‘I’m really shocked his campaign went so far.’
Everything else you posted was excellent—great analysis. I quibble with the above, however. As soon as Cruz selected Jeff Roe to run his campaign, no further shocks should have been forthcoming. Cruz told us everything we needed to know at that moment; what followed was entirely predictable.
Roe has a very broad and well known reputation: win at any cost. Any cost to include lies, smears, dirty tricks, cheating, you name it. That is who Roe is; that is how he runs campaigns.
Nobody hires Roe to run a clean, ethical campaign. That would have been like hiring Bill Clinton, in his heyday, to run a coed-only college. Unless by ‘run the college’ one means, ‘treat it like a harem,’ Bill would have been the wrong person for the job.
Likewise Roe. A candidate hires Roe to haul his butt across the finish line in first place, no matter how dirty the campaign must be that gets him there. Cruz tried, for PR purposes, to portray himself otherwise, but actions speak louder than words. As soon as Cruz put Roe in charge, the cheating was history.
What you have said about Jeff Roe has been demonstrated repeatedly along the campaign. he sure lived up to his reputation, and more some. Snake hires a fellow snake and they slither together.
And back to the topic of the article, I’d venture to say that Cruz is raising more snakes and has purchased a brand new big tent.