Mitt Romney is basking in strange new respect from many liberal commentators ever since the failed presidential candidate and Utah senator voted to remove President Trump from office on Wednesday during the conclusion of the Senate impeachment trial.
It seems many liberals have turned a blind eye to Romney’s long history of spinelessness and flip-flopping simply because he’s now willing to say “Orange man bad.” Thankfully, though, liberal comedian Bill Maher isn’t letting Romney off the hook that easy.
During his Friday night show, Real Time with Bill Maher, the HBO host took Romney to task.
“I was giggling when people were talking on TV this week about this Mitt Romney, this man of great integrity. Wait a minute — did I lose my mind? I seem to remember him being the picture of the weather vane, right? … So I looked [his record] up,” Maher said, according to Mediaite.
Maher then cited at length Romney’s record of unprincipled flip-flopping on key issues such as abortion, gun control, healthcare, and climate change. “I think Mitt Romney still wants to be president, and he’s betting that if Trump crashes and burns, he’ll be the only one [Republicans] can turn to.”
WATCH: Bill Maher Trashes Mitt Romney, Then Seconds Later Floats Him As Running Mate for Dem Nominee https://t.co/2hKKNTxZjB
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) February 8, 2020
In leveling this particular charge, Maher is completely right. Romney has been a political opportunist for his entire career, shedding principles and positions the moment opinion polls change or he wants to run for a different office. Writing for the Washington Examiner, Chris Barron noted many of these flip-flops and wisely concluded that “to pretend that Mitt Romney is motivated by principle is to ignore the entirety of his political career.”
Need more proof of Romney’s spinelessness? Don’t forget how he threw a loyal gay staffer under the bus to get ahead politically during his 2012 presidential campaign. Not exactly the actions of a man of conviction.
Level-headed observers on both the Left and the Right, from Maher to Barron, know Romney for who he is.
The only bizarre thing was that Maher went on to float the idea that maybe Romney should be considered as a running mate for the Democratic nominee. That seemingly makes no sense, as panelist Ezra Klein was quick to point out, because Romney is still a Republican, and his positions don’t align with the Democratic Party.
But then again, maybe Maher’s idea would work out swimmingly — after all, the odds are pretty high Romney would be willing to embrace the liberal agenda just to try and get close to the Oval Office once again.
