In Defense of Ted Cruz

Consider the following typical exchange during the 2015-2016 presidential primary.

Moderator: Senator Cruz, what is your position with regard to a proposed return to the gold standard?

Senator Cruz: A fiat currency such as that we currently have enables a government to print money at will, running up huge debt and paying it off by devaluing the dollar.

Moderator: Mr. Trump, how do you feel regarding a gold standard?

Trump: Senator Cruz is a liar. 
At first, there's a pause, a moment of WTF? Politics is nasty, but this kind of attack is unprecedented. Candidates get upset at each other, but they rein themselves in because they know that ultimately if they win they're going to have to appeal to the other guy's supporters, which is hard to do if you've personally and gratuitously insulted him. But not Trump, who is undeterred by such considerations. 
So after a season of “Little Marco” and “Ben Carson is a psycho” everybody is just supposed to fall in line in the name of party unity. But that is the whole point of sticking to issues and practicing restraint, because otherwise it's difficult to unify everyone after being subjected to nasty personal attacks, including attacks on one's family. 
For the good of the party, for the good of American political discourse, Trump must pay a price. A content-free campaign based on bluster and the personal destruction of political opponents (e.g., Ben Carson) cannot be allowed to succeed. In Trump you have the combination of empty bluster, reckless, destructive statements, and personal attacks, which might be described as “bullshit in a china shop.” If the Trump model proves to be successful, why would any candidate bother to bone up on arcane subjects like economics or geopolitics? 
A scene from the 2019 Republican presidential primary debates...

Moderator: Congressman Thorpe, how should the US respond to the Iranian incursion in Iraq?Congressman Thorpe: Governor Winston's mom is a crack whore.
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Trump's supporters must pay a price. When you reject sober candidates and instead choose a WWE entertainer, you do everyone in the party and the country a disservice, and you deserve to lose. It's hypocritical to vote for Kim Kardashian or Floyd Mayweather Jr. for Republican presidential nominee and then lecture all the sane, mature voters to “come together for the good of the party.” If you had the good of the party in mind you wouldn't vote for Trump, nor would you excuse every ignorant, insulting thing he says.

This is why Hillary needed to be indited. Instead of saying, “Well, we can't possibly interfere in the political process, especially something as momentous as a presidential election,” a clear message needs to be sent that you had better not vote for a shady character under investigation or your party's chances of winning power may just blow up in your face. Now what is there to stop the Democrats from nominating Rob Blagoyevich or a member of the Gambino crime family as a Democrat nominee for president, knowing they'll get all the benefits of corruption and crooked dealing coupled with a get-out-of-jail-free card?
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I'm tired of the appeals to “party unity.” Hey, you, the guy who's dad is a closet pedophile, you need to come together for the good of the party. So Trump said your sister is a hooker; don't be petty. And you, the lady with the ugly kids, you need to stop selfishly thinking about your fat self and work for the greater good. Moron with the buck teeth, get over yourself and vote for Trump.

The onus of unification is on Trump, not on the hordes of people he's viciously insulted.