UT-Sen: Mitt Romney is exploring 2018 Senate run

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Gross.

[Ronnie]

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/04/utahsen-mitt-romney/522096/

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I don't really like Romney, but at least there is a chance he would have the chutzpah to call out Trump when he does something particularly egregious.  In that sense, he's probably better than most potential candidates for this seat.

[Suburbia]

Lean Hatch. If Romney runs for Utah Senate, it would be one of the most watched Senate primaries in 2018. I don't think Hatch is going anywhere.

[Ronnie]

Lean Hatch. If Romney runs for Utah Senate, it would be one of the most watched Senate primaries in 2018. I don't think Hatch is going anywhere.

The article makes fairly clear that Romney won't run unless Hatch retires.

[RINO Tom]

Gross.

I like how Trump is richer and more elitist than all the Republicans you now all of a sudden hate.  It's almost like the only difference is he's just more openly intolerant.

[BuckeyeNut]

Horse hockey Romney runs.

[BuckeyeNut]

He'd be better than McMullin(who I don't think could win the primary anyway) But I'm not sure why he'd want it. Wasn't one of his sons considering it some years back? If any of them want a political career this seems like a good option.

Apparently Romney's son is considering a run for Utah Governor in 2020. It is possible that Mitt runs for Senate in 2018 and wins, with his son running for governor in 2020 and winning that. 

Which one?

Josh, IIRC. That'd work well with the Romney clan, if Mitt runs in '18 and Josh runs in '20, they're both up for re-elect in '24. Mitt can resign, and Josh likely become a Senate lifer.

[Figueira]

Given the options in Utah, I'd be OK with this.

[Zioneer]

As a resident of Utah, I'm 99.9% sure that a Democrat will not win. Therefore, I am looking for the least objectionable Republican. For me it goes 1) McMullin, 2) Mitt/Josh/Tagg Romney (all of whom have been mentioned), 3) Hatch, 4) some random state legislator or businessman, 5) Jason Chaffetz.

I would still vote for the Democrat in the general, but that's my order of preference.

[America Needs R'hllor]

I'd be much happier with Senator Huntsman or Senator McMullin, but I guess Romney is better than Hatch or any of the Representatives.

[Tartarus Sauce]

Given the options in Utah, I'd be OK with this.

[Lachi]

Given the options in Utah, I'd be OK with this.

[henster]

Whoever gets the will likely have it for however long they'd like, why not run someone who is young and can build up seniority? Realistically Romney will only run for two terms.

[RFayette]

I like Mitt, so seems good to me. 

[Blair]

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/mitt-romney-senator-replace-orrin-hatch-237007

Hatch seems to be leaning towards running however,

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[Zioneer]

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/mitt-romney-senator-replace-orrin-hatch-237007

Hatch seems to be leaning towards running however,

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"What do you call a Senator who's been in Washington for eighteen years? You call him home."- Orrin Hatch, 1976.

[brucejoel99]

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/mitt-romney-senator-replace-orrin-hatch-237007

Hatch seems to be leaning towards running however,

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"What do you call a Senator who's been in Washington for eighteen years? You call him home."- Orrin Hatch, 1976.

"What do you call a Senator who's been in Washington for forty years? You call him Orrin Hatch." -- brucejoel99, 2017.

[Mr. Smith]

If it gets Hatch out, I'm all for it.

[Xing]

Given the options in Utah, I'd be OK with this.

[The Other Castro]

Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson (D) just launched an exploratory committee to run for Senate.

[Maxwell]

You may not like Romney's politics but you have to respect him as a good and decent human being. The country needs more Romneys

Uh, no? I really don't, actually. Romney is relatively-passible in the context of Utah politics, I guess, but that doesn't negate the fact that he's a transparent sociopath like the rest of his ilk.

plus Romney was Trump before Trump. I truly despise Romney - not just because of his embrace of horrifying policies, not just because of his record as a corporate leech, but because of his moral weaknesses in that he could change his views on abortion and gay rights and a host of other issues at age 60 on a dime because it's more electable to do so.

You know what? Hatch is better than Romney.

[mencken]

I truly despise Romney - not just because of his embrace of horrifying policies, not just because of his record as a corporate leech, but because of his moral weaknesses in that he could change his views on abortion and gay rights and a host of other issues at age 60 on a dime because it's more electable to do so.

Did not Obama, Biden, Clinton, et. al. all change their views on gay rights for much the same reasons?

And does anyone to the left of Todd Akin or the right of Sandra Fluke on the issue really care how the candidate feels about abortion, an issue that has been settled since 1973?

[Brittain33]

I truly despise Romney - not just because of his embrace of horrifying policies, not just because of his record as a corporate leech, but because of his moral weaknesses in that he could change his views on abortion and gay rights and a host of other issues at age 60 on a dime because it's more electable to do so.

Did not Obama, Biden, Clinton, et. al. all change their views on gay rights for much the same reasons?

A very large share of Americans have changed their personal views on gay rights to become more accepting, and this reflects cultural changes that made people reexamine old beliefs. For Obama and Clinton, electoral calculations figured in (as it does for every politician) but in broad outlines it's nothing more than loads of people over 30 have done.

Flip-flopping on gay rights from "I'm for them" in Massachusetts 2002 to "I'm against them" in South Carolina in 2007 is really different.

To you original point, Obama did dial back his support for gay rights from the mid-90s when he ran for office in the 2000s... but that would make his 2012 pivot seem more authentic because he expressed those views 20 years earlier.

[Shadows]

Obama can be understood. But Clinton is as bad if not worse than Romney. Every election cycle she opposes Free Trade agreement while in power she supports NAFTA or calls TPP the Gold standard. This is not just 1 time, but happened in 2008 as well.

Her campaign was ready to flip on Glass Steagal as the emails showed based of focus group results after she was for it her whole life. She doesn't even acknowledge how she 1st wanted a wall before Trump proposed it!

This is partisan politics to blame Republicans but ignore Democrats doing it !

[mencken]

I truly despise Romney - not just because of his embrace of horrifying policies, not just because of his record as a corporate leech, but because of his moral weaknesses in that he could change his views on abortion and gay rights and a host of other issues at age 60 on a dime because it's more electable to do so.

Did not Obama, Biden, Clinton, et. al. all change their views on gay rights for much the same reasons?

A very large share of Americans have changed their personal views on gay rights to become more accepting, and this reflects cultural changes that made people reexamine old beliefs. For Obama and Clinton, electoral calculations figured in (as it does for every politician) but in broad outlines it's nothing more than loads of people over 30 have done.

Generally, when flip-flopping for electoral convenience, it makes sense to switch from a position that is less popular to one that is more popular.

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Not really, see above. You just happen to approve of one switch and disapprove of another.

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So Romney went from "I'm for them" to "I'm against them" (citation needed, as I highly doubt Romney ever actually said that he was against gays), but Obama "dialed back his support for gay rights"? Sounds like a double standard.