Romney: Out-Of-Touch and Effete

One of the things that has long bothered me about conservatism is how out-of-touch so many of its representatives are with the public. Now, more than ever, conservatives need to speak the language of the public if they are to fend off the challenge of Trump. Unfortunately, they keep relying on people like Mitt Romney. Romney just attacked Trump and the way he did it highlights the problem. Observe.

Here's the problem. Too many conservatives don't seem to grasp the American psyche and they come across as naive Boy Scouts, mouth-foaming ministers or silver-spoon wusses. Enter Mitt Romney. Romney decided to dive into the War on Trump even though he is the last man who should lead an attack on Trump. For one thing, Americans despise losers. Whether it’s losing an election or the Super Bowl, number two is sh*t in the eyes of America. Seriously, Super Bowl losers have often commented that people viewed them as the worst team in the league despite actually being second best. Losing politicians become the butt of jokes. Losers like Carter, Mondale, and Dukakis all found themselves ostracized. So bringing back a loser like Romney is stupid to begin with and shows a fundamental misunderstanding of whom the American public respects.

Secondly, even if Romney had never lost, Romney comes across as out-of-touch. This is particularly bad against Trump, who is speaking the language of the public much more clearly than any politician. Indeed, Trump speaks to the very people who find Romney and the rest of the GOP “establishment” to be losers, effete, cowards, and unwilling to speak to the issues that bother them. What good can it possibly do then for Romney to come out and lead the attack against Trump? That only confirms to the Trumpsters that they are right to back Trump.

Even worse though, let’s look at some of what Romney said. Romney began by attacking Trump as a vulgar, sexually debased bully who is unfit for the presidency. Golly gee gosh! Trump is "vulgar"! So the fuck what?

This is the GOP blindspot. For as long as I’ve watched politics, the GOP has had this Boy Scout wing that can’t stand the idea that people swear and say nasty thing. This is amazingly out of touch. Look, I try to limit how much I swear, but I cuss regularly... almost every American does. Ditto on making sexually suggestive insults. It’s just not a big deal for 90%+ of Americans. Get over it, GOP. You are living in a fantasy world if you think the public doesn’t swear and doesn't say nasty things. And when Romney levels a charge that Trump is "vulgar," he sounds like some weirdo wanna-be Victorian who can't relate to the modern world or like Thurston Howell III whimpering, "Luvie, that man is vulgar!" That's not something people respect.

And what’s this sexually debased crap? Has Trump engaged in sex on stage? No. Is he a hard-core pornographer like Larry Flynt? Nope. So what has he done that Romney thinks qualifies as sexually debased? Multiple divorces? Come on. The American public doesn't care about any of this. None of it's even considered controversial outside of a tiny conservative circle, and using it as an attack only shows that conservatives remain weirdly obsessed with stopping unapproved sex.

So right out of the gate, Romney has leveled an attack which doesn't resonate in American culture except to show that Romney himself is out of touch with modern America. This is what it feels like listening to Romney champion conservatism:

Trump: Yo' Mama so fat.
Romney: It's not proper to insult another's mother.
Trump: Yo' Mama so fat her belly button gets home 15 minutes before she does.
Romney: That's not true. My mother is quite svelte.
Trump: Yo' Mama so fat she's got more chins than a Hong Kong phone book.
Romney: I declare, Sir. Cease and desist.
Trump: Yo' Mama so fat her ass has its own area code.
Romney: Do not use that vulgar word or I shall become irate! I'm thankful my country club would never let someone like you join.
Trump: Yo' Mama so fat the moon orbits her.
Romney: You will be receiving a sternly worded letter from my lawyer.

And it didn’t stop there. Consider these comments:

“I understand the anger Americans feel today. In the past, our presidents have channeled that anger, and forged it into resolve, into endurance and high purpose, and into the will to defeat the enemies of freedom. Our anger was transformed into energy directed for good. Mr. Trump is directing our anger for less than noble purposes.”

