Friday, September 23, 2016

Integrity Is Such A Fleeting Thing






A post on this blog on July 21 was entitled "For one day, Ted Cruz stood above all."  Cruz had incurrred serious wrath at the Republican National Convention by suggesting "If you love our country and love your children as much as I know you do, stand and speak and vote your conscience" rather than automatically casting a vote for GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.







Evidently someone had hacked into my computer that day because I could not have been so foolish (or short-sighted) to argue "as for integrity, he showed a lot more than the other politicians in Cleveland."

Whatever integrity there was in that Texas politician's character had a short shelf life, for now he has written on his Facebook page a long message which includes

After many months of careful consideration, of prayer and searching my own conscience, I have decided that on Election Day, I will vote for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump.
I’ve made this decision for two reasons. First, last year, I promised to support the Republican nominee. And I intend to keep my word.

Second, even though I have had areas of significant disagreement with our nominee, by any measure Hillary Clinton is wholly unacceptable — that’s why I have always been #NeverHillary.

Salon's Sophia Tesfaye notes "On the day that he dropped out of the race, Cruz took his criticism of Trump to a new level, accusing him of being a 'pathological liar,' a 'serial philanderer' and an 'utterly amoral' “bully."   Evidently, the bullying of Ted Cruz, if not by Trumpites, has worked. Urged by Texas Republicans to challenge Cruz when the latter's seat comes up in 2018, U.S. Representative Mike McCaul only a few days earlier had said of the Senator "I think what he did at the convention turned off a lot of people. I mean, he pledged to support [Trump]. He broke his word."

Of course, Cruz's pledge to support whomever his Party would nominate for President came before the Senator's wife was attacked by Donald Trump and before Trump accused the Senator's father, Reverend Rafael Cruz, of hanging out with Lee Harvey Oswald. Such assaults are generally not expected, especially one so nasty as against the Senator's wife, nor so bizarre as directed at the father.

The news of Cruz's about-face inspired a Princeton University roommate, Craig Mazin, to tweet "to understand why Ted is doing this, first make sure to begin every thought with 'I am supposed to be President.'"  Blood may be thicker than water but thinner than ambition. In the Cruz-Trump faceoff over their wives, the Texan had referred to Heidi Cruz as "the love of my life." Up to a point, apparently.









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