Cruz Booed as He Refuses to Endorse Trump

I will be the first to admit that I hold no love for Ted Cruz.  I find the man to be slimy, a liar, an extremist and dangerous among other things.  But tonight Cruz showed that he has some shred of conscience and conviction - unlike all the Republicans who have prostituted themselves to Donald Trump - when he refused to endorse Trump at Trump's own coronation convention.   As a result, Cruz got booed from the stage, but before that happened he made the case that Republicans need to vote their conscience in November.  Obviously, Cruz hopes that Trump crashes and burns and that the 2020 nomination will be his for the taking. But in another sense, perhaps Cruz recognizes just how large a danger Trump poses to the nation.  Politico and CBS News among others have coverage.  Here are highlights from Politico:

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz got booed off the stage Wednesday.

The Texas firebrand delivered a prime-time address at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland and urged Republicans to vote their conscience in November, prompting disapproval from the thousands of Republicans on the floor of the convention.
“To those listening, please, don’t stay home in November,” Cruz said, a plea that suggested he was about to endorse Republican nominee Donald Trump. But he didn’t.

“If you love our country and love your children as much as I know that you do, stand and speak and vote your conscience,” Cruz said. “Vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution.” “Heidi and I are so honored to join you here in Cleveland, where LeBron James just led an incredible comeback victory. And I am convinced America is going to come back, too,” Cruz said at the outset of his remarks. He spoke for more than 20 minutes before he was booed off the stage.

[F]ellow conservatives in recent days had increased pressure on the Texas senator to fall in line behind Trump. After it became clear Cruz would not be endorsing the GOP nominee, the crowd in the Quicken Loans Arena broke out in chants of “we want Trump,” to which Cruz replied, “I appreciate the enthusiasm of the New York delegation.” The audience proceeded to break out in overwhelming boos. As Cruz concluded his speech, cameras cut to Trump arriving in the arena, giving the crowd a thumbs up.

As much as I loath him, have to say kudos to Cruz.  Had more of the GOP establishment held by their principles rather than expediency or putting winning elections ahead of all else,  the GOP would not be the insane cesspool that it is today.