When the Supreme Court stepped aside on Monday and let same-sex marriages take place in five states, the Republican Party kept quiet.
There wasn't a peep of protest from top potential presidential contenders like Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, or Paul Ryan. Speaker John Boehner said nothing. Neither did Mitch McConnell, nor the Republican National Committee. Heck, not even Rick Santorum, the social conservative warrior who made family issues central to his campaign for the White House in 2012, issued a statement after the court's ruling.
Enter Senator Ted Cruz.
The Texas Republican waited nearly seven hours and then issued a blistering statement calling Supreme Court's refusal to hear the appeals of states that had banned gay marriages "tragic and indefensible" and "judicial activism at its worst."
"By refusing to rule if the States can define marriage, the Supreme Court is abdicating its duty to uphold the Constitution. The fact that the Supreme Court Justices, without providing any explanation whatsoever, have permitted lower courts to strike down so many state marriage laws is astonishing.
He went on to say he would introduce a constitutional amendment to prohibit federal courts from striking down state bans on same-sex marriage.