Can Anyone Imagine a Government Without Mitch McConnell?
The cruelty of the Senate Majority Leader knows no bounds.
Like many on the left, it's no secret that I have a number of grievances with the Democratic party. To be sure, 2020 and all of the stress and the trauma it has inflicted upon the American people has served as a damning indictment of the Democratic party's ineffectiveness, and the unwillingness among many of them to do what is necessary in order to help get their constituents through this crisis. But as inept and as arguably sociopathic as corporate Democratic lawmakers might be, there are few among the legislative ranks more cruel, sadistic, and indicative of the rot that pervades throughout the American government than Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. With the coronavirus pandemic spreading on an unprecedented scale and millions terrified of being kicked out of their homes in the middle of winter, McConnell adjourned the Senate, yet again, without a coronavirus relief bill passed.
As McConnell thumbs his nose at the masses, flirts with fire and continues to starve people into submission, I can't help trying to imagine a Government that had never seen the likes of a man like Mitch McConnell.
For 35 years, McConnell's sole purpose has been to roll back almost the entirety of the United States' 21st century, and I can't help wondering how different things might be if the GOP didn't have such an admittedly effective tool like him at their disposal. For 35 years, McConnell has dedicated his career to ensuring that the American people are conditioned to accept the ever-increasing cruelty and brutality of a government he has made sure does not and will not represent us, our desires, or our best interests. Throughout his career, he has offered no relief, no compassion, and taken pleasure in the slow destruction of any safety nets we might have. For years, McConnell has carefully orchestrated a legacy where murderers like Kyle Rittenhouse are revered among his base, and — as absurd as it might sound — in all likelihood could have a future in Republican politics if we continue on this trend.
While McConnell's own active participation in the United States failing its people is palpable, a piece of me also wonders how different this nation might be if his supposed opposition didn't have such a useful boogeyman to point to. How much further along would we be if people like Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi didn't have such a convenient excuse to point to as justification for their inability to improve the material condition of their constituents? What would the legislative makeup of the Democratic party look like if it was full of people who saw McConnell as someone whose political career must be crushed, as opposed to a great way to fundraise?
After all, for Republicans and corporate Democrats alike, there is arguably no one in the United States more useful in convincing the American people to become complacent in the destruction of the middle and working classes than the Senate Majority Leader.
Right now, we are living through a culmination of decades upon decades of a government in which corporations and the wealthy have been funding both the weakest Democrats and the strongest Republicans. McConnell and the Republican party under his leadership is merely the natural progression under a campaign finance system functionally designed to attract the most sociopathic, craven, power and money-hungry among us, who prioritize the stock portfolios of their wealthy donors over the health, safety, and overall wellbeing of the people they are elected to represent.
We have become so used to the abuse that we have been subjected to under McConnell's leadership, that it seems almost impossible to envision a scenario in which he didn't have his power. He has become such a fixture in politics and structured a legacy so deep, even after he's long gone it's undeniably difficult to imagine a government without his influence. But I have to — for the sake of my sanity — cling to my hope that maybe someday we'll get there.
Dialogue & Discourse
News and ideas worthy of discourse.
1.99K claps
Lauren is a writer & leftist with analysis on topics related to politics & policy. She can be reached at LaurenMartinchek@gmail.com or Twitter @xlauren_mx
News and ideas worthy of discourse. Fundamentally informative and intelligently analytical.
Working America
Bob Passi
In Defense of the Filibuster
John Thomas in Soli Deo Gloria
Recent Immigration Policies Negatively Affect Women
Legal Momentum
Why Trump Is Reluctant to Escalate the Cyber War With Russia
Speaking Out As a Black Woman Brings Death Threats from Trump Supporters
Jeanette C. Espinoza in ILLUMINATION-Curated
In This Year's Midterms, Brands Vote for Diversity
Sally O'Dowd
The Argument Of Alan Dershowitz Is Dangerous For American Democracy
Peter Burns
'Zero Tolerance' policy creates more problems than it solves
Kent Kroeger