On the American right, we have Reagan Republicans, Trump Republicans, anti-Trump Republicans, and anti-anti-Trump Republicans; RINOs and True Conservatives™️, a Freedom Caucus and Tuesday Group; reformocons and first-, second-, and third-wave neocons; Kirkian traditionalists, Meyerian libertarians, and Buckleyite fusionists. Of all the varieties of American conservatism, though, one new contingent stands alone in its ridiculousness: anti-Romney Republicans.
Willard Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, 2012 GOP nominee for president, and sitting junior senator from Utah, has been the recipient of considerable ire from Republican politicians, pundits, and operatives for some time now. Badmouthing Romney first became popular among Republicans when he maintained his opposition to candidate Trump throughout the 2016 general election, and intensified when he voted to impeach President Trump for abuse of power earlier this year.
Comments