Ted Cruz’s electrifying performance at the 2016 Republican National Convention will be long remembered, and deservedly so. At a critical moment, when the party of Lincoln had uncomfortably but nonetheless thoroughly embraced a lifelong Democrat/reality star/violence-abettor – and when few leading Republicans had demonstrated the courage to oppose him — Cruz did. Politicians live for the adulation of crowds and it’s bracing, even thrilling, to see one stand up straight when suffering its jeers. Cruz was particularly effective because he dropped the southern preacher style he affected during the primaries and spoke plainly.

And yet, and yet. One can never quite get over the sense with Cruz that everything is calculated. He took a risk, yes, but there is high potential gain for him in being perceived, whatever happens in November, as the voice of pure Republican conservatism. Cruz was a pillar of strength last night, God bless him. But let’s not forget that John Kasich has not bowed to the orange god either, nor has Mitt Romney, or Ben Sasse, or many others.

There is so much to admire about Cruz – and I don’t doubt that if his plan had worked and he’d been elected, he would have made a good president – but he also must bear some measure of responsibility for what has happened to the Republican Party, and thus, to the country. Together with talk radio and Fox News celebrities, Cruz wove the tale of Republican Party betrayal that so alienated and embittered Republican voters against his own party. From the moment he arrived in Washington, Cruz lacerated Republicans as part of the “Washington cartel.” His specialty was the attention grabbing gesture like the filibuster against Obamacare. It had no chance of success, but positioned Ted Cruz very well with the “base.”