Texas Sen. Ted Cruz believes Justice Anthony Kennedy should quit the Supreme Court immediately.
Cruz, who ranks third in the Washington Examiner‘s most recent GOP presidential power rankings, said on the “Steve Deace Show” that Kennedy’s opinion in the Obergefell v. Hodges decision, which sanctioned gay marriages nationwide, showed the justice’s arrogance, hubris and contempt for the Democratic process.
“Is there a point where these rulings, statements become so, not just unconstitutional, anti-constitutional, that resignation, impeachment is in line for these judges?” Deace asked.
“Of course Justice Kennedy should resign,” Cruz said. “In the wake of the Supreme Court’s lawless decisions on Obamacare and marriage, I publicly called for a constitutional amendment subjecting Supreme Court justices to periodic retention elections just like you have in the state of Iowa.”
“If Supreme Court justices are going to behave like politicians and try to make law instead of following the Constitution, they should subject to Democratic accountability,” he added.
Cruz’s call for Kennedy’s resignation comes as the Supreme Court justice likened his position to the judges in Nazi Germany. Kennedy made the comments at Harvard Law School.
“How many judges do you think resigned in the Third Reich?” Kennedy said. “Three. Great respect it seems to me has to be given to people who resign rather than do something they think is morally wrong in order to make a point. However, the rule of law is that as a public official performing your legal duties, you’re bound to enforce the law … It would be difficult for me to say that people are free to ignore a decision of the Supreme Court. Lincoln went through this in the Dred Scott case. These are difficult moral questions.”
Cruz said he found Kennedy’s comments “stunning.”
“His opinion that [marriage between one man and one woman] is no longer sufficiently enlightened is not law,” Cruz said. “People are not obliged to obey justices who are defying the Constitution, defying the law, who are committing acts of judicial tyranny.
“And these statements from Justice Kennedy show just the utter contempt he has for the rights of the people to pass the laws to govern ourselves,” he said.
