Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) is not the only U.S. leader who needs to retire. I can guarantee you this: the chairs on Capitol Hill are molded to the backs of the same old, same old.
“It would be a great thing if both President Biden and former President Trump would stand aside,” Romney said shortly after announcing his own retirement from politics on Sept. 13. Romney has been in politics for 30 years, and he has held his well-worn seat in the U.S. Senate since 2019.
Romney is spot-on: Politics and elections today are overrun by exhausted old men. Thus, politics itself has become just as exhausting as its conductors — especially in the age of Trump and his clique. Elections have been degraded to cat and mouse games, with our national leaders chasing each other in circles with impeachment threats, trial dates and scuffles on national television. The Utah senator is taking the right step; several publications have portrayed him as “fed-up” with the modern Republican Party and as “quitting” politics, yielding to the whims of new age Republicans.
However, quitting is entirely the wrong impression of Romney’s actions. His step away from politics is well-timed, with the 2024 presidential election build-up exacerbating pre-existing tensions between politicians. While Romney should not be idolized for his actions and has a problematic past when it comes to dramatic politics, it is warranted to recognize his introspective actions.
The United States needs to flush out its institutionalized political system. Politicians like Trump and Biden have shifted their positions away from people, issues and policy and toward bureaucratic processes and internal spats. News surrounding U.S. politics isn’t typically about core issues anymore; if you’re talking about the news, you really are talking about the disastrously embarrassing GOP primary debate, the many Trump indictments or Hunter Biden’s recent indictment — impeachment threats, anybody? Many of our politicians are children swatting at each other on the playground, neither learning how to read nor use their times tables.
Retire, politicians. Retire, Biden and Trump. With you will go your spats and distraction from what really matters: the issues themselves. Sure, the next generation of Republicans may be the Freedom Caucus, but at the very least, we’ll have new voices in the future and can move on from the dirt-digging of the present. That’s not to downplay the severity of the Freedom Caucus’ insanity but to emphasize the importance of political turnover.
Personally, what comes to mind foremost is the fight for abortion. As of 2022, 61% of Americans believe that abortion should be legal in all cases, with rare exceptions. Countless nonprofit organizations have created resources and dedicated time and labor to supporting women, even after the crushing Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in June 2022. Instead of dealing with negative impacts from the Dobbs decision, politicians are instead paying attention to headlines like: “Boebert Apologizes for Vaping in a Denver Theater” or “Special Counsel Obtained 32 Private Messages From Trump’s Twitter Account.”
As Romney points out in his recently released biography, the norm on Capitol Hill is prioritizing elections first, and reelections second.
It has been apparent for years: The United States needs a shift. So, no, Politico and The Washington Post. Romney’s move here is neither abandonment nor saving face. It is recognition; it is a first step. To shed away the stigmas and drama, Romney, a man reaching his 80s, puts away self-gratification and his lifelong career to make way for a new era of politics. Will retirement benefit Romney? Yes, absolutely, but no one can deny how his departure will impact the future of politics as well. It is idealistic, sure, but at the root of a politician’s duties are selflessness and the prioritization of policy over politics. Romney, shockingly enough, seems to get that, even as a member of the older, more dominant generation.
I actively participate in Emory University’s student government. Frankly, it is mind-numbing and frivolous at times. However, I know that student leadership is crucial. We held elections for first-year senators this past week, and while I am not ready to place U.S. foreign policy or the Supreme Court in their hands, it is significant that students are interested enough in government and policy to participate; they could be sleeping, studying or partying, and yet they are engaging in something as tedious as the the Oxford Student Government Association.
I tell this anecdote because it reminds me that these recently elected students are people who are fresh and idealistic, preparing to step into U.S. politics. Power vacuums are exactly what Washington needs, as well as state and local governments, to go out with the old and in with the new. Romney, stepping away from dusty old Capitol Hill, is making room for someone new — someone younger — with fresher ideas and fewer scandals to tip-toe around.
Don’t take this as the sole solution to fix politics, because it’s not. Trump’s cult is still wandering around, Vivek Ramaswamy is on the loose and Biden is still running for office in 2024. But do not judge Romney for supposedly giving up. It requires individuals taking steps like his to truly change the American political landscape in future years.
The election is yet to come, and this column will continue to track the upticks in political drama and condense genuine issue-based politics. Brace yourselves — 2024 is sneaking up on us — and we better be ready when it’s here.
Ellie Fivas (24Ox) is from Cleveland, Tennessee.
Ellie Fivas is from Cleveland, Tennessee, and is double-majoring in political science and English & Creative Writing. Outside of the Wheel, she serves on the Student Government Association, edits for the Oxford Phoenix literary magazine and writes for the Emory Political Review. In her free time, you can find her reading historical fiction, enjoying the outdoors or doing crossword puzzles.
