Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell did something so unusual, so out of character, this week that you should excuse Kentucky voters for asking him, “Who are you and what have you done with our boy Mitch?”
The Louisville Republican for some mysterious reason decided to take a whack at something smelling of bipartisanship, a gesture akin to betrayal, if not treason, within the modern Republican Party. And, wonder of wonders, he acted not once, but twice.
President Biden’s announced intent to nominate an African-American woman to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has drawn howls of derision from many on the GOP side who claim the vow excludes any number of worthy candidates – mostly White men, of course – on the basis of race and gender.
“The fact that he’s willing to make a promise at the outset, that it must be a Black woman, I gotta say that’s offensive,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, in high dudgeon over the possibility that someone who doesn’t resemble him might take a seat on the high court. “You know, you know Black women are what, 6 percent of the U.S. population? He’s saying to 94 percent of Americans, ‘I don’t give a damn about you, you are ineligible.’”
But McConnell, infamous for his finagling of federal judicial appointments on all levels, most particularly on those headed for the Supreme Court, dismissed the potential controversy.
“I heard a couple of people say they thought it was inappropriate for the president to announce he was going to put an African American woman on the court,” McConnell said during a recent event in Lexington. “Honestly, I did not think that was inappropriate.”
If that wasn’t enough to give the party of Donald J. Trump the vapors, McConnell doubled-down on providing some support for Biden’s Democratic administration regarding the Russia-Ukraine confrontation, saying in late January that he thought steps taken by the White House were “encouraging.”
“It appears to me, the administration is moving in the right direction,” he said.
Now that Russia has actually invaded Ukraine, McConnell is urging strong action, thus endorsing Biden’s stated intent.
“We’re all together at this point and we need to be together about what should be done,” McConnell said at a Wednesday press conference. “But I have some advice — ratchet the sanctions all the way up. Don’t hold any back. Every single available tough sanction should be employed and should be employed now.”
“Vladimir Putin is a bad guy,” McConnell said, referring to the bloodthirsty Russian president. “He’s an authoritarian. He yearns for empire and we need to do everything we can to stop it.”
McConnell’s strong comments arrive at a time when many Republicans – although not most – are displaying a more relaxed attitude toward Russian belligerence. Trump, for instance, has offered nothing but praise for Putin, characterizing him as “savvy” and a “genius” for declaring the independence of two regions in eastern Ukraine and ordering his troops to cross the border.
“Oh, that’s wonderful.” Trump said.
What a putz. And millions of people want this nitwit back as president.
So, within a space of a few days, McConnell, who has spent the past many years acting as, perhaps, the nation’s most divisive political figure, opposing countless worthwhile initiatives and shutting the door on them, is suddenly acting like Mr. Bipartisan/Cooperative.
What gives?
Two separate subjects, two different reasons.
His positioning on Russia is fairly simple to understand on two levels. McConnell does not consistently support a Democratic administration’s foreign policy. But once the shooting starts somewhere he almost always falls in line, reasoning that a united front, whether for a Democratic or Republican administration, works best to the nation’s benefit.
It also should be noted that in volatile times, and this certainly qualifies, a lawmaker like McConnell, politically speaking, doesn’t want to get on the wrong side of the public when national security interests are involved. Rather than create an antagonistic uproar over a dangerous and delicate situation, he has always displayed a willingness to hold fire.
The Supreme Court is a different animal. McConnell has used it as his own, personal stomping ground, creating an unprecedented uproar over his maneuvering over the last two high court appointments – ignoring former President Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland, saying the decision should be left to the next president, Trump, who chose Justice Neil Gorsuch, and then saying the opening created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg shouldn’t be left to the next president, pushing though Trump’s nomination of Justice Amy Coney Barrett in record time.
It was the height of cynical, unethical, and damnable politics. An outrageous, underhanded swindle of the first order that should have had no place in a democratic society. It also gave conservatives a safe 6-3 majority, a fact that eventually will result in all sorts of mischief.
That all provides McConnell an opportunity to be magnanimous over whoever Trump’s choice turns out to be. Breyer, one of the court’s more liberal justices, will likely be replaced by a liberal whoever Biden chooses.
