The Far Right Is Trying To Make A Case Against Electing Romney To The Senate

Although Bannon is apparently sidelined from electoral politics and Miss McConnell and the Senate Republicans are trying to persuade Señor Trumpanzee to kiss and make up with Romney [Update: it worked, at least for now], there are figures on the right who are opposed to Romney waltzing into the open Utah Senate seat. There are some other Republicans running-- Chris Forbush from Nevada, an environmental engineer named Timothy Jimenez and a very right-wing Trumpist attorney named Larry Meyers, who is running on a platform that points out that electing Romney would be restocking the swamp and that the FBI is corrupt. And three Democrats are trying to get their party's nomination-- Salt Lake County councilwoman Jenny Wilson (who's raised about half a million dollars) and what appears to be a couple of vanity candidates one named Mitchell Vice and one named James Singer.

Last week, the Salt Lake Tribune reported that the chairman of the Utah Republican Party, Rob Anderson, blasted Romney for being a carpetbagger. Anderson is a moderate who's no fan of Trump. The GOP establishment landed on Anderson like a ton of bricks and he's since apologized, saying over the weekend that "I was thrilled when he moved his residence to Utah. I would be even more thrilled to see him run for Senate."

But Anderson, while surely the most prominent and the most vocal, isn’t the only dissenter. Romney’s expected candidacy is also annoying primarily right-wing GOP members who suggest that he’s ignoring the party and will win by name recognition and money alone-- not platform.

“He’s being coronated,” said Don Guymon, a member of the Republican State Central Committee. “I’m very concerned by that.”

“The general public perception is that Mitt Romney will be the automatic next senator,” said Phill Wright, former state GOP vice chair.

“Mitt Romney will be UT’s next US Senator,” wrote state Auditor John Dougall on Facebook. “Not necessarily because of his vision for the future or his hard work but because the press and the UT Republican Party will help ensure his coronation.”

On Tuesday evening, Dougall wrote an extensive Facebook post on his thoughts about Utah’s soon-to-be-available U.S. Senate seat.

In the post, he said everyone has been focusing on who they want Utah’s next senator to be-- not what they want that person to be.

Dougall said Utahns want a strong conservative who supports Trump and understands the state’s issues. As far as Dougall can tell, he wrote, Romney doesn’t like the president very much. Dougall also said he’s concerned about Romney’s knowledge of Utah.

“We need to understand where Mr. Romney stands before we decide where he’ll sit,” he wrote.

After posting, Dougall shared an article from U.S. News and World Report, which says the state auditor is “seriously considering” running against Romney for the open seat.

Romney, who supported the Count My Vote initiative, is expected to gather signatures to get on the primary ballot, a relatively new option. It’s unclear if he would also go the traditional convention route, getting approval from party delegates, but he said in 2014 that system will “rarely produce a result that reflects how rank-and-file Republicans feel.”

If he doesn’t go through the convention, it might further inflame those who already doubt his allegiance to the state party.

At least two other Republican candidates plan to participate in the caucus and convention. Tim Jimenez, an environmental engineer who launched his campaign in January, said there’s “contention and anger” that Romney might bypass delegates.

“Everyone I’ve talked to has been positive that someone else is running besides Mitt Romney. They’re just glad to have someone else in the race,” Jimenez said. “I don’t believe he represents those of us who live in Utah.”

I wonder if he's talked with far right lunatic, huckster and anti-Mormon bigot Tricia Erickson, who bills herself as the conservative pundit. She adamantly refuses to get psychiatric treatment, although virtually everyone who knows her personally says she has been severely mentally ill for years. Yesterday, she sent her latest column out to residents of Utah (and me) with a little intro: "Hello Utah! Because Utah is mostly a conservative state, I believe that it is important for your voters to know the truth on Romney's liberal record. I, unfortunately, am not available for interviews. However, please read this info. It is all vetted and I am horrified that Utah would even consider the founder of Obamacare (RomneyCare) for any position at all in your state. Please shout these FACTS to the mountain tops... and elect a true conservative!"

