DisappoinTED
Ted Cruz’s rough night in Cleveland leaves a hangover
CLEVELAND — The Republican National Convention was really just like a big old house party on Wednesday night.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz crashed the shindig, but for a while, everyone was totally glad to see him. He said all the right things, injected some much-needed life into the party and even brought killer nachos. Dude.
But then he stayed way too long, and said something wrong. So there was a fight. A big one. Things got loud, really loud.
Luckily, Mike Pence went to the door when the cops came. Everything’s cool. Turns out he’s the hero.
What Cruz said, and didn’t say, caused all sorts of trouble in Cleveland Wednesday night. He gave a well-received speech at Donald Trump’s big party, but refused to endorse the nominee. He told delegates to vote their “conscience,” a heavily loaded word inside a convention where “conscience” was the battle cry of Never Trump.
Delegates booed and yelled at Cruz. The Trump family sat stone-faced. For the second time at this convention, the TV and streaming images of this convention got ugly. And, uh oh, here comes Donald.
In the morning came the hangover.
“He was my guy,” said Iowa delegate David Chung, of Cedar Rapids, who originally backed Cruz but now supports Trump. He hoped Cruz would do the same and honor his pledge to endorse the nominee.
“But he didn’t keep his pledge,” Chung said. “Disappointed is the kindest way I can put it.
“Ted Cruz had an opportunity to be a statesman,” Chung said. “In some ways he had an opportunity to be the hero of the party. He’s a young guy. Donald Trump serves eight years, and I hope he does, Ted Cruz could very well have been the next guy to carry Republican principles forward. Disappointed’s the word.
“I think it hurt unity in our party,” Chung said.
But will the damage last?
“I guess maybe the measure would be how many people have unfriended me on Facebook because I said I’m disappointed in Ted Cruz,” Chung said.
Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said Cruz had the convention in the palm of his hand, and then fumbled it.
“I think he missed a golden opportunity. I really do,” Kaufmann said. “All I see is downside.
“You don’t get a lot of moments like that in life. He gave up the best moment. But that’s not the only moment,” Kaufmann said.
Iowa delegate Bob Vander Plaats, a top social conservative and Cruz backer who is supporting but not endorsing Trump, sees Cruz’s rough night differently.
“You just can’t force people to get some place they’re not willing to go yet,” Vander Plaats said. “This is going to be a process. I think the Trump campaign is going to recognize that.
“Ted laid out in his speech the principles, the conservatism, the standing on the Constitution, that’s who you want to vote for. He also rebuked Hillary Clinton big time. So I think there’s a lot of positives there,” Vander Plaats said.
“It was a powerful message. I think it took guts and courage to show up and deliver that message,” Vander Plaats said.
So mixed reviews. But everybody praised vice presidential nominee Mike Pence, governor of Indiana, who spoke at the end of Wednesday night’s session and seemed to repair some of the damage.
Maybe, down the road, this will be Pence’s house party. Will Cruz be invited back? Maybe, but he’d better bring the nachos, and beer. Like really good craft beer. Lots of it.
