"The Political Tragedy of Mitt Romney"

The Utah senator's vote to convict Trump is an example of why he lost in 2012.

The Political Tragedy of Mitt Romney.  . . . "And Romney has been correct about our departure from the principles of the Founders.
"That said, despite grasping the problem, Romney is a deeply flawed messenger who is unable to bring himself to do what needs to be done in order to get back to those principles — partly because he has been on both sides of every important issue. Trump, character flaws and his own flip-flopping notwithstanding, has been willing to fight the Left.

Explaining why Mitt Romney really voted to convict Trump  . . . "Former staffers on the Romney campaign are rebuking their former boss, saying he's "motivated by bitterness and jealously."  That's somewhat true, but it's not the full story.  As much as Romney craves hero status among the Georgetown set, he hates that the very people who backed his presidential run also stood behind a vulgar reality TV host.

"The difference is that Trump won.  Romney will never forgive Republicans for making that happen."

American Greatness: "Mitt Romney, Bedwetter" "The senator from Utah cast aside concerns about the meaning of the vague allegation of “abuse of power” to slake his thirst for vengeance. Now that he’s drunk too many draughts of payback, break out the rubber sheets."

Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith motivated him to vote for Trump’s removal from office
Romney said to Chris Wallace of Fox, “As a senator-juror, I swore an oath before God to exercise impartial justice. I am profoundly religious. My faith is at the heart of who I am,” Romney said at the start of his speech. Clearly moved, he paused for several long moments and took a breath before continuing, “I take an oath before God as enormously consequential.”. Has Mitt been consistent with this? See these posts from Matt Vespa of Townhall:

• Romney when running for Governor of Massachusetts in 2002: "I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose and am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard."
• Romney in 2011: "I support the reversal of Roe v. Wade, because it is bad law"

 • Romney in February 2012: Happy to accept Donald Trump's endorsement of his campaign for president
• Romney in February 2018: Happy to accept Donald Trump's endorsement of his campaign for U.S. Senator
• Romney in January 2019: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mitt-

 • Romney when running for Governor of Massachusetts in 2002: "I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose and am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard."
• Romney in 2011: "I support the reversal of Roe v. Wade, because it is bad law"

 I believe Mitt Romney is motivated by bitterness and jealously that @realDonaldTrump accomplished what he has failed to do multiple times. His desire to pander to the chattering class has gotten the best of him...again.

Gregory T. Angelo
Replying to @gregorytangelo

I could go on. Romney goes wherever the winds of popular opinion take him. If Trump's popularity starts surging, or Romney's approval takes a hit after this ill-advised op-ed, watch how he turns on a dime.

Nancy Pelosi should resign

Tony Branco

Jonathan Turley  "The House has its share of infamies, great and small, real and symbolic, and has been the scene of personal infamies from brawls to canings. But the conduct of Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the State of the Union address this week will go down as a day of infamy for the chamber as an institution. It has long been a tradition for House speakers to remain stoic and neutral in listening to the address. However, Pelosi seemed to be intent on mocking President Trump from behind his back with sophomoric facial grimaces and head shaking, culminating in her ripping up a copy of his address.

Turley

"Her drop the mic moment will have a lasting impact on the House. While many will celebrate her trolling of the president, she tore up something far more important than a speech. Pelosi has shredded decades of tradition, decorum, and civility that the nation could use now more than ever. The House speaker is more than a political partisan, particularly when carrying out functions such as the State of the Union address. A president appears in the House as a guest of both chambers of Congress. The House speaker represents not her party or herself but the entirety of the chamber. At that moment, she must transcend her own political ambitions and loyalties.
"Tensions for this address were high. The House impeachment managers sat as a group in front of the president as a reminder of the ongoing trial. That can be excused as a silent but pointed message from the Democrats. Trump hardly covered himself with glory by not shaking hands with Pelosi."... More

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law for George Washington University and served as the last lead counsel during a Senate impeachment trial. He testified as a witness expert in the House Judiciary Committee hearing during the impeachment inquiry of President Trump.

