I’m a lifelong Democrat but I’m backing Ted Cruz. The Clinton/Trump debacle must be avoided.

I’m that girl who still thinks Jimmy Carter deserved a second term. I’ve spent years apologizing for Bill Clinton’s lack of integrity by pointing to his positive policies. I’ve even defended Barack Obama, the most disappointing President I’ve ever supported. Twice. Now, I’m going down a strange and very different road. I’m supporting Ted Cruz.

No, I haven’t converted to conservatism. However, I’m a Bernie Sanders fan and as much as I wish things were different, his chances are pretty much nil at this point. Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee. The thought of someone so vile and unethical sitting in the White House is only equaled by her liberal counterpart on the Republican side, Donald Trump. Both represent something that goes beyond bad policy and challenges with the truth. They are self-serving, egotistical demagogues and neither can be allowed to be President of the United States.

Ted Cruz, for all of the policy components that he represents in opposition to my viewpoints, is a man of integrity. He is the conservative Bernie Sanders and in many ways his views are not too far off. I know that’s hard for most to wrap their brains around, but true liberalism and true conservatism are different sides of the same coin. The devilish moderation and deal-making that plagues Washington DC are different coins altogether.

Despite being a progressive, I’m pro-life. Despite being a progressive, I’m not for gun control. I might be socially and fiscally liberal in almost every regard, but those two items fall more in line with my Christian faith than my political ideologies. In that regard, I guess I’m conservative. Otherwise, I don’t agree with what Ted Cruz plans, but I wholeheartedly agree with what he represents: an end to corruption in this great nation’s capital.

My progressive friends (which accounts for pretty much all of my friends) are halfheartedly condemning my decision. It’s important that it’s halfhearted because they can’t form a coherent argument against my stance other than the conservative ideals that Cruz represents. In other words, they’re not adamantly supportive of Clinton, but they don’t like what Cruz would do in office. When I ask them how it would be different from what Clinton would do in office, they point to policy issues such as gay rights and social security. When I ask them if they trust Clinton to do what she claim she’ll do, they shrug. Yes, shrug. Even those who hate what Cruz represents cannot make an argument about his integrity versus Clinton. When it comes to Trump, I like to classify people into one of two categories: either they realize how bad of a President Trump would be or they don’t.

With Sanders done, the country needs a moral leader. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump would be the race to the bottom that I thought we’d reached with George W. Bush and Barack Obama, but either of them would be far worse than their predecessors. As hard as it is to admit, Ted Cruz is the only ethical candidate with a chance of being in the White House in 2017. For that reason, he has my support.