Romney's out because he refused to apologize to Trump? Unpopular opinion: Good for Mitt

I've been hard on Mitt Romney. I've called him a suck up, a sycophant, a flip-flopper, and a has-been. I've accused him of being precisely the kind of wishy-washy, spineless politician who would choose expediency over anything he'd previously espoused. Heck, when he was running for President, I hoped he could beat Obama but I argued that he could never win because he'd been on both sides of every issue.

I stand by all of that. After the scathing anti-Trump speech he delivered last summer, it appeared that we'd seen the last of Mitt. He was a two-time loser who'd unloaded on the man who would eventually win the 2016 election. Then, when it appeared he might be under consideration for Secretary of State. I wrote:

I get that politics make strange bedfellows. I understand that you keep your enemies close. I even recognize that making Romney part of the administration might appease the middle-of-the-road RINO contingent within the GOP. However; I simply can't wrap my head around how this guy can work with the man he so viciously attacked during the primaries.

Now we're learning that, apparently, he couldn't. According to CNN, Romney refused to publicly apologize for his anti-Trump rant, and that cost him a slot in the new administration.

CNN has learned that Vice President-elect Mike Pence and Priebus also wanted Romney to apologize as a way to smooth over the tension. After Conway and others attacked Romney publicly -- lobbying against his selection in television interviews -- and more than a week after the two had begun talking, Trump raised the possibility of a public apology with Romney as a way of mollifying those critics, the sources said. He asked Romney to say publicly he was "wrong" about Trump. Trump personally saw it in business deal terms: He would get the mea culpa he sought from Romney; Romney would get the job he covets. But Romney -- who titled his own book "No Apology" -- declined.

Guess what. I agree with Romney on this. Good for him. I think Romney's initial attack was wrong-headed, ill-advised, and foolish. I think it was idiotic to do something that - inarguably - would benefit Hillary Clinton and damage the GOP nominee. I think it was an abandonment of all the beliefs which he claims to hold dear, since we know - without question - that Hillary would undermine Romney's alleged positions across the board. But I also think this: If Mitt Romney really believes what he said about Trump, he should never apologize for it. I like people with guts. I like people who believe in something and stand by it. If Mitt Romney really feels that Trump is bad for the United States, then it's his duty to stand by that instinct. Now, if someone could explain how that squares with "President-elect Trump is the very man who can lead us to a better future," I'd really appreciate it.

Here's Romney's full remarks after dinner tonight with Trump pic.twitter.com/ufubPoDrZg

— Jon Passantino (@passantino) November 30, 2016

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