What I find most fascinating is that this reads completely counter to the authors supposed ideology and public positions, in a way that I'm not quite sure where they stand. It keeps changing so much.
While I don't find myself in the author's company politically, I do think that the Mormon center right can be much less aggressive than folks expect from Fox News et al.
The word you’re looking for is hypocrisy. If Mitch really believed in climate change, he could vote to end the fillibuster, pass a green new deal, not appoint judges to the Supreme Court who vote against the EPA. He doesn’t have one ounce of the bravery or leadership he claims to be looking for.
Yes, there are practical differences between two completely different people. There is cynicism, and then there is uninformed doomerism. There are very good websites tracking voting records of senators - maybe you could start there if you really want to know.
Do their voting records reveal them to be anything other than mainstream Republicans? I'll admit that Romney's votes to impeach the man whose endorsement he sought in 2012 were unusually bold,but I can't think of any effect he's had on his party. Quite the opposite actually - at one point Romney claimed he was pro choice, but he's clearly fallen in line. His evolution towards mainstream Republicanism also put him in the comical position of running against the "Romneycare" universal healthcare plan once Democrats adapted it into the Affordable Care Act or "Obamacare".
There's a reason that Romney, McConnell, and Trump share the same party, dysfunctional thought their relationship might be.
You said it yourself - he was the only republican senator who voted for impeachment.
When he voted against the party - you say he had no effect on his party.
When he votes with the party - you say he has fallen in line.
What exactly is he supposed to do? No one person has the power to change the party.
I just appreciate someone, an individual, doing a good thing when they do it. This post is a good thing. The least I can do is express my gratitude for that good decision.
This endless demonizing of every politician from a party X is what further entrenches tribalism. If every politician is rotten no matter what they do, do you think that leaves them with any incentive to serve a public that hates them either way? When people only see them as tribe members and not individuals, they will act that way.