Endorsement or Support?

[stamperben]

Is there a difference between Endorsement and Support?

Cruz Makes Distinction Between Endorsement and Praise

What's the difference between endorsing a candidate and merely supporting one?

The question is the source of some confusion in the Texas Republican primaries, where the state party’s biggest star, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, is maintaining a distinction between endorsing a candidate and just supporting or speaking favorably of one as he tries to sway voter behavior.
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<snip>

"I’ve never liked it when Washington insiders try to pick winners and losers in Republican primaries,” Cruz told The Texas Tribune in December. “I think primaries should be decided by the grassroots in each state. … I’m going to leave it to the voters of Texas to make that decision.”
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I can tell you from the ads I've seen the "support" he's given sure does come off as an "endorsement."

 

[AirPo]

I think there is. You can support more than candidate, but you can only endorse one.

 

[stamperben]

I think there is. You can support more than candidate, but you can only endorse one.

So bottom line here is - What is Cruz doing? First he implies that he will not do endorsements, then he comes out in support of several while officially endorsing others.

 

[DaisyDay]

I think there is. You can support more than candidate, but you can only endorse one.

I'm not sure that is true.

 

[Ishraqiyun]

Ted Cruz seems to be unable to stick to the truth. I've been checking out some of the fact checking websites like politicfact and such and his name keeps popping up over and over in the sections for blatant lies as well as misleading statements. I'm not sure if he is number one but he seems to be among the top liars. It could in part be due to him having more statements that have gotten media attention (and thus analyzed) in general though.

PolitiFact | A service of the Tampa Bay Times

 

[AirPo]

I'm not sure that is true.

It's obviously a matter of semantics, but you can contribute $ to two different candidates. I'd call that support. But an endorsement to me is akin to saying "I'm voting for this candidate and I think you should too."
Unless it's for members of a board or council, you can only vote for one candidate.

 

[TerranceL]

It's obviously a matter of semantics, but you can contribute $ to two different candidates. I'd call that support. But an endorsement to me is akin to saying "I'm voting for this candidate and I think you should too."
Unless it's for members of a board or council, you can only vote for one candidate.

I'm with stamperben.. I don't see a difference here. If you are giving money to a candidate.. that's an obvious (to me anyway) endorsement. Unless we are to believe that you are helping the campaign of someone you wouldn't vote for.

(Which I can see someone trying to make that argument but they're a politician so.. yeah... )

Just for giggles we can look at the definition of the word..

en·dorse·ment
en&#712;dôrsm&#601;nt/
noun
noun: endorsement; plural noun: endorsements; noun: indorsement; plural noun: indorsements
1.
an act of giving one's public approval or support to someone or something.
synonyms:support, backing, approval, seal of approval, agreement, recommendation, championship, patronage, affirmation, sanction; More

Ole Canuckian Ted wants it both ways.

Honestly this ability to talk out both sides of his mouth is an excellent reason to not vote for him even if you like what he's selling.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

I'm with stamperben.. I don't see a difference here. If you are giving money to a candidate.. that's an obvious (to me anyway) endorsement.

In the context of how the American political system, I'd have to go with AirPo on this one.

There are special interest groups & companies who give money to candidates on both sides of the fence during an election (to hedge their bets), but clearly they have someone in mind that they'd like to be the winner.

 

[TerranceL]

In the context of how the American political system, I'd have to go with AirPo on this one.

There are special interest groups & companies who give money to candidates on both sides of the fence during an election (to hedge their bets), but clearly they have someone in mind that they'd like to be the winner.

I would argue there's a difference between what a interest group/company does and what a individual politician does.

If a politician were to speak in support of two opposing candidates he'd be rightly called a flip flopper.