Republican Utah Senator Mitt Romney has made a habit of attacking Republicans he disagrees with more harshly than he attacks Democrats and he has done it again. Writes Carmine Sabia
After President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address this week he criticized Republican Reps. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene after they shouted during parts of the speech.
The president was asking Congress to pass legislation to help Afghanistan and Iraq veterans who are suffering after being exposed to toxic burn pits that were used to incinerate waste including jet fuel, medical and hazardous materials.
“Our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan faced many dangers,” the president said. “One was stationed at bases and breathing in toxic smoke from “burn pits” that incinerated wastes of war—medical and hazard material, jet fuel, and more.
“When they came home, many of the world’s fittest and best trained warriors were never the same, he said. “Headaches. Numbness. Dizziness. A cancer that would put them in a flag-draped coffin.”
It was then that, according to reporters who were in the House, Rep. Boebert shouted “You put them there. “Thirteen of them.”
The comment was in reference to the thirteen service members killed in a suicide bombing during the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, including Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover from Utah.
It was then that the president talked about the death of his own son and military officer, Beau Biden, from cancer.
“One of those soldiers was my son Major Beau Biden,” he said.
“We don’t know for sure if a burn pit was the cause of his brain cancer, or the diseases of so many of our troops,” he said. “But I’m committed to finding out everything we can.”
During another part of the speech, where Biden talked about fixing immigration, Rep. Greene shouted at him.
“Folks, if we are to advance liberty and justice, we need to secure our border and fix the immigration system,” he said before Rep. Greene shouted “Build the wall.”
“And as you might guess, I think we can do both. At our border, we’ve installed new technology like cutting-edge scanners to better detect drug smuggling.
“We’ve set up joint patrols with Mexico and Guatemala to catch more human traffickers,” the president said.
“We’re putting in place dedicated immigration judges in significant larger number so families fleeing persecution and violence can have their cases heard faster and those who don’t legitimately here can be sent back,” he said.
But Sen. Romney did not have an issue with a Democrat president talking about securing the border which, many believe is hypocrisy.
During a call with reporters the senator was more concerned with admonishing his Republican colleagues, KSL reported.
“Well, it was obviously discourteous and, I think, totally inappropriate. We are not the English House of Commons,” he said.
Shouting is a common occurrence in the British legislative body.
“We typically sit with respect for the president regardless of their party, and yelling out accusations … it’s just really repugnant and repulsive,” the senator said.
“Sometimes people in our own party do things that embarrass me,” he said. “I was embarrassed last night as they did that.”
Many Republicans feel the same way about him.
But Rep. Boebert did not shy away from her comments later when she took to Twitter.
“When Biden said flag draped coffins I couldn’t stay silent. I told him directly he did it. He put 13 in there. Our heroic servicemen and women deserve so much better,” she said.
