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Mitt Romney Announces Senate Run
Former Massachusetts governor and 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney made it official. Via a campaign video, he announced he’s running to replace Orrin Hatch as the next US Senator from Utah.
I am running for United States Senate to serve the people of Utah and bring Utah’s values to Washington. pic.twitter.com/TDkas6gD2p
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) February 16, 2018
In 2012, Romney won Utah’s vote by nearly 50 points. Now at age 70, he’s going to see if he’s still got it. What do you think: are you happy Mitt’s running for office again?
Published in General
There are a lot of successful people I wouldn’t want anywhere near the legislative branch.
Problem:
Romney isn’t Moore. I fear he’s closer to Flake. He might keep the Senate out of Democrat hands, but I worry about his political instincts.
My candidacy is probably on that other end of the spectrum …
Romney’s duplicitous actions within the GOP after Trump secured the nomination have been absolutely unforgivable. As one of the leaders of the never crowd, he has smiled at our faces while slowly turning the knife in our backs. Romney, thy name is Judas.
Which end? Or is it a triangle?
It’s fair. Consider McCain the Presidential Candidate vs. the current iteration.
Well, I’d post a video after that question, but I don’t think this is the right post to do that here.
Honestly, I liked Jim Geraghty’s take on it a few months ago (slight paraphrase):
So what I’m hearing is … Sen. CUD is still a possibility!
Anything is possible,
I’m not hearing a no …
Somebody from Ricochet ought to run. If it’s not you, then @jasonrudert. Frankly, I see Jason as more of a gubernatorial candidate, so I think it’s up to you to run for the senate, Douglas.
That was a bum accusation. Romney was interested in a theory considered in Heritage Foundation that “Free riders” were a significant factor in cost of care. Heritage later gave up the idea.
Romney tried for an individual mandate. That might have done some good if it were limited to catastrophic policies. Instead the Mass Legislature, 90% D, added an employer mandate, which Romney vetoed. They passed it over his veto. Deval Patrick later larded it up more.
I could not understand why he did not disown the bastardized version in 1012 but he didn’t.
Very, very interesting. My strong sense was that he and Ryan were not going to govern as RINOs. He even told Ryan they were only going to last for one term
IMO, there should be mandate for actual catastrophic health insurance (that isn’t subsidizing a bunch of other crap besides catastrophic risk) given the horrible structure of things now. It wouldn’t be that big of a deal.
I disagree with that. Newt really went after Romney in the primary coining the term “Vulture Capitalist.”
I thought Gingrich could have applied to the Obama campaign for a job after that.
I’d campaign for ya.
Hey, in ’16 the Democrats ran a transgender grocery clerk against Mike Lee. The bar has been set pretty low.
Trump rose to power by criticizing the existing Republican Party and its leadership. Why do his followers take umbrage when other Republicans criticize him?
It just doesn’t make any sense.
You are misquoting me. I think it was @franco.
Agree completely. What we have here is the utter failure of Republicans in the state of Utah to brand themselves. It seems no Utah Republican has enough of a personal identity to challenge Romney in the primaries.
We need media-skilled retired business leaders, athletes, authors, judges, military leaders, Jeopardy winners, individuals with heroic stories, and others with well established names (even politicians if necessary) lined up in every state for openings like this. And they need to be reliably in the “very conservative” column for a state as conservative as Utah.
The U.S. Senate is a highly visible celebrity platform usually occupied by dull, ideologically vacuous politicians. We need future Senators in the camera-friendly, ideologically right tradition of Ronald Reagan. And in a state like Utah, the candidate should be a hardliner on wedge issues like immigration, Obamacare repeal, and judicial vacancies.
It’s far too easy to imagine a Senator Romney voting against secure borders alongside RINOs like Lindsay Graham, Collins, Murkowski, Gardner, Rounds, Alexander, etc. But — now here’s the tough part — we need for conservatives in Utah to vote for Romney if he becomes the nominee. Meanwhile, our out-of-state financial resources should be directed toward turning other seats in a more conservative direction.
This exercise in pettiness and vanity shows fundamental flaws in Romney’s character.
Er, no. Romney was for secure borders before it was cool. That’s why Anne Coulter endorsed him.
But don’t let the facts get in the way of a good two minutes hate.
I think he’s a RINO squish, but a completely and totally decent guy. We need decent guys like him in the Senate.
Perhaps what we are talking about here is actions taken after the elections were over. During the primaries it’s totally understandable for each candidate to criticize each other. However, the election is over; Trump is now president, and there are those among us who have great difficulty in sympathizing with prominent members of our own party making disparaging statements publicly to undermine the presidency and thereby playing right into the hands of the Democrats and the MSM. If Romney’s looking for a job, he need look no further than as a pundit for MSNBC where he will fit right in with those who find fault with everything Trump does.
Good. I know I’m a Brit and it doesn’t matter what I think, but I like Romney and I wish he were currently in his second term as President. He’s an accomplished businessman and honourable public servant – in the actual sense of that phrase, not synonymous with ‘politician’ – and I think it’s good to have an independent, right-of-centre voice in the Senate, which of all places shouldn’t just be a cheerleading squad if ‘our guy’ is in the White House.
Good point. I remember hearing Ann Coulter on one of the Ricochet podcasts when the 2016 presidential field was shaping up and before Trump announced. Coulter said Romney needs to run again because he was the only man who could save America from the Mexican invaders.
I wonder if Romney still believes that, though.
I wonder if Ann still believes that. Or ever really believed that.
I do hope you’re right. But if you can’t imagine Romney finding common cause with that bunch and against President Trump, you may be too focused on past policy statements and not enough on the man’s spiteful animus toward The Donald.
Or, y’know, maybe the entire world doesn’t revolve around Donald freaking Trump.