Mitt Romney is the human embodiment of the Republican Party’s Trump terrors

washingtonpost.com ^ | March 3 at 9:42 AM | Philip Bump

[Trumpinator]

..snip...

What Trump has done is revealed how little power is left in the Republican Party. Trump doesn't need donors, as he likes to brag. His dismissal of Romney's speech is the dismissal of the guy who knows he was being used. Trump, like most big donors, secretly understood that he was being used, and now he's more than happy to point it out.

...snip... But perhaps Romney's biggest objection is that Romney is a product of the Republican establishment and he recognizes the threat posed by Trump.

If Trump wins the nomination -- which is more likely than not -- the Republican Party will stumble. If Trump wins the presidency, he will have enormous say in what the party looks like from top to bottom. The party will still have enough power to facilitate Senate, House, state and local races nationwide. But it will be an appendage of Trump. If Trump endorses a Herman Cain for Senate over a sitting representative who has worked his way through the system for two decades, what's the party going to do?

The paths worn down over a century, paved with contributions from donors and with routes driven by endorsers, will be handed over to Trump.

That's the party's fear. And it's a valid one.

[Trumpinator]

All that freak out by the GOPe is not over policy but loss of power to outsiders. They GOPe used the GOP voters as Serfs.

[DoughtyOne]

He’s a mhithead.

[bonfire]

That about sums it up.

[Sasparilla]

The little boy is the next Mitt.

[Abby4116]

The article says exactly how I understood a Trump win to mean to the party.

And it explains why they are pulling out all the stops to stymie Trump.

[Trumpinator]

The GOP establishment (I thought) are employees of the GOP voters. Must the GOP base now fight Big Govt as well as Big Party?

Maybe there was never any difference. We have seen the enemy and it is the Beltway establishment.

[major-pelham]

Do-it-for-money crowd in full freakout. They’re worried about Trump wrecking their business while they’ve been wrecking ours since 1988. Frig em.

[Gaffer]

Mitt Romney is now the poster boy for and the embodiment of that treacherous, treasonous, simpering, quisling, queasy bunch of second-tier cowards so content in their own nests of luxury and elitism who have betray us for more than 2 decades.

They lie daily; they sleep, dream and wake lies. Lie, lie, lie, lying liars and that woman out in Colorado (I think) that called them that in Luntz’s focus group is the icon of the anger we betrayed have for those traitors. I’ll see their party burn down if this - Romney is what we can expect from them.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Trump might endorse Herman Cain over a sitting gaseous establishment pork-trougher? That’s enough to get me to
vote for him right there.

[Harpotoo]

In 2012 Mitt took the Donalds money and praised him! It’s out all over the web now and hopefully FOX and the rest if possible.

People will now find out who the actual Fraud, conman and liar is!

[Diogenesis]

"As U.S. real output grew 13 percent between 2002 and 2006, Massachusetts trailed at 9 percent.
* Manufacturing employment fell 7 percent nationwide those years, but sank 14 percent under Romney, placing Massachusetts 48th among the states.
* Between fall 2003 and autumn 2006, U.S. job growth averaged 5.4 percent, nearly three times Massachusetts' anemic 1.9 percent pace.
* While 8 million Americans over age 16 found work between 2002 and 2006, the number of employed Massachusetts residents actually declined by 8,500 during those years.
"Massachusetts was the only state to have failed to post any gain in its pool of employed residents," professors Sum and McLaughlin concluded.
In an April 2003 meeting with the Massachusetts congressional delegation in Washington, Romney failed to endorse President Bush's $726 billion tax-cut proposal."
[Cato Institute annual Fiscal Policy Report Card - America's Governors, 2004.]

"Peeking Out From the McCain Wreckage: Mitt Romney"

"Someone's got to say it: IS MITT ROMNEY RESPONSIBLE FOR OBAMA'S VICTORY?"

"Vanity: Team Romney Sabotaged Palin and Continuing to Do So?"

"Romney Supporters Trashing Palin"

"Romney advisors sniping at Palin?"

---

[JBW1949]

What would be a very exciting thing would be for Trump, after he is elected, to start a movement for a Constitutional Convention to get term limits for Congress....

I would love to see that...A TWO box of popcorn show!!!!

[KC Burke]

From a Cruz supporter, you accessment at number one is correct. What is truly important is whatever the speech is from Romney, Donald has to suck it up and answer it without getting juvenile. He has to be the more Presidential. Any talk now of leaving the party for a third party run is just what they want. They want their vehicle to power back.

[Harpotoo]

For years many have been saying there is no difference in the parties. For many years defenders of the GOPe have been saying the GOP was for Conservative values.

In the past 2 years part 1 has been proven TRUE and part 2 above has been proven FALSE!

[FlipWilson]

Well, well, well, like father like son. Ole Mitt trying to do to Trump what his dear old did to Goldwater.

[conejo99]

If there was a secret group of evil insiders they would never choose to send out Romney.
Instead I think it’s a diffuse group of self directed self interested individuals who know (but don’t trust) each other.
They will support or oppose Trump depending on their perceived self interest.

[pgkdan]

Maybe there was never any difference. We have seen the enemy and it is the Beltway establishment.

Spot on. There NEVER was a real difference. Well almost never. Newt's insurgency in 1994 was real, just not long lasting. He supplanted Bob Michel's as Minority Leader before his Contract With America coup. Michels went on record saying that he enjoyed being in the minority all those years. All the perks and privilege without the responsibility of power.

[Lion Den Dan]

Good riddance to those legislators who have worked their way through the system for more than 2 decades. They have been there too long and are beholden to the power brokers.

[Lady Heron]

Mitt Romney is exactly the elite establishment guy the Trump and Cruz voters hate. Woohoo, you are talking to Rubio, Bush and Kasich voters. Pull those votes together and see how many of the base you are talking to.

[Travis McGee]