Unlike Biden, GOPers Decided to Ignore The Option They Knew Would be Best for America
On This Day In 2016
Joe Biden dropped out because he knew that while it would end his own career, it would be best for the United States. In today's OTDI, top GOPers make the exact opposite decision--they selfishly put aside the country for the sake of their own careers.
Today's focus: Ted Cruz represents all that’s wrong with the once-proud party of Lincoln, Eisenhower, and Reagan.
Originally, Cruz was on the right track when he pointed out a few of the traits that afflict Donald Trump: In his words, Trump is "utterly amoral….Morality does not exist for him." He added some depth to that assessment: “This man is a pathological liar. He doesn't know the difference between truth and lies. He lies practically every word that comes out of his mouth.”
Also, "Donald is a bully... Bullies come from a deep, yawning cavern of insecurity." And on the ethics side, he’s a “serial philanderer.”
Despite Trump’s being a “sniveling coward,” Cruz claimed “there have been multiple media reports about Donald's business dealings with the mob, with the mafia.”
From a policy perspective, Trump lacks the knowledge of a high-schooler: The NYT reported that Cruz “alluded to Mr. Trump’s seeming unfamiliarity in the last debate with the nuclear triad — the country’s three ways of firing nuclear weapons — and questioned his sources for foreign policy information.”
“If this man were to become president, think about the next five years, the boasting, the pathological lying,” Cruz warned.
And how might Trump respond to all of this? “It seems his reaction to everything is to throw a fit,” observed Cruz.
So, in light of everything, Cruz ruminates: “If I were in my car and getting ready to reverse and saw Donald in the backup camera, I'm not confident which pedal I'd push."
Trump then returned the fire, going so far as to disparage the looks of Cruz’s wife Heidi.
Then OTDI 2016, a day after Trump accepted the GOP nomination at the convention, he was basking in the glow of victory. So, naturally, he chose that moment to…spread a preposterous lie (first appearing in the National Enquirer) that Cruz’s father was involved in JFK’s assassination.
Eventually, Cruz recognized that Trump’s behavior was utterly unprecedented. So, thankfully, Cruz and the rest of the GOP stood up to that narcissistic, amoral coward and, for the good of the country, requested that Trump bow out of that race.
Nah, actually Cruz fell in line with other GOP “leaders” and proudly gave Trump his ringing endorsement, despite understanding in his core what an odious human being Trump is and how horrible his ascension would be for America.
Postscript #1: It was later revealed that the National Enquirer paid to suppress bad stories about Trump and, with the knowledge of the Trump Campaign, ran knowingly-false pieces to harm his opponents.
Postscript #2: We here at OTDI can’t resist pointing out what Ted Cruz’ college roommate said about him. Well, we’ll encourage you to please read the “pillow talk” here
Postscript #3: Last week, Michelle Cottle had a story in the NYT: “Meet the Flip-Flop Club: 7 Republicans Who Kissed the Ring.” Cruz was, of course, among them. But it’s worth also reading about those six other spineless GOPers who put the needs of their careers above the needs of the United States. Cottle is too diplomatic to say it: These are despicable politicians whose names should be lumped with those of other turncoats whose actions helped maim, rather than build up, the United States. By endorsing and normalizing a man they knew was rotten to his core, they helped bring upon the U.S. the mess in which our nation finds itself today.
Dive Deeper
Washington Post reported on Trump’s day-after shot at Ted Cruz’s father
The Daily Beast chronicles the insults Trump hurled at Heidi Cruz
Texas Tribune reported on Cruz endorsement of Trump
More Cruz wisdom, compiled by the BBC
Even more back-and-forth, on BI