Mitts gonna Mitt

 

Mitt Romney started the year off with a Washington Post hit piece on the president, with this headline:

Mitt Romney: The president shapes the public character of the nation. Trump’s character falls short.

Even Trump-haters are noticing how this isn’t going the way he hoped:

Romney’s op-ed earned praise from Morning Joe and Jeff Flake, and a tiny sliver of the tiny sliver that is NeverTrump.

It also earned the wrath, mockery and scorn of most of the left and right.

I know on a voting level what matters most is R or D.

But on a public discussion level, losing Orrin Hatch’s seat to Mitt hurts more than losing Flake’s seat to Sinema.

We trusted Romney with the 2012 nomination; admittedly because there were no good candidates. We voted for him in the general and Romney failed to win the election, and stuck us with four more lousy years of President Obama.

Romney should spend more time working humbly to reverse the damage he’s done, and less time grandstanding against the man who succeeded where he failed.

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  1. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    I wish he’d just stop.

    • #1
  2. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Things will be what they are. I’m sure somebody will look at Mitt’s column and say, “Hold my beer!”

    • #2
  3. Kay of MT Inactive
    Kay of MT
    @KayofMT

    Gil Reich: Romney should spend more time working humbly to reverse the damage he’s done, and less time grandstanding against the man who succeeded where he failed.

    A man who claims he is a good Mormon, using gossip and slurring another person. I’m ashamed of him.

    • #3
  4. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    I’ve read Mitt’s column several times.  I can’t see a sentence that is wrong with it.  There, if you have a problem with anything Mitt said, please quote it and say what your problem is.  Thanks.

    • #4
  5. Rick Poach Member
    Rick Poach
    @RickPoach

    • #5
  6. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Kay of MT (View Comment):

    Gil Reich: Romney should spend more time working humbly to reverse the damage he’s done, and less time grandstanding against the man who succeeded where he failed.

    A man who claims he is a good Mormon, using gossip and slurring another person. I’m ashamed of him.

    Gee, would you please quote which one of the 13 paragraphs is where Mitt is using gossip and slurring another person?   I don’t see it myself.

    • #6
  7. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Rick Poach (View Comment):

    People have been saying “shut up Gary” for a couple of years and that hasn’t worked yet on me.

    I don’t think that yelling “shut up Mona” is going to work very well either.

    • #7
  8. Gil Reich Member
    Gil Reich
    @GilReich

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    I’ve read Mitt’s column several times. I can’t see a sentence that is wrong with it. There, if you have a problem with anything Mitt said, please quote it and say what your problem is. Thanks.

    Start with the column’s headline and it’s very existence.

    It’s not that any of the points he’s making are wrong.

    It’s that there’s more than enough piling on on the president and his many well-documented failings.

    I didn’t spend 2012 talking about all the things that were lousy about Romney. And I wouldn’t have spent the next 4 years doing that. There is more than enough Trump criticism without Romney adding his own.

    • #8
  9. Jdetente Member
    Jdetente
    @

    Mitt “Spitting in the Wind” Romney. Never change, Mitt. Never change….

    • #9
  10. Rick Poach Member
    Rick Poach
    @RickPoach

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Rick Poach (View Comment):

    People have been saying “shut up Gary” for a couple of years and that hasn’t worked yet on me.

    Gary, as a courtesy, I’d like to say that the “Shut up, Wesley” meme is really not one that you want to associate yourself with.

    Please, just leave it there.

    • #10
  11. DonG Coolidge
    DonG
    @DonG

    It is so telling that Romney is just another elitist.  They seem to think it shows them to be so wise and full of virtue by knocking Trump’s character.  That only holds true at elitist cocktail parties.  Romney is a wholesome guy, but these attacks on character are just divisive in the party, intellectually weak, and reflect an aloofness about the problems facing real Americans.  Why be *so* lazy?  Put some effort into fighting the deep state or pushing policies that promote prosperity, security, and the American way!  

    • #11
  12. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Gil Reich (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    I’ve read Mitt’s column several times. I can’t see a sentence that is wrong with it. There, if you have a problem with anything Mitt said, please quote it and say what your problem is. Thanks.

    Start with the column’s headline and it’s very existence.

    The column’s headline is “A president shapes the nation’s character.  Trump’s falls short.”  Which premise do you disagree with?

    It’s not that any of the points he’s making are wrong.

    It’s that there’s more than enough piling on on the president and his many well-documented failings.

    Up to now, the only members of Congress who spoke like this were either retiring, or in John McCain’s case dying.

    I didn’t spend 2012 talking about all the things that were lousy about Romney.

    I didn’t see a whole heck of a lot to criticize Romney for in 2012.

    And I wouldn’t have spent the next 4 years doing that.

    I don’t think that there would have been much cause to criticize a Romney administration either.

    There is more than enough Trump criticism without Romney adding his own.

    The Trump criticism has been from the left, and not current members of the Republican Party.  This makes Romney’s comments refreshing.  Please note that Romney went out of his way to praise Trump for Mattis, Kelly, Tillerson, Sessions, Haley, Cohn, and McMaster, and his leadership on taxes, regulations and judges.

