I found an interesting quote from Constantin von Tischendorf—the "discoverer" of the Sinaitic manuscript—which is very enlightening. It's from his
When Were Our Gospels Written? (1866). This was 20 years after his "discovery."
"Learned men have again and again attempted to clear the sacred text from these extraneous elements. But we have at last hit upon a better plan even than this, which is to set aside this textus receptus altogether, and to construct a fresh text, derived immediately from the most ancient and authoritative sources. This is undoubtedly the right course to take, for in this way only can we secure a text approximating as closely as possible to that which came from the Apostles." pp. 21-22
Notice what he says: "set aside this
textus receptus altogether."
Does this sound like honest textual criticism?