I Agree With Ted Cruz

I have found very little I can agree on with Ted Cruz in this election.  Until this week.

Now that Cruz has dropped out of the race for president, one question remains:  will the junior senator from Texas vote in November for the man he called an utterly amoral bully, narcissist, "pathological liar," " a serial philanderer," and unfit to be president?

And what about all the others in the Dump Trump movement, who may not have expressed themselves in the same words but shared the sentiment?

Jeb Bush said he won't vote for Trump.  His father and older brother said they wouldn't endorse him, but won't say whether they'll vote for him.

All the living former Republican presidential nominees have – so far – refused to endorse Trump but are vague about whether they'll vote for him. Only one, former Sen. Bob Dole, the 1996 nominee, said he'll attend the convention.

There's been no shortage of Republican candidates and party leaders telling journalists – "please don't use my name" – that they think Trump will be a disaster for the party, not only leading it to defeat in November but down the ticket in other races as well.

Their biggest worry has been that Trump – or Cruz – would be such a weight on the party that Democrats would retain control of the Senate.

Senate Republican colleagues like Mitch McConnell, John McCain, Lindsey Graham and a number of others must have mixed emotions.  They don't care for either man and they really can't stand Cruz.  They think he'd be a terrible president, but they aren't happy to see the most despised member of the Senate return.

Now that Cruz and John Kasich went back to their day jobs and Trump is the presumptive nominee, many who trashed him privately are rushing to make up and get on board.  Probably not as many as he boasts, but they are lining up.

Sheldon Adelson, who has enough money to buy Trump several times over, has thrown his support – though it is unclear how much of his money will follow – to Trump.  It's likely he wouldn't have made the announcement without discussing it first with — and getting no strong objections from –  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,

Whatever you may think of Cruz, he's on target saying Trump doesn't understand the difference between truth and lies.

 “Whatever lie he’s telling, in that minute he believes it," Cruz said. "But the man is utterly amoral. Morality does not exist for him.”

After months of standing by silently with his trademark smirk while Trump verbally assaulted every other Republican contender for the presidency, Cruz finally met his saturation point when Trump tried to link Cruz' father to the Kennedy assassination, citing as his source the National Enquirer, which is published by a Trump pal David Pecker.

Look for Trump and Pecker to turn those accusations, innuendos and smears on the Clintons. 

If you thought Trump ran a nasty primary race, you ain't seen nothing yet.

About the Author
Douglas M. Bloomfield is a syndicated columnist, Washington lobbyist and consultant. He spent nine years as the legislative director and chief lobbyist for AIPAC.
Comments