Of Cruz's character I shall remain silent, but I will state that this was a colossal error for an ostensibly intelligent politician to make at a particularly sensitive time. Cruz has lost the pulse of both his party and the country at large, because the public isn't buying this as a Major Threat To Our Democracy. There is
another thread concerning what they do believe. This is a very polarized issue and Ted is trying to straddle a fence over nothing. Middle ground here not only won't get him votes, it will get him rightfully disdained - there just isn't much there there.
This issue is, in fact, a massive political swindle even greater than the Russian Dossier sham and Cruz is apparently buying it hook and line, hoping that if he spits the sinker out he'll look like a moderate. It doesn't work like that.
[[I will state that this was a colossal error]]
It is one that he has wedded himself to for a year now