Ted Cruz was on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show on Wednesday, and he went hard after Planned Parenthood, the Obama Department of Justice, the Democratic Party, and Hillary Clinton. This is what Republicans need to be saying:

HUGH HEWITT: Should Republicans refuse to fund the government even if Planned Parenthood funding is there, even if it means a shutdown, Ted Cruz?

TED CRUZ: Yes, we should use every procedural tool we have to stop the taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood. This should not be a difficult question. This is something I have been calling for for many, many days. Anybody who hasn’t watched these videos – these videos are horrifying. They show senior Planned Parenthood officials laughing and sipping chardonnay while they barter and sell the body parts of unborn children. I want to encourage everyone, if you can stomach it, to watch these videos. And even if you are pro-choice, even if you support abortion, ask yourself watching these videos, are these my values?

Now one of the real consequences – Hugh, you’re a very experienced lawyer. These senior Planned Parenthood officials are apparently on film confessing to multiple felonies. It is a federal felony to sell the body parts of unborn children. It carries up to a 10 year jail term. If we had even a shred of integrity at the U.S. Department of Justice they would already have opened an investigation, and would prosecute both the individuals who are caught on tape and Planned Parenthood as a national enterprise for being a national criminal enterprise. And how striking is it that the modern Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton are so extreme that they are willing to threaten to shut down the government in order to try to force continued taxpayer funding – your taxes and mine – going to an ongoing criminal enterprise that is committing a pattern of multiple felonies.

HEWITT: … If it comes down to it in September when the continuing resolution runs out, if the Democrats insist on it, are you for – and that means shaping your message now, getting ready for it – are you for shutting down the government until Planned Parenthood is defunded?

CRUZ: Well, I’m not gonna accept the premise. I’m not for shutting the government down but I am not for funding Planned Parenthood, and we should not under any circumstances pass legislation that funds Planned Parenthood. If the Democrats decide to filibuster it, if Obama decides to veto it, then he’s shutting down the government.

Right on, Senator.

Thomas Valentine is a researcher for APIA and a junior at the Franciscan University of Steubenville.