No matter how he felt about the man, his platform, or his campaign, Senator Ted Cruz could have taken the easy way out and just endorsed the Republican candidate for President, Donald Trump, during his speech on the convention stage last night.

Almost everyone was demanding he do just that, and he was vociferously booed by the throng of delegates at the end of his talk, in which he urged them to go to the polls in November and vote their conscience.

His own political future may be in doubt after the move, and he was surely aware that was a possibility.  Still, he stood his ground and spoke his own conscience, amid all the pressure, and, if the rumors are true, threats to be disgraced as a Republican.

But whether or not you were a supporter of the former presidential contender from Texas, or if he never did appear to be the candidate you wanted, the man showed incredible bravery and conviction by not endorsing the nominee.

I can’t begin to say what went on in the mind of Sen. Cruz, and I make no effort to try.  I listened to his articulate speech about the values of conservatism and the future of America and how the country could flourish under Republican leadership, and heard him plead with the voters to not stay home in November.

He even said, “Vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution,” which can only be understood by any conservative or Republican voter and someone other than Hillary Clinton.  He even congratulated Trump on securing the nomination, but stopped short of endorsing the man.

The Republican primaries were tough, with a lot of mud-slinging and personal attacks, and Trump certainly unloaded on Cruz and his family during the process.  Trump insulted Cruz’s wife and suggested his father was somehow involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.  One can certainly understand how those attacks, while not being discussed, can certainly not be forgotten.

Senator Cruz is certainly a patriot and his love of the United States is not at all in question.  Some may call him a traitor to the Republican Party for his stance.  After all, he did pledge to support the eventual nominee, although most of the candidates reneged on the pledge later in the campaign, including Trump.

Cruz replied to a question about supporting the eventual nominee by Anderson Cooper in a CNN town hall in Milwaukee in March by saying, “I’m not in the habit of supporting someone who attacks my wife and my family.”

Perhaps Cruz himself said it best last night when he offered, “We stand here tonight a nation divided.  Partisan rancor, anger, even hatred, are tearing America apart.”  The same could be said for the GOP, with its own internal struggles.

Either way, Cruz’s endorsement of Donald Trump, or lack thereof, would have little impact on the upcoming election, but may reverberate through the party faithful for quite a while.

But Cruz still offered hope.  “We will unite the party,” he continued.  “We will unite the country by standing together for shared values, by standing for liberty.”

Agree or disagree with his stance or his politics, but you must admit, Cruz knows how to take a stand.