Wipe the names off the board.
Mitt Romney put this out in late 2020. Whatever you may think of him, the man clearly has a moral center. But this post isn't about Mitt Romney. It's about what he's saying. He's talking about behavior. And the fact that it's acceptable or unacceptable irrespective of who is doing it. If it helps, simply replace the proper names above and use “President X” or “politician X” or “Speaker of the House X.” This includes the name "Mitt Romney." Use "Senator X." The names don’t matter. In fact if your interpretation of what constitutes appropriate practices varies depending on which name you replace with X, then you are admitting to a blindly obsequious devotion to a personality or party above principles. This is wrong. Our primary loyalty should be to what’s right, above all other considerations. This includes calling out the improprieties inside of our own tribe when they exist, as Romney is doing. Otherwise we are cowards, and part of the problem. And if we are justifying our own indiscretions or those of our favorite political figure by pointing out similar actions from the “other side,” then we are stooping to the defensive posture of a child. Two wrongs don't make a right. I'm pretty sure we all learned that in kindergarten. If we break the law we can’t mount a legal defense that basically amounts to “this other guy broke the law too.” We are both criminals and are in fact, admitting to it.
The next time you watch the news, in your mind replace all the proper names with "X." If how you feel about whatever the President is doing changes depending on what name you put in place of X (Trump, Obama, Bush, Clinton, etc) then you need to take a hard look at where your loyalties lie. It shouldn't be to those names. It should be to what's right.