Mitt Romney is striving mightily to replace the late Senator John McCain as the Republican one cannot agree with about a single policy issue, but still one who refuses to peddle the bald face lies produced by the conspiracy mongers at Faux News.
Speaking to CNN’s Manu Raju (above) at the Capitol, Romney called out Tucker Carlson and the product of his sketchy editing of tapes of the Jan. 6th Capitol riot provided to him by House Speaker Quevin McCarthy, if not explicitly by name, than most certainly by motivation:
“It’s kind of a low bar, but Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) remains evidently committed to the truth around the 2021 Capitol riot and what led up to it, particularly the lies about the integrity of the 2020 presidential election so vociferously spread by Trump and key allies of his.
A lack of that kind of commitment to basic reality makes simple tasks of legislating, of course, rather difficult. Romney spoke on camera to CNN’s Manu Raju this week about those who would deny the substance of what took place at the Capitol, a group including Trump himself.
“There’s no question that January 6 was a riot, an insurrection attempt, an effort to overturn the process designed in the Constitution to allow the voice of the people to be carried out in who we have as our elected representatives,” Romney said. “It was an outrageous act. A lot of people were injured. Our building was severely damaged. Efforts to try and pretend it was something other than that are despicable and frankly dangerous, because it makes it more likely that people will think things like this are acceptable, and they might try and do them in the future. It’s awful what some people are willing to do to get some eyeballs or get a little extra money.”
Romney’s reference to viewership would, of course, seem to connect what he was saying in rather direct terms to Tucker Carlson of Fox News, who’s lately been a main driver of the false narrative the Senator was refuting. On his show this week, Carlson has attempted to insist that the riot wasn’t that bad, using selected pieces of footage from the Capitol complex that day that don’t show active physical violence, but his case has no substance. Tucker spotlighted one guy, rioter Jacob Chansley, who could be seen in the Capitol without engaging in immediately apparent violence… but violence wasn’t included in the allegations to which Chansley admitted before his currently unfolding sentence. It was an obstruction charge, meaning there’s no substance for Carlson to dispute here!“
It’s a measure of where we are at as a nation that a politician of the stature of Sen. Romney making a simple statement of fact is worthy of news coverage.
But here we are.
Over at Twitter, MSNBC’s Kyle Griffin shared the news with his followers – who had plenty to say:
Not a Mitt Romney fan by any stretch, but he is the closest thing left to an influential Republican in Congress with scruples, standards, a little courage, something like integrity. I appreciate him speaking out, even if it's not nearly enough.
— Michael DeGrosky (@guidegroup) March 8, 2023
Yeah, hard to heap praise on Mitt for simply stating a truth, but he stands out in a crowd of moral lepers.
“Awful”? Is that the best he can come up with? How about “depraved”? “Craven”? “Treasonous”—now there’s a good one. JFC, he’s such milquetoast, that guy.
— Amy S. Parker (@AmySavinParker) March 8, 2023
Better milquetoast than another shit sandwich.
It’s not “a little extra money” though. It’s big, big business. And that’s what makes it so dangerous.
— Jeannie Forsyth (@JeannieForsyth) March 9, 2023
Yup
I'd prefer he'd call it was it really was–an insurrection– but at least he's making sense and speaking truth.
— 🐎George Santos' Scofflaw Life🐎*Earned My Spurs🐎 (@PlannedTheRide) March 8, 2023
👍
A riot and…an insurrection. He forgot the insurrection part, which is kind of a bigger deal.
— Clay Jones (@SBMPediatrics) March 8, 2023
Yup
Um. No. There is a huge question. The dems keep telling us it was something it wasn't. Keep repeating this nonsense. We saw it with our eyes. Getting a tour through the Capital is NOT A RIOT.
— Seeker of Truth. (@Crystaljar123) March 9, 2023
🙄🙄🙄 How’s the weather in Moscow, comrade?
@MittRomney please talk some sense into @BasedMikeLee who still thinks the ones attacking the capitol police officers were the good guys. #TheBigLie #TrumpLost #January6
— Jeff Midgley (@hey_midge) March 9, 2023
Good luck with that…
"Riot" is the wrong word.
"The final day of the GOP-led coup attempt" is more accurate.
— Hard No To Theocracy (@SeniorMoment4) March 8, 2023
Yup
Thank you I guess, Mitt, for doing the bare minimum required to maintain your own sense of self worth and your modicum of dignity.
Like others I agree Mittens could have used stronger language describing J6. Yes, it was a riot but one orchestrated and incited to foment an insurrection – a coup. But Romney was at least plainly critical of Carlson and for that matter by extension fellow GOPers. Still, am I the only one who sees irony here? I’m talking about the what people will do for a “little” extra money part. Romney was born to money and privilege. He also made a fucking fortune as a corporate raider – buying companies, many of which were profitable and stripping them for parts. Destroying lives of people employed at those companies. Sometimes entire communities in the process. All so he, an already insanely rich man could make “a little extra money.” Only not a little money – but a shitload. Like I said, ironic is one way to describe Romney’s comment. But he’s a greed fucking hypocrite so folks will have to excuse me if I don’t celebrate his supposed virtue.
Yep. Courageous mitt. He who voted to keep the traitor in office and stood by watching the pinhead nazi try to destroy our country. Let’s face it…the ultra rich like mitt has NO FUCKING IDEA the struggle 95% of us deal with daily just to pay the bills. None. I wonder how much money he made with tax cuts by Bush and captain crunch?