>>Cruz and Trump are both imperfect but they agree far more than 80% of the time...<<
Are you kidding? Trump doesn’t agree with himself even 80% of the time. How is Cruz supposed to best that?
Do you think, for instance, Cruz considers Putin a “strong leader” in the sense that Trump means it?
I would wager that if you could actually get Trump to write down what he would do in terms of policy on 100 issues, he would be incoherent on well over half of them, and that Cruz would disagree with him most of the time.
For starters, Trump is not a constitutional conservative. As soon as the Constitution gets in the way of a President Trump, it will be treated as toilet paper, exactly the way he’s been treating the state delegate rules that have been getting in his way lately. Cruz, however, is the epitome of a constitutional conservative. The difference between the two is stark, and it amazes me how many people in here fail to realize that fact.
http://www.ontheissues.org/Donald_Trump.htm
http://www.ontheissues.org/Ted_Cruz.htm
Trump has evolved on abortion, roughly five years ago. He can say abortion is wrong and should be stopped but does not articulate the details well. Cruz has always opposed abortion and articulates the reason much more clearly. I count that as a match, even though they differ on details.
Trump has supported the death penalty for at least 16 years. He says it is "uncivilized" to let murderers live. Cruz argued for the death penalty in front of the Supreme Court and won. I count that as a match too.
Trump and Cruz differ on what I consider minor public education details, but both want to end Common Core and cut the Department of Education. Another match.
Trump has opposed gun control for at least five years and says that guns save lives. Cruz has supported the Second Amendment for his entire adult life and can probably quote both the Federalist Papers and the actual debates to explain why our God-given individual right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. I count that as another match.
Both want to get rid of illegal immigrants, secure the border and modernize our legal immigration system. Both want to repeal Obamacare. There are differences in the details, but I call those a match.
I am concerned about Trump's current sincerity and his future flexibility on these issues, but his position for about the past five years has been reasonable on a whole lot of issues. I trust Cruz completely, to remain conservative for life, but I am concerned about trying to nominate Cruz, rejecting Trump on the first ballot, and then having a rules change that gives us Kasich. Of the viable choices, only Trump and Cruz are remotely acceptable, and both paths have more or less comparable risks.
My current goal is not to advocate for Trump over Cruz or the reverse. My goal is to advocate for civility on FR now and for unity in the general election from July through November. I don't believe I can convert freepers between the two candidates, and I have chosen not to try. I believe I can soften the tone and reduce the number of #NeverTrump and #NeverCruz voters, a group that would only help Hillary. Given the destruction that would follow a Hillary win, I consider that a worthy goal.