Cleveland
When Ted Cruz refused to endorse Donald Trump at the Republican convention Wednesday night and instead urged Republicans to vote their conscience, it was one of the bravest acts in the political arena seen in a generation. Cruz deserves a great deal of credit for standing on principle at a time when so many other Republicans have surrendered to the corrupting influence of Trumpism.
That it was a brave and principled stand does not, however, preclude it from being self-interested. Throughout Ted Cruz’s career, he has been accused of putting his own political interests above those of his party. Most recently, Republican senator Dan Coats criticized Cruz’s speech Thursday, telling the Indianapolis Star, “No matter how conservative you are, you never can meet Ted’s standard. He only thinks of himself, he doesn’t think about party. He’s a wrecking ball.”
Often times these accusations have been misplaced, but there’s also a reason why people are weary of Cruz constantly presenting himself as the Last Principled Man. Indeed, there’s already a whiff of this emerging from Cruz confidants as they push back against the hyperbolic attacks over last night’s speech. Take this tweet from former senior Cruz advisor Brian Phillips:
Let’s not kid ourselves. The obvious retort is that Cruz made a political calculation when deciding to stand up to Trump. If Hillary Clinton gets 350 electoral votes in November because the GOP nominated the one candidate incapable of beating her, Cruz is going to be very well positioned politically.
There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging Cruz made a political calculation, especially since he did it by simultaneously standing on principle. But to portray what Cruz did as an entirely selfless act is wrong, and it would also be wrong of him to hog all of the anti-Trump spotlight for himself.
One of the unsung heroes of this week is Utah senator Mike Lee. The fact a sitting U.S. senator organized a revolt of the delegates from convention floor—and that the RNC and Trump operatives quashed that revolt by transparently violating the rules—was remarkable. And yet sources, including an advisor to a U.S. senator in Cleveland, tell THE WEEKLY STANDARD that in the days heading into the convention, Cruz wasn’t returning Lee’s phone calls.* Perhaps Cruz felt that it was best not to be seen helping a delegate revolt if it would jeopardize his primetime speaking slot, knowing it was a big opportunity to stand up to Trump in front of millions. But again, Cruz’s motivations here also aren’t above questioning.
Similarly, Ben Sasse, the junior senator from Nebraska, spent months as the only Republican senator willing to publicly criticize Trump. At one point he even physically confronted Fox News host Sean Hannity for his slavish coverage of Trump. He called the Republican convention a “dumpster fire” and didn’t even come to Cleveland. Sasse has stood in opposition to Trump from the beginning even though it has hurt him politically, and he’s even been subject to petty sniping from fellow Republican senators and the Republican party in Nebraska.
And aside from a handful of other members of Congress, there have been delegates and other party activists across the country—the Kendall Unruhs of the GOP—who deserve credit for fighting tooth and nail to preserve core Republican principles threatened by Trump.
*This piece has been updated since its original publication.
