Ted Cruz Drops Out, Securing GOP Nomination for Donald Trump. Sad!

Ted Cruz abandoned his bid for the GOP presidential nomination in the wake of his primary loss in Indiana, all but guaranteeing that reality TV star Donald Trump will square off against Hillary Clinton in November. 

Cruz told supporters in Indiana that he was staying in the race as long as there was still a chance he could be the nominee. That was no longer a remote possibility, he said. 

“Tonight I am sorry to say it appears that path has been foreclosed,” said Cruz. “We are suspending our campaign.” 

Cruz vowed to continue fighting for liberty, America, the Constitution—all that good stuff—in his remarks. He did not endorse Trump—he didn’t even mention him—and he declined to throw his support behind John Kasich, who is technically still in the race but has no chance of winning it. 

“The pundits all said it was hopeless,” said Cruz, referring to his ultimately doomed campaign. 

Cruz also warned Americans not to succumb to “a tyranny of political correctness,” or “creeping socialism.” 

Meanwhile, Bill O’Reilly has already begun selecting President Trump’s Cabinet for him: Rudy Giuliani for Secretary of Homeland Security, Chris Christie for Attorney General, and Ben Carson for Secretary of Health and Human Services. If that frightens you, keep in mind that the other 2016 option, Clinton, brags about censoring filmmakers who criticize her and organized the disastrous 2011 Libya intervention. 

Indeed, the all-but-certain Democratic candidate is as hawkish as the all-but-certain Republican candidate is anti-trade. This seems like a worst-of-both-worlds outcome. While Cruz was far from a libertarian on most issues, it can be argued that he at least understands the language of libertarians—particularly on civil liberties—and was bad in the same ways as previous Republican candidates. And Bernie Sanders, despite his avowedly socialist domestic policies, is a supporter of a refreshingly restrained foreign policy.

In (mild) contrast, there’s almost nothing for a libertarian to like about a President Clinton or President Trump (unless you trust Trump’s foreign policy—though you shouldn’t). 

If conservatives are serious about sticking to their #NeverTrump guns, they might consider giving this Gary Johnson fellow a chance. Or just not voting. There is no obligation to choose between the lesser of two evils. 

At the same time, while it’s certainly true that the government has far too much power—and that corrupt former First Ladies and megalomaniacal reality TV stars will grab as much of it as they can—not all aspects of life are dependent upon politics. Go be a free person, and keep at it, no matter who wins the White House come November.