     

    • #12
  13. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Rick Poach (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Rick Poach (View Comment):

    People have been saying “shut up Gary” for a couple of years and that hasn’t worked yet on me.

    Gary, as a courtesy, I’d like to say that the “Shut up, Wesley” meme is really not one that you want to associate yourself with.

    Please, just leave it there.

    Are you referring to the first season of ST:TNG?  Please note that by the 4th or 5th season, Wesley was off to Starfleet Academy.

    • #13
  14. Rick Poach Member
    Rick Poach
    @RickPoach

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Rick Poach (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Rick Poach (View Comment):

    People have been saying “shut up Gary” for a couple of years and that hasn’t worked yet on me.

    Gary, as a courtesy, I’d like to say that the “Shut up, Wesley” meme is really not one that you want to associate yourself with.

    Please, just leave it there.

    Are you referring to the first season of ST:TNG? Please note that by the 4th or 5th season, Wesley was off to Starfleet Academy.

    This is fine…

    • #14
  15. Barfly Member
    Barfly
    @Barfly

    I hear so much about (and now from) this good man Romney. He threw an easy one and so cost us dearly, but I am assured that whatever else he his, Romney is a good man. 

    Tell me, anyone – good for what?

    • #15
  16. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Barfly (View Comment):
    Tell me, anyone – good for what?

    He did save the Salt Lake Olympics from the corruption of typical international events.

    • #16
  17. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    He also saved a few companies back in the day.

    But then he got into politics…

    • #17
  18. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Barfly (View Comment):

    I hear so much about (and now from) this good man Romney. He threw an easy one and so cost us dearly, but I am assured that whatever else he his, Romney is a good man.

    Tell me, anyone – good for what?

    Only once since the 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951 was a party thrown out after a single 4 year term, and that was when Reagan beat Carter.  Usually a president’s party gets a higher percentage of the vote, but Romney cut Obama’s margin in half!  

    • #18
  19. Gil Reich Member
    Gil Reich
    @GilReich

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Barfly (View Comment):

    I hear so much about (and now from) this good man Romney. He threw an easy one and so cost us dearly, but I am assured that whatever else he his, Romney is a good man.

    Tell me, anyone – good for what?

    Only once since the 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951 was a party thrown out after a single 4 year term, and that was when Reagan beat Carter. Usually a president’s party gets a higher percentage of the vote, but Romney cut Obama’s margin in half!

    Only once since 1900.

    • #19
  20. rgbact Inactive
    rgbact
    @romanblichar

    Praised Trump’s domestic policies and appointments. Trashed Trump’s comical foreign policy and his awful character. Said he’ll focus on that in the Senate and not on responding to every piece of Trump gossip. Sounds about right to me.

    Romney: “Russia is our biggest geopolitical foe”

    Trump: “Putin says he didn’t interfere in our elections and I believe him. We’ve been bad too”

    Looks like a rough year for Trump is kicking off.

     

    • #20
  21. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    Gary Robbins: Usually a president’s party gets a higher percentage of the vote, but Romney cut Obama’s margin in half!

    Romney is half the failure of others is not the ringing endorsement you think it is. You’re fixated on the era of the 22nd Amendment as if the electorate is a static thing that never changes. Past results are meaningless. 

    • #21
  22. Al Sparks Coolidge
    Al Sparks
    @AlSparks

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    I’ve read Mitt’s column several times. I can’t see a sentence that is wrong with it. There, if you have a problem with anything Mitt said, please quote it and say what your problem is. Thanks.

    Here’s the weakest sentence in his op-ed:

    To a great degree, a presidency shapes the public character of the nation. 

    Though he doesn’t start his op-ed with that sentence, it’s really his central argument. That is, why Trump is a problem.  Why his op-ed is necessary.

    His argument is basically a cultural one.  That the presidency is shaping the culture.  Yet one of the arguments magazines like National Review have been making for decades is it’s culture that shapes politics (often they say politics is downstream of culture).  I note that the person I’m answering has a picture of Reagan as his avatar.  Reagan was an avid reader of National Review.

    So is the president a follower or leader, culturally?  My answer is he’s a follower.  Whatever Reagan did to end the Cold War (which had an influence on culture) that was an action.  He didn’t change the culture except with actual actions or polcies, whether successful or not.

    And what does Romney acknowledge in his Op-Ed?  That some of Trump’s actions have been very beneficial.  But why is Romney mad at him?  Essentially it’s because, morally speaking, Trump is a messy human being.  That he’s no one to look up to.

    I’ll go along with that.  But policy is more important to me.  And on balance, with some disclaimers, but on balance, I’m happy with his policies.

    One other thing about unity, which Romney brings up.  It’s over rated.  The most unified our nation has been was post World War II, which lasted about 15 years.  Every president on Mount Rushmore was extremely controversial, if not as president (in the case of Washington) then some other time in his career.  They weren’t really unifiers except through victory of arms (i.e. literally defeating the enemy).

