call on Feinstein to resign, has endorsed Lee.
Cruz even made a quip about the likely frontrunner in that Senate race next year, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who had earned Pelosi's endorsement. "That being said, I suppose Adam Schiff could announce tomorrow that he identifies as an African American woman, but absent his doing that Barbara Lee is the only person who qualifies. The Radical Left would love for Feinstein to resign and Barbara Lee to be appointed to the race and give her a leg up over Schiff and Katie Porter," Cruz offered, speaking also of Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA), another candidate in the race, who is white.
Not only is Feinstein not the only one who has experienced an illness--she is recovering from shingles--she's also not the only elderly member. "Look, the Senate is a body with a crap ton of really old people like the they're a bunch of people in their 70s and 80s. I've served with a bunch of colleagues who are way past their expiration date. It's striking to me that the only senator I've ever seen that a party has tried to drive out because of health is Dianne Feinstein," Cruz pointed out.
Most concerning of all perhaps is that "Joe Biden is profoundly mentally diminished. None of these left-wing radicals calling for throwing Dianne Feinstein out are calling for throwing Joe Biden out." Not only are Biden's fellow Democrats not calling on him to resign, but, unlike Feinstein, he is expected to run for reelection in 2024.
"And so it raises an obvious question, why the double standard? Why is she the target of their ire," Cruz concluded the segment with, speaking about the lack of calls for Biden or Fetterman to resign.
It would seem that Cruz answered that question for himself.