# Assuming Mitt Romney replaces Orrin Hatch, what are your expectations for Mitt? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 3, 2018, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796 "2018-01-03T14:18:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/21 "2018-01-04T15:28:37Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > What does the OP expect- that we conservative Republicans who regard Trump as an unqualified asshole must become liberal Democrats? > > I threw my vote away on Evan McMullin rather than vote for Trump. But if I were a Senator, I wouldn’t automatically vote against every bill favored by the Trump White House, and it would be silly for anyone to expect me to. Republicans of even 20 years ago would be called traitors and communists under the political climate. We want Republicans to be SANE. Give me an Eisenhower or an HW Bush any day. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/22 "2018-01-04T16:03:47Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Republicans of even 20 years ago would be called traitors and communists under the political climate. We want Republicans to be SANE. Give me an Eisenhower or an HW Bush any day. Get specific. I consider myself sane (argue that point later). Tell me why I should reflexively oppose every bill Trump supports s. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/23 "2018-01-04T16:49:16Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Redirecting the discussion a bit - > > The current narrative is that the job is his if he wants it, which he seems to be signalling that he does. > > Question for the Utah residents on the board - do you see him being successful in an election? Would he be vulnerable to a competitor from the Right - the Tea Party/Trump/Hulk-Smash wing of the party? > > Do you see him as a one-term (at most two-term) placeholder? After all, he is 70 years old currently. > > Could he be positioning himself to make another run at the Whitehouse, going against Trump as the more moderate Republican of old? > > So many questions! Listening to the news media outlets, it sounds as if the MSM has already anointed/appointed Romney to the job. Who will be running against Romney in the primary? Who will be running against Romney in the general? Will Utah voters accept the MSM’s guidance/declaration/demands for Hatch’s replacement? Or will Utah voters dare to think for themselves? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/24 "2018-01-04T16:53:40Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Listening to the news media outlets, it sounds as if the MSM has already anointed/appointed Romney to the job. Who will be running against Romney in the primary? Who will be running against Romney in the general? Will Utah voters accept the MSM’s guidance/declaration/demands for Hatch’s replacement? Or will Utah voters dare to think for themselves? Romney is so popular in Utah I cannot conceive of anyone beating him. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/25 "2018-01-04T17:04:31Z")
There is no chance that enough Republican Congressmen will both impeach and find The Orange Combover guilty. He’ll be President until Jan. 20, 2021 (and I think enough people have learned from their mistake that he’ll lose a reelection bid; at least I hope so). ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/26 "2018-01-04T18:05:15Z")
I would have preferred Jon Huntsman, jr to take Hatch’s seat. And he said he would run, if Hatch retired. But orange blossom gave Hunstman the job in Russia. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/27 "2018-01-04T18:09:24Z")
He’ll be another Collins. Which is to say he’ll drape himself in an imaginary cloak of sane moderation and then vote with the party 99% of the time. The Republican Party is the Party of Trump these days and he’ll fall into the Republican line like everyone else did. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/28 "2018-01-05T08:11:49Z")
Since when is Mitt a moderate? Also, he’s not from Utah. Do we just have an LDS seat in the Senate? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/29 "2018-01-05T14:14:50Z")
These days GOP “moderate” just means “not completely insane”. Witness the supposed moderate behavior of Kasich or Huntsman who got the “Well, I suppose that’s a Republican I could get behind” seal of approval from Democrats watching the GOP field in the last couple elections. Neither was actually moderate but you say something like “I suppose _maybe_ CO2 is contributing to climate change” and suddenly you’re the smartest man in the Republican arena to people looking for any glimmer of hope. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/30 "2018-01-05T14:24:51Z")
I’ve never seen Romney demonstrate any strong convictions or goals of his own, just blowing with the wind - which isn’t the worst thing a pol can do, granted. He was in favor of Romneycare when Massachusetts wanted it, and opposed Obamacare in his Presidential run when his political calculations led him to think \*that \*was the more popular position. He was in favor of gay marriage in Massachusetts until he decided to run for President and suddenly started opposing it. In his single term as Governor, he spent most of the first half of it playing spite games, as in spending much of his time trying to get rid of the head of the Turnpike Authority who had defied him. The second half was spent campaigning out of state, complaining about how liberal the state that had elected him was. At no time did he get Big Dig finances under control, the main reason he was elected in the first place (in fairness, no other of the Republican governors in that era did, either). So, replace a too-old party hack with a somewhat less old party hack. Shrug. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/31 "2018-01-05T19:20:11Z")
