Cruz Urges Senate Not to “Rubber Stamp” Nominee Who Hates Conservatives, Says Kennedy’s Cross-Exam Will Be “Taught in Schools for 100 Years”

On 1/20/2022, before the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on the nomination of Dale Ho to the federal bench, Senator Ted Cruz delivered a blistering speech urging his colleagues not to “rubber stamp” a nominee who described himself as a “wild-eyed leftist” and was “motivated by his hatred for conservatives.” Cruz praised Senator Kennedy’s earlier cross-examination of Ho as something that “will be taught in confirmation schools a hundred years from now” and challenged Democrats to exercise independent judgment rather than voting in lockstep for every Biden nominee.

”Wild-Eyed Loon”

Cruz opened by noting Ho’s own self-description. “When I say wild-eyed loon, you would think that’s some hyperbole. Well, I can tell you how Mr. Ho describes himself. He didn’t quite say wild-eyed loon. He described himself as a, quote, ‘wild-eyed leftist,’” Cruz said.

Cruz then quoted from Ho’s church newsletter: “‘Dale, do you do what you do because you want to help people? That’d be good. Or because you hate conservatives?’ And here’s his answer: ‘Anger can in fact be a tremendous source of power.’”

“Now I want you to pretend for a second that you’re a New Yorker who’s a conservative,” Cruz continued. “They do actually exist. They may be in witness protection, but they do actually exist. You’re a conservative in New York and you find yourself in Judge Ho’s courtroom. Someone who describes himself — he writes in his church newspaper — how much he hates conservatives. Are you going to get a fair shake?”

Insulting Multiple Committee Members

Cruz highlighted what he called an unprecedented record of personal attacks. “Mr. Ho, in the last two years, has managed to personally insult on Twitter Senator Blackburn, Senator Cotton, Senator Hawley, Senator Lee, and Senator Cornyn,” Cruz said. “I have to admit I feel kind of offended that I got left out of his insults. Apparently I’m not doing my job well enough.”

“I don’t know of another nominee to this committee who has gone out of his way to personally insult as many members of this committee. That’s extraordinary,” Cruz said. “You know what that isn’t? That isn’t a lawyer who’s hoping to be a judge, who’s trying to live a careful life, who’s trying to be buttoned down.”

Kennedy’s Cross-Examination

Cruz praised Senator Kennedy’s earlier questioning of Ho during the confirmation hearing. “Everyone in this committee remembers John Kennedy’s withering cross-examination of the poor fellow in this committee — that it will be taught in confirmation schools a hundred years from now,” Cruz said.

During that exchange, Kennedy had pressed Ho on whether he meant his insulting tweets. “Do you generally tweet things you don’t mean?” Kennedy asked. Ho responded: “I’ve contributed to the coarseness on Twitter sometimes by pushing the envelope to break through.”

“You either meant it or you didn’t. You got two choices — door A, door B,” Kennedy pressed.

“I do regret it, Senator,” Ho finally said. Kennedy delivered the follow-up: “Do you regret it because you didn’t mean it? Or do you regret it because it might cause you not to be confirmed?”

Democrats as “Rubber Stamp”

Cruz’s sharpest criticism was aimed at his Democratic colleagues. “Democrats don’t say no. It doesn’t matter what wild-eyed loon this White House nominates — like lemmings, Democratic senators vote for him,” Cruz said.

He posed a hypothetical: “The turnaround — there’ll be another Republican president and just wait and see. You may see a judicial nominee who’s personally insulted and ridiculed three, four, five, six Democratic members of this committee by name just a year or two before they were nominated. Will that piss you off? It should.”

“I actually would hope the Republicans on this committee would show enough dedication to principle to exercise advice and consent,” Cruz added. “I don’t understand why Democrats don’t do that.”

Filibuster Hypocrisy on Russia Sanctions

Cruz also flagged a separate irony. “We even saw last week, 44 Democrats willing to filibuster to prevent sanctions on Russia while Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine,” Cruz said. “Never mind the irony that this is simultaneously while Democrats are giving speeches calling the filibuster a Jim Crow relic while they’re filibustering — which is a level of gymnastic flexibility remarkable even for the United States Senate.”

The Vote

On January 20, 2022, the Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked on Ho’s nomination, with all Republicans voting against and all Democrats voting in favor.

Key Takeaways

Cruz urged the Senate not to “rubber stamp” nominee Dale Ho, who described himself as a “wild-eyed leftist” motivated by “hatred for conservatives.”
Ho had personally insulted five Republican Judiciary Committee members on Twitter within the prior two years.
Cruz praised Kennedy’s cross-examination as something that “will be taught in confirmation schools a hundred years from now.”
Ho admitted he regretted his tweets but Kennedy pressed: “Do you regret it because you didn’t mean it, or because it might cause you not to be confirmed?”
The Judiciary Committee deadlocked on Ho’s nomination along party lines.

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

He described himself as a wild-eyed leftist. Dale, do you do what you do because you want to help people or because you hate conservatives? Anger can in fact be a tremendous source of power.
Everyone in this committee remembers John Kennedy’s withering cross-examination. It will be taught in confirmation schools a hundred years from now.
Do you generally tweet things you don’t mean? I’ve contributed to the coarseness on Twitter sometimes by pushing the envelope.
Democrats don’t say no. It doesn’t matter what wild-eyed loon this White House nominates — like lemmings, Democratic senators vote for him.
I have to admit I feel kind of offended that I got left out of his insults. Apparently I’m not doing my job well enough.
Do you regret it because you didn’t mean it? Or do you regret it because it might cause you not to be confirmed?

Full transcript: 1008 words transcribed via Whisper AI.