This past week Mitt Romney appeared out to prove all of the Utahns who are calling him a RINO (Republican in Name Only), that he is in fact a fiscal conservative as he called Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid Relief package, “a clunker”. 

Romney pointed out how the United States is currently $23 trillion in debt, and that as interest rates begin to rise, there is no doubt that the interest we will be paying on the debt will overwhelm our treasury department.

For the past four years, Romney disparaged Trump’s agenda and was a devout Trump opponent. Romney voted for Biden and believed there was no need to examine potential voter fraud in other states.

 But now that President Biden is in office and spending measures are increasing, Romney seems to be discovering that when the White House, Congress, and the Senate are all controlled by Democrats things aren’t so great. A far-left agenda is getting easily passed with little opposition. Romney recently wrote in a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed:

It would waste hundreds of billions of dollars, do nothing meaningful to get kids back to school and enact policies that work against job creation. The Congressional Budget Office’s recent analysis of the plan found that more than a third of the proposed funding—$700 billion—wouldn’t be spent until 2022 or later, undermining the administration’s claim that the massive price tag is justified for urgent pandemic-related needs.

Even as our money supply has skyrocketed from $4 trillion to nearly $17 trillion in just one year (according to the Federal Reserve Economic Data department or FRED), it appears that a complete disregard of the national debt and the massive increase in our money supply is no longer a concern of Biden’s Presidency.

Why couldn’t Romney foresee that complete Democrat control of all branches of government might cause irresponsible spending excesses? Why did Romney oppose Trump’s presidency and his agenda if he was concerned about government waste as many Utahns are? If indeed Romney is at heart a Conservative, why did he believe that President Biden’s victory would improve America? These are some big mysteries and questions surrounding Romney’s vision that we would like to find answers for.

It’s interesting to back up and examine how Romney rose to power and prominence in Utah: Romney saved Utah’s Olympics in 2002. But Romney isn’t a Utah native. Mitt Romney was born in Mexico, and a large part of his family still resides there. Mitt Romney’s father was governor of Michigan, where Romney grew up. And Mitt Romney is without a doubt an excellent leader.

Romney is arguably the most powerful LDS leader in Washington, yet most Conservative Republicans in Utah oppose Mitt Romney because for most of Trump’s presidency he wasn’t acting as a Conservative but a RINO (Republican in name only) or more like a Democrat. Romney’s estimated net worth is around $250 million from the money he made as the CEO of Bain Capital. Town and Country Magazine estimate Romney might be the wealthiest Senator in Washington. Bloomberg estimates that Romney would have likely become a billionaire had he remained at Bain Capital rather than pursuing a political career. 

Romney bought a house in Holladay, Utah just before he announced his decision to run for Senate and attempt to win Orrin Hatch’s seat.  Senator Orrin Hatch maintained his power base in Washington by protecting the dietary supplements businesses in Utah from FDA control. Hatch’s son Scott is the chief lobbyist for the supplement’s industry. This support is what ensured Hatch’s victories and kept his campaign coffers full for years. Will Romney adopt the role of his predecessor, taking the throne as the protector of Utah’s ubiquitous MLMs and dietary supplements businesses?

Does Mitt Romney have a coherent vision for Utah? or America? Or was he just blinded by his hatred for Trump who at one time called him ‘a loser’? What is Romney’s plan for the next four years of Joe Biden’s Presidency? Romney is a sweetheart of the Liberal media who frequently quote him and interview him. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that it appears Romney’s clout has vastly improved and that he might act as a “bridge” between the hard-line Republicans, and the Biden Administration, writes Lee Davidson. Now Romney is seen “as a centrist willing to make deals with Democrats.”National News networks call him “brave and courageous,” but in Utah, his unfavorable opinion rests at 45%.

Many Conservative Republicans in Utah see Romney as a traitor. Romney was nearly censured by a group of Republicans lead by Janalee Tobias who believe he has betrayed Utah for being the only Republican Senator to vote to impeach Trump the first time, and one of six congressional members to vote to impeach him the second time. So, back to our original question: Who is Mitt Romney? He is certainly a Senator and a man who doesn’t want to go unnoticed, but it appears that we have a lot more questions than we have answers.

We at Utah Stories would like to find out Romney’s vision for Utah and America, and we invite him to come on our Utah Stories Podcast. 

In this episode 80 of the Utah Stories Show we offer the story on Romney, plus an update on the homeless situation in Utah; How protests for “love and inclusion” are being covered by KSL News (a news network owned by the LDS Church” and how it seems that the LDS Church is losing the cultural battle because of the manner in which they are attempting to fight it. 

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