McConnell knows there’s nothing he can do about it so it’s best to let Biden go his own way. It also will cut down on any potential growling coming from the Black community, where the senator hasn’t received a whole lot of accolades lately, deservedly so since he is the main barrier being used to repel any sort of election ref0rm, a key issue in every community, but particularly among Afro-Americans.
Besides, it would be hypocritical for anyone, particularly for McConnell, a charter member of the Hypocrites Hall of Fame, to whine about a president’s intent to appoint a justice of a particular color or gender. After all, it was Ronald Reagan who got that ball rolling nominating former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor after declaring it was time for a woman to sit on the bench. Even Trump expressed a desire to appoint a woman to replace Ginsberg.
Then, of course, there was former President George H.W. Bush. When Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American justice retired from the court in October 1991, Bush turned to Justice Clarence Thomas, who coincidently happened to be Black.
Bush insisted the color of Thomas’s skin had nothing to do with his choice, it just so happened Thomas was the “best man for the job.”
No one believed Bush then and, as the subsequent 30 years of Thomas on the court have proved, no one should have.
Ultimately, it’s unlikely McConnell will vote for any Supreme Court candidate Biden nominates. After all, they’re unlikely to be a member of the Federalist Society. Drifting away from that qualification should prove a bridge too far.
But take some solace in the man’s stab at bipartisanship. Take it quick because it won’t last long.
Final Legacy for Mitch? He was all right once, but went to hell in his 70’s. Too bad. Put a
pigeon roost up for him in Louisville or somewhere in the mountains of Kentucky. I feel sorry
that Kentucky has Mitch and Rand in the senate and Thomas –find me a home — Massie now in office. Can only get better as one then the other falls out.
Trump withheld Javelin anti-tank missiles from Ukraine in an attempt to force Zelensky to “investigate” Hunter Biden.
Trump tried to destroy NATO, which is standing stronger than ever against Putin’s war on Ukraine.
If Trump was President, not only would he not stop Putin’s invasion, he would be supporting Russia instead of sanctioning them.
The Republican Party has run off the rails – they’re all going crazy.
Trump’s praising Putin, while Marjorie Taylor Greene & Paul Gosar spent the weekend with White nationalists, and Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney are calling other Republicans “morons”.
Republicans don’t stand for anything – they’re cheering for the Russians while the vast majority of Americans are rooting for Ukraine to kick Putin’s rear end back to Siberia.
Results matter: Though BIden inherited serious economic challenges with the pandemic, 2021 was an extraordinary year of economic growth and recovery.
The U.S. had record job gains and an unprecedented drop in unemployment. The economy likely grew faster than in any year since 1984, as measured by real gross domestic product (GDP).
In 2021, the economy not only regained all pandemic-related GDP losses—it also surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Despite elevated inflation, Americans’ disposable incomes were higher in 2021 in real (inflation-adjusted) terms than they were in 2019 and 2020.
Additionally, by many important measures such as savings and bank balances, Americans are more financially secure. The United States also made dramatic progress in lowering its exceptionally high rate of child poverty.
This was the result of policies that bolstered the recovery and provided direct aid to households, most importantly the American Rescue Plan Act and the COVID-19 vaccine program.
Whenever they have the chance, Republicans adopt policies that favor the rich and big businesses – cutting taxes on corporations and billionaires..
Years of tax cuts for businesses means middle and lower income people have shouldered a larger share of the tax burden and public services have been underfunded.
The playing field has to be leveled – when we all do better, we all do better, including businesses. When only the wealthy get tax breaks, only the wealthy can afford health care, education, child care, and long-term care.
Republicans have weakened the U.S. by massively cutting taxes on the rich. The cuts have weakened all of our public services, including public health. That and Trump’s failure to have a national policy on Covid have left the nation weakened.
However, people are getting back to work and they want to spend money. There’s more demand than supply, so there’s inflation.
As services and manufacturing get back up to speed after the Trump/Covid slowdown, the U.S. economy will recover and strengthen as it did under Obama and Clinton, after Republican recessions.
Agreed, the Obama economy was good, then Trump cut taxes on business and billionaires, Covid hit, and the U.S. was totally unprepared. Employment tanked, spending stopped, the economy ground to a halt.
We are coming back – employment is up, wages are up, and we’re moving in the right direction!