Ted Cruz promises to put 'rock-ribbed conservatives' on the Supreme Court

Before he became the Senate’s government-shutdown specialist, Ted Cruz was best known as a lawyer who’d argued many cases before the Supreme Court. So it stands to reason that he’d have strong feelings about who he’d nominate to the court if he becomes president. And because he’s Ted Cruz, well, he would have none of this John Roberts weak tea, he told Bloomberg’s Sahil Kapur:

… the accomplished Supreme Court litigator and former Texas solicitor general said he'd only settle for “rock-ribbed conservatives” who have “a long paper trail as principled conservative jurists.” His ideal contender would be someone who has refused to bow to pressure, rather than a “stealth candidate” without a demonstrable conservative record.

Cruz cited Souter and Roberts (whom Cruz praised at the time he was appointed, an appointment Cruz has since called a mistake) as examples of “stealth” Republican-selected nominees without a proven conservative record. If more conservative judges like Edith Jones and Mike Luttig were picked, he argued, Obamacare would have been struck down in 2012 and states wouldn't have lost their authority to ban same-sex marriage. (Both cases were decided by a 5-to-4 margin.)

No, President Cruz would go for the likes of Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito, William Rehnquist, and Clarence Thomas. He did show himself to be a bit of a squish on one far-right issue, though: Cruz doesn’t think minimum wage laws are unconstitutional. So there’s that.

The Supreme Court talk is a valuable reminder, though, that, with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia, and Anthony Kennedy all over 80 years old when the next president takes office, the stakes of the 2016 elections are damn high. Right now, we have a court that has not only voted 5-4 on marriage and Obamacare, but has chipped away at our rights in cases like Hobby Lobby  and Harris v. Quinn. Imagine if the balance tipped decisively toward the Scalia wing of the court. It’s not impossible, and it would be horrific.