As indicated here, at the debate last night all three Republican Presidential candidates backed off of their pledges to support the eventual Republican nominee. I have listened to each of the squirrelly statements from all three candidates and only one warrants commendation and correction:
Trump should be commended for stating clearly that he does not intend to honor the pledge of support. This is something neither Cruz nor Kasich had the guts to state clearly. But, about Cruz, he also said:
He doesn’t have to support me. I really don’t believe I need his support…
Trump’s reasoning here is all wrong.
If we go back in time to the first debate, Trump was the only one unwilling to pledge to support the eventual nominee. He and the other candidates pondered it and then all of them eventually signed a pledge to support the eventual nominee.
Here is the content of the pledge signed by all three:
I, ________, affirm that if I do not win the 2016 Republican nomination for President of the United States I will endorse the 2016 Republican presidential nominee regardless of who it is,
So my question to you is who is that pledge to? The RNC? Reince Priebus? The Republican Party? All fellow Republican presidential candidates? The media? Almighty God? No one?
That pledge was made to each person contemplating voting for one of those 17 Presidential candidates. It was a promise made that affected our decisions here in Virginia on March 1, 2016. It was a promise made that influenced decisions of voters and delegates in 33 separate primaries and caucuses prior to last night. It was a promise I took seriously. It was a promise that bolstered my comfort and confidence in the process. It was a promise that reminded us that we are all on the same team. It was a promise that when this was done we would all go off and gleefully or reluctantly pull the lever for our nominee in November.
The only problem with Trump’s statement above is that he acts as if he has the right to release Cruz from his pledge.
Maybe come November 9 the Republican party will be a largely empty shell because our candidates have forgotten who got them there.
Disclaimer: I was a Rand Paul supporter and now support Ted Cruz, and unlike our remaining Presidential candidates I will still support our nominee in November.