    And Reagan?  Controversial too.  People only called him a unifier after he was in his grave, 16 years after leaving office.

    • #22
  23. rgbact Inactive
    rgbact
    @romanblichar

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Only once since the 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951 was a party thrown out after a single 4 year term, and that was when Reagan beat Carter. Usually a president’s party gets a higher percentage of the vote, but Romney cut Obama’s margin in half!

    Heck, I think Romney got nearly as many votes as Trump. Plus, comparing running against a fairly popular incumbent to running against a witch like Hillary is just silly. Trump won’t have that dumb luck in 2020.

    • #23
  24. thelonious Member
    thelonious
    @thelonious

    Barfly (View Comment):

    I hear so much about (and now from) this good man Romney. He threw an easy one and so cost us dearly, but I am assured that whatever else he his, Romney is a good man.

    Tell me, anyone – good for what?

    Losing an election to an incumbent who has full support of his party is a real tough putt. He had long shot odds at best of winning 2012. To be fair he wasn’t a very dynamic candidate. Winning elections often have more to do with timing than the actual candidate. Reagan wouldn’t have beat Carter in 1980 unless the economy was in the tank and the Iran hostage crises was going on.

    • #24
  25. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    thelonious: Reagan wouldn’t have beat Carter in 1980 unless the economy was in the tank and the Iran hostage crises was going on.

    Gee, it’s almost like you’re saying results actually matter instead of style.

    • #25
  26. The Cloaked Gaijin Member
    The Cloaked Gaijin
    @TheCloakedGaijin

    “Wow…If Mitt Romney had come out swinging against Barack Obama like he has against President Trump he might have won. Trump’s “behavior” is old news. America’s divided was deepening long before this president. I appreciate gentlemen politicians but appreciate achievement more.” — Charles Payne

    “Because nothing is more appealing to Republican voters than a guy who is happy to have Trump’s support in the campaign, then turns on Trump after the election and writes a nasty piece about him for the Washington Post.” — Brit Hume

    “…we want a Congress that doesn’t act worse than a clicky group of teenage girls.” — twitter comment

    Why write this piece now?  He could have written it during the campaign, if he was really brave.

    He hasn’t even been sworn it yet as senator, and it appears he’s already trying to run for president?

    One of the best reasons to re-elect Trump — to annoy the Left (AND the Republican establishment).

    As someone who enthusiastically voted for Mitt Romney three times, I am disappointed.  If I had known he was going to act more like Jeb Bush, than my enthusiasm would have been much, much less.  Mitt, you no longer represent Massachusetts and Mike Murphy.

    • #26
  27. The Cloaked Gaijin Member
    The Cloaked Gaijin
    @TheCloakedGaijin

    Gil Reich (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Only once since the 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951 was a party thrown out after a single 4 year term, and that was when Reagan beat Carter. Usually a president’s party gets a higher percentage of the vote, but Romney cut Obama’s margin in half!

    Only once since 1900.

    If you are referring to Grover Cleveland, I’m not sure that counts very well as he was eventually re-elected after winning the popular vote three times in a row.

    • #27
  28. Giaccomo Member
    Giaccomo
    @Giaccomo

    Obviously, he’s gearing up for 2020, either on his own behalf or as a king-maker.

    • #28
  29. Gil Reich Member
    Gil Reich
    @GilReich

    The Cloaked Gaijin (View Comment):

    Gil Reich (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Only once since the 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951 was a party thrown out after a single 4 year term, and that was when Reagan beat Carter. Usually a president’s party gets a higher percentage of the vote, but Romney cut Obama’s margin in half!

    Only once since 1900.

    If you are referring to Grover Cleveland, I’m not sure that counts very well as he was eventually re-elected after winning the popular vote three times in a row.

    Gary set the date as 1951. I was saying you can go all the way back to 1900 and Carter-Reagan is still the only example of a party thrown out after a single year term.

    The most recent time before Carter-Reagan, as you point out, depends on how you count the Grover Cleveland era elections. There were party switches in 4 consecutive elections from 1884 to 1896.

    So let’s just say that after McKinley’s election in 1896, Carter-Reagan is the only time a party was thrown out after one term.

    I expect that will be a known statistic in 2020 after Trump wins reelection. Of course he won, voters never throw out a party after one term. It will be the 2020 version of Repubs gained Senate seats in 2018 because of the map.

    • #29
  30. Mendel Inactive
    Mendel
    @Mendel

    Gil Reich: and a tiny sliver of the tiny sliver that is NeverTrump.

    If the NeverTrump contingent is so miniscule, why do you and so many others on Ricochet (and every other right-wing outlet) spend so many hours of each day obsessively attacking them?

    Either NeverTrump is so small as to be irrelevant, in which case the people writing hundreds of comments protesting Mona Charen and Gary Robbins are wasting their precious time, or NeverTrump is actually large enough to be electorally relevant, in which case it might be wiser to try to use persuasion instead of insult.

    Full disclosure: not a Trump fan, but not NeverTrump either – would be fine voting for him in the 2020 general election.

    • #30
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