Republican candidate for president Ted Cruz has effectively cancelled the primary vote in Colorado through a tricky delegate selection process sanctioned by the Republican National Committee (RNC). Now, Cruz appears to be on track for more delegate manipulation in Nebraska. Basically, in serpentine maneuvering, the selection of delegates can be qualified based on which candidate they declare they are going to vote for. When all delegates pledge their votes for the same candidate, as in Colorado, there’s no need to hold an election to determine who the people actually want as president.
Washington insiders, and Cruz supporters, are praising this behavior as effective campaigning, and even chiding presidential candidate Donald Trump for his inexperience and underperforming ground game.
Bell toll: Circumventing the will of the people in a representative democracy is not playing a better ‘ground game’ (and this writer joins many others in calling out the RNC on this).
Cruz has repeatedly laid claim to the higher moral ground, indicating that he is answers to a higher-power in navigating his affairs. But now it appears that either the rudder has fallen from his guiding light, or Cruz has fallen from grace. And while his behavior of late is disappointing, Cruz gave cause for concern early on in this presidential race when he when he agreed to receive Glen Beck as his apostle.
Beck had even by then shown signs of veering off the rails into a perverted religious fanaticism, and perhaps a deranged, treatable, mental illness. He had made ridiculous statements regarding Donald Trump, told Christian who would vote for Trump that they are disobeying their God, and has given prophetic utterances that should have made Cruz supporters at least blush.
Yet, as represented on social media and in polls, the majority of his supporters ignored babbling Beck, or were bolstered by his outlandish proclamations.
While demagogues will always attract their blind followers, the refusal of Cruz supporters to call out Cruz for disenfranchising American voters is especially troubling.
But not surprising.
They have also been mute on the subject of Cruz’ serial prevarication. Cruz lied about Dr. Carson dropping out the race when he hadn’t. Cruz lied when he accused Donald Trump of instigating violence at his own rallies when, in fact, his gatherings have been plagued by paid agitators and disrupters inciting violence both outside and inside venues paid for by Donald Trump.
Instead of lying, Cruz, the constitutional lawyer, should be the first to condemn the actual culprits responsible for the campaign to deny Donald Trump and his supporters the free exercise of their First Amendment rights. But that would take character; the character Cruz claims to process, but fails to evidence.
