Remember back in the day when endorsing a presidential candidate meant you shared that person’s vision for the country and thought they were the best one for the job? In today’s Republican Party—meh—not so much. Take Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, with his ringing endorsement of Ted Cruz:
“The defeat Donald Trump would face against Hillary Clinton would probably be epic and historical,” he said. "I’m not going to support him.
“Obviously, Kasich is so far behind that it’s hard for him to get the numbers. By process of elimination, that leaves you with Cruz. At this point, there’s no other option.”
Then there’s Sen. Lindsey Graham’s heartfelt embrace of a Cruz presidency:
Asked whether Cruz would make a good president, Graham responded that his Senate colleague, whose murder he has joked about, "would make a better president than Donald Trump, for damn sure ...
"Would he make the best president? No, I don't think so ... As far as whether Kasich would make a better president than Cruz, Graham replied, "Think so. So what's your point?"
And let’s not forget Donald Trump’s biggest supporter, Dr. Ben Carson, who, when asked about the possibility of raising someone’s likability numbers, said:
“Well, first of all, it is interesting, I did have high favorables. People liked me but they didn't vote for me. And Trump has horrible numbers, but they vote for him,” Carson responded, chuckling. “I don't know that there's a great correlation there.”
Ouch, ouch and ouch. The only thing that comes to mind here is, talk about damning with faint praise!
(Please note: Being endorsed by a Republican would also mean you are probably a misogynistic, bigoted, fearmongering racist. So there are two reasons to avoid it.)