Identity politics? WTF are you talking about. I am making a direct attack on Mitt Romney’s personal integrity.
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I was not replying to you but to the post you replied to
I’m not generally inclined to take politicians at their word or give them the benefit of the doubt, especially conservatives, but I’m having a very hard time seeing any upside for Romney here.
If he’s playing some sort of long game, it’s either very clever or very stupid.
Someone must have broken it down into one syllable words for him.
To do what, or to get what, pray tell?
ETA: You keep saying in ad hominem fashion that Romney’s little more than a selfish fuck, but you haven’t said just what he stands to gain from this.
I’d love to see him do a sudden third-party run. Who knows, maybe what he’d get out of that is revenge against Trump for humiliating him. Which would be fine with me (if, that is, he split the conservative vote enough to dump Trump).
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I commented prior to the vote. 
Congratulations, Mittens, you finally walked the walk. Better late than never.
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He is doing exactly what he’s been doing for the last 20 years - cramming himself in to a niche that he sees between batshit insane republicans and the democrats. It’s not principle. It’s not bravery. It is political positioning.
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And how exactly does that work for him?
Are you predicting a third-party run, or ?
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Have you actually paid attention to Mitt Romney for the last 20 years? He’s doing EXACTLY what he has always done. Calling attention to himself as a moderate “maverick”. That’s the whole point. Attention. He has nothing past that.
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So it’s all just “Look at me! Look at me!” because he loves having people look at him?
I’m not feeling especially convinced over here.
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I’m from Michigan, where he ran for Governor, and I agree with your assessment of Romney’s character. My guess is, he’s seeing the polls where more and more people have bad opinions of Republicans and is trying to establish himself as “the principled one.” And sure, it looks nice… unless you consider that every time when his vote might have truly mattered, he voted party line all the way. Romney had to have known there weren’t enough votes for removal. So he gets to make one grand, yet ultimately useless gesture. And he’s arrogant enough to think we’re gonna fall for it.
Nope.
I don’t doubt he’s going to catch some short-term flack from his fellow Republicans on this, but I think it will ultimately blow over. They do tend to stick together more often than not. Or maybe he is considering a third-party run. I don’t much care. Until and unless he starts consistantly showing a backbone, Mr. “Let Detroit burn” gets no respect from me.
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Hmm. I wonder if part of his thinking has been that Trump is going to come after him, along with much of the party. Maybe in pretty heavy ways (a la the announced desire to imprison Bolton). He may have stepped in front of a charging bull.
I don’t underestimate his likely selfishness, but he’s also in that nutty religion. An upside of which MIGHT be an older man’s awakened conscience? (I’m grasping at straws, but also thinking, “Maybe…”)
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Not my job to convince you. I know who Mitt Romney is.
How did that go for Justin Amash?
I do think Romney might have enough forward vision to recognize that the GOP is in dominate-or-immolate mode, and sees the opportunity to to position himself as the logical leader of whatever rises from the ashes. That said, there’s something to be said for doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.
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I’m sure the thousands in china sobbing for their loved ones got a chuckle.
Moar <3’s for you!!!
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Not my job to convince you. I know who Mitt Romney is.
Fine, type to all of us then, while only really typing to yourself. 
Regarding the nutty religion bit, he said by way of explanation, in a way I find more convincing than you’re anything saying:
“But again, how do I say before God, I agreed to render impartial justice and let the consequences for me personally outweigh my duty to God and my duty to be to the country that I love? And that’s simply putting my head down and saying what was done was perfect, there’s nothing to see here was not something I could do.”
Asked how well prepared he is for the attacks he knows will come, he said, “Not very well prepared. I have tried to keep myself from really thinking about that so that I didn’t lose my resolve.” He recalled a hymn he has sung in church that he said says to do the right thing and let the consequences follow. “I’m only dealing with the first part … And I know there will be consequences.”
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That would be nice. But after so many years of him making pretty statements, then failing to act on them when it comes time to vote, he’s going to have to do more to prove himself to me. It’s a lovely, generous thought, and I hope you’re right. I just can’t buy it yet.
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I’m betting Trump assasinates him politically.
Splitting votes is a common method for saving face where there is party or public pressure. Basically lets you have it both ways. You can make a show of supporting something, without the responsibility of actually making it happened. If public opinion comes down on you for failing to do something important you can say you tried, when your party comes at you for stepping out of line. You can point out that didn’t technically.
It’s also why we saw more votes for witnesses than impeachment out of Republicans. That had a better chance of actually happening, so look I tried. But it doesn’t carry the consequences of actually trying to remove Trump.
It’s fundementally about ass covering.
A sizable portion of Utah’s Republican voters are apparently not OK with Trump. And Romney campaigned heavily on promises to hold Trump accountable. He’s likely facing in-state pressure over impeachment. He can’t break with the GOP entirely over the issue, but he’s got a reelection problem if he can’t make it clear he did something.
Only Romney really knows. And when you get right down to it he appears to have lead the push for Republicans to vote for witnesses, and he is the first person to ever vote for removal of his party’s president. That’s not nothing. But the split vote probably means he’s not dedicated enough on this to keep pushing.
