The Wicked Mitch of the Senate

It was a pretty big news day yesterday, with so much of importance to pick from to write about.  But I think I’m going to go with Mitch McConnell announcing he would be stepping down as Republican leader in the Senate.  It’s probably not the most consequential story of the day, since he likely would have been voted out of his position by his fellow-Republicans in the new Congress, and further, for all we know, his replacement may well be worse and even more antithetical to democracy (though that’s a very high bar to get over).  But just having him gone from the job is enough for me.
 
Because of Mitch McConnell -- who, on the Senate floor, very bluntly put responsibility of the January 6 Insurrection directly on Donald Trump, yet backed off from pushing for his conviction -- Trump missed by just a few votes from being found guilty in his second Impeachment Trial, which would have blocked him from running for political office ever again.
 
That alone is enough of a dark stain on the eternal legacy of Mitch McConnell.  And we could stop right there.  In fact, we almost should stop there.  But it goes so much deeper that it would be wrong to stop.
 
Because of Mitch McConnell, the Supreme Court was contemptibly and hypocritically manipulated to a 6-3 landslide conservative majority, when it should be 5-4 liberal.  Violating the standards of the U.S. Constitution, he blocked (well…“stole” is a more accurate word) a nomination by President Obama for nine months, saying – against all precedent (since it was still very early) -- that it was too late in the president’s term to vote on a replacement.  And then he fast-tracked a nomination by Trump in just three weeks, saying – against all precedent (since it actually was too late in the president’s term at that very late point) – that there was plenty of time to vote on a replacement.
 
And as a result of this, we have, among a great many things, a Supreme Court that went against 50 years of precedence and overturned Roe v. Wade. 
 
A Supreme Court that threw out the core of the Voting Rights Act. 
 
A Supreme Court that undercut the use of Affirmative Action is race-based college admissions.
 
A Supreme Court that allowed businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ customers by not having to provide some services to them.
 
A Supreme Court that said Catholic elementary school teachers are not eligible to sue for employment discrimination because they are, apparently, “ministers.”  
 
A Supreme Court that ruled the Environmental Protection Agency – the agency mandated to deal with protecting the environment -- does not have the full authority to limit carbon emissions from power plants.
 
A Supreme Court that blocked gun safety regulations in big cities.
 
A Supreme Court that ruled partisan gerrymandering by states is not the jurisdiction of federal courts, but instead challenges must be returned to those states. 
 
A Supreme Court that said that when police violate the Miranda Warning, this police violation does not provide a basis for civil rights lawsuits about police abuse.
 
A Supreme Court that is believed will soon take up overturning the 40-year policy of the “Chevron Doctrine” that says judges should defer to the experts in government agencies to interpret regulation ambiguities, rather than allow Congress to make political decisions.
 
A Supreme Court whose trust and legitimacy has plummeted in public approval at a breathtaking pace.

And we haven't even touched on yesterday's Supreme Court decision to delay the Trump trials despite a highly-regarded, unanimous Appeals Court ruling.
 
These Supreme Court decisions and many more are part of the Mitch McConnell reprehensible legacy undermining equal fairness in America by (in all true sense of the word) shamelessly fixing the makeup of the High Court until was able to pursue a far-right political agenda, rather than “…and justice for all.”
 
This is a core part of the legacy of Mitch McConnell’s America.
 
What is also part of Mitch McConnell’s legacy was him telling his Republican caucus that their “Job One” was not preserving and protecting the United States Constitution, but ensuring that the newly-elected president Barack Obama, who wasn’t even sworn in yet, be blocked at every opportunity so that he wouldn’t have a second term.  (Side Note:  President Obama did win a second term.)
 
Mitch McConnell’s legacy includes refused to sign a bipartisan statement on Russian interference in the 2020 election, something that has now long-since been established by the Mueller Report and elsewhere.
 
And while his legacy includes getting the nickname “Moscow Mitch,” what is generally forgotten is the reason for it.  That came from when he relaxed sanctions on a Russian oligarch, after which the oligarch made a major investment in McConnell’s home stage of Kentucky.
 
And the list goes on and on, to dark depths against protecting the democratic interests of the country, all on behalf of what was best for Mitch McConnell and his leadership, and what was best for the Republican Party.
 
Mitch McConnell will only be stepping down from Republican leadership, though making him largely irrelevant in the power structure of Washington.  He will stay in the Senate.  His term expires in January, 2027, which it seems likely he won’t run for reelection.  The time can’t come too soon.