It’s the case of Addison Mitchell McConnell and the Curious Incident of the Dog That Didn’t Bark. In fact, a whole pack of dogs.
McConnell, of course, is the senior Republican senator from the great commonwealth of Kentucky who doubles as the chamber’s minority leader. He has, in the past and certainly in the future, had what might be deemed a rather touchy relationship with one Donald John Trump, the erstwhile GOP president who yet again has his beady eyes set on the White House in 2024.
Trump delights in poking McConnell like Abbott picks on Costello, characterizing him as an “old, broken-down crow’’ and more recently, according to Maggie Hagerman of the New York Times, a piece of something we will avoid describing in deference to sensitive constitutions.
This week Trump exceeded his already unlimited boundaries of indecency on Truth Social, the media platform he founded after being permanently kicked off Twitter for being a fool and a jerk. The source of Trump’s vexation was McConnell’s reasonable decision to support a continuing resolution to keep the government up and running into December, thus avoiding a potential shutdown at a time when Eastern Kentucky and Florida are in desperate need of federal assistance.
“Is McConnell approving all of these Trillions of Dollars worth of Democrat-sponsored Bills, without even the slightest bit of negotiation, because he hates Donald J. Trump, and he knows I am strongly opposed to them, or is he doing it because he believes in the Fake and Highly Destructive Green New Deal, and is willing to take the Country down with him? In any event, either reason is unacceptable,” Trump wrote. “He has a DEATH WISH. Must immediately seek help and advise from his China loving wife, Coco Chow!”
This particular rant from an alleged grownup contains two particular contentions of note. The first is the possible death threat posed against McConnell, subsequently dismissed by Trump sycophants as only a reference to the potential demise of Mitch’s political career as a result of crossing He Who Must Be Obeyed (note the Rumpole reference), not about violence to his person.
Any objective reading might draw a different conclusion, but Trump doesn’t carry a reputation for veracity.
But the reference to Coco Chow is quite simply overt racism of the kind Trump specializes in. McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, who emigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan when she was eight years old, served as Trump’s secretary of transportation until late in the administration. She resigned after the Jan. 6 insurrection on the Capitol instigated by Trump.
The message marks the second time he has referenced Chao with the rather odd nickname Coco without explanation. Regardless, needlessly attacking a person’s spouse or partner is never considered gracious and Trump does it all the time – ask Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX.
Now, one might expect McConnell to rush to his wife’s defense even if he chooses to ignore the insults hurled at him directly. Thus far, at least, McConnell has chosen not to bother, apparently believing failing to confront a bully will simply lead to him shriveling up and blowing away.
Fat chance.
But the curious incident involves the dogs that didn’t bark – the Republicans in Kentucky’s congressional delegation and many at the state level who owe McConnell at least a modicum of respect for transforming a 98-pound weakling of a party into the veritable powerhouse it has become today.
Their silence, as the old saying goes, has been deafening.
No one in House Republican delegation has seen fit to even whisper a word in McConnell’s behalf. Their collective failure to simply stand and state the obvious – that Trump’s rhetoric was unforgivably abusive and that McConnell deserves a degree of respect – is tantamount to taking Trump’s side in the entire salacious affair. Instead, they offer the sounds of silence, which essentially grants the Orange Ogre the liberty to rear back and fire at will.
The reticence goes beyond the House delegation. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Bowling Green, who has been feuding with McConnell of late, exposing the lie that they are such good pals, has said nothing. Neither has Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who wants to be governor and literally owes his entire political career to McConnell. Another gubernatorial hopeful, Kelly Craft, who served as American ambassador to the United Nations based largely on McConnell’s endorsement, has remained mum – of course she’s remained mum on everything, including whether two plus two equals four – since she entered the race.
There’s speculation – and that’s all it is at this point, speculation – that McConnell prevailed in some fashion upon his fellow Kentucky GOP pols to button their lips and let the incident pass without comment. That is based on McConnell’s well-founded craving for power, the only thing that jolts his engine. Getting involved in an inner-party dispute could jeopardize the goal of achieving a Republican majority in the Senate. Better at this point, less than a month away from Election Day, to take your licks and ask, “Please, sir, may I have some more.”
But that doesn’t really hold water. Every Republican member of the House delegation – Rep. James Comer, of Tompkinsville, or Frankfort, or DC, or wherever would be most politically advantageous at the time, Rep. Brett Guthrie, of Bowling Green, Rep. Thomas Massie, of SomewhereorotherLewisCounty, Rep. Andy Barr, of Lexington, and Rep. Hal Rogers, of Somerset, are unlikely to face an upset when the votes are counted in November. Only Rogers, who pre-dates McConnell in Washington and has never been close to him, is understandably quiet.
And if mums-the-word is McConnell’s message it apparently failed to reach Scott Jennings, an advisor and campaign staffer with a regular analyst gig on CNN where he can always be found spouting Mitch’s line of patter.
In reference to the Trump Truth Social post, Jennings said, “I mean, if you read that whole thing out loud, if you were on the street, and you heard someone muttering that on a street corner, you wouldn’t say, let’s hand this person the presidency or the Republican nomination for president. You would say, call 911 because it sounds like an unhinged, deranged person has gotten loose and is out on the street and may be a danger to themselves and others.
“This is outrageous,’’ he added. “It’s beyond the pale. Every Republican ought to be able to say so. This is not good for the party. It’s not good for him.”
But the Kentucky folk didn’t take Jennings’ cue and the reason might be fear, which makes them cowards.
The dogs could bark but they won’t because they’re scared.
While they may owe McConnell loyalty for creating the modern Republican Party in Kentucky, these lawmakers and office seekers are more focused on their personal status. And crossing Trump could jeopardize their nice, comfy offices outside the Capitol in the future.
Polls show that Trump is more popular in Kentucky than McConnell. On top of that, these folks see what happens when you get on the former president’s ugly side. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-WY, served three terms in the House, winning re-election in 2020 with 69 percent of the vote. Outraged by Trump’s conduct during the Jan. 6 insurrection, she voted for impeachment and subsequently joined the House panel looking into the entire sordid affair.
That drew Trump’s ire, which isn’t hard to do. In August, Cheney lost the Republican primary for Wyoming’s lone House seat, garnering only 28.9 percent of the vote.
The idea of attracting Trump’s wrath for even the slightest of sins isn’t exactly palatable for most GOP officeholders, especially for the gutless ones in Kentucky. So, rather than stand up and do the right thing they’ve chosen the slippery coward’s way and avoided the whole mess.
The situation is particularly acute in the GOP’s governor’s race. Cameron has received Trump’s endorsement despite his ties to McConnell. Craft would like to steal it, having served as U.S. ambassador during the Trump administration. Neither one of these jokers would stand up and be counted under the best of circumstances. With Trump’s fury on the line, forget it.
A little racism mixed in with physical threats? Why let such a thing spoil party unity.
We live in strange times, folks.