Pelosi at the SOTU

Trump’s Magic SOTU Speech Highlighted by Punch-Drunk Pelosi  . . . "Emotion from tales and images of lost soldiers, a martyred young aid worker, a young Black girl seeking better education, a lost brother to an illegal alien, a premature one-pound baby, a 100-year-old Tuskegee Airman and great-grandson, a returning soldier to his family, etc.

Notice Pelosi pre-ripped the pages just before the President's conclusion.
. . . "This isn't really all that surprising. We all knew that Pelosi did that as a stunt. It is why she ripped the speech in sections. And when she did it, she made sure to change directions. It was clear she was doing it so every camera could see, at least at some point in time" . . .
So Nancy Pelosi planned out her toddler-like rip stunt all along
. . . "According to Pelosi's media allies at NBC, she wanted you to believe that it all came in an impulsive moment of pique .  See?

Pelosi Was Mandated to Preserve Trump’s Signed Copy of His SOTU Speech — She Tore It Up Instead  . . . "Upon entering the House chamber President Trump handed Speaker Pelosi a signed copy of his State of the Union speech as is required.

"According to Carl Hibgie — US law requires that Pelosi preserve any official government document:". . . "According to 18 U.S. Code § 2071."

“Acquitted For Life” GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy Trolls Pelosi, Rips Up Articles of Impeachment (VIDEO)

Her drop the mic moment will have a lasting impact on the House.  . . . While many will celebrate her trolling of the president, she tore up something far more important than a speech. Pelosi has shredded decades of tradition, decorum, and civility that the nation could use now more than ever. The House speaker is more than a political partisan, particularly when carrying out functions such as the State of the Union address. A president appears in the House as a guest of both chambers of Congress. The House speaker represents not her party or herself but the entirety of the chamber. At that moment, she must transcend her own political ambitions and loyalties." . . . Jonathan Turley

Nice Work, Traitor: Mitt Romney's Vote to Impeach Trump Will Only Hurt Senate Republicans and Help Schumer

Matt Vespa   "Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) is a traitor. He’s voting to convict Trump on one of the articles of impeachment. He’s siding with Democrats and exposing himself as someone who is against the Great American Comeback. To all those blue-collar workers who stayed home in 2012 because Obama was too liberal and Romney looked like the guy who fired them, he didn’t disappoint. He just spits in your face with this vote which is a direct missile fired at the blue-collar comeback that’s been engineered by this White House. "Romney is doing this because of his conscience. Well, good for him. He’s principled, right? Except that he’s not. Donald Trump Jr. cited a damning Twitter thread by Gregory T. Angelo who noted the years of flip-flopping by Romney, exposing him as the guy who just wants to be invited to the cocktail parties. 

 . . . "He called Trump a conman and then vied to become his secretary of state. He said he didn’t want to return to the days of Ronald Reagan in 1994, and then said he would very much like to see a Reagan Republican be the 2008 nominee. In 2012, he accepted Trump’s endorsement in his presidential bid. And he accepted Trump’s endorsement during his 2018 Senate run. The man is doing this because he thinks he can run for president again. Maybe. Why would he do this? It seems Mitt has become infected with John McCain syndrome of just being angry." . . . 
Some of the Twitter

Gregory T. Angelo

✔@gregorytangelo

Replying to @gregorytangelo

• Romney when running for Governor of Massachusetts in 2002: "I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose and am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard."
• Romney in 2011: "I support the reversal of Roe v. Wade, because it is bad law"

 Gregory T. Angelo

✔@gregorytangelo

Replying to @gregorytangelo

I could go on. Romney goes wherever the winds of popular opinion take him. If Trump's popularity starts surging, or Romney's approval takes a hit after this ill-advised op-ed, watch how he turns on a dime.

 Donald Trump Jr.