Mitt Romney is still licking his wounds from losing to Obama in 2012. So what is there left to do in his endless quest for power and a possible re-run for POTUS? Well…become a senator, of course. But, does anyone care about his deplorable performance record? Romney’s record as Governor of Massachusetts:

• In 2002, Romney refused to sign a no new taxes pledge while running for governor.
• Under Romney, Massachusetts was in the BOTTOM THREE OF THE NATION FOR JOB CREATION, only above post-Katrina Louisiana and Michigan
• Massachusetts ranked third highest for population loss in a state
• According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), under Romney, spending in the Bay State rose 20.7 percent (Government bytes)
• Romney raised corporate taxes
• As Governor, Romney raised taxes and fees seven times by multi-millions of dollars to the tax payer and increased 57 fees while creating 33 new ones, earning him the nick name of “Fee Fee”
• Romney also, during a fiscal crisis in his state, imposed a 2 cent per-gallon gasoline fee, imposed an internet sales tax and legislated to facilitate the local governments within his state to raise business property taxes, while claiming that he would not “raise taxes”, He also raised local property taxes, created an Internet sales tax and raised business property taxes.

Under Massachusetts RomneyCare:

• By March, 2009, employer backed premiums were the highest in the nation
• By 2009, the average expense for family coverage was over $15,000.00
• Peter Robinson on Forbes.com reported “In the last two years alone, spending on free and subsidized plans for low-income citizens of the bay state has doubled from $630 million in 2007 to an estimated 1.3 billion this year”
• The wait to see primary care physicians for new patients rose to 44 days with some doctors refusing to accept new patients and the wait time to see specialists rose to roughly 50 days. Emergency rooms visits increased due to lack of availability to expediently see doctors
• 55,000 illegal immigrants received more than $93 million in Massachusetts Health benefits for emergency medical services in just one year
• Caused Massachusetts to employ between 15,551 and 21,422 fewer people and slowed growth of disposable income (Thomas R. Eddlem study)

Immigration

• The Washington Times, August 2007: “As governor, Mr. Romney wielded control over a significant budget and oversaw three cities that were proud of their designation as ‘sanctuary cities:’ Yet as governor, he recommended millions of dollars in state funding of them and made no attempt to force these cities to change their policies.”

Romney’s record on abortion:

• Romney was “PRO CHOICE” in 1994, 2002, 2005 and 2006. He was “PRO LIFE” in 2001, 2004, 2006 and now, of course, prolife for the purposes of being elected as our next Republican President
• On his 1994 campaign flyer, Romney lists “Retain a woman’s right to choose” as one of his foremost matters.
• In 1994 the Boston Globe also reported Romney’s stance on the RU-486 abortion pill, quoting Romney as saying “I would favor having it available”
• During a debate in 1994, Romney stated “I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country”. He further stated “I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years we should sustain and support it”
• Mitt singed in to law $50 tax funded co-pay abortions as a “healthcare benefit” under his RomneyCare
• Gave Planned Parenthood an instrumental role on the policy board in his Massachusetts healthcare plan, after his “pro-life conversion”
• Appointed a pro-choice judge, Matthew Nestor, to a lifetime appointment on a Massachusetts court, after his “pro-life conversion”

Judicial appointments:

• Mitt appointed a pro-choice judge to a lifetime appointment on a MA court AFTER his “pro-life conversion”
• Romney gave Planned Parenthood an instrumental role on the policy board in his Massachusetts healthcare plan after his “pro-life conversion”
• Mitt awarded a MA district court judgeship to Stephen Albany part of the MA Lesbian & Gay Bar Association & activist to repeal sodomy laws
• According to the Boston Globe: Romney passed over GOP lawyers for three quarters of the 36 judicial vacancies he faced as governor, instead, tapping registered Democrats or independents, including two gay lawyers who supported same sex rights

Gay Marriage:

• Mitt Romney was the “Father of Gay Marriage to America”
• Romney in 1994: Romney’s letter to Log Cabin Republicans: “As we seek to establish full equality for America’s gay and lesbian citizens, I will provide more effective leadership than my opponent”
• 1994: Romney informed the Log Cabin Club that he favors ENDA
• Bay Windows: “Do you support the Protection of Marriage Amendment?”, Romney: “No, because it would outlaw domestic partner benefits for same-sex couples”
• Mitt simply “paid back” the Log Cabin Republicans for their instrumental role in getting him elected to the governorship, by purposely looking the other way so that gay marriage could be forced on to Massachusetts, and ultimately the United States of America. There is no law on the books in MA to this day that legalizes gay marriage.
• Romney increased funding for the homosexual indoctrination of children in Massachusetts schools
• Romney’s policies caused Catholic adoptions centers to close down, rather than to turn innocent children over to gay couples.

