MOSCOW MITCH

by Ruth A. Sheets

Moscow Mitch is the best handle I’ve heard so far for Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate.  Mr. McConnell is self-seeking, profiteering, and willing to betray the Constitution for power and money. There are those who think Russian leaders fit this description too.

I do not write these words glibly.  Mr. McConnell has been working for years to undermine the government of the United States through his leadership in the Senate.  I suspect this is why he was elected to this position in the first place (Minority Leader first). 

As the Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell pledged to stop any legislation President Obama proposed.  Why?  Is it because he wanted to obstruct justice, or all Democrats?  Was it racism?  It is hard to tell, but it was clearly self-aggrandizing behavior.  It made him the darling of the Tea Party, you remember, those ultra-right Republicans who simply hate our government (as long as it is helping people other than themselves.

How does this self-aggrandizing behavior manifest itself?  It does in many ways.

Mr. McConnell glibly commented that of course, he would hold hearings and a vote for a Supreme Court nominee if needed next year even though it is an election year.  Why is this problematic?  He claimed election year was the reason he would not hold hearings for a President Obama nominee in 2016.  Therefore, he stood against the Constitution when it was a Black, Democratic president, but won’t when it is a White Republican one. For him, the Constitution is conditional.

He pushes through totally inappropriate nominees for judgeships around the nation to implant some kind of ultra conservative judiciary.  To what purpose, not certain, but he seems to think his racist, homophobic, xenophobic, misogynistic, mega Christians will somehow benefit.  And, who cares about the rest of the country!

In addition, as Majority Leader, he refuses to bring bills from the House to discussion in the Senate nor to a vote, then pushes through bills that no one has properly read, on party lines that serve the very wealthy and huge corporations.  He ignores the fact that large numbers of Americans are in favor, for example, of sensible gun control, but he refuses a vote on a measure from the House of Representatives or any other proposal.

He is benefiting financially too.  He uses his influence to get special contracts from foreign entities (Some Russian) for Kentucky, his state.  His wife’s in on it too, and she holds a cabinet position.

To me all this makes Mitch McConnell a traitor to his oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.

McConnell believes, and acts like, as "The Grim Reaper" he has the right to do whatever he wants, Constitution or no Constitution.  Is that treason?  It is when he refuses to bring up legislation that could make our elections safer from foreign interference as happened in the 2016 election.  It's also what one might expect of leaders in Russia.  Moscow Mitch.  Yep, that’s him!