Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) ripped a proposed constitutional amendment by Democrats that he said would effectively "muzzle" free speech for both conservatives and liberals Tuesday at the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The amendment, proposed by Sen. Tom Udall (D., N.M.), would reverse campaign finance decisions like Citizens United and allow Congress to regulate the spending and raising of money.
"Why is there not a liberal standing here defending the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment?" Cruz asked.
Cruz also went after the amendment in an op-ed printed in the Wall Street Journal, warning that if spending money can be prohibited, so could any form of effective speech.
"Forty-two Democrats have signed their name to a constitutional amendment that would give Congress the power to muzzle Planned Parenthood and the National Right to Life," he said. "42 Democrats have signed their name to giving Congress the right to muzzle the Sierra Club, to muzzle the the National Rifle Association and the Brady Center on Handgun Violence. To muzzle Michael Moore and Dinesh D'Souza. To muzzle the Teamsters and the National Education Association. To muzzle the NAACP. To muzzle the Anti-Defamation League. To muzzle pastors and priests and rabbis who organize their parishioners to be involved in politics."
Cruz said he was introducing two bills later in the day to protect free speech, adding senators who put their names behind Udall's amendment should be "embarrassed."
[H/T Talking Points Memo]