This statement is exactly what got Trump’s followers upset in the first place! Romney claims to understand the anger Americans feel, yet rather than addressing it, he suggests that the job of a president is to use that anger for some “high purpose.” Seriously, how insulting is that? Rather than understand that the problem is the things the political class has done, Romney openly says the problem is that Trump won't manipulate the public's anger the right way? WTF?! “Sure you’re pissed that I had an affair, honey, but why don’t you use all that angry energy to go bake me a cake.” Not only is this condescension, but he thinks the public isn't smart enough to realize that he's telling them this to their faces: vote for us, we will manipulate you better.

Then he said this:

“Here’s what I know. Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. He’s playing the American public for suckers — he gets a free ride to the White House and all we get is a lousy hat.”

Finally, a real attack calling Trump a phony and a fraud! (Wanna bet he felt all weird and trembly using the word "suckers" in public.) But how does Romney back up his name calling? Does he offer proof? Not really. He suggests proof by mentioning Trump University. But therein lies the danger. Most people don’t know about Trump University or they see the fraud charge as disputed and likely a litigation smear. So it doesn't register as an attack. Even worse though, this has an air to it of Mitt Elite-Ivy-School-Grad Romney blasting a for-profit college of the very kind that a vast number of lower and lower-middle class Americans are using to improve their employment chances. "You didn't go to a real school!" Then he actually accuses Trump of wanting “a free ride.” Really? If anyone got a free ride, it was Mitt. The average person scrimped and saved and took out tons of loans to pay their way through a local or non-fancy state college, or they worked manual labor jobs to get what they have. Mitt and his silver-spoon types are the ones we think of when it comes to elites getting free rides. This was an ill-advised attack which shows that 49% Romney doesn’t get that he’s seen as a trust fund baby. All of this comes across as disdain for normal people.

Romney won't even say what's on his mind. Rather than call Trump a fake, he says, “There are a number of people who claim that Mr. Trump is a conman, a fake.” This reeks of cowardly legalese. If you have something to say then say it, don’t hide behind the “gee, some people have said” line. That’s for cowards, lawyers and rumor sites trying not to get sued. Romney then doubles-down on his wimp status: “There is indeed evidence of that. Mr. Trump has changed his positions not just over the years, but over the course of the campaign.” Oh no!! You mean like you did? You mean like every other politician anywhere? That makes him a conman? Bullshit. And how in the world can you be such a wimp that you can’t just speak your allegation without adding the wimpy qualification about evidence? “Gee, there might kind of sort of be some evidence that might maybe back up the things those other people kind of said.” Can you get more cowardly, Mitt?

Finally, Romney again shows that he fails to understand people’s anger: “[Trump’s] personal qualities would mean that America would cease to be a shining city on a hill.” Do you honestly think that anyone who supports Trump thinks America remains a shining city on a hill? Or do they see a land of unemployed because of an influx of Mexicans, a land where free speech has been killed in the name of political correctness, where rape culture is randomly savaging your men in college, where the attorney general actually claims that civil rights laws only apply to help blacks, where taxes keep rising to pay for vast numbers of lazy people, where big business gets trillions in bailouts paid for by small business owners in the hinterlands, where the stock market is rigged, the military fights endless wars against terrorists who get set loose once captured, where cops are gunned down in the streets, etc. Right or wrong, do you really think those people are worried that Trump's "vulgarity" will make America worse?

Look, I despise Trump. He’s a fraud and a turd and his supporters are stupid. But the reason Trump exists at all is that conservatives have lost touch with real Americans. Romney is a cold fish with no knowledge or connection to the American culture. He frets and ninnies about things that haven't mattered to Americans in seventy years, if ever. If conservatives want to win Americans, they need to learn to speak the language the public speaks, to address the things that concern the American public, and to stop sounding like weirdo outsiders. As long as conservatives sound like effete fops who tremble at swearing, fear sex, look down on people who don’t have trust funds, and remain incapable of understanding what has upset or turned off the American public, conservatism will be nothing more than a cute debating society for nostalgiacs.