On Wednesday, Sen. Mitt Romney bid farewell to the U.S. Senate in a short speech on the Senate floor. He reflected on his career, his principles, and his hope for America’s future. He expressed gratitude for his colleagues, staff, and family — the usual stuff. I have to say, his departure is somewhat bittersweet. I really did have high hopes for him.
Acknowledging unfulfilled goals, Romney lamented partisan gridlock, particularly regarding the national debt, which he warned threatens America’s future. “Our national credit card is almost maxed out, and America risks becoming debt-poor,” he cautioned. A fair point for sure.
He concluded with a call for unity and virtue, warning against those who sow division: “There are some today who would tear at our unity, who would replace love with hate.”
Ending on a hopeful note, Romney invoked America’s enduring goodness, stating, “God has blessed America because America is good,” and prayed for the nation to remain deserving of divine favor.
My earliest memories of Mitt Romney go all the way back to 1994, when he ran a longshot campaign for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts against Ted Kennedy. I was the furthest thing from political at that point — I was just 14 at the time — but I remember that election, even watching the Romney and Kennedy debate, and thinking that I really liked him.
Years later, in 2002, Romney ran for governor of Massachusetts. I actually got to meet him during this campaign. He was shaking hands at the Leonard P. Zakim-Bunker Hill Bridge in Boston, back when thousands of people were allowed to walk across it before it was opened to vehicular traffic.
Around this time, I was getting more involved in local politics and would meet him again at Massachusetts Republican events. If you were a Republican in Massachusetts, it was hard not to like Romney and his efforts as governor to help build up the party in the state. During his 2012 presidential run, I even tried to get a job in his campaign, which was headquartered in Boston, seeing it as a potential way to get out of architecture.
I didn’t get the job, which was fine, and Romney didn’t win the election, which was unfortunate. Yes, I can still say it was bad that Romney didn’t win the presidency in 2012 because Barack Obama was just that terrible.
I even backed his 2018 campaign for the U.S. Senate when many in the party doubted him because of his moderate record. I convinced myself that representing Utah — a deeply conservative state — would naturally push Romney to embrace more conservative policies. Was I mistaken? Yeah. Regrettably, his performance as a Republican in the U.S. Senate fell way short of my expectations. His record wasn’t as conservative as I’d hoped, and he did himself no favors by voting to convict Donald Trump in both his bogus impeachment trials and then voting to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.
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It's too bad, really. I wanted to believe in Romney. Instead, he's leaving the Senate, and I'm not sad to see him go.
JUST IN: Mitt Romney officially bids farewell to the Senate.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 4, 2024
👏👏pic.twitter.com/3BNsT3lLLW
Bon voyage, Mitt.
