Behind the animosity toward Ted Cruz by some Republicans

Eli Lake:

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But the main reason so many Republican insiders oppose Cruz is that he has spent the last three years in the Senate stoking popular conservative resentment against his own party. In floor speeches, he calls Republican leaders members of an elite cartel. He has questioned their integrity, like in July during the debate on trade promotion authority, when he called McConnell a liar and accused him of making a back-room deal to prevent votes on amendments to end the Export-Import Bank. He has insisted that senators cast votes for or against raising of the debt limit, instead of hiding behind procedural maneuvers that shield these votes from public scrutiny.

On the stump, Cruz mocks Dole, McCain and Romney by asking if anyone remembers their presidencies, saying that it will take an uncompromising conservative to win a presidential election.

All of this is deliberate. As the National Review's Eliana Johnson wrote this month, Cruz came to Washington in 2016 "to make enemies of his fellow senators, and friends -- fans -- among the conservative grassroots." Amanda Carpenter, Cruz's former communications director, largely agrees. She told me "Cruz did not come into the Senate wanting to attack his Republican colleagues as frauds, but given their tactics he felt he had no choice."
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Cruz has exposed the electoral duplicity within the party and many find that unforgivable at this point even if it means getting everything they say they want when Cruz wins.