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Ted Cruz, Weasel
On my first viewing, I was quite moved by this:
Ted Cruz: "I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father." https://t.co/LMsN84Z2IT
— CNN (@CNN) July 21, 2016
On my second, I realized a very serious problem with it: By implication, Ted Cruz was fine — absolutely fine — with Trump mocking Ben Carson’s faith, a reporter’s physical handicap, and John McCain’s torture. And that’s just the stuff off the top of my head.
If Cruz had said “Trump’s attacks on my family opened my eyes to his abuses and I repent that I didn’t take a stand against them when others were similarly attacked” then I’d be really moved. As it is… Look, I’m glad to see someone show some spine, but I really wish it wasn’t so nakedly self-interested.
Published in General
FWIW, I said it was a dumb idea at the time.
If it had produced a degree more party unity in the event of, say, a Cruz or Fiorina nomination, it would have been valuable. One of the costs of this is that we’ve lost a cheap tool to help candidates win up and down ticket for the future (fights at the top also hurt downticket). If next time we have a field that looks like this one but without Trump, it would be a useful extra nudge to behave decently after losing. Except that now that a substantial chunk of those who took it have not abided by it (Paul, Bush, Graham, Cruz), it doesn’t seem likely to be treated as anything other than totally trivial.
But you did it anyway.