“Why not write-in a vote for Ted Cruz?”
Because then half my ballot ammunition is wasted. Cruz will never win a write-in campaign. The intent of my vote, if I can’t vote for a viable conservative candidate, is to PUNISH the phony conservative who is lying to us about who he is, and lying to the public about who we conservatives are.
A vote for the dim doubles my efforts towards a RINO loss. RINOs are more harmful to the conservative movement than any open liberal ever has been.
But a write-in vote for a more conservative Republican individual conveys a far more unambigous message.