Glenn talked about the latest Obama scandal -- federal snooping that even Al Gore found ‘obscene’ -- during an interview with Ted Cruz on radio today.
Full transcript below:
GLENN: Here's Senator Ted Cruz. How are you, Senator?
CRUZ: Glenn, it's always good to be with you.
GLENN: It's good to be with you, sir. It's an honor. I tell you, I've said this several times on the air but I want to say it to your face. We thought you were really good. We supported, as you know. However, quite honestly, we're like, is this guy going to be his dad? Is he going to be as good as his dad would be?
CRUZ: Well, now, that's setting an impossible bar there.
GLENN: No, I know that. No, I know that. And we wondered. We thought, is he really going to do what he says he's going to do. You are a blessing, sir. You ‑‑
PAT: You have lived up to everything we expected and then some.
GLENN: I mean, we will, we will have to have you destroyed if you turn.
PAT: Of course.
GLENN: But it is ‑‑ it is refreshing to see somebody actually go and do what they say they're going to do, stand against all of the heat. And I think you have given a lot of people a lot of hope.
CRUZ: Well, that's a thank you, Glenn. I appreciate it. I appreciate the tremendous work you do every day, standing up and speaking the truth to power.
GLENN: Well, I have ‑‑
CRUZ: When they don't like to hear it.
GLENN: Yeah.
CRUZ: And so, you know, from my end, I just feel fortunate to have the chance to try to serve and try and stand up and do the right thing. I find it curious why there are not 99 others doing exactly the same thing.
GLENN: Oh, I can't ‑‑ with everything that's going on, I mean, the latest now is the NSA. The NSA just taking, you know, being ‑‑ going to Verizon and saying, "We want the records of people." These aren't even ‑‑ they're not even terrorists. You don't even have to be apparently on a terrorist list anymore.
CRUZ: Right.
GLENN: That they're just taking your phone records and everything else. And that's only one. That's only Verizon. Millions of people, Americans, are being spied on right now by the government, and what do you think's going to happen here?
CRUZ: Well, there's a pattern unfortunately of this administration not respecting the Bill of Rights and not respecting the Constitution. And we've seen over and over again their willingness to, I think they view the Constitution as essentially a pesky obstruction to carrying out their agenda. So whether it is the First Amendment, going after journalists and media and seizing their phone records and e‑mails; or trying to take away the right of servicemen and women to share their faith; or whether it's the Second Amendment, stripping away our right to keep and bear arms; or whether it's the Fourth and Fifth Amendment, either with drone policy targeting Americans or with the NSA not respecting our rights of privacy and conducting unreasonable searches and seizures, or with the IRS targeting those they perceive to be their political enemies. It is a very troubling pattern and it is one that I think every American, conservative or liberal, should be concerned when the federal government arrogates to itself so much power that it admits no limits under the Bill of Rights and Constitution.
GLENN: So we were just having this conversation because the IRS is in contempt. I mean, they have missed now two deadlines. I don't know why we don't padlock their doors, quite honestly, and do to them everything that they do to the American people. But they're not in compliance now with congress. They are arrogant, everybody just keeps getting more promotions, nobody ‑‑ nobody seems to be afraid of anything in Washington anymore. And Pat and I were talking and said will the American people, with the NSA and the IRS and everything else, will they finally say enough is enough. And he brought up a really good point, and I want to ask you this question. He said, how does anybody say enough anymore? We had our opportunity at the election and how are you going to say enough? What is it that ‑‑ what is it that the American people can do now? Isn't it too late?
CRUZ: Well, you know, there's quite a bit we can do. I mean, I understand the frustration, and there are certainly consequences to elections. And one of the consequences is that we are going to have to deal with people in office who are abusing their power. But the American people can nonetheless stand up. You know, if you look at the last six months, I found it very encouraging. We have seen in the U.S. Senate a small band of committed conservatives beginning to stand up, to stand and fight. And what has happened is that grassroots conservatives all over the country have rallied to stand for principle and that has been able to move the Senate and to win the fights.
You know, if you think back to the fight over drones, when I was proud to be standing shoulder to shoulder with Rand Paul filibustering for 13 hours, that was viewed as a fringe issue, as a quixotic issue, and yet millions of Americans engaged, spoke up, got online. And in those 13 hours, the Obama administration was forced to what it had refused to do for three straight weeks, which is admit that the Constitution limits their power to target Americans.
