Yesterday on July 4, Atlantic magazine published an op-ed by Senator Mitt Romney titled "America Is in Denial."

Romney began by claiming that Americans tend to be divorced from reality.

He cited examples of water being wasted on lawns and golf courses despite reservoirs drying up, and progressive politicians voting to increase government spending despite inflation and growing national debt.

After the inane generalities, Romney began inching toward his real target: Donald Trump.

Romney cited the example of the January 6 trial, claiming that "when a renowned conservative former federal appellate judge testifies that we are already in a war for our democracy and that January 6, 2021, was a genuine constitutional crisis, MAGA loyalists snicker that he speaks slowly and celebrate that most people weren't watching."

Romney excoriated people for "blithely dismissing threats that could prove cataclysmic."  He termed America as a nation in denial, refusing to accept the peril that lies before them.

Romney added that a classic example of denial comes from Donald Trump: "I won in a landslide."

Perhaps this is a branch of the same delusion that leads people to feed money into slot machines: Because I really want to win, I believe that I will win.

...he wrote.

Romney then branded Trump a sophist, a grifter, and a truth-denier who is exploiting people's natural predisposition toward wishful thinking.

Romney warned that "when entire countries fail to confront serious challenges, it doesn't end well."

Romney claimed that in the past half-century, the U.S. could afford to ignore the threats it faced owing to a strong economy, superior military power, and a stable climate.  But now Romney claims that things have gone south, so ignoring these "threats" could cause America to "suffer serious consequences."

Romney compared the occurrences of January 6 with the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania on 9/11.  This comparison has been made by many Democrats.

The comparison is not only ludicrous, but insensitive toward the victims of both catastrophic attacks.  It also trivializes two of the darkest chapters in U.S. history. 

Yet the self-righteous Romney placed himself on a scale morally far above Trump.

Romney continues that "[a] crisis can shake the public consciousness.  But a crisis may come too late for a course correction that can prevent tragedy.  The only cure for wishful thinking is leadership."

Romney, as GOP establishment loyalists always do, praised his Democrat adversary.  He called Biden a genuinely good man.  Romney was excusing Biden's numerous shady deals with adversarial foreign powers and the scandalous revelation from Biden's daughter's diary.

However, Romney accepted that "good man" Biden is "unable to break through our national malady of denial, deceit, and distrust."  Obviously, Romney is blaming Trump without naming him for everything that is wrong in the U.S.

After prattling on for a bit, Romney finally revealed the purpose of his piece.  He warned America that "a return of Donald Trump would feed the sickness, probably rendering it incurable."

Romney also expressed fears that if Trump was re-elected, Washington would enable him, hence demonstrating the maxim that for evil to thrive only requires good men to do nothing.

Romney obviously regarded himself and the members of the establishment as "good," while Trump is the personification of evil.

It is ironic that Romney warns about the erosion of democracy while also slamming the way democracy works.  If Trump is democratically re-elected, lawmakers and others in Washington have an obligation to stand with him and enable him to implement the agenda for which he was elected. 

Romney concludes by "hoping for a president who can rise above the din to unite us behind the truth."

So why should the public care about the rambling of a fading senator and a failed 2012 Republican presidential candidate?

Because it provided an insight into the thinking of the Washington establishment.

If Romney was worried about the health of democracy in the U.S., he would have expressed concerns about Biden's Disinformation Governance Board, which intends to intimidate citizens from freely expressing themselves.  Romney would have slammed the Biden administration for abusing their power to raid homes, arrest, and confiscate phones of Trump's allies, and Cabinet members.  Romney would have condemned Biden officials branding parents opposed to their young children being taught Critical Race Theory as domestic terrorists.

But he did no such thing because democracy was never Romney's or Washington's concern.

Romney's own record as senator is anti-democratic.

Romney voted against lifting the mask and vaccine mandates and federal travel mask mandates on public transportation.  Romney was absent during the vote on amendments to block the Democrat-led vaccine mandate.

Under Biden, citizens are struggling due to high inflation, high gas prices, a supply chain crisis, lawlessness, crime, and drugs.

But Romney didn't even utter perfunctory words of comfort or pledge to take remedial actions to ensure the well-being of the citizens.

Romney was never concerned about the citizens.  His focus is the well-being of the Washington establishment.

Currently, the main concern for the Washington establishment is not the midterms or abortion, gun control, or the Supreme Court.  It is to prevent Donald Trump from running in 2024.  This is because they see him as a threat and challenge to their supremacy.  They can manage anybody else from either party, but not Trump.

A reliable barometer to know what is good for the nation is to learn what Washington intends and then move in the opposite direction. 

Washington seems mortally afraid of Trump; this makes him most suitable to be president in 2024.  It helps that he had a record of prosperity in the U.S. and peace all over the world during his first term.  That hasn't been forgotten by the citizens, no matter how much Romney bloviates.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.