Jan
6

What Is Romney Thinking?

“I can’t figure out why Romney thought ribbing the president was strategically more useful than offering ideas to solve the problem at the border and get the government fully-funded.” — Newt Gingrich

As you may have heard, former Massachusetts Governor and then-incoming Utah Senator Mitt Romney had a controversial op-ed published in The Washington Post on 1/1/2019, in which he strongly criticized President Trump. (Of course, Democrats, the MSM, and anti-Trumpers were all thrilled.)

“[O]n balance, his conduct over the past two years, particularly his actions this month [December], is evidence that the president has not risen to the mantle of the office….

To a great degree, a presidency shapes the public character of the nation. A president should unite us and inspire us to follow ‘our better angels.’ A president should demonstrate the essential qualities of honesty and integrity, and elevate the national discourse with comity and mutual respect. As a nation, we have been blessed with presidents who have called on the greatness of the American spirit. With the nation so divided, resentful and angry, presidential leadership in qualities of character is indispensable. And it is in this province where the incumbent’s shortfall has been most glaring….

I will speak out against significant statements or actions that are divisive, racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, dishonest or destructive to democratic institutions….

The people of this great land will eschew the politics of anger and fear if they are summoned to the responsibility by leaders in homes, in churches, in schools, in businesses, in government — who raise our sights and respect the dignity of every child of God — the ideal that is the essence of America.”

To be fair, Romney also acknowledged a few things he thinks Trump has done right (e.g., criminal justice reform, reducing the regulatory burden). But, most of the piece was pointing out the shortcomings of Trump and his administration, with particular emphasis on Trump’s lack of class and personal integrity, while blaming him for much of the disunity and “tribalism” at home which weaken America’s position on the world stage. Nothing new, in other words. This seems a little bit ironic, given Romney’s own record of failure (as Trump and others have pointed out) and two-facedness toward Trump (as Breitbart’s Joel B. Pollak has listed).

Romney’s niece and Chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC), Ronna McDaniel, tweeted:

“POTUS is attacked and obstructed by the MSM media and Democrats 24/7. For an incoming Republican freshman senator to attack @realdonaldtrump as their first act feeds into what the Democrats and media want and is disappointing and unproductive.”

I am more than willing to admit there is a measure of truth in some of what Romney had to say. For instance, I certainly wish the President was more circumspect and restrained. But, I’m not an incoming freshman U.S. Senator, let alone one issuing such a letter in a major newspaper. So, you have to wonder, what is Romney thinking? Why this, why now? I suppose there may be some aspects of bitterness for his not getting the backing for a presidential run in 2016, only to see the populist iconoclast Trump win, and then not being chosen by Trump for the Secretary of State post. But, there must be more to it.

An RNC member representing the U.S. Virgin Islands, Jevon O.A. Williams, called the op-ed “calculated political treachery” to exploit “loopholes” and undermine the President’s 2020 re-nomination campaign.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) responded to the op-ed, saying,

“Like other Big Government Republicans…, Mitt Romney wants to signal how virtuous he is in comparison to the President. Well, I’m most concerned and pleased with the actual conservative reform agenda @realDonaldTrump has achieved.”

In all likelihood, despite earlier statements that he would not seek the presidency again, Romney is positioning himself as the anti-Trump alternative for the 2020 Republican ticket. This would be the beginning of the “invisible primary”. In Gingrich’s piece for Fox News, however, he noted that a December McLaughlin & Associates survey has Trump beating Romney with a 72-9 margin, if a four-way 2020 Republican Primary were held today. Tweets and other controversies notwithstanding, Trump has achieved a rather impressive record (see Shapiro article below) over his first two years in office. So, if this is what Romney is doing, he has a loooong way to go — or, Trump has a loooong way to fall.

Conservative firebrand Ben Shapiro had a few things to say on the matter at the National Review. After discussing the implied claims and questions raised by Romney’s essay, which “reads like the opener of a presidential campaign”, he concludes with some rather troubling thoughts:

“A primary challenge would fail miserably — and not for terrible reasons. But herein lies the true danger of such a challenge, and of Romney’s foolish strategy: Such a challenge allows the political Left to portray any support for Trump’s policies or electability as an endorsement of his character. The media, who despise conservatism altogether, would immediately declare a primary challenge a contest between the Spirit of True Conservatism™ — a Conservatism for which they would surely discover a short-lived Strange New Respect™ — and the Trumpist Movement. That would be a dramatically debauched reading of the situation, but it would undoubtedly become a highly useful narrative for enemies of conservatism. It would relegate conservatism to the outer fringes with Trump’s inevitable primary victory.

So, what’s Romney doing with his op-ed? Nothing useful. In fact, he’s doing something seriously counterproductive. If Senator Romney wants to sound off against Trump’s excesses and character flaws, he should by all means do so in response to Trump’s tweets or statements or actions. But by forcing a “Love Trump or Leave Trump” choice on Republicans, he’s actually doing the work of both the most ardent Trumpists and the most viciously antagonistic members of the Democratic party and the media.”

As the perplexed-but-optimistic Gingrich suggested,

“Instead of starting his Senate service by seeking to lead a small, shrinking anti-Trump faction of congressional Republicans, I hope Romney takes advantage of his very real chance to help our country – and the Republican party at the same time.

More than perhaps any other person in Congress, Romney could become a very effective bridge between the White House and business leaders. If he spends his time focusing on policy objectives instead of noise, he could make a serious impact on our future.

However, if he allows his political staff to turn him into the premier anti-Trump senator, he will severely limit his effectiveness and potentially endanger the Senate majority and Republican agenda.”