Will Mitt Romney Back Biden?

Mitt may be moot when it comes to representing the people of Utah in the U.S. Senate, but something tells me that he isn't quite finished yet in the political arena. At least, he probably does not think so. 

During Mitt's career as a senator, I, and doubtless, countless other Utah Republicans, quietly seethed when some wonk or pundit opined that the people of Utah adored Romney. I'm sure there are some older folks in Utah, who look at his LDS background and who would vote a straight "R" ticket no matter what, who may have his back. And there are the faithful few, still blowing on the embers of the 2002 Olympics, hoping that the Winter Games will make a return to the Beehive State. I'm sure Pierre Delecto still has some cache among Utah's RINOs, and it's a safe bet that Utah's Democrats and the faux Republicans who infiltrated the last nominating convention may not be tickled with him but they are likely more or less satisfied with him. 

To the average Utah Republican, Romney is slightly more appealing than an outbreak of scabies and less appealing than a plague of bedbugs. At the last Utah GOP organizing convention, the first sight to greet the arriving delegates was a table with a sign that read "Remove Romney." Signatures were gathered at a brisk pace and not just because the organizers were handing out donuts. There are a host of reasons for this animus. There is the fact that he created "Obamacare Lite" in Massachusetts. The way he rolled over and played dead during his presidential run against Obama. There is the little matter of him not appearing at a single Utah Republican convention since the one in which he was forced into a primary with Mike Kennedy. He is a supporter of green energy, which keeps revealing itself to be payback for political favors and often a source of revenue for elite companies instead of what it is theoretically supposed to be. Clean, cheap energy is a good thing. Unless it is used to line the pockets of the rich. And it is a slap in the face to his constituents who depended on the oil, gas, and coal industries to make a living. If that isn't enough for you, we are coming up on the anniversary of a spending bill that contained enough pork to make Jimmy Dean blush. Romney not only supported it but took the opportunity to bash fellow Republicans in the process. Here's a refresher:

My thoughts on the government funding bill ↓ pic.twitter.com/yhDE2Eku0i

— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) December 22, 2022

Of course, the one thing that has continued to infuriate Republicans not only in Utah but across the nation is Romney's unabashed hatred for Donald Trump. What I think about Trump is irrelevant. The fact is that millions of people love Trump and support him. Whenever Pierre takes aim at The Donald, those people are reminded just how much they are loathed by those in power. Romney has become the sneering, entitled face of the smug and powerful elite. 

Not that I need any more evidence to prove my point. The prosecution can pretty much rest. But to put a cherry on the sundae, Romney was on "Meet the Press" this week. Hey, the holidays are here. The producers must have been looking for any talking head to grace the Sunday pundit hoedowns. American Wire noted that Romney, while not endorsing Biden, said: "I’m not going to describe who I’ll rule out other than President Trump,” So if Trump does get the nod, that leaves Romney supporting the Democrat's nominee, or a third-party candidate. Pierre then grabbed the cord on the back of his I-Hate-MAGA doll and gave it a good pull:

You know, when I was a kid, there was something called a gumball machine. You could put a penny in, and a gumball would come out. It was automatic. There was no filter. Put in the penny, out came the gumball. Donald Trump is kind of a human gumball machine, which is a thought or a notion comes in, and it comes out of his mouth. There’s not a lot of filter that goes on. There’s not a lot of, ‘What’s the implication?’ No, no. He just says whatever.

Should somebody tell him gumball machines are still around? Of course, this is the man who once took the time to sing the virtues of hot dogs, so you should probably save your breath.

He went on to brand Trump a dangerous dictator and called the situation "tragic" for the country, and said Trump is running because he does not want to be branded as a "loser."  He warned that Trump would surround himself with people who would encourage his impulses and that he would tear the country apart. Trump, said Romney, is running on anger and hate. Invoking the specter of J6, Romney said that Trump would impose his will on the legislative and judicial branches and the American people. 

To his credit, Romney did scold Hunter Biden for using his father's name to bilk money from foreign entities. But he also said that he saw no evidence that Joe Biden had committed high crimes and misdemeanors. He even said that were he in the House, he would vote against impeachment because of the lack of evidence. He added sympathetically that most people are not responsible for the misdeeds of their "kids, grandkids and great-grandkids." While he noted that Hunter is an "unsavory person" with bad habits, he indicated that the issue was not about President Biden. Never mind the Big Guy's cut.

You can see the full interview, with all its requisite Sturm und Drang, below:

I've seen the man speak three times--once at the convention and twice at smaller venues to which I had been invited as a delegate. Those events had maybe 30 to 40 people in attendance. The man is a master of BS. He practically holds a Ph.D. in BS. Never has someone flashed so many teeth while saying so little. But try as I might, I can't spot the angle. He's finished in Utah, so maybe he is fishing for some cabinet slot or agency appointment. If that is not the case, maybe it is a seat on a board somewhere. All I know for certain is that no matter what, money has to be involved somewhere. The "R" after his name stands for "Romney," and nothing else. Mitt is clearly angling for "a little something"' for himself. I find that odd. He has to remember that Liz Cheney went full RINO and ran for office. Once that ill-fated plan was scuppered, the donkeys tossed her in the dumpster like the lukewarm leftovers at Chuck-O-Rama at closing time. And this is the woman who recently called a Trump win possibly the last election in which people would be able to vote. 

Romney has more money than he knows what to do with. Not long ago, he sold his house in Deer Valley, a high-end ski resort area in Utah. If I had Romney's money and a house in Deer Valley, no one would ever see me again. I'd only come out for groceries, booze runs, and to hit the slopes once in a while. But Romney, it seems, will never be satisfied. As he tries to straddle the fence for the umpteenth time, he remains completely unaware that he has come to represent everything that drives people to MAGA in the first place.