His eyes were misted with tears, but his jaw was set in resolute determination. There was a hint of tension in the facial muscles as he steeled himself to his duty. He stared into the eyes of his interlocutor, a former AIPAC employee and therefore a trusted moral authority. Resisting the quiver that threatened to creep into his voice, Mitt Romney boldly staked his claim as the conscience of a generation with words that will echo through the eons – “I don’t want to see trickle down racism.”
Even when trying to bare his soul, Romney can’t help but deploy a line obviously slapped together at a meeting of unemployed political consultants. And even this clumsy and lame formulation reveals the deep inner sickness. “Trickle-down economics” was the leftist smear term for Ronald Reagan’s “supply side” policies, whereby tax cuts for the rich would ultimately benefit the poor through economic growth. Here, Romney casually co-opts the leftist insult directed against the unquestioned deity of the GOP and recycles it against the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party. He can’t even come up with his own political attack lines.
It’s not surprising, as Mitt Romney outsources both the jobs of his employees and his deepest sources of his own morality. “Presidents have an impact on the nature of our nation, and trickle-down racism, trickle-down bigotry, and trickle-down misogyny – all these things are extraordinarily dangerous to the heart and character of America,” Romney intoned. Of course, to those in control of the media and academia who actually get to determine who is a “racist,” “bigot,” or “misogynist,” Romney is already an example of all three of these categories. And his statement begs not just one, but several questions. What is the “nature of our nation?” And do we have a “heart” and “character?”
If the nation is the people who created the state and its institutions, America was founded by men who were racists, bigots, and misogynists by today’s standards. They built a herrenvolk Republic designed for “ourselves and our posterity.”
The “American Idea” cited by the likes of Romney, Paul Ryan, and other cuckservatives is a kind of heresy derived from the actual beliefs of the Founding Fathers. They take the universalist and egalitarian ideas inherent in the Revolution and completely remove them from the context understood by the likes of Washington, Jefferson, and Adams.
But such a process was probably inevitable, as the most dangerous heresies are rooted in a grain of truth. And the end result of this Republic created by aristocratic slaveholders and landowners is a Third World disaster where the only people who keep the nation going, Whites, are not allowed to politically organize or possess a real identity.
After all, what “breaks your heart” about Trump, according to Romney, is the presumptive GOP nominee’s suggestion an ethnically Mexican judge might be prejudiced against him. Judge Gonzalo Curiel is a proud and active member of an organization whose purpose is to “advance the Latino community through political activity and advocacy.”
Obviously, Romney isn’t offended by ethnocentrism per se. Nor can he believe simple birth defines someone’s national identity. After all, his own father George Romney was born in Mexico.
Romney’s background provides a key to understanding Mitt’s mindset. George Romney, whom Mitt called pivotal to his political development, was a devout and active Mormon. His parents were missionaries and the family was forced to flee the country because of the violence in the Mexican revolution. This was simply the first step in a proud family history of being a condescending champion for the browns and blacks, fleeing when they burned down the neighborhood, moving somewhere whiter, and then lecturing new White people about racism.
George Romney went on to become Governor of Michigan, where he got to preside over the Detroit riots. He became a footnote in political history when his presidential campaign collapsed after he claimed he initially supported the Vietnam War because of “brainwashing.” After Nixon became President, Romney became Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, where he did his best to make sure all White neighborhoods ended up like Detroit, badgering residents about the “moral responsibility” to surround themselves with black people. He exempted himself from such burdens – when he died at 88, it was at his home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a town which at the time of his death was less than two percent black.
George Romney was noted for his religious devotion. But Romney didn’t really believe in the teachings of Joseph Smith and the text of the Book of Mormon, because the defining characteristic of Romney’s political beliefs was support for “civil rights.” And Romney was ahead of his time in helping convert the Mormon Church away from its own supposed scriptures so it could bend the knee to its new god. But interestingly, Romney didn’t publicly condemn his church for “racism,” instead, he quietly waited for it to change. Even as the substance was subverted, the form was maintained.
His son Willard Mitt Romney became a consultant and then helped form a private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts. What this means is that with borrowed money, Bain Capital would buy a company, try to increase its value, and then sell. Sometimes it would work, and it could be argued Romney and his colleagues had saved the company. In other cases, workers were laid off or the company later failed after Bain had taken its profits and run. For example, one of Romney’s declared “successes,” Sports Authority, has just been liquidated.
By all accounts, Romney was capable and intelligent and wasn’t involved in some of Bain’s more spectacular failures. But in cases of both success and collapse, Mitt Romney and his colleagues didn’t have a real stake in whatever company they had acquired or what it produced.
Donald Trump will forever be tied to the iconic tower in New York which bears his name. The world is different because he lived and there is a concrete (literally) legacy he leaves behind which goes beyond his political impact. Moreover, as a landlord, Trump understands how property values are tied to the larger community and demographics. He has a stake in the community where he invests.
In contrast, the companies Romney was involved with were simply resources to be exploited before he moved on. They were never anything other than numbers on a spreadsheet. There’s nothing substantial left behind from Romney’s career in business. He simply took the profits and left.
