Many establishment Republicans and most Democrats do not like Ted Cruz. They consistently say, particularly in the news talk shows, that he is far too radical to be the Republican nominee.

In writing this article I am not endorsing Ted Cruz. In fact, the only person I publicly endorse is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only perfect person to have ever lived a perfect life. This simply reminds us that everyone else — kings, premiers, prime ministers and presidents — is most imperfect.

However, I do want to publicly say that I admire some of the traits and characteristics of Mr. Cruz. The most conspicuous trait I admire is that Ted Cruz is a true conservative. Most Republicans in Congress are not authentic conservatives. They talk the talk, but they don’t walk the walk. Cruz does both.

Republicans in Congress blame the Democrats for the $18 trillion national debt. Well, these Republicans are a bunch of hypocrites. If you check their voting records, most have joined the Democrats in borrowing money to pay the national budget.

George W. Bush, a big-spending liberal president, is one of our worst presidents. First, invading Iraq was a stupid mistake. Saddam Hussein was certainly a bellicose leader. However, if he were still the leader of Iraq, Iran would not be a problem. Saddam would have kept the Iranian leaders from getting and keeping political power.

Bush, along with his fellow liberal Republicans and Democrats, did not pay for the war against Saddam. What did they do? They simply borrowed the money. Bush added at least $4 trillion to the national debt.

Again, I respect Ted Cruz because he is a true conservative. Because of this, people like Mitch McConnell and establishment liberal Republicans can’t stand him. Instead of Cruz, they want status quo Republicans like Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush.

I hated to read that Ellen Gilmore died recently. I respected Mrs. Gilmore very much. When she ran for public office, she came by my house and asked me to vote for her. I have lived in LaGrange for nine years. During that time, Mrs. Gilmore is the only candidate to come to my house and request my vote.

I voted for her for two reasons. First, she personally, individually asked me to vote for her. Second, she was a true conservative. Yes, she talked the talk. But she also walked the walk.

To be honest, I don’t like liberal, status quo, establishment Republicans. Why? Because they are a bunch of hypocrites. What the Republican Party really needs are more people in Congress like Ted Cruz, people who will vote consistently to lower the national debt and to demand that the United States live within its means. If we fail to control our national spending, then we are headed for bankruptcy.