Monday morning, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas announced his run for White House at Liberty University in Virginia. As a Republican, all I could do was try not to throw-up.

According the Associated Press:

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has opened the first major campaign of the 2016 presidential season with a kickoff speech courting cultural conservatives.

One of several Republican hopefuls to rise from the tea party movement, Cruz spoke at Liberty University, the college founded by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell.

Cruz addressed his religious faith, his father's Cuban roots, and declared: "For so many Americans the promise of America seems more and more distant."

He says his mission is about "reigniting the promise of America."

A familiar stop for presidential hopefuls, the selection of Liberty University is meant as a marker against potential rivals who are also counting on Christian conservatives to fuel their ambitions.

As I mentioned above, I'm a Republican. Actually, I'm a moderate Republican (yes, we do still exist). And the idea of Ted Cruz running for the presidency makes me want to scream - for a number of reasons.

First of all, I can't stand the far-right wing of the Republican Party, of which Cruz is the poster boy. Their extremist (yes, I used that word intentionally), almost archaic, view of the way the world should be is frightening. They have a vision in which the whole world would be better off if we all (and that includes the world) just believed in the same thing, and anyone who believes otherwise is just - evil.

To them, everything is black and white. Good and evil. They are right and everyone else is wrong. Well, I got news for them, the world is very much grey.

That approach has resulted in a fracture of the Republican Party that has made it impossible for them to accomplish anything. If it isn't their way, it isn't the right way, so no way.

Second, Ted Cruz is every bit the politician. For those who think he is there to promote conservative ideals and make the world better - forget it. He's there to promote himself.

He's there to get himself elected president. Ever since he began his political career just about everything he has done has been to further HIS political career with the end goal being the White House.

The grand-standing, the filibusters, everything has been to get himself in front of cameras to create a brand for himself that he can use to run for president.

Note how I said "run" for president - not "be" president.

Finally, his decision almost certainly puts Hillary Clinton in the White House - something that makes me just as ill, if not more so.

Don't believe it? Just Google "Barry Goldwater" and you'll understand.

As with Goldwater, Cruz's far-right wing ideals may play to the conservative base, but it will totally alienate moderate Republicans, moderates in general, liberals and fence-sitters. And as arrogant as some on the right-side of the party may be, you can't win the White House without those voting blocks (OK, you're not going to get the liberals period, but the others definitely).

The result: Hillary wins.

Of course, I don't think it will get that far because I don't think Cruz will even win the Republican nomination. Again, he is playing to the far right-wing, but he will be fighting Rand Paul (let's face it, he's going to run) for those same votes, as well as some of the more mainstream Republicans who will court the same group.

Despite being the most vocal, there are just not enough of those right-wing votes to carry a candidate to the nomination.

All the Republican candidates will try to destroy each other in commercials, debates and speeches in attempt to win the nomination. Leaving some Republican voters to say "I won't vote vote for Candidate B for president, because my Candidate said he wasn't conservative enough."

Meanwhile ALL Democrats will be united behind Hillary (that sound you heard was me gagging).

So by the time we get to the general election, who ever comes out of the Republican Primaries will be damaged goods.

The results: Hillary wins.

I just wish the Republican Party would stop giving in to the far right-wing of the party. Just because they're the most vocal, does not mean they're always right. It is time for the rest of the Republican Party to stand up to those blowhards and stop giving in to them all the time.

Unfortunately, as long as John Boehner is speaker, that isn't going to happen. But that's another story.

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