Opinion: Mitt Romney, piling on Trump

The president is facing a level of intraparty criticism that has no recent precedent. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, January 2, 2019 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [David Leonhardt] David Leonhardt Op-Ed Columnist Partisanship is a helluva drug (to steal a line from the political scientist Brendan Nyhan). Well into 1973 — after Watergate had already become a major scandal — a large majority of Republicans [continued to support]( President Richard Nixon. Party elites, like Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, supported him as well. Democrats, of course, have their own version of partisan loyalty in the face of scandal, even if the details are quite different. President Bill Clinton had an exploitative affair with a young White House intern and lied about it under oath, yet most Democratic voters and party officials [stood strongly behind him](. I’m not running through this history to make moral judgments. My point this morning is different: It is extremely unusual for a president of the United States to face serious, sustained criticism from members of his own party. And yet the criticism of President Trump from Republicans [just keeps coming](. Members of Congress have defied him recently on foreign policy. Senior Republicans publicly turned down the chief of staff job. The secretary of defense, in his resignation letter, laid out a point-by-point rejection of Trump’s worldview. And now Mitt Romney — a former Republican presidential nominee who was recently elected as a senator — has written [a harsh op-ed in The Washington Post](. “The Trump presidency made a deep descent in December,” Romney wrote. “To reassume our leadership in world politics, we must repair failings in our politics at home. That project begins, of course, with the highest office once again acting to inspire and unite us.” No, congressional Republicans still aren’t doing nearly as much as they should be to constrain Trump and hold him accountable for his behavior. But they are forcing him to face more intraparty criticism than any president has in a very long time. Programming note. Starting Monday, the name of this newsletter will change. Instead of being called “Opinion Today,” the newsletter will bear my name. The back story: When I began writing it in September 2016, this newsletter was one of only a few produced by the Opinion section — and I was planning to write it only temporarily. Thus the name “Opinion Today.” But 28 months later, I’m still writing it and enjoying it, thanks in no small part to the interactions with all of you. And the Opinion section now has several newsletters: There is a weekly roundup of standout work, called [Sunday Best]( as well as the [weekly Op-Docs newsletter](. My colleague [Frank Bruni]( has started a weekly newsletter. And [Nick Kristof]( continues to write a twice-weekly newsletter. The name change of this newsletter doesn’t require any changes by you. It will continue to arrive in your inbox five days a week, with my thoughts on the news and reading suggestions from around the web — as well as links to all Times Opinion pieces published that day. In addition to a different name, the newsletter will also have a slightly different design — one I like because it’s a little bit better organized than the current design. As always, I welcome your feedback, at leonhardt@nytimes.com. The full Opinion report from The Times follows, including [the latest editorial]( in a [nine-part series]( on pregnancy. [The Cost of Complacency About Roe]( Democrats and abortion-rights advocates didn’t push hard enough for women’s rights in New York. Now, they have a chance to get it right. [The Feticide Playbook, Explained]( Feticide laws are ground zero in the American battle over reproductive rights, and, in many states, pregnant women are the collateral damage. [When Prosecutors Jail a Mother for a Miscarriage]( Women grieving after a lost pregnancy or a newborn’s accidental death are being charged with crimes. [A Woman’s Rights]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD How states are extending liberties to the unborn — by taking them from women. [The Trump Tax Cut: Even Worse Than You’ve Heard]( [President Trump in a meeting with governors and members of Congress about tax cuts in April 2018.]( President Trump in a meeting with governors and members of Congress about tax cuts in April 2018. Doug Mills/The New York Times By PAUL KRUGMAN Skeptical reporting has still been too favorable. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [China’s Gulag for Muslims]( By MUSTAFA AKYOL In modern-day “re-education” prisons, Beijing is forcing ethnic Uighurs to forsake their religion. Why don’t Muslim governments rise up in anger? ADVERTISEMENT LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up here. Reasons to Be Hopeful in 2019 Sunday Review [The Exhilaration of Revolt]( By SARAH JAFFE Teachers who have taken their fight to the streets have drawn our attention in the past years, but many others are rising up, too. Sunday Review [India’s Newest War for Independence]( By JYOTI THOTTAM Women there aren’t just protesting against violence. They are fighting for freedom from the institutions that hold them back. Sunday Review [You Should Be Watching Women’s Soccer]( By GWENDOLYN OXENHAM The U.S. is the beacon, but as we approach the 2019 World Cup, women’s soccer is booming all over the globe. Sunday Review [The Good News About Terrorism]( By DANIEL BYMAN The Islamic State is weakened, and the jihadist threat to the U.S. has diminished. We’ve got more newsletters! You might like Frank Bruni’s newsletter.  Go beyond the headlines and behind the curtain with Frank Bruni’s candid reflections on politics, culture, higher education and more every week. [Sign up for Frank Bruni’s email.](  ADVERTISEMENT HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [leonhardt@nytimes.com](mailto:leonhardt@nytimes.com?subject=Opinion%20Today%20Newsletter%20Feedback). FOLLOW OPINION [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytopinion]( [Pinterest] [Pinterest]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »](  | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2019 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018