I sort of think he’s pain in the butt as well, but he’s a smart one, and a lot of important politicians have been people who were willing to break a few eggs, as the saying goes.
Cruz is clearly very very intelligent, and has real principles, and is able to articulate them.
I think if the Conservative movement wants to (finally) get their candidate to be the Republican nominee, that they need to coalesce around one name, and I see no reason that name shouldn’t be Cruz.
He may not check every one of your required boxes, but if there are 6 issues you really care about, and he is with you on 5 of them, you should not splinter off and find the one no-hope congressman who agrees with you on all of them.
A brilliant man who believes in the Constitution and can articulate it. He is everything I need in a candidate. If I tweaked anything about him, I’d have him just not discuss personal religious issues but be strong on religious freedom for everyone.