Romney’s liberal record:

• Romney did not support the Bush Tax Cuts
• “Almost five years after he refused to sign a ‘no new taxes’ pledge during his campaign for governor, Mitt Romney announced yesterday that he had done just that, as his campaign for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination began in earnest.” (Boston Globe, January 2007)
• Romney in 1994: on his support of the Brady Bill and an assault weapons ban: “That’s not going to make me the hero of the NRA.” Also at a campaign stop “I don’t line up with the NRA”

Serving his country?

• Mitt received 3 draft deferments from the Viet Nam War to serve as a Mormon Missionary to draw people to the Mormon cult, nothing more, nothing patriotic. He did NOT serve his country!

Olympics:

• Romney siphoned an estimated $1.5 billion out of the U.S. Treasury, all in the name of the Olympics. This was more than all US Olympic games together
• Romney reaped more than $1.5 million in campaign funds during his governorship from individuals and families with ties to the Olympics

Mitt Romney has not recovered from his 2008 and 2012 campaign losses. True to form, I believe that Liberal Romney is regrouping to possibly run an effort against Donald Trump from within the senate.

In the letter, though not the column, she ended with "Romney's ego precedes every venue and room that he walk in to...there's a word for that that starts with an 'N.' And now, to make himself relevant again, he is re-branding as the the 'anti-Trump.' Doesn't American know yet that Mitt Romney's ego is more important than the The United States Of America?" No, not every Republican is certifiably insane, but those among us who are certifiably insane certainly know where their crazy theories will be appreciated.

Will Willard Get His Own Ring In The Trumpy-the-Clown Circus Tent?

Tricia Erickson is a well-known one woman anti-Mormon freakshow and right-wing, Trump-backing sociopath. While most normal Americans are freaking out over Trumpy-the-Clown appointments like Steve Bannon, Jeff Sessions, Michael Flynn, Betsy DeVos, Mike Pompeo, Ben Carson-- and threats of positions for a collection of dangerous misfits and grifters from Rudy Giuliani, Kris Kobach, Wilbur Ross, Jan Brewer, Forrest Lucas, Harold Hamm, Mike Huckabee and Harold Ford to Joe Arpaio, Steven Mnuchin, Sarah Palin, Jeb Hensarling and John Bolton... Ericsson is obsessed with someone else she fears Trump is about the give a job to, Mitt Romney. "[I]t is quite astounding," she wrote to her e-mail list yesterday, "that Trump would even consider bringing Mitt Romney into any office under his administration. Romney has not only been working for years to keep Trump out of office, but he (Romney) has a track record of horrible judgement that has already changed and harmed the landscape of our country and the American People on so many levels that it would take a book to cover it all... I am hereby warning, not only this new administration, but also the entire country regarding EVER placing Mitt Romney in ANY seat within POTUS."

So what's her gripe against Romney, apart from the anti-Mormon bigotry she's best known for? She has pages and pages of anti-Romney boilerplate-- from raising taxes in Massachusetts and promoting "the homosexual agenda" there to RomneyCare, liberal judicial appointments and assertions that Romney is pro-Choice. (He was but, like Trump, he changed his position, actually long before Trump did.) She accuses him of being a draft dodger (as was Trump, of course) and of being a racist. "Why, she snarled like a rabid dog, "hasn't Mitt renounced the HORRIFIC RACISM AGAINST BLACKS & Native Americans in his Mormon 'faith' and historical doctrine?"

Mitt Romney was relying on the backlash against Barack Obama’s radical policies to propel him into the presidency. Ever the image master, like Obama, he is, again, positioning himself as the white horse, the savior of the country. He is counting on the American electorate to ignore his record, flip flops and insatiable quest for power that began with his father. Where Obama’s brand was hope and change and the anti-Bush, Romney’s is Mr. Fix-it and the anti-Obama.

