“Got my mojo working, but it – uh uh – just won’t work on you.’’
– Muddy Waters
It’s time to ask: Is Addison Mitchell McConnell losing his mojo?
The Senate Republican Leader from Louisville, the most consequential individual to ever hold that post, according to columnist George Will (remember, consequential is a fur piece from greatest) is 80-years-old and the moss is beginning to show.
McConnell has served as GOP leader in the upper chamber for going on 16 years, the longest tenure in party history, surpassing such stalwarts as Everett Dirksen, Bob Dole, and Howard Baker, and there’s no debating the assertion that he has left his mark, both negative and positive, though evidence of the latter is hard to find.
Over the years, McConnell has maintained an iron grip on that caucus with few dissenters, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, who described him as a liar back in 2015, being the exception. In fact, convincing a few dozen lawmakers of various political backgrounds to bend to his will over the years is probably Mitch’s most significant accomplishment since he still, after all these years, has failed to pass any bill that came to be known as the McConnell law. He’d just much rather kill the dreams of others from his legislative perch.
But dissent is popping up on a more regular basis, inside and outside the ranks. Writing in The Federalist, an influential right-wing publication, Mollie Hemingway, whose talents in no way match the better-known author with whom she shares a last name, noted accurately that McConnell is “the least popular national politician in the country” and that many Republicans “grateful as they may be for his successes — think it’s time for new leadership.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Rick Scott, R-FL, who was McConnell’s choice to head the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the group responsible for advancing the party’s upper chamber prospects in the upcoming midterm elections, told Politico that he and the leader have a “strategic disagreement” regarding how best to proceed and threw shade on McConnell’s recent comment that Republicans are more likely to gain control of the House rather than the Senate because of “candidate quality.”
“If you trash talk our candidates,” Scott said, “you hurt our chances of winning, and you hurt our candidates’ ability to raise money. I know they’re good candidates, because I’ve been talking to them and they’re working their butts off.”
In addition, McConnell may no longer be able to count on his fellow Kentuckian, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Bowling Green, with whom he has been feuding over a failed judicial nomination. Despite claims to the contrary, the two have never really been in sync, the feelings are raw, and Paul understandably feels taken for granted. And he may be prepping to declare his independence.
McConnell is even at odds with a big party donor, Peter Thiel, a billionaire venture capitalist, who has already spent millions on behalf of Republican Senate candidates. Faced with limited party resources because of disappointing fundraising totals, McConnell, according to The Washington Post, asked Thiel to bankroll the Republican Senate campaign of J.D. Vance in Ohio, for a competitive open seat. Thiel told him to take a hike, leaving McConnell and cohorts flailing over how the foot the bill in Ohio and Arizona, where Blake Masters looks to be facing an uphill fight.
And, of course, there is the never-ending story of McConnell’s feud with the big dog himself, former President Donald J. Trump, perhaps considering another run at the White House, who seems to take unnatural delight in yanking McConnell’s chain at every given opportunity.
During an appearance Thursday on the right-wing Real America’s Voice network, The Lord of Mar-a-Lago, hinted that he has in the past worked surreptitiously to oust McConnell from his leadership post and will continue that effort into the future.
“He’s not good,” Trump said. “And we’re going to go through him. And then we’ll have to, later on, we’ll have to do something with him.”
Trump, who polls show remains the nation’s most popular Republican politician despite, well, let’s just say some potential legal issues, insisted a lot of folks want to dump Mitch.
“The party is furious at him,” Trump said. “We have to put up with him for a period of time, but eventually he’ll be gone. He’s bad news.”
Taken individually, these events might not amount to much. But take them all together and a pattern emerges that shows Mitch flagging as he rounds third and heads for home. When you add the facts that he has proved unable to stymy recent Democratic legislative successes that have slightly bolstered President Biden’s standing and that some party candidates – including Eric Schmitt, in Missouri, and Sen. Ron Johnson, that notorious blowhard from Wisconsin seeking re-election – won’t support him in his bid to return as leader in the next Congress, and you are left with the perception that McConnell is running out of gas.
It should come as no surprise. McConnell is currently the seventh oldest member of the Senate and three of those ahead of him – Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT, 82, Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-OK, 87, and Sen. Richard Shelby, R-AL, 87 – are either retiring or not seeking re-election. McConnell entered the Senate in 1985 – President Ronald Reagan was just starting his second term – making him the longest serving Senate member in the Commonwealth’s history.
Some folks, mostly Republicans but a respectable number of Democrats, insist that President Biden is too old for the job and probably shouldn’t seek re-election in 2024. Biden, at 79, is a year younger than McConnell, whose term ends in 2026 when he will be 84-yers-old.
McConnell’s sycophants, who occasionally take up space on those panels that frequent cable news programs, will undoubtedly profess that their boy is as vibrant as ever, a legislative genius capable of running rings around the best of them. Recent history tells a different story. Sooner or later something’s gotta give.
Odds are, barring any unexpected events, the Republican caucus come January will choose McConnell to serve another two-year term at leader, whether the party finds itself in the majority or the minority. Even if the GOP assumes control he won’t be able to do much, with Democrats playing the filibuster card and Biden wielding his veto pen. It’s hard to see how the next two years will prove very satisfactory for our hero. But he’ll soldier on, not so much to benefit the country as to continue to bolster his insatiable ego.
There was talk earlier this year that Sen. John Thune, R-SD, the GOP’s number two man and potential successor, might retire this year having grown weary of playing the Evangeline role. He eventually decided to run, perhaps secure in the knowledge that McConnell might not, after all remain in the post forever.
Publicly, at least, McConnell has shown no sign of stepping away from the only job he has ever coveted, capable or not. So don’t be surprised if he seeks to retain his role ad infinitum. You shouldn’t even be surprised if he seeks re-election four years hence, where an eighth six-year term could see him serving to the ripe old age of 90.
Strom Thurmond has nothing on this guy.