Romney: ‘time to lower the heat’ in political discourse

FILE - In this June 9, 2020, file photo, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, talks to reporters as he arrives for the weekly Republican policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington. Romney said Friday, Aug. 14, 2020, that politicians attacking the vote by mail system are threatening global democracy but stopped short of criticizing President Donald Trump who has been openly against an expected surge of mail-in ballots, which he worries could cost him reelection. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Republican Sen. Mitt Romney is calling on “leaders of all stripes” to “tone it down,” warning that the high-pitched, election-season rhetoric and attacks will lead to “dangerous action” from their followers.

The Utah senator calls out both President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a statement declaring that politics has “moved away from spirited debate to a vile, vituperative, hate-filled morass that is unbecoming of any free nation.” Romney cites Trump’s comments calling Sen. Kamala Harris, Democrat Joe Biden’s running mate, a “monster” and Pelosi “crazy,” among other things.

He charges that Democrats, too, “launch blistering attacks,” though he offers fewer examples: Only the moment Pelosi ripped up Trump’s State of the Union Speech and a recent video by Keith Olbermann, a progressive political and sports commentator, calling Trump a “terrorist.” And Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, gives a pass to Biden, who he says “refuses to stoop as low as others.”

Romney has said previously he won’t be voting for Trump this fall, but has not said if he supports Biden for president. The moderate Republican has been a frequent critic of Trump and breaks with his party at times on key votes.

Romney goes on to warn that the “rabid attacks kindle the conspiracy mongers and the haters who take the small and predictable step from intemperate word to dangerous action,” adding that it’s “time to lower the heat.”

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

4 Comments

  • KA October 13, 2020 at 11:38 am Reply

    Keith Olbermann? Really? What does Scott Baio or Kid Rock think? What a moron.

  • Miltron5 October 13, 2020 at 12:15 pm Reply

    Someone needed to publicly say this! Thanks, Mitt. You are a man of honor and integrity.

  • Dawn M Heard October 14, 2020 at 11:55 am Reply

    Thank you Mitt, finally some common sense during this terrible time in the United States. We the people have a ton on our plates with the aftermath of 2020 and now we are hitting the “Grand Finale” the election. We have also had four years of this name calling and this tit for tat behavior. Never has a POTUS been so undignified of the office. I just want 2020 to end and praying for some good news to look forward to with the New Year!! Thanks you for all you do!!!

  • Mr. Payne October 15, 2020 at 4:10 pm Reply

    It doesn’t matter as Both sides are pandering to the wing nuts. I do appreciate Sen. Romney for having the intestinal fortitude to do the right thing and voting for impeachment. Unlike Sen. Lee who, is just a sycophant riding on his daddy’s laurels. If it were not for his daddy, Sen. Lee would be assistant manager Lee at Walmart.

    For Freebird and the rest of the wingnuts. I am and have been a registered republican since 1993. Our president is a rino.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

I agree to these terms.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.