✔@DonaldJTrumpJr

Mitt should be expelled from the @SenateGOP conference. #expelMitt https://twitter.com/kimstrassel/status/1225142633384665088 …Kimberley Strassel

✔@KimStrassel
Mitt Romney may think he's taking a shot at POTUS. But any real damage he causes will in fact be to Senate Rs in tough races. Schumer's goal with all this was retaking the Senate. If he succeeds, he'll hopefully remember to send Romney a thank you.

00000000000

Is There a Market Where I Can Short Liberals?

 

Ann Coulter  "It’s been a great week!

"In Iowa, the party that claims to be devoted to “science” and “technology" demonstrated that it couldn’t count to 10.
"Trump delivered a triumphant State of the Union address, highlighting all he’s done to make America great again -- and attacking previous administrations for failing to do so. It was such a bravura performance that when he was finished, Speaker Nancy Pelosi childishly tore up his speech from the podium in a shocking breach of decorum.
"Hours after the president’s address, he was scheduled to be “acquitted” in the Senate impeachment trial -- if that’s the right word for a dismissal of the most absurd charges ever brought against a chief executive.
"After weeks of scurrilous accusations against him being made on the Senate floor, Trump's job approval rating in Gallup polling has soared to 49 percent, the highest it’s been since he took office. He should ask Pelosi to impeach him again.

"And the week is young! We should cap it off with something fun. For your gloating pleasure, let’s take a stroll down memory lane.

"Liberals know nothing, but always express themselves with great bravado and certainty. These are people who claim to know exactly what the temperature will be a decade from now, but have trouble with what will happen next week. Their confident predictions are as useless as bill of impeachment or an Iowa vote count.
"THE ECONOMY: As you’ve probably heard, the economy is booming under President Trump. Unemployment has fallen to historic lows, more than 7 million jobs have been created, and the stock market keeps setting new records. ...

"“In preparation for a completely unpredictable Trump presidency, I sold all stocks in my kids' education accounts today. I urge u to do same.” -- Kurt Eichenwald on Twitter, Sept. 26, 2016

  More...

Update: Democrats’ Spanish State Of The Union Response Ties Trump To El Paso Mass Shooter  "Texas Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar, while delivering the Democratic Party’s Spanish-language State of the Union response, tied President Donald Trump to a mass shooting that targeted Hispanic Americans." . . .

Both illustrations by Ian Macfarlane 

The Big Game

Stilton's Place

"Controversy erupted Sunday when the results of the Super Bowl, which was widely expected to be over and done with by now, were declared illegitimate by the San Francisco 49ers.

“ 'Our team presented an unbeatable case for the offense,” sniffed 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, “and the defense presented by the Chiefs was completely meaningless and, frankly, an insult to the good people watching these historic proceedings on television."

" 'But what really did us in," Garoppolo continued, "Was the Chiefs' insistence that the game be decided with only our standard number of players on the field when we, and the American people, wanted to call additional players onto the field to help make our case for victory!” 

"Chiefs' quarterback Patrick Mahomes said that the case for letting the opposing team call for additional players on the field was unnecessary and a waste of everyone’s time. “Look, everyone already knew what the outcome would be,” stated Mahomes. “Why stretch things out with additional players who have absolutely nothing new to offer?”

"Further tainting the results were accusations of misconduct by one referee. “That whistleblower was totally on their side,” accused Mahomes, “but Garoppolo claims he doesn’t know who the whistleblower is and never even met him! Give me a (bleep)-ing break.' ”

"Perfectly Lubricated weathervane" Mitt Romney Voting To Convict, so Democrats can claim "bipartisan" UPDATED

Weasel Zippers

"Weasel. He’s done. He’s so torn up with jealousy that Trump won and he didn’t."

CBS Evening News

✔@CBSEveningNews

NEW: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) to vote to convict Pres. Trump, breaking from party; "The president is guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust. What he did was not perfect. No. It was a flagrant assault on our electoral rights, our national security and our fundamental values."

