How about this...
Conservatism works. It works every time it is tried. Sometimes it is a hard sell. Sometimes taking medicine and eating broccoli is not fun but it is necessary.
We are losing the ideological and political battles because conservatism is not being defended. The policies of easy fixes, easy money, I'm O.K. you're O.K., do what "feels" right, identity politics, etc... are what are winning the political battles today. We need to get back to the idea of "What works best?". When that the subject of debate, conservatism will win out.
Cruz actually understands the principals of conservatism. He has been debating Austrian economics and Constitutional issues since he was in middle school. He has defended them in front of the Supreme Court (AND WON). He knows this stuff through and through. He can explain to the American people why these principals are right and what the consequences are for abandoning them, not just say that he is "for this and against that".
We need to start winning the argument in front of the American people before we can start winning elections or changing policy. Cruz is the one to do that. He has been doing it his whole life. Trump has no clue what the basic tenets of conservatism are. He currently supports a few policies that are indeed correct and desperately need to be undertaken. I have no confidence whatsoever that the policies he supports today will be the ones he fights for 2 or 4 or 6 years down the road. Simply look at the policies he advocated 6 years ago from today.
I can be reasonably sure that Ted Cruz will continue to effectively advocate the same conservative principals he has been for 25 years. That is why I support him.
To me, what Cruz believes or doesn’t believe is utterly irrelevant. I’ve seen him flip-flop enough not to believe him and, even if I did, he has zero chance of winning against Hillary since has absolutely no cross-over appeal or name recognition whatsoever.
Your recycled Rush argument was almost cogent until you start trashing Trump with nothing to back it up.
Just more smoke, mirrors and jealousy.