Go Away, Romney... And Take Your Fake Poverty Concerns With You

With the 2016 Presidential Election less than two years away, the race for the White House is beginning to heat up.

In the span of just one short month, we've seen Hillary Clinton hire John Podesta to lead her emerging campaign and Jeb Bush resign from all his foundations and boards, a well-known precursor to running for president.

But while much of the media fixates on another potential Clinton-Bush matchup, a third candidate has thrown his hat in the proverbial ring: Willard Mitt Romney.

That's right, the same Mitt Romney who has crashed and burned in the last two Presidential Elections thinks he's still the best man for the job.

Someone should tell him that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. 

THE KING OF FLIP FLOPS

While Romney hasn't officially announced that he's running for President in 2016, all signs point to him doing so. 

In a recent speech to the Republican National Committee from aboard the USS Midway in San Diego, Romney admitted that he is giving a third run for president "some serious consideration," which is as close a politician will get to saying they're in without actually saying they're in.

Of course, his RNC speech was littered with criticisms of Obama and Hillary, which surprises no one. But Mitt also spent time discussing a subject he's been loathed to address, let alone mention, in the past: poverty.

"It's a tragedy, a human tragedy, that the middle class in this country by and large doesn't believe that the future will be be better than the past. We haven't seen rising incomes over decades."

"The rich have gotten richer, income inequality has gotten worse and there are more people in poverty than ever before under this president."

Are you kidding me, Mitt?

While the statement is factually accurate, it is laughably disingenuous.

Suddenly Mr. 47%, who spent his entire career preying on the middle class by outsourcing jobs and bankrupting companies for personal profit, cares about the plight of those struggling to get by?

Even for Romney, the king of flip flops, such a statement defies logic. It's like hearing the CEO of McDonalds decry the rise of obesity.

After all, the same people Mitt now pretends to care about he skewered in private just a few short years ago, calling them lazy moochers who need to "take personal responsibility for their lives."

"My job is not to worry about those people."

But now he does?

How stupid does Mitt think the American people are?

SAME OLD MITT

While Hillary remains the odds on favorite to win the Democratic nomination (and the White House), the Republican side is much more muddied. As the field stands now, it looks like a two candidate race: Jeb versus Mitt, at least until Rand Paul or Ted Cruz officially jump into the ring.

And while I'd rather gouge my eyes out Oedipus-style than see another Bush in the White House, at least Jeb is consistent and, on the surface, real.

He's married to a Hispanic wife. He genuinely cares about Immigration Reform and Common Core educational standards. In many ways he's Mitt without the personal baggage. Sure, the Bush name hangs over Jeb like a infinite dark cloud, but Jeb himself is a successful businessman devoid of flip flops, free from disparaging secret video that disqualifies him from the national stage. 

Disagree with Jeb's politics all you want (and believe me, I do) but when you compare him to Mitt, it's no contest. I don't like Jeb but I respect him, something I, and many others, can't say for Mitt.

The problem with Mitt is that he has no backbone. He has no guiding principles or fundamental beliefs. He is the ultimate political opportunist: he says what the crowd wants to hear. He changes his tune to whatever the most popular music is at the time.

In 2012, Mitt was "severely" conservative. 

Now that populism is on the rise and income inequality is at the forefront, he is a born again Anti-Poverty Warrior.

How convenient. 

Sorry, Mitt, but the American people aren't buying it. To us, you will always be Mr. 47%, a rich guy who refuses to show his tax returns and only says what he really believes when he thinks the cameras are off.

So please, spare us your fake poverty concerns. Leave the problem of income inequality to the people who genuinely care about addressing it.

Enjoy your millions and your car elevator, Mitt, and go away.