Is Mitt Romney a principled martyr or a political chameleon?
L: Mitt Romney has led a distinguished political career, of that there is no doubt. As Governor of Massachusetts and a presidential candidate, Romney stuck to more conservative positions than he has as a United States Senator. First and foremost, Romney is, has been, and remains an institutionalist– we saw this with his vote to convict former President Trump in his second impeachment trial over Trump’s role in the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. I disagree with Romney’s stances on a multitude of issues, but recognize his strong moral compass, especially in times of crisis.
R: Mitt Romney is a political chameleon. I do not like President Trump, but the outright bashing of his own party’s nominee was not some grand principled stand, but rather a diatribe against someone who had more popularity and appeal than him. Senator Romney has changed his positions constantly. He supported abortion in 1994 during his Massachusetts Senatorial run and then was pro-life, not to mention his support of a state-run healthcare system as Governor of Massachusetts before his opposition to Obamacare. Good riddance, Senator Romney, and goodbye!
Would you vote for someone over 75? Would you support age limits for public office?
R: I would support someone over the age of 75 to be President. It may not be ideal, but we must vote for the most qualified candidate. We have forgotten the importance of our elders’ wisdom in America and have embraced the newest fads and the youngest among us as the wisest, which is certainly not for the better. To take a line on wisdom from The Fellowship of the Ring, “pay heed to the tales of old wives. It may well be that they alone keep in memory what it was once needful for the wise to know.”
L: I would vote for someone who is over 75 years old. For me, age is just a number– the true issue comes down to the person’s health. While health issues generally are correlated with age, some 80-year-olds are healthier than their much younger counterparts. I would not support age limits for public office. However, term limits for executive and judicial offices are acceptable. Legislative term limits necessitate high turnover and diminish the wealth of experience commonly found in legislative bodies.
Are Democrat attitudes towards illegal immigration changing?
L: I do not believe attitudes in the Democratic Party are changing towards those who immigrated to the United States illegally. On the balance, the Democratic Party has supported, does support, and will continue to support legal immigration. Rhetoric from the other side has become more divisive and dangerous in the past decade. As a result, Democrats have become more supportive and defensive of immigration overall. The DACA program, which allows children who arrived in the U.S. with their parents – illegally – to become eligible to legally work, was created by former President Barack Obama, a Democrat. Polls from 2022 indicate over 80 percent of Americans support the DACA program, including over 90 percent of Democrats and over 70 percent of Republicans.
R: Democratic issues towards illegal immigration are not changing, but are rather now being focused on a personal issue. When illegal immigrants were pouring across the Southern border and settling in states such as Texas, Arizona, and even Florida, it was satisfactory, since it served the Democratic agenda and increased the potential for future Democratic voters without threatening Democrats living in their New York City penthouses in the here and now. However, since these illegal immigrants have been relocated to cities where Democrats reside, such as New York or to other hubs like Martha’s Vineyard, these immigrants now threaten the current structure of life. In other words, it is alright for illegal immigrants to pour across our border, so long as they do not upset the lives of the limousine liberals, to quote the late New York City Comptroller Mario Procaccino during his 1969 Mayoral run.