‘What would Mitt Romney do?’ His fight is still worth waging.

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Posted on 12/19/2024 2:58:32 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), retiring at 77, accomplished more during his single term than many senators do in decades. Though it helped that he entered the chamber with the gravitas of an elder statesman, having served as the GOP’s 2012 presidential nominee, the reason he proved so effective was his willingness to work across the aisle and prioritize the interests of the country over his party.

Mr. Romney joined a group of 10 senators — five Republicans, five Democrats — who cooperated closely in 2020, during the covid-19 pandemic, to hammer out a stalled relief package. They subsequently helped shepherd into law a bipartisan infrastructure bill, the furthest-reaching gun-safety bill in a generation, a codification of same-sex marriage rights with protections for religious liberty, and a reform of the Electoral Count Act after its defects were exposed on Jan. 6, 2021.

Five of those 10 lawmakers won’t be in the Senate next year: In addition to Mr. Romney, Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, both Democrats who became independents, opted not to seek reelection. Jon Tester (D-Montana) was one of the three Democratic senators defeated in this year’s election. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) retired in 2023. Those remaining are Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), Mark R. Warner (D-Virginia) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire).

After they’re gone, even hardened partisans will come to miss the pragmatic dealmakers who sought common ground in good faith amid ever-more-extreme polarization. Other excellent senators are riding into the sunset as well, including Ben Cardin (D-Maryland). He worked with John McCain (R-Arizona) to pass the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which allows the U.S. government to impose sanctions on individuals who are responsible for human rights abuses by freezing their assets...

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...

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[Expletive Deleted] you, Willard.

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