Romney speaks ... again

[Ann_Hedonia]

@Bijou_Drains

He did not vote for Trump last time , he wrote in his wife’s name.

I believe when he was asked about this earlier in the year, during primary season— he said that he would never vote for Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren, and that he would probably end up writing in his wife’s name again.

Make of it what you will. He’s just trying to sooth his soul at this point. He was fine with being part of the gang back when they were just shoplifting but he’s feeling all this existential guilt now that they’ve all graduated to armed robbery. I’m sure he’ll sleep better for a few nights, but that’s all this is.

[Bijou_Drains]

when Romney is up for re-election in 2024 he will be 77 so he may not run again. not much risk of Utah going blue if he retires

[ISiddiqui]

@HMS_Irruncible

I have no idea what Romney is trying to do here. The right will find his civility lectures boring. The left will find them lacking in substance, and aiding the status quo.

The only people who will praise this statement are probably the enlightened centrists. These people will do a lot of waffling and pearl-clutching until the eve of the election. Then they’ll sigh that liberal rhetorical overreach has literally put a gun to their head and forced them to vote Trump.

I think he’s trying to lay the groundwork to try to take control of the party when he thinks the GOP will reject Trump after he’s defeated. I don’t think it’s going that quick or simple, but Romney probably does and thinks the enlightened moderate right will ‘take back the Republican Party’ (not realize that Trump is a culmination of GOP politics for decades). Who knows, maybe he’s thinking they’ll nominate him against in 2024?

[HMS_Irruncible]

@ISiddiqui

I think he’s trying to lay the groundwork to try to take control of the party when he thinks the GOP will reject Trump after he’s defeated. I don’t think it’s going that quick or simple, but Romney probably does and thinks the enlightened moderate right will ‘take back the Republican Party’ (not realize that Trump is a culmination of GOP politics for decades). Who knows, maybe he’s thinking they’ll nominate him against in 2024?

This is the only answer that makes sense, but I just find it delusional to think the Republican party is ever going back to normal. They’ve been consciously working themselves up into a froth ever since Nixon and have never shown any sign of de-escalating. Maybe the Whigs will make a comeback and Romney will be their avatar.

[Mahaloth]

@FlikTheBlue

He only gets one vote. If he spoke unequivocally in favor of Biden, he could influence thousands of his followers. That might make a real difference.

Yes…that’s why I said he should endorse him…

[Little_Nemo]

@HMS_Irruncible

I have no idea what Romney is trying to do here. The right will find his civility lectures boring. The left will find them lacking in substance, and aiding the status quo.

Trump is crashing and he’s going to take a lot of other Republican politicians down with him. But the Republican party as a whole isn’t going to disappear. And while they will repudiate Trump as an individual, they won’t repudiate the kind of corrupt politics that got Trump elected in 2016. They just want to dial back the fraud to the point where they don’t have to suffer any consequences for it.

And that’s where Romney wants to place himself.

[HMS_Irruncible]

@Little_Nemo

Trump is crashing and he’s going to take a lot of other Republican politicians down with him. But the Republican party as a whole isn’t going to disappear. And while they will repudiate Trump as an individual, they won’t repudiate the kind of corrupt politics that got Trump elected in 2016. They just want to dial back the fraud to the point where they don’t have to suffer any consequences for it.

And that’s where Romney wants to place himself.

Upon further reflection, I think Romney wants to advance the narrative that Trump is an aberration, and the Republican party will return to the anodyne narrative of fiscal conservatism, smaller government, and local control.

I don’t know if Romney actually believes that. I think that vanishing few Republicans actually do. But the only remaining choices on tap for conservatives are:

1. Trumpism is the way forward for the Republican party
2. Trumpism is an aberration that will be defeated by the Republican party
3. The Republican party will become some other thing that doesn’t include Trumpism.
4. The Republican party will cease to exist and nothing else will replace it.

It seems obvious that choices 1 and 4 are unlikely and unsustainable. Republicans can’t survive with Trump, and nobody is going to permit a power vacuum for Democrats to fulfill.

So I reckon that Romney is banking on choices 2 or 3, he thinks the Republicans will reform themselves and he’ll be positioned to take over the helm. I think this is a foolish, longshot bet. I think Romney knows this, but he doesn’t have any other palatable political options available to him.

[Bijou_Drains]

Seemed like he was very willing to be Sec. of State for Trump but maybe that was before he realized how awful Trump is. Also that was before he became a senator in 2018.

[Chisquirrel]

Romney can go the way of Susan Collins. You know, shutting the hell up with the fake indignation and concern.

[not_what_you_d_expect]

Yes, if he really wants to impress me, he can vote for Biden. Otherwise, he can shut up and sit down.

I admire him not at all.

[actualliberalnotoneofthose]

Yet they elected the biggest RINO in the history of RINOs.

[mozchron]

Romney (and Collins for that matter) hates the incivility that Trump displays, but he doesn’t really hate the policies he endorses. They’re just pissed that Trump keeps saying the quiet parts out loud.

Fuck them both

[madmonk28]

I disagree. I don’t think Trump is that different than any other Republican, except he talks overtly about white supremacy rather than use dog whistles. Other than that, he has the reckless spending down and the irresponsible tax cuts.

[RitterSport]

Hey, Mitt, there are two choices, and your wife isn’t one of them. Come out strong for Biden or deal with the Trump consequences, you spineless, dog-abusing asshole.

I wonder if he could turn Utah blue this election if he had really come out hard against Trump.

[OldOlds]

I think you forgot another possibility (unlikely though it may be) that the Republican party becomes the party of Trumpism and a third party emerges that embodies the traditional Republican ideals. This could go the other way too, I suppose, and the Republicans return to their traditional ideals and some new, viable entity emerges to represent Trumpism.

[madmonk28]

I will give Romney partial credit for voting for impeachment. As I said when it happened, it was the first and only time I have seen an elected Republican put the country’s interests first.

[RitterSport]

It’s weird that he thinks that a criminal president who should be removed from power should be able to get a Supreme Court nomination approved.

[madmonk28]

That’s why he gets partial credit. He did one decent thing once, which is more than any other elected Republican in my lifetime.

[RitterSport]

Ha! I imagine that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but I know where you’re coming from.

[FlikTheBlue]

@OldOlds

I think you forgot another possibility (unlikely though it may be) that the Republican party becomes the party of Trumpism and a third party emerges that embodies the traditional Republican ideals. This could go the other way too, I suppose, and the Republicans return to their traditional ideals and some new, viable entity emerges to represent Trumpism.

Maybe the new (centrist?) party could call themselves the Whigs.