Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) turned to the Roman orations of Cicero to bash President Obama’s coming executive order on immigration Thursday.
He took to the floor of the Senate and delivered a speech that included one of Cicero’s most famous addresses, subbing in Obama’s name.
{mosads}“When, President Obama, do you mean to cease abusing our patience? How long is that madness of yours still to mock us? When is there to be an end to that unbridled audacity of yours, swaggering about as it does now?” he said, using the beginning of Cicero’s First Oration Against Catiline.
By substituting Obama’s name for Catiline’s, Cruz compared the president to a figure who sought to violently overthrow the Roman republic.
His speech comes hours before the president is expected to offer temporary legal status to millions of illegal immigrants and reform the immigration system by executive order.
Republicans have criticized his use of executive authority, calling Obama a “king” and “emperor.”
“If ‘Emperor Obama’ ignores the American people and announces an amnesty plan that he himself has said over and over again exceeds his constitutional authority, he will cement his legacy of lawlessness and ruin the chances for congressional action on this issue and many others,” said a spokesman for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).
Obama has previously said he is “not the emperor of the United States” to explain why he couldn’t suspend all deportations without congressional backing.