Just so on guns. You know, when the tragic murder occurred up in Newtown and this administration shamelessly began trying to exploit that horrific crime, not to target criminals, not to go after bad guys but to restrict the constitutional liberties, the right to keep and bear arms of law‑abiding citizens.
I've got to tell you in Washington the sense was that was unstoppable. This was a freight train that could not be stopped, and what happened was incredible. Again, a small band of conservatives initially stood up, and grassroots activists all over the country rose up, called their senators, called their representatives. And when it came to the floor of the Senate, every single proposal that would have undermined the Second Amendment was voted down, and it was voted down because the American people spoke up and spoke up loudly.
GLENN: Okay. The IRS. The IRS is completely out of control, and I said on the air yesterday ‑‑ and by the way, I mean, between you and Rand Paul, I feel like I'm cheating on one when I'm speaking to the other because I just, I would ‑‑ I mean, the throw‑down could happen at any moment with the two of you. I'm in so much love with you. But with the IRS ‑‑
CRUZ: You know what? We are all fighting for the same mistress.
GLENN: I know, I know. Now here's the thing. With the IRS, when you came out and I saw this ad on our network and it was abolish the IRS, I think it was abolishtheIRS.com or something like that. And I saw that and I said, the best thing that has ever happened in my life. Wife, children, whatever: Ted Cruz being elected. How ‑‑ as I said on the air yesterday, this is the opportunity to abolish the IRS.
PAT: Yeah.
GLENN: It really is. How do we do it?
CRUZ: Well, Glenn, let me first step up and try and protect you and say for the record that you didn't mean that.
GLENN: (Laughing.)
CRUZ: I'm really trying to protect the (inaudible).
Look. This is an opportunity for the American people to understand that too much power in Washington is fundamentally a threat to our liberty, and the best solution ‑‑ look, the IRS, we discovered it believed it had the power to demand from ordinary citizens, number one, what books are you reading? Prepare book reports on the specific books you're reading. We learned from other citizens it demanded to know, tell us the content of your prayers. What are you praying for? You know, you can't make this stuff up. And you and I both know the federal government has no business and no constitutional authority at all to inquire of any American the content of our prayers. And fundamentally this is about too much power in Washington. The best solution is padlock the whole place. Shut it down and move to a simple flat tax. Every American I think should be able to fill out their taxes on a postcard. And in addition to limiting that out‑of‑control power in Washington, it would also have enormous positive effects on the economy.
You know, every year we spend $500 billion on tax compliance that is totally wasted. Far better to have that going to economic growth and new jobs.
GLENN: So again, how do we do ‑‑ what would help you get that done? Do you need people with flat tax signs surrounding the capitol? What is it that would get that moving?
CRUZ: What I would encourage people to do is to sign up, speak out, and join the effort to spread the momentum. So I would urge folks, come to my website, which is TedCruz.org. Sign up online there. We've got a petition to abolish the IRS right on the front page of TedCruz.org. I would urge everyone listening, sign that petition. Number two ‑‑
GLENN: I am signing right now.
CRUZ: ‑‑ spread it to your friends. You know, there are links right on there to share it on Facebook, to share it on Twitter, to send e‑mails about it. Build the momentum and spread the word. The more people that come together and speak out, the more momentum we have to get people's attention.
PAT: Senator, do you really think it's ‑‑ I mean, is it possible? Because it's always seemed like ‑‑ I mean, the fair tax people talk about abolishing the IRS all the time and you say, blah, blah‑blah, it's not going to happen. Is it ‑‑ do we actually have a real opportunity here if we move forward on this?
CRUZ: It depends. I mean, if you're asking do we have the votes today on the floor of the Senate to abolish the IRS? The answer's no.
PAT: Yeah. No.
CRUZ: We don't have the votes today.
GLENN: But wait a minute. This is the beginning. We've been talking about this.
CRUZ: Right.
GLENN: This is the beginning of Watergate. I mean ‑‑
PAT: It will take time.
GLENN: It will take time but in two years ‑‑
PAT: It could spread fast.
GLENN: It could spread really fast. You couple the NSA, healthcare, and the IRS, Americans will say ‑‑
CRUZ: Yep.
GLENN: ‑‑ "You're not collecting anything from me. I don't want anything. I don't want to give you any information. I'll tell you this is what I made, subtract 15%, there it is, get out of my face.