This summarizes Mitt Romney’s approach to politics as well. His “conscience” is flexible on the kinds of issues movement conservatives consider fundamental such as abortion and “limited government.”
Running as a pro-choice candidate against Senator Ted Kennedy in the deep blue state of Massachusetts, Romney declared himself to be pro-choice. In his gubernatorial campaign in 2002, Romney portrayed his stance as a question of principles and character, intoning, “”I will preserve and protect a woman’s right to choose and am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard.” He also spoke at a Planned Parenthood fundraiser. However, once he started campaigning for national office, his stance changed. He eventually declared his opposition to abortion and declared he would ban all abortion. However, he would only extend the ban to cases of rape and incest if there was a national consensus on the issue.
As governor, Romney implemented a statewide health program which paved the way for Obamacare. Romney campaigned hard against Obamacare during his presidential run but once he lost, he actually bragged about how his initiative paved the way for Obama’s signature health care policy.
On immigration, another issue where “movement conservatives” suddenly discover a “conscience” when something threatens their supply of cheap labor, Romney was similarly fickle. In 2006, he backed amnesty. But during the 2012 Republican primaries, Romney crushed his opponents by running to their right on immigration, famously backing “self-deportation.” Once he lost politely after campaigning against Obama with far more restraint than he showed against his Republican opponents, he went back to supporting amnesty.
Of course, a politician qua politician is going to flip-flop. But for a movement ostensibly suspicious of the state, “conservatives” seem uniquely vulnerable to promoting politicians and pundits as moral leaders rather than political actors.
Thus, we have the self-discrediting invocations of “conscience” by various political hacks as the excuse for Republicans to stand against Trump. Soulless lobbyist Paul Ryan says Republicans need to “vote their conscience.” Republican delegates, many of whom backed Cruz during the primary, are pushing for a “conscience clause.” Steve Deace, with his permanently crazed expression, multiple chins, and general likeness to the child prophet from Children of the Corn after adding 200 pounds and a coke habit, declares his “conscience” won’t let him support Trump.
None of this can be taken seriously. And the most farcical figure in this circus is Romney. Mitt Romney, through his vocal opposition to Trump throughout the process, is the de facto leader of the #NeverTrump “movement,” despite how he hailed Trump’s endorsement of him in the last election. “You can see how loyal he is,” as Trump said. How can someone with no core have a “conscience?”
The dominant theme of “take the money and run” in Mitt and George Romney’s lives and careers can be found in the larger conservative movement. The premise is that a certain social order and certain civilizational norms can be taken for granted, that conservatives’ perception of being in control can never really be challenged an existential level. Thus, you are free to signal to leftists about your own status and virtue while showing indifference towards the collective interests of your European-American constituency.
If you lose an election, there’s always next time. If you lose a community, you can always move away. Indeed, in both politics and religion, community and identity are defined by abstract belief rather than anything inherent. What’s worse, the power to define those beliefs is outsourced to enemies. It’s not surprising that Romney has already gone the full David French, prominently featuring his adopted black grandson in family photos as a kind of ward against accusations of racism older Romney family photos inspired from leftists.
People like Romney are worthy of contempt because they ultimately rely on the very forces they undermine. At least the occasional leftist will actually believe in what they are saying and move to a diverse neighborhood, rationalizing the occasional muggings or property destruction as part of some larger revolt against the system. At least some of them will openly oppose institutions and ideals associated with Tradition or Western identity. In contrast, the Romneys of the world seek out the holdouts against the reigning liberal hegemony, establish themselves in positions of power and wealth, and then hollow out those communities and institutions. Then they go somewhere else. In the end, nothing substantial is left behind.
What’s changing is that we’re entering a zero-sum world, especially in politics. Republicans like Romney who think they can resist Trump and “get ‘em next time” are fooling themselves. The window of opportunity to “preserve America” in any meaningful sense is closing rapidly, and this November will show whether it is already gone. Another four years of mass Third World immigration will ensure it has vanished forever, leaving European-Americans with the question of how they can exit the catastrophe their former country has become.
There is no “next time.” There’s just a continuing death spiral, as the walls close on those few places remaining where ordinary people can live decent lives. We can either guard one border around our country, or we will be forced to set up innumerable small borders in the form of gated communities, private schools, increased security, closed social networks and the never-ending flight from diversity.
The Romneys of the world can hold out longer than the rest of us. They, therefore, have an interest in telling us not to get excited, to keep believing in the old ideas, to have faith that Republican Jesus (who doesn’t care if you are a Mormon, a Catholic, or an evangelical as long as you aren’t racist) will come down and make everything ok.
But we know protective stupidity is no longer an option. We know politics and culture are the constant results of a never-ending battle, not some objective circumstance we are mandated to accept. And now we are faced with the choice between confrontation or succumbing to eternal night as the darkness closes in around us.
We may win and establish a glory our ancestors could only have dreamed of. We may lose and dissipate into powerless tribes. But one thing we know for certain – however the battle fares, the Romneys of the world will be forgotten. They had their time. And that time is almost over.
