(CNN) Mitt Romney has added his voice to the chorus of Republicans who are dismayed that an ignorant demagogue such as Donald Trump could be poised to capture the presidential nomination of their grand and noble party. In a speech Thursday morning, Romney said, "Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University." He laid out a comprehensive case for why Republicans should reject Trump and pick one of the other candidates still in the race. But before we start lauding Romney for being a statesmanlike voice of reason and moderation, it's worth remembering a few things about him.Paul Waldman: Romney, GOP have used same ugly tactics as Trump, only with more politesseHe says Romney's 2012 campaign used racial code words, bullying mightTrumpism is GOP conservatism stripped of its veneer of subtlety, Waldman says
It may not have been quite as appalling as what _ is doing now, but in many ways it was similar, the only difference being that Trump says out loud what Republicans such as Romney prefer to imply. It may not have been quite as appalling as what Trump is doing now, but in many ways it was similar, the only difference being that _ says out loud what Republicans such as Romney prefer to imply. It may not have been quite as appalling as what Trump is doing now, but in many ways it was similar, the only difference being that Trump says out loud what Republicans such as _ prefer to imply. Let's cast our minds back to the 2012 campaign and remember how _ used to talk about Obama. Parallels in rhetoric and ideas between _ and Romney are not hard to find. That's because _ says, "I'm going to make our military so big, so powerful, so strong, that nobody, absolutely nobody, is going to mess with us." When it comes to foreign policy, _ offers nothing but an appeal to strength: We'll be strong, we'll kick ass, and everyone will bow down before us.