I get it. I don’t agree with it, but I get it. Ted Cruz’s endorsement of Donald Trump late last week was not all that surprising, considering the circumstances. Trump has been doing better than expected in the polls and Cruz is facing the possibility of a tough reelection for senator in a couple of years. Trump even suggested that former Texas governor Rick Perry would be a good pick to challenge Cruz. So Cruz became opportunistic and endorsed Trump, explaining his decision by citing some policy differences between Trump and Hillary Clinton.
After all the negative things Cruz has said about Trump, he endorses the man for president of the United States. The man he called a sniveling coward, a con man, utterly amoral, a narcissist, a serial philanderer, a bully and a pathological liar. The man he refused to endorse at the GOP convention, telling everyone to “vote your conscience.” The man who called Cruz’s wife “ugly” and said Cruz’s father was part of the JFK assassination.
So what changed? What transpired in the last few weeks to make Cruz suddenly change his mind and endorse Trump?
Ted Cruz’s explanation is that it’s just too important to defeat Hillary, but I think everyone knows he’s doing damage control on his 2018 senate reelection race. Any continued animosity between him and Trump would be a liability, certainly if Trump manages to win the election and become president.
So I get it. It’s politically expedient for Cruz to endorse Trump in order to help himself get reelected And I do hope he gets reelected. Ted Cruz is a very valuable conservative senator who needs to remain a thorn in the side of liberals in the capitol, be they Democrat or Republican.
However, my support for his presidential campaign and for his reelection to the Senate does not mean I have to back his play on Trump. It might be difficult for Trumpsters to understand, but most people who support Cruz do not follow blindly and go along with whatever his position of the day happens to be. Trump famously said that he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not lose any supporters. I believe that is true and it says something about his supporters. The same cannot be said for Cruz supporters.
I back the ideology, not the candidate.
Donald Trump’s ideology is not mine and I will not support him. He is not a conservative. Earlier this year I wrote a post saying that I will never join the Trump cult. It still goes.
I will not support Trump as the new face of conservatism. Conservatism has taken enough beating already without Trump adding to it.
Character matters. Supporting Donald Trump would mean I am forfeiting my right in the future to ever speak to this issue. Blindly supporting the Republican candidate would mean I am putting party over principle. That will never happen.
As the Democrats move further to the left and openly promote socialism, the Republicans have also moved left and promote liberalism. Gone are the days when it was a given that the Republican candidate was a staunch supporter of individual liberty and limited government.
And if the Republicans continue to nominate men such as Trump to be president, gone are the days when I will cast a vote for president.
“If we must have an enemy at the head of government, let it be one whom we can oppose, and for whom we are not responsible.” – Alexander Hamilton
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