Full Of Mitt

Mitt Romney ran for the Senate against Ted Kennedy in 1994 and got clobbered.  He was sworn in as the Governor of Massachusetts in January 2003.  When his term ended in 2007 he did not seek re-election.

In 2008 he ran for President.  By the time Super Tuesday rolled around he had lost 14 of 21 states.  He ended his candidacy without endorsing his Republican opponent John McCain.  Four years later, Romney launched his second bid for the presidency.

During his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention he spoke to the crowd as though he were reading from a carefully chosen collection of Hallmark greeting cards.

“You know, if every child could go to sleep feeling wrapped in the love of the family and God’s love, this world would be a far more gentle place.”

“President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and to heal the planet.  My promise is to restore every father and mother’s confidence that their children’s future is brighter even than the past.”

Romney was a weak candidate. Jim Antle opined on Romney’s “pandering” on legal abortion.

“If Romney had never run for office in Massachusetts and stuck to Utah politics, he would never have supported legal abortion. He may never have become known as a ‘flip-flopper.’ And he likely would not have been responsible for Romneycare, the state healthcare law that later formed the basis of Obamacare.”

“All in all, Romney would have been a much cleaner conservative candidate for the Republican presidential nomination both times he ran. And perhaps this would have aided him as a ‘Never Trump’ voice during the 2016 primaries.”

Now that Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) announced he will retire at the end of 2018, speculation is rampant Mittens will run for Hatch’s open seat.

In March of 2016, speaking from the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah, Romney played an ugly game and lost.  He waged a war of words against Trump with much more gusto and gumption than he ever displayed in his attacks on The World’s Most Dangerous Community Organizer during the presidential debates. He was the worst possible spokesman for Republicans against then-candidate Trump.

“…if we Republicans choose Donald Trump as our nominee, the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished.”

“Let me explain why.”

“Dishonesty is Trump's hallmark: He claimed that he had spoken clearly and boldly against going into Iraq. Wrong, he spoke in favor of invading Iraq. He said he saw thousands of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating 9/11. Wrong, he saw no such thing. He imagined it. His is not the temperament of a stable, thoughtful leader. His imagination must not be married to real power.”

“Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. He's playing the American public for suckers:  He gets a free ride to the White House and all we get is a lousy hat.”

“His domestic policies would lead to recession. His foreign policies would make America and the world less safe. He has neither the temperament nor the judgment to be president. And his personal qualities would mean that America would cease to be a shining city on a hill.”

Romney didn’t always demonstrate his vitriol towards Trump.  In February 2012 from Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, Romney spoke after Donald Trump endorsed his candidacy for president saying:

“There are some things that you just can’t imagine happening in your life. This is one of them. Being in Donald Trump’s magnificent hotel and having his endorsement is a delight. I’m so honored and pleased to have his endorsement. Donald Trump has shown an extraordinary ability to show how our economy works. To create jobs for the American people. He has done it here in Nevada, he has done it across the country. He understands that our economy is facing threats from abroad.”

The Salt Lake Tribune notes, “If the former presidential candidate wants the title, it’s likely his. We all know the direction this is going, and I think we’ll know within the next couple of weeks definitively. Romney would be the instant front-runner if he declares.”

His one-time presidential rival and now U.S. Ambassador to Russia Gov. John Huntsman called him a "perfectly lubricated weathervane."

Romney has two things in common with Granny Clinton:  he’s a twice-failed presidential candidate and he just won’t go away.  What this country does not need is another McCain-like malcontent.