To make himself relevant again, he rebranded himself as the "anti-Trump"....as he flip flops again.

She bills herself as a "recognized expert on Mormonism," when, in fact, she's a recognized bigot, misanthrope and sociopath. Her book, Can Mitt Romney Serve Two Masters. I bet Thom Hartmann is embarrassed for having put her on his TV show!



So while Joe Scarborough is pushing Trump to pick Romney as Secretary of State-- and implies to his morning audience that it's in the bag, other Trumpists have other ideas. Many people say who's ever with Trump the moment before he goes up to the podium to announce his choice, will pick the next Secretary of State. Many say it's come down to a choice between Romney and Giuliani, although others see him making Giuliani the Director of National Intelligence, a very frightening prospect. Other Trumpists-- primarily Newt Gingrich-- want him to give the job to Newt Gingrich and supposedly David Petraeus and John Bolton are still in the running. Mike Huckabee is an advocate of the insanity pushed by Erickson and is hissing it into Trump's ears whenever he gets the chance. In a message Huckabee later deleted, he tweeted: "Nice to have meeting--but no admin spot; Mitt said Trump was con man; phony. That's insult to Trump voters."

Yesterday, Politico reported that Huckabee and other Trump allies are making a concerted effort to steer him away from Romney.

Huckabee warned that appointments of disloyal Republicans could prove to be a distraction in a president’s administration, arguing that such a person could be a problem because he or she doesn’t have a sense of commitment to or compatibility with the president-elect.

“It’s not about that I don’t care for Mitt personally, but I’m still very unhappy that Mitt did everything he could to derail Donald Trump,” Huckabee told Fox News. “He didn’t just go after him from a standpoint of saying I disagree with his policy on immigration or I disagree with his policy on taxes. He attacked him on a personal level about his character, integrity, his honor.”

The president-elect is looking at both Romney and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani for secretary of state, but the search for that post could still broaden. It does not appear that a final decision is imminent, even though Trump transition spokesman Jason Miller said on Wednesday that Trump is spending "significant time" on the deliberations.

Romney delivered a blistering speech in March in Salt Lake City in which he called Trump a “phony” and a “fraud.” He also tried to pick a convention floor fight, boldly calling on voters to cast their primary ballot for whatever Republican had a chance to beat Trump in their state.

He also used his speech to warn of the dangers of a Trump administration, mocking his business acumen-- “A business genius he is not,” Romney said-- and blasting his “flimsy at best” policies. He also described his foreign policy chops as “very, very not smart,” and said that “dishonesty” was the hallmark of his campaign.

Trump, who had repeatedly dismissed Romney as a failed candidate, immediately returned fire, saying Romney was a “choke artist” who begged for his endorsement and would have “dropped to his knees” had he asked him to.

On Wednesday, Huckabee accused Romney of not only “savaging” the man Republicans overwhelmingly elected as their nominee with his rhetoric during the campaign but also “savaging the voters.”

“It would be a real insult to all those Donald Trump voters who worked really hard. That’s what I think he has to stop and consider,” Huckabee said.

The only way Romney “could even be considered for a post like that,” he continued, is if “he goes to a microphone in a very public place and repudiates everything he said in that famous Salt Lake City speech and everything he said after that, where he said Donald Trump wasn’t fit, that he lacked character. I mean on and on. That’s beyond just the normal political infighting that we all experience.”

Gingrich characterized Romney as Trump’s “most vicious and most explicit opponent all through the campaign on the Republican side” and suggested his loyalty would be to himself, citing his presidential aspirations.

“You have to list out all the things he said and think, ‘Is this guy really gonna be loyal?’ But also, you know, Governor Romney wanted to be president, not secretary of state, and you have to ask the question: When he goes overseas, is he gonna be the secretary of state for President Trump or is he gonna be Mitt Romney’s own secretary state?” Gingrich asked. “I will support whoever President-elect Trump picks because he has the right, I think as the new president, to build the team he wants to build, but I would suggest there are a lot of other people who are more qualified than Romney in foreign policy and who are also have not been as actively hostile as he’s been.”