By Thom Duda
In an op/ed titled “Sen. Mitch McConnell: ‘Will Dems work with us, or simply put partisan politics ahead of the country?’” published by Fox News on Nov. 14, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell not only showed his skill at writing up a farce, but also that he doesn’t know how the internet or most people’s memories work.
In the article, McConnell seemed borderline comical when he wrote, “reports of the death of
bipartisanship in Washington have been wildly exaggerated,” all the while ignoring his own attempts at squashing bipartisanship from all the way back during the Obama administration to this very day.
Back in 2010, McConnell was interviewed by the National Journal and made his now infamous remark about wanting to making former President Barack Obama a “one-term president.” McConnell was reported to have said that the President needed to change and compromise in order to do business.
Of course, McConnell continued to be a force against bipartisanship even in moments where the former president was willing to work with both sides, such as when he nominated the moderate Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court instead of an ardent left-leaning candidate.
McConnell, citing principle and the need for the American people to have a voice, ended up blocking Garland from even going to the senate floor.
This sentiment was absent during the hearings and confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, whose
nomination caused a great deal of controversy.
McConnell, however, did not stop to listen to the protesting and concerns a majority of the populace had about Kavanaugh’s appointment.
There is also the issue of McConnell not taking part in a bipartisan committee, according to former Vice President Joe Biden in a report by NPR, to condemn the interference by the Russians in the 2016 election. The Senate Majority Leader was reported to have remained skeptical as to Russia’s role in the interference despite evidence to the contrary.
As of print time, McConnell has denied a bipartisan-authored bill that would have seen the special console, Robert Mueller, protected following the concerning resignation of Jeff Sessions as attorney general and the arrival of acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker.
This bill, which is co-authored by two Republicans and two Democrats, would have made it extremely difficult to fire a special counsel without cause and also allow the counsel a 10-day window to legally challenge the dismissal.
McConnell blocked it.
So, this entire call for bipartisanship really rings hollow under this circumstance, especially when all the Senate Majority leader has as a reason for denying the bill a vote is the belief that the special counsel is under no threats currently.
“Will they choose to go it alone and simply make political points? Or will they choose to work together and actually make a difference?” said McConnell in his article, which has garnered a great deal of criticism online and people rightly calling out his hypocrisy in pushing partisan politics on his own up until now.
This entire piece rings as nothing more than a farce to set up the display of McConnell and members of his party as the reasonable side of the aisle while ignoring historically partisan activity.