Leftists, particularly in the academic realm, frequently stress how much they despite certain prominent conservatives, notably U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
As a recent example, members of Princeton University’s debate club, of which Cruz is an alumnus, held a vote to strip him of his prestigious James Madison Award for Distinguished Public Service.
“The arduous but righteous cause”
The move comes in the aftermath of the senator’s legal objections to the certification of November’s presidential election.
According to reports, this is the first time in its long history that the American Whig-Cliosophic Society at Princeton has voted to rescind the award, which it grants to individuals who have “taken up the arduous but righteous cause of dedicating their life to the betterment of society.”
Campus Reform noted that the effort was launched in late January in the form of two op-eds published in the Daily Princetonian campus newspaper.
One came from the editorial board and another was written by a senior student, both of which denounced Cruz’s objections to the congressional certification of the 2020 election results and called for some type of consequence for his legal action.
The Cliosophic Party, which Cruz previously chaired, addressed the issue in a statement at the time, writing: “Though his recent objections to the certification of certain Electoral College votes were unquestionably disappointing, it does not implicate him in an ‘insurrection,’ and nothing has since changed regarding his stately record of public service.”
“His objections were not unprecedented”
It went on to “strongly encourage all Whig-Clio members to refrain from embarrassing the Society by supporting this politically-motivated effort to cancel and revoke his JMA.”
Nevertheless, a petition to strip Cruz of the award has circulated over the past two months and garnered enough signatures earlier this month to prompt a vote by members of the society.
Following a 90-minute meeting on March 4 to debate the issue, the Princeton Tory reported that 37 members voted to rescind the award, 32 members voted against it, and five members abstained. The Whig-Clio board of trustees will have the final say in whether Cruz will be stripped of the award.
The Cliosophic Party’s current chairperson, Matthew Wilson, complained that the American Whig-Cliosophic Society is holding Cruz “to a different standard than they would hold other politicians,” describing it as “unfortunate” that members are damaging the group’s reputation to score political points.
In a statement, he added: “I have made clear my unequivocal condemnation of Cruz’s objections to the certification of Electoral College votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania on January 6th, but his objections were not unprecedented, and the results of this Assembly amount to nothing more than a conceited attempt by left-wing students to inflate their own egos and cancel Princeton’s most prominent conservative alumnus.”
The post Princeton debate group votes to strip Cruz of prestigious award over election challenges first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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