This article illustrates why I have never warmed to Ted Cruz: long before the presidential race began, he was giving off this slimy, untrustworthy televangelist vibe:

“Ted Cruz sounded despondent at the possibility that same-sex marriage could become legal when he called into the radio show of Tony Perkins, a vehement opponent of gay rights, in February 2014. “Our heart weeps for the damage to traditional marriage that has been done,” Mr. Cruz said, urging conservatives to pray but also to fight back. “Be as wise as serpents and gentle as doves,” he said, quoting Scripture. But seven months later, when Mr. Cruz visited the Midtown Manhattan office of a major Republican supporter of same-sex marriage, he sounded almost indifferent: If New York politicians wanted to legalize it, that was their business, he told Paul Singer, the billionaire investor who had bankrolled efforts to strike down laws forbidding same-sex marriage across the country. There was no reason the issue had to drive a wedge between the two men, the Texas senator said, according to a person briefed on the meeting who supports one of Mr. Cruz’s opponents. (Mr. Singer went on to endorse Senator Marco Rubio of Florida a year later.) … That June, Mr. Cruz’s spokesman, Sean Rushton, wrote to an aide to Joe Lonsdale, a venture investor, attaching a draft op-ed by Mr. Cruz explaining his support for an increase in the visas, which was favored by many in the tech industry, including Mr. Lonsdale. The email invited Mr. Lonsdale to propose edits to the article if he saw fit. (The op-ed does not appear to have run.)”

In spite of his record in the Senate, which largely consists of grandstanding on various issues, my gut instinct tells me it is all an act. He has always had his eye on the White House and has calculated the path that will get him there. He ticked off all the various boxes in the Senate in preparation for his campaign.

Cruz reminds me of W. with his faux cowboy act. After W. left office, he moved into a Dallas mansion and Laura Bush came out as pro-gay marriage and pro-choice. W. even tried to officiate a gay marriage between two lesbians in 2013. Five years ago, Cruz was trying to persuade W. to support his Senate campaign.

Of all the candidates running, I think Trump, Sanders, and ¡Jeb! are the most authentic. I disagree with ¡Jeb! on lots of issues, but I give the man credit for being brave enough to run as himself in the primary, unlike his brother W. who didn’t stop pretending to be a great evangelical cowboy until he left office. I think the most phony and calculating candidates running for president are Hillary, Cruz, and Rubio.

When he was 18-years-old, Cruz said he wanted to be rich, powerful and dominate the world. He planned to go to Princeton (check), Harvard Law (check), have a “successful law practice” (check) and “pursue his real goal—a career in politics.” (check) As a senior in high school, he wanted to run for president.

So now he is this great, duck hunting evangelical:

The real “Ted” Cruz (BTW, his real name is Rafael) went to Princeton, Harvard, clerked for William Rehnquist, and worked for George W. Bush. Heidi Cruz is another ambitious social climber from California: Harvard Law, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, National Security Council under W., and the Council on Foreign Relations.

I’m just not buying it. Less than a year ago, he was writing Op-Eds with Paul Ryan in the Wall Street Journal in favor of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Cruz and Hillary have both flip flopped on this issue out of political calculation. Heading into the fall, Cruz was for a 500 percent increase in H1-B visas, but changed his colors on that issue as well.

“Ted” Cruz is the ultimate chameleon. I’m not saying this because I support Trump. I’ve always thought the guy is another Rubio waiting to show his true colors.