Massachusetts State Rep Says ‘There’s A Special Place In Hell’ for Mitt Romney

Printed from: https://newbostonpost.com/2020/09/22/massachusetts-state-rep-says-theres-a-special-place-in-hell-for-mitt-romney/

Where will Mitt Romney go when he dies?

For those unfamiliar with every detail of the Republican U.S. Senator from Utah’s life, the answer to that question is unclear. However, at least one Democrat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives predicts it’s Hell — as she made clear in a tweet Tuesday afternoon.

Massachusetts state Representative Tami Gouveia (D-Acton), who represents the 14th Middlesex District, was not happy when she found out that Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and a practicing Mormon, said he is open to voting for a Trump nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court this year even though a presidential election is near.

In response to the news about Romney, Gouveia tweeted out, “There’s a special place in hell for you ⁦@SenatorRomney⁩. You really are the spineless sell out we always knew you to be.”

When asked for further comment about the tweet by New Boston Post in an email message on Tuesday afternoon, Gouveia responded, “I think it speaks for itself but if you have a more specific question let me know.”

Romney’s announcement — which took some observers by surprise because of Romney’s antipathy toward President Donald Trump — came Tuesday morning, four days after the death of liberal justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Ginsburg. an advocate for legal abortion, died of pancreatic cancer Friday, September 18, at age 87, leaving a vacancy.

If President Trump nominates a judge for the Supreme Court and the Senate votes to confirm, then six of the nine judges will have been appointed by Republicans. Some say that could result in Roe v. Wade being overturned if Ginsburg’s replacement joins other anti-Roe justices on the court in jettisoning it.

Observers of the court say Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito appear to be clear votes to overturn Roe. It’s less clear what John Roberts, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh would do. But many observers suspect Gorsuch and Kavanaugh may vote to ditch Roe if they would be part of a majority of justices.

Romney was considered the last fence sitter on voting for a possible Supreme Court nominee from President Trump irrespective of the forthcoming presidential election. His vote would apparently give Republicans 51 — one more than they need to confirm Trump’s pick.

Romney put out a statement about his decision on Tuesday morning.

“The Constitution gives the President the power to nominate and the Senate the authority to provide advice and consent on Supreme Court nominees,” Romney said via Twitter. “Accordingly, I intend to follow the Constitution and precedent in considering the President’s nominee. If the nominee reaches the Senate floor, I intend to vote based upon their qualifications.”

Romney also wrote that “The historic precedent of election year nominations is that the Senate generally does not confirm an opposing party’s nominee but does confirm a nominee of its own.”

Critics say Republicans are being hypocrites, since Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to hold hearings in 2016 — also a presidential election year — for a Supreme Court nominee put forward by then-President Barack Obama.

McConnell has argued along the lines of Romney’s statement — that when the Senate is held by the party opposing the president’s party, then the Senate shouldn’t take up a president’s nominee in the months leading up to a presidential election. McConnell says it’s a different story if the White House and Senate are held by the same party, as is the case now.

Like Ginsburg, Gouveia is a staunch supporter of legal abortion. She supports the proposed ROE Act bill in Massachusetts, which, among other things, would eliminate most remaining restrictions on third-trimester abortions, eliminate parental consent requirements for minors seeking abortions, and eliminate language from Massachusetts law requiring doctors to provide life-saving care for babies born alive after an attempted abortion.

Supporters of the ROE Act bill have been unable to move it out of committee, but during the last several days they have called on the state Legislature to move on the measure.

Gouveia on Tuesday retweeted a tweet that says, “MA needs to honor RBG’s legacy and pass the ROE Act. Everyone deserves access to equitable abortion care.”

A June 2019 poll (put out by opponents of the ROE Act bill) found that 62 percent of Bay State voters oppose late-term abortion expansion and back parental consent for girls 17 and younger seeking abortions.

Gouveia was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 2018. She previously founded the Massachusetts Chapter of the Women’s March on Washington in protest of President Trump.

Romney, by comparison, is generally pro-life now, although he supported legal abortion most of the time he served as governor of Massachusetts in the early 2000s.

“My position has been clear throughout this campaign,” Romney told CBS News when running for president in 2012. “I’m in favor of abortion being legal in the case of rape and incest, and the health and life of the mother.”

Romney’s current abortion views are in line with his religion, as the Los Angeles Times points out. Romney is an active Mormon. Among other things, in his early 20s, Romney spent two-and-a-half years doing a mission in France promoting his Mormon faith.

Elected governor of Massachusetts in 2002, Romney served from 2003 to 2007 and did not seek re-election in 2006. Ultimately, he ended up running for president unsuccessfully twice, once in 2008 and again in 2012, before establishing residency in Utah and winning a U.S. Senate election there in 2018.