"Speaking on the Senate floor on Feb. 5, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, announced he would break from his party and vote later that day to convict President Donald Trump of the articles of impeachment. "As it is with each senator, my vote is one of conviction," Romney said. “My vote will likely be in the minority... I was among the senators that said that what the president did was wrong,” he added. Romney's announcement would make him the first Republican to support Trump's removal from office. After the Senate voted last week to bar new witness testimony and subpoenas for documents, Trump’s acquittal has seemed all but assured. The House of Representatives impeached Trump in December on two articles of impeachment--abuse of power and obstruction of Congress."

Romney, the weathervane

Why can't Mitt Romney please just go away and take Hillary with him? Please.

Huntsman calls Romney a “perfectly lubricated weather vane” on important daily issues  (October 28th, 2011)

JON HUNTSMAN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, those are — those are pretty tough words, Wolf.  All I can say is this is a time when this nation wants leadership.  We’ve — we — we’ve been — we’ve been looking for leadership for some time in — in the White House.  We haven’t found it.  This is when the candidates need to show — stand up and show a little bit of leadership.  You can’t be a JON HUNTSMAN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, those are — those are pretty tough words, Wolf.  All I can say is this is a time when this nation wants leadership.  We’ve — we — we’ve been — we’ve been looking for leadership for some time in — in the White House.  We haven’t found it.  This is when the candidates need to show — stand up and show a little bit of leadership.  You can’t be a perfectly lubricated weathervane on the important issues of the day, whether it’s Libya, whether it’s the debt ceiling, whether it’s the discussion around the Kasich bill in Ohio, where Governor Romney has been missing in action in terms of showing any kind of leadership. on the important issues of the day, whether it’s Libya, whether it’s the debt ceiling, whether it’s the discussion around the Kasich bill in Ohio, where Governor Romney has been missing in action in terms of showing any kind of leadership.

Breitbart's John Nolte has a lower opinion of Romney than that.  . . . "Let’s first dispel with the idea that Romney wrote this op-ed out of some pressing moral need to condemn Trump’s supposed indecency. Decent people don’t contribute to the far-left Washington Post, a news outlet that published a countless number of lies to sabotage Romney, that attacks the children of Republicans, that tells almost as many lies as CNN." . . .

Democrats in Iowa

After Iowa, five reasons for the decline and fall of 'frontrunner' Joe Biden  "Lost in the shuffle of the Democrats' app fiasco in Iowa, the rubber-room swan song of House impeachment manager Adam Schiff, and the childish paper-ripping tantrum of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the candidacy of "frontrunner" Joe Biden looks headed for the dumpster. ' . . .

Biden in fact has always been a sad sack, puffed up by the press and the swamp into being some kind of statesman when the reality was, he was a grubby little Willie Loman or Walter Mitty figure, redolent of the '40s, dreaming of grandeur.

George Soros's connection with the Iowas Caucus problems  Or Mayor Pete

MSNBC’s Matthews: Is It Possible To Give The Nomination To Adam Schiff?

Babylon Bee saw humor in this Three-fer, tweaking CNN, Democrats and ISIS

To do anything less would be racist. TD

CNN To Give ISIS Equal Time To Respond To Trump's State Of The Union

"ATLANTA, GA—In the interest of fairness in broadcasting, CNN has announced the cable news channel will give members of ISIS equal time to respond to President Trump's State of the Union address later this evening.

"Several ISIS representatives will be allowed to give a full address responding to the president's remarks, criticizing him for his border security stance and debunking his claims on the need for a wall along the southern border of the country.

" 'Americans deserve to hear from every perspective, whether that's the bad orange man or these brave freedom fighters," said a CNN spokesperson. "We will give them a fair hearing and see what they have to say. We're confident it will be an informed and interesting perspective, unlike whatever drivel we hear from the orange man."

 '' 'Did we mention he is bad? He is bad," the spokesperson added.

