Brooks: Departing Utah Sen. Mitt Romney gives us a rare gift

He stands for the idea that there are things more important in life than politics and winning elections

You do things that make you feel ashamed at times. I had nothing to write about on the first day of the Republican National Convention in 2012, so I wrote a humorous column mocking the Romney family for being perfect in every way. It was well received by readers, but on the day it was published, I ran into two of Mitt Romney’s sons, who looked at me with hurt in their eyes that pierced me. I’d mocked people for the sin of admirability.

A few years later, before becoming a senator, Romney invited me to come to Utah to speak to a group he was organizing. Writing a speech and getting on a plane is a chore, but I did it as penance for my sins. Of course, as is their nature, all Romneys were lovely to me. And I learned a lesson: partisans may applaud if you mock those you admire, regardless of political affiliation, but remain loyal to them.

We all strive to be the best versions of ourselves, and Romney’s struggle has now forced him to retire and leave the Senate. On the way, he gave us a gift in the form of a series of conversations with McKay Coppins of The Atlantic, who has written a book about him and excerpted it in the magazine.

Romney puts on the record what many of us have been hearing off the record for years: that the Republican Party has become a party of liars, that its congressional leaders mock Donald Trump behind his back while swooning over him in front of the cameras.

The tragic figure in Romney’s story is Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. He appears to be — and I believe he is — a decent man attempting to mitigate the worst of Trump’s impact on his party. But we can see the daily corrosives that McConnell must endure in order to maintain this front — turning a blind eye to Trump’s crimes, turning a blind eye to the threats that were looming in the run-up to Jan. 6.

McConnell’s main issue is that you can’t bargain with narcissism. Every time you give in to Trump’s selfishness, it ravenously devours another pound of your flesh.

In this story, Paul Ryan also makes a sad appearance. Romney tells Coppins that Ryan called him during the first impeachment trial, pleading with him to acquit. Ryan advises Republicans to preserve their viability while also preserving their ability to do good.

It’s advice that once seemed plausible, and that led many decent people to join Trump’s administration as sane voices. The first issue is that the Trumpian cult demands complete devotion. You are expelled from the ranks for voicing an honest dissent.

The other issue is that if you join forces with a con artist, you must become a part of the con yourself. You have to be Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who went to Princeton and Harvard Law and is married to a Goldman Sachs employee, ludicrously popping a brewski live on TV — an elite nerd’s attempt to appear populist.

We’ve seen how easy it is to anesthetize one’s moral circuits during the Trump era. John McCain and Mitt Romney both maintained their moral compass, but they are the exceptions. Many others joined in the general deception. You begin by lying about yourself, and before long, you are lying to yourself.

The pivotal moment for Romney appears to have occurred on January 6 — not what the rioters did to gain access to the Capitol, but what Republican legislators did in the chambers after the rioters were cleared out, continuing their efforts to overturn the election.

Romney’s retirement, which takes effect in 2025, will mark the end of an era, the end of the Republican Party that once included Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and, more recently, Mitt Romney’s father, George Romney, and George H.W. Bush. In reality, Romney will play little role in shaping a better GOP future. What comes after Trumpism will be different than what came before it.

I admire him for deciding to retire at the ripe old age of 76. As we’ve seen, the desire for continued relevance is a corrosive lust that devours the very old. Romney represents the valuable idea that there are things in life that are more important than politics and winning elections.

The Republican Party needed to evolve and become more in touch with the working class — but not in the vicious way Trump has advocated. The Republican Party cannot be reformed as long as Trump is in charge. It can only be stripped of its power.