I don’t know much about Mitch McConnell. Honestly, I didn’t pay much attention to him until the impeachment hearings. So, he could have been a real idiot for decades and I wouldn’t have noticed. But, as far as the impeachment was concerned, it was pretty clear where he stood, and that he stood with the President. There was no real danger of President Trump being removed from office as long as Mitch was at the helm of the Senate. Mitch had his back.
Then RBG died and Mitch stepped up to the plate again. He fast-tracked Amy Comey Barrett’s confirmation hearings and appeared to be working hard to do what’s right and to support the President. The ridiculous notion that the next administration should choose the new justice didn’t get any traction with Mitch and he supported the President’s right/duty to fill the vacant seat. There was no real danger of the President’s nominee not being confirmed. Mitch had his back.
Then the election happened and the whole massive-cheating-to-steal-an-election thing occurred. And, while there were a lot of people with opinions, Mitch stayed fairly quiet. He didn’t have a strong opinion one way or another. I didn’t think much of it because the Senate’s involvement happens at the tail end of the election process. It was weird though that he wasn’t being more supportive of the President.
Then things changed and now we’re at the tail end of the process.
For those of you not paying attention, there’s a big deal happening on January 6th. That’s when the electoral votes are being counted and the president is chosen. But, multiple states have sent in two slates (batches) of electoral votes. One that let the cheating stand and one that didn’t. So, when January 6th hits, the Joint Session of Congress needs to decide which one to accept.
Normally, there is only one slate per state and their acceptance is a formality. But, things change when there are two slates submitted. Congress can decide which one to accept. However, any objection to the “normal” (i.e. cheating-enriched) slates must come from both a member of the House and a member of the Senate. There is no issue getting a member of the House to object. There are plenty of people lined up and have committed to doing so. The Senate? Not so much.
Mitch McConnell has been working very hard to make sure that no Senators object to the use of the “normal” (i.e. cheating-enriched) slate of electors. And, if no one from the Senate objects. Joe Biden will likely become President.
Mitch McConnell has seemingly made it his personal mission to make sure that there is no second objection on January 6th. Nearly overnight, he went from someone who was working with the President to someone who is working against him.
So, what changed? Let me tell you a story…
I was on a jury in Texas years ago. A woman was accusing her boyfriend of assault. They had been together for years and, according to several witnesses, were quite happy. They seemed to support each other, and he had never laid a hand against her. By all accounts, they were the perfect couple.
Then things changed.
She found out that her boyfriend was cheating on her. After she found out, she and her boyfriend were having sex. There was no dispute that they were having consensual sex. There was no dispute that while they were having sex, she reached down and grabbed his “family jewels”. Then she started to squeeze. And when she squeezed, he did something he had never done before, something totally out of character. He struck her. The jury was there to decide if the intensity of the squeeze justified the beating he gave her.
So, what happened to Mitch? Why did he suddenly go from someone who had the President’s back to someone who is striking out against him?
In my experience, there’s only one thing that can get a man to change positions so quickly. Someone has Mitch by the balls. And they’re starting to squeeze.
