For much of the last several months, Ted Cruz fed an albino alligator, hoping it would eat him last.
When Donald Trump said horrible things about women, immigrants, and POWs (just to name a few), Cruz chose to keep the peace. Now, the alligator has turned on him. And some are wondering if it might be too late to do anything about it.
But really, the fact that Cruz played this game is indicative of why so many people find him personally repellent. It might (or might not) have been the smart political calculation to hug Trump for so long, but sucking up to The Donald was less than chivalrous or honorable.
The truth is that a lot of people personally dislike Ted Cruz. And if he wins the nomination, think of the message it will send. It will say that you can basically show up at your job, begin lecturing and undermining your colleagues on day one, and then be rewarded with the nomination.
This has led to an interesting debate among mainstream conservatives and establishment Republicans: Given a binary choice, who is the lesser of two evils: Ted Cruz or Donald Trump?
Here’s where it’s important we put philosophy ahead of our personal tastes. There are no perfect candidates, but it is reasonable to conclude that Ted Cruz would largely govern as a conservative—and (perhaps most importantly) make conservative Supreme Court appointments.
Donald Trump’s past liberal positions, coupled with his “wild card” personality, make it much harder to game out how he would govern (were he to win the presidency).
If it comes down to a binary choice between these two men (and that’s still a big if), people who care about conservatism should cast aside personal feelings and past slights—and support Ted Cruz over Donald Trump.
Note: The author’s wife previously advised Ted Cruz’s campaign for U.S. Senate.