Every State Has A Motto: Utah’s Is The RINO State

There must be something in the water in Utah that turns so-called “Republicans” into snivelling weasels. First exposed was the ultimate RINO, Mitt Romney. After blowing the 2012 presidential race to Obama, Romney allowed his seething jealousy of Trump to overwhelm his common sense.

Romney served as Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007, launched an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2008, losing the nomination to John McCain, and then lost the general election to Obama in 2012.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, the weak and jealous Mitt Romney publicly criticized Donald Trump for not releasing his taxes, suggesting that there might be a "bombshell" in them. Trump responded by calling Romney "one of the dumbest and worst candidates in the history of Republican politics." In a March 3, 2016, speech at the Hinckley Institute of Politics, Romney launched a vicious attack on Trump's personal behavior, business performance, and domestic and foreign policy stances. Romney labeled Trump as "a phony, a fraud ... He's playing members of the American public for suckers" and warned against the prospect of a safe and prosperous future if Republicans choose Donald Trump as their nominee. In response, Trump dismissed Romney as a "choke artist." Romney's speech was an unprecedented attack by a major U.S. party's most recent presidential nominee against the party's current front-runner for the nomination.

Romney continued to criticize Trump during the campaign and urged Republicans to employ “Tactical Voting.” During the primaries, he voted for but did not endorse Ted Cruz. After Trump won the election, Romney congratulated him by phone and on Twitter. Then, on November 19, Romney met with him at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, to discuss the position of Secretary of State, which ultimately, but not surprisingly, went to Rex Tillerson. In February 2017, Romney said that Trump was "off to a very strong start" in fulfilling his campaign promises, although he had "no regrets" about his anti-Trump speech. The following year, Trump endorsed Romney's 2018 senate campaign.

Romney won the Utah Senate Race in November 2018. However, Romney wrote a Washington Post editorial before taking office strongly criticizing Trump's character. His niece, Ronna McDaniel, who was also the chair of the Republican National Committee, called his comments "disappointing and unproductive." In response, Trump stated that he would prefer Romney to focus on Border Security and other areas where he can be helpful.

As of November 9, 2019, Romney was one of three Republican senators, along with fellow RINOs Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who declined to co-sponsor a resolution opposing the impeachment inquiry process into Trump. He was one of two Republicans, along with Collins, who joined all Democrats in voting to allow impeachment witnesses.

On February 5, 2020, Mitt Romney delivered a prepared speech on the Senate floor condemning the act of "corrupting an election to keep oneself in office" as "perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of one's oath of office that I can imagine." Following this, he became the sole Republican senator to vote to convict Trump in his first impeachment trial, breaking ranks with the Republican majority. According to press reports, this made him the first U.S. senator in history to vote to convict a president of the same political party.

In June 2020, Romney marched with BLM during the George Floyd Riots. That fall, he again did not vote for nor support Trump. In 2021, Romney was one of the most vocal attackers of Trump in the false charges against him concerning the hugely exaggerated January 6 incident.

On January 13, 2021, the House voted to impeach Trump for the second time, citing incitement of insurrection. On January 26, Republican senator Rand Paul of Kentucky introduced a motion to dismiss the impeachment charge. The objection was defeated in a 55-45 vote; Romney was one of the five Republicans to vote against it, along with Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Ben Sasse, and Pat Toomey.

Now following in Romney’s footsteps is Utah’s Governor Spenser Cox. In an interview with CNN’s Kaitlin Collins, Cox stated that he has not voted “for the top of the ticket” in an election since 2012. He then added that he had no intention to vote for Donald Trump in November.

Collins asked, “Are you supporting the top of your ticket in November? Are you supporting Donald Trump?”

Cox replied:

“Yeah, so I’ve said before, I haven’t voted for the top of the ticket since 2012. I’ve certainly had my concerns; one of those is what happened on January 6^th. I’m hopeful; I want my party to win. They chose a candidate this time around that was not my first choice.”

“Wasn’t my choice last time, either. But the party’s spoken, and that’s who they have chosen. And so, I’ve said I’m not going to vote for either presidential candidate this year. I’ll write somebody in, as I’ve done in the past, but I am supportive. I do want Donald Trump to succeed. I want my party to win.”

“We desperately need the right people in the right positions. I’m very anxious for who he picks as vice president. That’s going to make a big difference, I think. Certainly, for me.”

“I believe in governors. I think that North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is an incredible leader. I think he’s somebody who could actually help to unite the party and lead us into November with President Trump. And that’s something we’ll be watching very closely if an announcement comes soon. I guess potentially on Monday.”

Even though Cox isn’t voting for Trump, he does believe he will win the election.

At a news conference in February, he stated, “I do think that President Trump is going to win the general election, and I will work very closely with him — I look forward to working closely with him.”

The cases of both Romney and Cox are systemic within the GOP. Democrats, no matter how much they may disagree with a colleague, do not denigrate them and certainly don’t announce publicly that they will not be voting for them.

The GOP has a solidarity problem. The public does not see these disagreements as constructive; they view them as a party in disarray. Across the aisle, Democrats see them as cracks and exploit them to their advantage.

We know there is a lot of “wokeness” in every aspect of today's world. Still, standing up for the truth should not be hard for people of character. When I learn, for instance, that Cox told an audience of high school students several years ago that his chosen pronouns are “he, him, and his,” I wonder why self-respecting Americans who despise the radical left agenda elected him.

That was a clear signal that he is not a leader who will stand firm in the face of radical left ideology. The GOP needs to understand that the time for compromise is over. As conservatives, we must begin restoring normalcy and back those trying to do just that. Starting with the second debate, Mitt Romney curled up in the corner against Obama in a race Republicans clearly could have won with a strong candidate.

He relentlessly criticized President Trump but still won the Senate election in 2018. How and Why? He clearly communicated his positions in numerous ways. He cannot be reelected if he decides to run for office again.

Utah is hardly the only state that has produced RINOs. That said, it is one of the more surprising states to do so. As harsh as it may sound, there cannot be any negotiations with the far left. The answer has to be a loud and profound NO to their ridiculous policies and dangerous agenda.