Mitt Romney A RINO? A Democrat?

Gilbert Stuart's Washington — A 1797 portrait of George Washington, a forerunner to President Donald J. Trump, painted by Gilbert Stuart (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

Of course, nobody really expected graciousness from President Trump:

And, quite predictably, many infuriated Trumpists have been denouncing Senator Romney as a “RINO,” a “Repubican in Name Only.”

This is flat nonsense. It is either ignorant or dishonest or some blend of the two.

My friend and neighbor Tom L. Pittman VII posted a refreshing bit of sanity on Facebook the other day and has kindly given me permission to steal it for use here:

There is a certain group of people who have convinced themselves and each other that Mitt Romney is a RINO, anti-Trump, and has to go.

As fervently as they believe this, they are actually wrong — both in their perception, and in their behavior.

The truth is Mitt votes with Trump 81% of the time — making Mitt Romney a bigger Trump supporter than Mike Lee (74%) and Rand Paul (70%).

Moreover, contrary to the mean-spirited attacks from this bubble, Romney is not a closet Democrat. No sitting Democrat votes with Trump more than Joe Manchin of West Virginia (54%) — a LONG way behind Mitt Romney.

If you struggle to believe these *documented facts*, then maybe you should ask yourself, “Is my contempt based in reality? Or on hate?”

Obviously Romney was very vocal in his criticisms of Trump. I too thought Romney seemed petty in this [we disagree here — dcp], but TO HIS CREDIT Romney dialed that way back. Nevertheless, this Trump bubble continues to lash out in retaliation.

Which brings me to my point:

Mitt Romney is not what is wrong with America; political bigotry is.

Whether it be Trump’s refusing to shake the hand of Pelosi, or Pelosi ripping up Trump’s speech, political intolerance is counterproductive and flat out immature.

Good people of *all* political persuasions should just decide to be be above that.

Thanks for listening.

p.s.: thanks to Shelby Saget Rampton for bringing this data to my attention.

***

And please permit me to clarify something else:

My praise of Senator Romney for his vote on Wednesday should not be interpreted as an endorsement of impeachment. Although I haven’t been shy about the fact that, in my judgment, Donald Trump is a phony who is pretending to be a conservative and that he is intellectually unfit for and morally unworthy of the presidency, I actually have mixed feelings on the specific recent case for removing Mr. Trump from office. Moreover, like Senator Romney, I support more of the Trump administration’s policies than I oppose. I’m happy, for instance, that Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh now sit on the Supreme Court. I will never vote for Joe Biden or Pete Buttigieg, let alone for Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren.

My praise of Senator Romney for his vote on Wednesday derives from the moral courage that he manifested in casting it.

I’m proud of him, and I don’t flinch from saying so. I’m sorry that I’ve lost friends over this. Still, Padre no me arrepiento.

Mitt Romney a RINO? A Democrat?