Mitch McConnell spent a chunk of money in Alabama. His influence probably hindered his buddy’s chances rather than helped him. Instead, he gave money and his vociferous endorsement to Luther Strange in the Alabama race, and according to the Senate Leader, a weirdo will now likely be a U.S. Senator.
It’s helpful to note that these actions and the voters reactions didn’t happen in a vacuum.
When the Tea Party swept a bunch of conservative-libertarian Republicans into office a few years back, Mitch McConnell acted as if their election meant nothing. Of course, the Democrats acted that way, too, and marauded on, not listening to the chastening message during the midterm elections that eventually sealed the Dems’ demise. But that’s always how Democrats act. They act like they’re running things even when they’re not running things.
But Mitch McConnell didn’t listen, either. He has consistently and ostentatiously slapped voters in the face. That may have worked years ago, but the Tea Party, and now the Trump revolution, has created educated and interested voters who have long memories. They remember that Mitch McConnell gave Lisa Murkowski a leadership position and ignored Cruz, Rubio, Paul, and Johnson. They remember that he installed a completely out-of-touch Kay Bailey Hutchison over at the National Republican Senatorial Committee after her humiliating loss to Ted Cruz. They remember how the Senate leadership preferred to humble Cruz rather than stand with him against a tyrannical Obama. They remember how the Senate leadership treated this younger, newer class of Senators as wayward children rather than in-touch politicians representing a new kind of Republican.
Had Mitch McConnell ever listened, there might not have been a Donald Trump. There would have been a more robust resistance (if you will) against President Obama. There would have been less obsequious and passive behavior in the wake of an aggressive cultural upheaval spearheaded by a far left revolutionary intent on redistributing American taxpayer wealth to other Americans and other countries. The power Obama wielded was breathtaking and punishing against every perceived enemy. There is not a bureaucrat in any part of the government that wasn’t weaponized against average Republican voters.
And Mitch McConnell remained silent because he hated those people, too. Stupid Tea Partiers and their stupid principles. If the Obama machine ruined a few lives and got rid of common enemies, who were the Senate leadership to stop him?
Even in power, the Republican leadership, headed by Mitch McConnell, cannot seem to find the courage of their convictions. Do they have any convictions?
And there are Mitch McConnell defenders all over the Hill and in the D.C. and N.Y. media. They love how he indirectly smashes, minimizes, and moderates the more convicted Republicans. These same folks talk a lot about “true conservatism” and “normalizing Trump” while abandoning conservatism for McConnellism and normalizing losing. Mitch is milquetoast and the lefties that inhabit even Republican D.C. corridors love that he won’t ever do anything to make anyone uncomfortable — except voters, their new Senators, and Trump, of course.
So Mitch got smacked down in Alabama and other Senators will face difficult, painful battles across the fruited plains. Over and over and over, for three cycles now, American voters have given a couple messages:
The media wants to paint this as nationalism. It’s not. It’s a redirection of focus on to what makes America, rather than the world, great — our culture, our freedom, our manufacturing, our building. Represent America and Americans. Think about them.
Americans are sick of politicians being ashamed to say that American culture is better. It objectively is better. It’s freer. It’s more innovative. It’s happier.
Americans are sick of politicians pretending that the war against radical Islamic terrorists isn’t a war against an ideology. It is.
Americans are sick of politicians bailing out big businesses, banks, etc. while the average guy is still recovering from losing his home and job 10 – 20 years ago. Do the Beltway folks comprehend how many people lost their whole life savings when the housing market failed?
Shame on Republicans for ignoring their own voters. Shame on them! Democrats have treated their voters with absolute contempt policy-wise for fifty years, but they at least pay lip service to their voters. Republicans cannot even do that.
So more “crazies” will be elected to the Senate because Mitch McConnell and his old guards Lindsey Graham and John Cornyn and John McCain and the other fuddy duddies cannot find a way to win on any policy and cannot even make a declarative sentence, never mind piece of legislation, in favor of policies they claim to want.
Mitch McConnell is why we have a President Trump and Mitch McConnell will be why we end up with a Senator Roy Moore from Alabama and Senator Kid Rock from Michigan.
It didn’t have to be this way.
