The Register's Editorial

Just two days before Monday’s caucus, a number of carefully targeted Iowans received mailers from the Ted Cruz campaign. At the top of the letter, in a bright red box, were the words “VOTING VIOLATION.” The mailer explained:

“You are receiving this election notice because of low expected voter turnout in your area. Your individual voting history, as well as your neighbors’, are public record. Their scores are published below, and many of them will see your score, as well. CAUCUS ON MONDAY TO IMPROVE YOUR SCORE and please encourage your neighbors to caucus as well. A follow-up notice may be issued following Monday’s caucuses.”

All of that was pure, unadulterated fiction.

The mailer was not an "election notice" from a governmental office. It was not sent because of anticipated low turnout. There never was any plan to send out “follow-up notices” after the caucus. This was simply a politically motivated attempt to shame certain people into caucusing by assigning them “grades” and “scores” that had absolutely no legitimacy. In essence, the mailer was a complete lie, from start to finish.

Dig deeper on the data: Maps, charts on Iowa caucus results

Editorial: Something smells in the Democratic Party

Complete results: GOP breakdown by county

Cruz camp voicemails said Carson was dropping out

The Cruz campaign wasn’t the first to use such tactics. In fact, the liberal organization MoveOn.org used a similarly deceptive mailer in its support of Barack Obama's 2012 bid for re-election.

But what’s most instructive about the Cruz mailer is the way in which the candidate responded to criticism of it: He characterized it as some sort of civic-minded “get out the vote” campaign that he fully supported.

“I will apologize to no one for using every tool we can to encourage Iowa voters to come out and vote,” he said, with all the righteous indignation anyone could plausibly muster under such circumstances.

Cruz’s defiant, anything-goes attitude may help explain why his campaign workers, on caucus day, sent out an email alerting people that “the press is reporting Dr. Ben Carson is taking time off from the campaign trail after Iowa and making a big announcement next week. Please inform any Carson caucus-goers of this event and urge them to caucus for Cruz.”

Rep. Steve King of Iowa, an avowed Cruz supporter, took to Twitter to share the news on Carson, adding his own twist: “Skipping NH & SC is the equivalent of suspending. Too bad this information won't get to all caucus goers.” One minute later, King sent out another tweet: “Carson looks like he is out. Iowans need to know before they vote. Most will go to Cruz, I hope.”

A day later, long after it was made clear that Carson had not suspended his campaign, King expressed “regret for any miscommunications,” then went back to re-tweeting biblical passages and quotes from Phil Robertson of “Duck Dynasty.”

Cruz later tried to blame CNN for having reported that Carson was dropping out of the race. In reality, the network had merely relayed an announcement from the Carson campaign that their candidate was headed to Florida for a change of clothes and to take a "deep breath" before returning to the campaign trail.

Cruz has since apologized to Carson, but says the only mistake his staff made was in not following up with a second email clarifying the status of the Carson campaign.

Gov. Terry Branstad, no fan of Cruz's ethanol politics, also called this style of campaigning "unethical and unfair."

Frankly, it’s hard to square the dishonest campaign tactics of Ted Cruz with his oft-stated support for Christian values. Then again, it’s hard to square Cruz himself with such values.

When asked during a debate to share with viewers his greatest weakness, he resorted to shameless humblebragging. He first said “he was too agreeable (and) easygoing,” then reversed himself and said his “biggest weakness is exactly the opposite: I’m a fighter. I am passionate about what I believe.”

It seems his biggest weakness may be an inability to recognize — or at least admit to — his own failings. That may be the mark of a successful politician, but it’s a dangerous character trait for someone who aspires to be president of the United States.

A tale of two secretaries of state

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, a Republican, deserves credit for calling out the Ted Cruz campaign on the bogus "election notices" it sent out on the eve of Monday's caucus. Pate said the mailer "misrepresents Iowa election law. Accusing citizens of Iowa of a ‘voting violation’ based on Iowa caucus participation, or lack thereof, is false representation of an official act. There is no such thing as an election violation related to frequency of voting."

Contrast that bit of truth-telling to Pate's GOP predecessor as secretary of state, Matt Schultz, who served as the chairman of Cruz's Iowa campaign. "These mailers are common practice," Schultz said. "Our mailer was modeled after the very successful 2014 mailers that the Republican Party of Iowa distributed to motivate Republican voters to vote, and which helped elect numerous Republican candidates during that cycle."

Schultz's defense amounts to, "So what if the mailers are deceptive? They work, and we've done this before." It's astounding that someone who used to be in charge of Iowa's elections would defend a misinformation campaign designed to mislead caucus-goers.