COLUMN: Mitt Romney, the Savior of the Moderate GOP

The past few years have been tough for the moderate Republican.

They were beaten in 2014 when Dave Brat upset former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor; they were bruised in 2016 when Marco Rubio announced he was dropping out of the Republican primary; they were left for dead last year when anti-establishment candidate Roy Moore upended Luther Strange in Alabama.

And through the turbulent “fire and fury” of Trump’s first year of presidency, it’s only become worse for the moderates, who are seemingly powerless as the Republican National Committee pushes the party’s agenda to the far right, with a message of: “side with the man who spent all of 2016 berating you, or lose our support.” As a result, the overall doctrine and policy from the GOP has been unapologetically conservative.

So naturally, then, future prospects have been utterly stark for the Kasichs and McCains and Grahams of Washington.

That is, until last Friday, when former presidential candidate Mitt Romney declared his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, running for the seat vacated by seasoned Republican senator Orrin Hatch.

Because of his prominence and forever-long feud with Trump, the 70-year-old Romney now has the opportunity to become the face of the moderate Republicans’ base. He is everything that they have lacked: a lively, prominent candidate who can make their calls for compromised solutions and balancing the budget attractive and exciting.

In his campaign announcement, Romney gave a very stereotypical pitch to “make Washington more like Utah.” But scattered through Romney’s somewhat exaggerated commendation of Utahans in the video were bits of hope for the middle-of-the-road Republican.

Balancing the budget, the first wink of a policy proposal laced in the video, is something that has seemingly been long abandoned by America-first Republicans who are seemingly okay with enlarging the $20 trillion deficit, as long as the money goes to military spending.

Also in the video is a not-so-subtle jab at Trump’s controversial travel ban and “Build the Wall” rhetoric — both of which are policies that moderate Republicans have maintained they disapprove of, but are coerced into supporting by their far-right constituents.

“Utah welcomes legal immigrants from around the world,” Romney stated confidently in the video. “Washington sends immigrants a message of exclusion.”

In Trump’s America, such a statement is Republican blasphemy. But that’s the beauty of Mitt Romney: he doesn’t care. He has absolutely nothing to lose, and for the Republican voters who feel abandoned by Trump’s policies on immigration, Romney’s compassionate conservatism is refreshing and invigorating.

This makes Romney’s run for Senate much more important than either of his runs for president. He will have the opportunity to make lasting change in the  internal paradigm of the GOP, mostly because the current Republican party is not the same one that nominated Romney as its presidential candidate in 2012.

If Romney loses again — though the chances are slim coming from Hatch’s former seat — it may mean the end of the road for the moderate Republican, especially if it is by the hands of a far-right challenger.

If he does win, moderates can expect a moral counterweight to the current direction of the GOP. Whereas McConnell and Ryan have stood down to Trump, Romney may be the one politician with enough influence and moral integrity to take back what moderate Republicans have long lost: common sense and a backbone.

Moderates need a politician who is not afraid to stand up to the rash and odious decision-making of Trump, someone who can bring order to the Republican Party; they need a representative to be a fresh face for the Tuesday Group — the longstanding Congressional caucus made up of moderate Republicans — who can rally his fellow members around common ground.

And this is it; this is the last chance for voters in Utah to lash back at the far-right mantra that has dominated Republican discourse. Moderates desperately need a big win. They need none other than the “flipping Mormon,” the savior of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games, the seemingly only politician in 2012 who was right about Russia.

For all that is good, Republicans need Mitt.