"ISIS has thanked CNN for the opportunity, calling the station "a true friend of democracy.' "

6 Things Democrats Refused to Stand for During State of the Union Address

Andrew Thomas blogs at Dark Angel Politics. Looks good, but I think of Hillary's fireworks display that was canceled

Breitbart  "Tensions were high among Republicans and Democrats on Tuesday night as President Donald Trump delivered the State of the Union address to the American people and members of Congress.

"While they were slow to stand for some things, some Democrats refused to stand at all for a variety of the Trump administration’s accomplishments. In no particular order, here are six moments when many Democrats did not stand during the State of the Union address:" . . .

Democrats Rashida Tlaib, Tim Ryan Storm Out of SOTU Address: ‘It’s All Fake’ "Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) stormed out of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday evening.

“ 'I walked out of that speech. The lies, the bigotry, and the shameless bragging about taking away food stamps that people depend on to live—it was all beneath the dignity of the office he occupies. Shame on this forever impeached president,” Tlaib wrote on Twitter after bolting from the lower chamber." . . .

SOTU: The unspeakable ungraciousness of the Democrats in Congress  . . . "The most egregiously infuriating aspect of the night was the persistent despicable behavior of the Democrats who were in the room.  They acted like small children, infantilized by their hatred of this president and their belief that Americans must be taken care of according to their specifications.  They demeaned themselves with their pathetic behavior at an event like this SOTU speech by refusing to acknowledge any of this president's victories.  A few of the usual suspects walked out during the speech, a feeble attempt to demonstrate their contempt.  They are obviously both angry and embarrassed that their misguided attempt to impeach the president failed.  But they should take their rage out on Reps. Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler and Pelosi who truly failed them, not the president.  All those Democrats who sat by and watched the Schiff show systematically destroy their own party are to blame for their own demise." . . .

Nancy Pelosi throws a public temper tantrum and other Democrat misbehavior  . . . "As Trump began to speak, Pelosi began to perform a running pantomime behind his back. Rather than listen to Trump's speech, she leafed through the written speech he gave her. She also wriggled around in her chair, sucked her dentures, made disdainful faces, waved to people in the crowd, and generally behaved like an angry 15-year-old girl whose parents have forced her to attend a formal event. It was painful to watch the person who is third in line to the presidency behave in such a childish, rude manner." . . .

Ben Jacobs✔

A small cluster of Democrats including Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Mark Pocan don't stand for Charles McGee, the former Tuskegee Airman introduced by Trump

Here's what Democrats were chanting in protest during the State of the Union

UK Telegraph

There was much applause during President Donald Trump's 2020 State of the Union, but for at least a few seconds, Democrats interrupted the fanfare with chants of protest.
"After Trump called on lawmakers to deliver him a piece of legislation to dramatically lower drug prices in order for him to sign it, many Democratic lawmakers stood, held up three fingers and chanted "H.R.3."
"House Resolution 3, named the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act in the late congressman's honor, is a bill that would allow the government to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for those covered under Medicare. Affected drugs would include insulin products and 25 of the most expensive brand-name drugs that don't have generic equivalents.
"It passed the House with a 230-192 vote.
"The bill was declared "dead on arrival" in the Senate, and the White House indicated the president would have vetoed the bill if it had landed on his desk, the Washington Post reported in December." . . .

At issue was if other plans would work better: "Trump’s advisers had been in discussions with Pelosi’s staff for months over a possible deal, and Trump’s embrace of traditionally Democratic proposals to lower drug prices was a potential wild card in the bill’s fate.
"But Trump backed off the House proposal in recent weeks, saying Congress should focus its efforts on a bipartisan Senate Finance Committee proposal from Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and ranking Democrat Ron Wyden (Ore.) that would cap price increases in Medicare to the rate of inflation and limit seniors’ out-of-pocket costs. That bill is also unlikely to be signed into law — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told the White House he is unwilling to bring up a bill that splits his caucus, and several Republicans have said the measure is akin to imposing price controls, which they have long opposed.

. . . "(The Cummings bill, of course, was anti-free market, making it the equivalent of rent control for medicine.)" . . . Andrea Widburg