Last I checked, the loyalty document Cruz signed did not have a list of exceptions. Cruz broke the loyalty pledge, but that is the least of his worries now.
This so called pledge without condition is NONSENSE to say the least. The pledge to support someone SHOULD ALWAYS include IMPLICIT conditions.
Unconditional support is foolish.
Let's use Trump's own analogy as an example.
Suppose you pledged to support your party's nominee but the nominee was later discovered to have murdered someone ( using Trump's own analogy of his not losing anyone's support even if he were to shoot someone in fifth avenue). Should you still be bound by your pledge?
Every single pledge of support IMPLICITLY includes conditions. Among them are --- no surprise discovery of corruption or lawbreaking/good character/no skeletons in the closet, etc. To continue supporting a candidate despite any of these just because you made a pledge is foolish.
Now, if someone insinuates that your own father conspired to murder a President, repeats it more than once and never apologized for it, what does that tell you about his character? Why should you still be bound by the pledge to support him?
To do so would mean kissing is ring and making him your liege. It would also cause you to break the fifth commandment and dishonor your father.
Sp, Why are so many Republicans outraged by the exhortation to vote according to conscience? Aren't they confident in the case for Trump? Aren't they assured that he fits the description of a candidate "who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution"? Shouldn't this be a moment of affirmation? Shouldn't Republicans be able to honestly declare their conscientious support for their party's nominee? Really, what's the problem here?
The response to Cruz's exhortation demonstrates in rather unavoidable form what may be the worst problem facing the Trump campaign. His own voters don't believe in him. So many Republicans backing Trump today are doing so for no other reason than his status as the nominee. That's it.
And Trump has been proven right -- he could shoot someone in broad daylight and still not lose support. This is sadly, what the Republican party has already become -- a CULT OF PERSONALITY.
