“The only reason attacks continue on Ted Cruz is because he refused to help unify the party.”
Cruz, at the convention, said he was dedicated to stopping Hillary. I don’t know how else you do that than by voting Trump. Since the convention I have not heard a peep out of Cruz in any way critical of Trump, and I receive his emails. If you have seen or heard any, I will gladly acknowledge and condemn any such unhelpful comments from him.
“Donald Trump gave him his prime time slot at the convention, and all Cruz did was stab every conservative and Republican in the back, except for the GOPe, of course... Ted Cruz broke his pledge”
I think Cruz should have endorsed Trump. Or, at least he should have offered (in private) terms under which he would be willing to endorse Trump. I think though that many anti-Cruz, pro-Trump patriots here are a little inexperienced politically because they seem very naive about how primaries work and how endorsements work. But Cruz’s biggest error was to turn his nose up at Trump’s olive branches in which he twice suggested he might consider Cruz as his VP. Cruz blew it. That was his best shot at the white house. He could have provided Trump valuable legal and political expertise while learning from a proven leader. Cruz has very little leadership experience. Trump has a lot. Nevertheless, a promise to support is NOT the same as a promise to endorse. Cruz never pledged to endorse, and what he chose to do is not unusual at all. It was his choice to make. I think he made the wrong one. I also think he should not have deviated one iota from his approved speech.
“Nobody would be attacking Cruz if he supported the ticket, or even called off his misguided fanboys who are apparently running these ads.”
Wrong. The only thing that will stop these attacks against Cruz from OUR side is if Trump and Cruz reconcile. It will not be enough for Cruz to do anything in particular. It will be up to Trump to decide. And I do not think that can take place until Trump is in office. I had hoped for a team. I had hoped for party unity. Now the best I can hope for is that Cruz will help Trump get meaningful things accomplished. If so, maybe we will get some party unity. But that will also require getting rid of the real obstacles within the party. I am convinced that Cruz is not part of the GOPe. He is one of the few who stood against them. He has been wrong on some issues, like TPP, but on most he has been solidly conservative and one of the few to stand up to Obama, the Dems, and the GOPe.
“Ted Cruz should not have been, and he is only helping Hillary at this point.”
There are Cruz supporters, many who got kicked off this site, who are so alienated by the attacks on them for being Cruz supporters, that they are unwilling to support Trump. I understand that this is stupid. Beyond stupid. Even if every worst fear I and they have of Trump were to prove to be correct, he could not possibly be worse than Hillary if he tried. He just doesn’t have it in him to be that evil, even if he really wanted to be. For her, it is first nature. The problem is that many anti-Trumpers feel they are being asked to hold their noses again (after McCain and Romney) and vote for someone who is only pretending to be conservative to get elected. We know this is not true. But they believe it.
Trump has my vote. If he does not govern conservatively, I will speak out. But first we need to win, and he needs to have a chance to do what he promised. I am convinced he will do so. I believe he is a man of his word and will be a great president. But I think it is best not to attack Cruz and his supporters even if they are not supporting Trump. We need them to get over their hurt feelings and start using their brains. In the worst case scenario, Trump is light years better than Clinton. We simply cannot allow the Clintons back in the white house.
“Vote Trump!”
Agreed. And that goes for the Cruz supporters too.
Consider this one last thing. What will determine the winner of this presidential election is TURNOUT. Half of the population does not vote. Trump and Clinton are in a close race. Even if the outcome is a landslide, that landslide will be determined by a very small number of people. Every vote counts. We cannot pretend that we do not need Cruz supporters to win. We need everyone. We need to reach out to conservatives, liberals, moderates, democrats, republicans, independents, libertarians, minorities, all age groups, and anyone with a brain who is eligible to vote.
Clinton supporters have little enthusiasm. The dems will use tricks to stir up their base with things like racism accusations (e.g. calling whatever we say a dog whistle), and they will do everything they can to suppress voter turnout among conservatives and Trump supporters.
Don’t cooperate with them. Trump won the primaries. He is the nominee. It is time for his supporters to show sportsmanship toward opponents even if they do not deserve it. The message is, get over your hurt pride, hurt feelings, and help save the country. Yes, vote Trump.
>>I think Cruz should have endorsed Trump<<<
thanks or saying that and for clarifying your position - i respect that.
thanks fellow FReeper
vote trump! MAGA!
You are wrong. This is from Politifact:
The pledge was intended to get Trump to commit to not run as a third-party candidate. At the first GOP debate on Aug. 6, Trump said he wouldn’t rule out a third-party run.
The pledge read:
“I (name) affirm that if I do not win the 2016 Republican nomination for president of the United States I will endorse the 2016 Republican presidential nominee regardless of who it is. I further pledge that I will not seek to run as an independent or write-in candidate nor will I seek or accept the nomination for president of any other party.”
“So did Cruz sign the pledge? We couldn’t find a copy of the pledge itself and didn’t hear back from spokespersons for Cruz or the RNC Wednesday night.
However, in May spokespersons for Trump’s campaign and the RNC told PolitiFact Florida that all of the GOP candidates signed a pledge.”
“I think though that many anti-Cruz, pro-Trump patriots here are a little inexperienced politically because they seem very naive about how primaries work and how endorsements work. “
Sentences like this, is why many Cruz supporters were kicked off this site. Although, this is much more mild than some of the arrogance many displayed.