Senate candidate, ex-presidential candidate and robot powered by money and the tears of pensioners Mitt Romney took to the papers to let the citizens of his state know that, if elected, he would stand up to Donald Trump. He did this by not actually standing up to Donald Trump, just promising he theoretically would, if something came up.
I have and will continue to speak out when the president says or does something which is divisive, racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, dishonest or destructive to democratic institutions. I do not make this a daily commentary; I express contrary views only when I believe it is a matter of substantial significance.
A discerning reader might note, however, that Mitt Romney had a slam-dunk opportunity in this very letter to actually pipe up and do that, and yet he did not. There is a thing that the "president" has been saying or doing in the last two weeks that is divisive, racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, dishonest and destructive—a thing that has been the only damn thing talked about on the news for a week, in fact—but Mitt Romney could not be bothered to take a sentence or two to actually do the "speak out" part.
He had time to crib a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. about the necessity of not remaining silent, mind you. And then he remained silent, because of course he did. Couldn't think of a single example of Trump saying something racist or anti-immigrant this week. Didn't come up.
That is not to say Mitt here did not think of an example of a Trump policy he wished to express his bold "disagreement" with. He wants you to know he opposes broad-based tariffs and the withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. That was what he came up with, writing up his ode to his own courage as audiotape of crying refugee children was being played by reporters in the White House press room.
But he did not bother to express his "contrary views" on that part. We can only presume Mitt, who like many other Republicans has long cultivated a pretended-at compassion that manages to find its way to few other humans indeed, does not find it a matter of "substantial significance."