CRUZ: Yeah. And as you know, the person who was in charge of persecuting conservative groups is now put in charge of ObamaCare.
GLENN: I know.
CRUZ: Is now the lead enforcer for our healthcare system. They are developing the largest database the government has ever assembled on the American citizenry. And that ‑‑ you know, so the question is can this be done? As I said, we don't have the votes today, but if enough people sign up on the petition, if enough people speak out, if we start to get hundreds of thousands and then millions of people speaking out, writing op‑ed columns, writing Facebook columns and then focused on calling their senators and their members of congress, I've got to tell you, elected officials pay attention when the citizens speak up. It gets their attention. How did we win the gunfight? The number one way we won the gunfight is hundreds of thousands of people began lighting up the phone of senators, and those senators who were wobbling, who were on the edge suddenly started saying, I got how many calls? And it was amazing how when the people speak up, spinal fortitude can be increased.
GLENN: Okay. So let me switch to another topic here, another extraordinarily dangerous person, Samantha Powers. Most people in congress and in the Senate have absolutely no idea who Cass Sunstein even is or that Cass Sunstein ‑‑ what you're seeing in the IRS I am absolutely convinced is Cass Sunstein's work. It is the way he operates. He knows ‑‑ he knows what the law is and the regulations, and he floods you with paperwork. He floods ‑‑ all that was happening with the IRS was a targeting and a nudge. Nudge them, keep nudging and then a little, maybe a little bit ‑‑ put a little shoulder into that. Kind of shove them a little bit. But that's all that is. That's Cass Sunstein. His wife is wildly, wildly anti‑Israel, and she's now been named, Samantha Powers, she's now been named as the nominee for the ambassador at the UN. She's a dangerous woman. She's the one who was the architect behind Libya.
CRUZ: Glenn, I think you're exactly right. I think the nomination of Samantha Power is deeply, deeply troubling. It follows a pattern of this administration, particularly in the second term. They seem to be seeking out in the foreign policy arena people who have been radicals, people who have been extreme, who have been far outside the mainstream. You know, she has publicly written, for example ‑‑ you and I both were quite vocal criticizing the president the for beginning his first term by going on a worldwide apology tour, by going to tyrants and despots and apologizing for the United States.
What's amazing is Samantha Power has tubally not only embraced her view that America needs to keep apologizing, she has gone so far as to explicitly urge, quote, instituting a doctrine of the mea culpa, which as you know is Latin for basically groveling and saying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." You know, Glenn, no nation in the history of the world has spilled more blood, has sacrificed more for the freedom of others than the United States of America, and I don't understand what it is with these leftwing academics where they are compelled to constantly grovel, you know, before tyrants like Castro and Cuba and North Korea about apparently their embarrassment about the United States. She has been strongly critical of our support of Israel.
GLENN: Oh, yeah.
CRUZ: Like many academics.
GLENN: No, she ‑‑
CRUZ: She is a hardcore interventionist and, in fact, she believes we should send our men and women into harm's way for whatever causes she deems humanitarian. Mind you not or our national security interest but ‑‑
PAT: Including protecting Palestine against Israel.
GLENN: Right. She wants a ‑‑
PAT: Amazing.
GLENN: ‑‑ force to stand there and protect the Palestinians against Israel.
PAT: Amazing.
CRUZ: That is exactly right. And let me just read a quote from her which I wish this were on video and not radio because it would be fun to see your head explode. Here's the quote. Quote: We have to believe in international law and binding ourself to international standards in the interest of getting others bound to those standards.
PAT: Wow.
GLENN: Yeah. No, I don't think so.
PAT: Wow.
GLENN: There goes my head. Ted, I've got to ‑‑ I've got a network break I have to take, but I would love to have you on again. You are doing God's work and I thank you so much. Please, please remain humble and please, I beg of you, say your prayers on your knees every night. Please remain humble and know who you're in the service of and it's ‑‑
CRUZ: Well, thank you, Glenn. All of us have much cause to seek God in prayer and we're all standing up trying to save our country, and I'm certainly honored to have the chance to serve with so many millions of Americans who are praying and standing for this nation.
GLENN: We'll talk to you again. Thanks, senator.
CRUZ: Thank you, Glenn.
GLENN: Senator Ted Cruz, one of the absolute heroes of our day, I believe. Pray protection on him that he doesn't lose his soul.
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