I’d rather see Romney there than Hatch constantly blowing off about how he came from a poor background (as he rubberstamps a bill to feed the rich). I’m sure residency issues could be dealt with easily enough. I wouldn’t be surprised if Evan McMullin ran, assuming Romney decided against it for whatever reason. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/32 "2018-01-05T19:28:09Z")
You only have to be a resident of your state for 30 days to be elected to the Senate. While there are cases for Romney to be a resident of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Michigan, and California too, he does qualify in Utah. New York only requires residency on date of election - Hello, Senator Clinton! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/33 "2018-01-05T19:39:04Z")
How was that it **elucidator** used to put it? A man carved out of mayonnaise. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/34 "2018-01-05T20:31:23Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I’ve never seen Romney demonstrate any strong convictions or goals of his own, just blowing with the wind - which isn’t the worst thing a pol can do, granted. He was in favor of Romneycare when Massachusetts wanted it, and opposed Obamacare in his Presidential run when his political calculations led him to think \*that \*was the more popular position. He was in favor of gay marriage in Massachusetts until he decided to run for President and suddenly started opposing it. In his single term as Governor, he spent most of the first half of it playing spite games, as in spending much of his time trying to get rid of the head of the Turnpike Authority who had defied him. The second half was spent campaigning out of state, complaining about how liberal the state that had elected him was. At no time did he get Big Dig finances under control, the main reason he was elected in the first place (in fairness, no other of the Republican governors in that era did, either). > > So, replace a too-old party hack with a somewhat less old party hack. Shrug. Yep. And in addition to all that, he’s fighting the mental image burned into the memories of many: Romney, wild-eyed with the realization he’s been punked, sitting at the dinner table with a smugly-grinning Donald Trump. That deer-in-headlights look on his face is what will flash into the minds of many as they confront the name “Romney” on their ballots. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/35 "2018-01-05T20:43:59Z")
In Utah, what will flash into voters’ minds will probably be “Mormon”. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/36 "2018-01-05T20:55:12Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > There is no chance that enough Republican Congressmen will both impeach and find The Orange Combover guilty. He’ll be President until Jan. 20, 2021 (and I think enough people have learned from their mistake that he’ll lose a reelection bid; at least I hope so). Man, seriously, do you find your political predictions have been solid and reliable over these past couple of years? I’m not impugning you specifically; rather, I’m finding it impossible to make any prediction with any degree of confidence about what’s gonna happen in American politics. Until things settle down to business as usual, I don’t know what the hell is gonna happen. As for Romney: I said in 2012, I didn’t want him to win, but much like McCain, he’d be the sort of Republican that could be dealt with. To borrow PJ O’Rourke’s perfect endorsement of Hillary Clinton, Romney is “wrong within normal parameters.” ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/37 "2018-01-05T21:46:16Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Since when is Mitt a moderate? Many conservatives are suspicious of his Massachusetts background. He’s always struck me as a moderate, and here in this thread, most people expect him to be a Collins / McCain. If they don’t count as moderate, I don’t know who would. > [@foolsguinea](#): > > Also, he’s not from Utah. No, he’s not. Probably not an impediment in this case. > [@foolsguinea](#): > > Do we just have an LDS seat in the Senate? No, Utah gets two Senators, same as every other state. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/38 "2018-01-05T21:48:22Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > In Utah, what will flash into voters’ minds will probably be “Mormon”. Yes, of course. (Too late for edit, I realized I should have mentioned that what I was thinking of in that post was the speculation that Romney might use his Senate seat as a springboard for running for the Big P again, whether against whoever is President in November 2020, or in 2024.) ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/39 "2018-01-05T21:57:21Z")
Evan McMullin is Mormon too, so it’s not like that is a differentiator between Romney and his opponents. If the Dems want to win the seat, they’ll put up a Mormon candidate too. Jim Matheson, who held a Utah Congressional seat for more than a decade, was Mormon. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796/40 "2018-01-05T22:04:30Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Many conservatives are suspicious of his Massachusetts background. You recognize that that’s fucked up, right? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-mitt-romney-replaces-orrin-hatch-what-are-your-expectations-for-mitt/805796.md?page=3)