Pay attention! Mitt Romney just showed you who he is

On Monday, Utah Senate candidate Mitt Romney demonstrated, to the great anguish of many of his supporters and ardent NeverTrumpers, that he is the same old flip-flopping politician he's always been.

Remember, this is the man who said:

Romney accepted Trump's endorsement in 2012, when he was running for president. At the time, Romney said he was both "honored" and "pleased" to be endorsed by Trump, who "has shown an extraordinary ability to understand how our economy works to create jobs for the American people."

"I spent my life in the private sector. Not quite as successful as this guy. But successful nonetheless," said Romney, laying it on thick. But he sang a different tune when Trump was running for president, attacking Trump's business record and declaring him a fraud.

"He has neither the temperament nor the judgment to be president and his personal qualities would mean that America would cease to be a shining city on a hill," Romney said. Throughout the months, Trump responded in kind, labeling Romney a "stone-cold loser" and sniping back and forth with Romney on social media.

But now Romney is running for Senate, and President Trump is fully embracing his candidacy.

And Romney, of course, accepted the endorsement.

Trump, obviously, has never apologized for "the things he says today about the KKK, Muslims, Mexicans, disabled" that Romney hates so much. Trump never apologizes for anything. But Romney took the endorsement anyway, because that's the politically smart thing to do when you're running for Senate in a red state and a Republican is president.

Yes, Romney is a bit hypocritical, but that is who Mitt Romney is. If it's foolish to expect Donald Trump, at 71, to change who he is, it's just as foolish to expect Romney, 70, to change who he is. Romney has flipped his positions throughout his career, always to whichever position benefits him the most at the time. He is, as a top adviser once described, an "Etch A Sketch."

Conservatives ought to be looking for conviction candidates to represent them in office. Mitt Romney clearly doesn't stand by his convictions when they might damage him politically.

Editor's note: An unedited version of this article was inadvertently published. It has been replaced with the edited version. 

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