A fundraising letter from failed 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was making the rounds recently. Mr. Romney was asking for campaign donations on behalf of Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. The fact that Ryan was Romney’s vice-presidential running mate in 2012 might explain the circulation of Romney’s fundraising appeal. After all, Ryan took a big risk to run on the 2012 GOP ticket. Maybe Romney just wanted to return the favor.
On the other hand, perhaps the old saying “birds of a feather flock together” spells out better than anything Mr. Romney’s helping hand. Romney sealed his reputation as a Republican establishment kingpin back in the 1990s. Now, Ryan is quickly following in his footsteps. Not surprisingly, Romney wrote at one point in his letter, “Since taking the job as Speaker of the House, Paul has forged ahead with a bold Republican agenda that stands in stark contrast to President Obama’s failed liberal legacy.”
Only an establishment Republican would describe Ryan’s longtime support of open borders and amnesty for illegal aliens as a “bold agenda.” What’s more, Romney will have a hard time making the case that Ryan’s agenda stands in opposition to Obama. A little more than three months ago, Ryan used his power as Speaker of the House to ram a trillion-dollar “omnibus” budget through Congress that guarantees funding for every single priority item in Obama’s “”legacy,” including: executive amnesty for illegal aliens, a blank check for Obama to bring into America as many Muslim “refugees” as he wants and for outrageous Sanctuary Cities, where liberal mayors are allowed to ignore U.S. immigration laws. If Ryan has “forged ahead” with anything, it has little to do with what the Republican Party is supposed to stand for.
Later on in his letter, Romney credits Speaker Ryan with the passage of legislation to repeal Obamacare even though Ryan himself said in February that attempts to roll back Obamacare were a waste of time. It’s worth noting that Speaker Ryan made that comment before an audience of conservative leaders, although it’s doubtful he changed any minds with that speech.
Mitt Romney concluded his letter by observing that “Paul Ryan’s speakership is off to a strong start.” Yes, passing the Republican establishment’s litmus test with flying colors is a “strong start” as far as GOP power brokers and big-money donors are concerned. But the grassroots conservatives targeted by Romney’s letter almost certainly have a different point of view. They won’t have any trouble finding legitimate conservative candidates to support this year not named Paul Ryan. And if a Mitt Romney letter happens to come with your mail anytime soon, you might consider marking it “Return to Sender.” If Mr. Romney gets enough of his letters returned to him in such a way, maybe he’ll start to wonder why. After all, there’s always hope this GOP establishment kingpin will one day see the light.
