Washington Post columnist Henry Olsen thinks so:
Trump acolytes have long labeled Sen. Mitt Romney a “RINO” — “Republican in Name Only.” This is an unfair charge, given Romney’s conservative credentials. But Romney is lending credence to his critics by not endorsing his fellow Utah Republican, Sen. Mike Lee, as he seeks reelection.
Romney’s surprising stance is a result of the unusual nature of Lee’s main opponent, Evan McMullin. McMullin was recruited by anti-Trump Republicans to run for president in 2016 as a conservative alternative. He received less than 1 percent of the vote nationwide but received 21 percent in his native Utah, where many Mormons were aghast at Donald Trump’s character and views. McMullin is now running as an independent against Lee and seeks to bring together a coalition of Democrats, independents and disaffected Republicans to unseat the erstwhile conservative.
It should be a no-brainer for Romney to endorse his fellow Republican. Regaining control of the Senate is one of the GOP’s most important objectives, and that means marshaling every conceivable vote to make that happen. Lee is going to back whomever the Republican senators nominate to become their majority leader, but McMullin has not said which party he will caucus with if elected. Given that he has been endorsed by the Democratic mayor of Salt Lake County and other Democratic leaders, it’s an open question whether he will back the GOP.
Romney nonetheless says he’ll stay above this fray, saying both men are his friends. That’s sweet, but party loyalty matters, too. It’s one thing to disagree within one’s own party; that’s what primaries are for. It’s another to say that one is going to stay out of a general election and essentially tell your own state’s voters that there’s no difference between your party’s nominee and someone backed by your party’s adversaries. If that’s friendship, Lee should start finding better friends.
Read the rest here. Apparently Romney does not want to be loyal to the party of Trump.
I don’t understand the politics of endorsements. I should take from this, I suppose, that there is pressure on Sen. Romney to endorse one candidate over the other. And it is coming from all sides. Seems to me Romney has a choice that no matter which one he chose, he could add another reason for the split in the Republican. I see no good solution for Romney. I am not a Republican but I lived in Utah a few years. Other than that, I do care about the Republican Party and the direction it goes.
We got to see Mike Lee in action in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the nomination of Judge Jackson for the Supreme Court over the last three days. He did not stoop as low as Senators Hawley, Cruz, Blackburn, and Cotton in his questioning of Judge Jackson. But he did not show himself to be a seeker of truth. Rather he was looking for the gotcha question that might foul her up. The nominee should be judged on her whole career and character. These senators decided to find something they could tie to the culture wars and show her in a bad light to the Republican base whether or not they were being accurate in their criticism. Perhaps he was fishing for votes in the primary.
As for Mitt Romney, I applaud his attempts to bring the Republican Party out of Trump’s clutches.