(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Michael Tomasky Of The New Republic Thinks The GOP Will Throw McConnell To The Wolves, But... [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-09-02 I will say right up front that I have nothing against Michael Tomasky of The New Republic, and he does outline an interesting thesis that eventually Republicans “will throw McConnell to the wolves” over his health issues. Tomasky thinks that if McConnell has one more public mental freeze Republicans in the U.S. Senate will replace him as their leader. And the reason for this is in three words: President Joe Biden. Trump and his cronies have been painting President Biden as a “senile” old man who won’t live past tomorrow, and it will be difficult to keep that vile message against Joe Biden going when the leader of the Senate Republicans is freezing up in public for all the voters to see. There a lot of caveats to what Tomasky posits, and I would love to see his prediction come to fruition. IF ever there was a politician who needed to be thrown to the political wolves, it is Mitch McConnell. He is a truly evil man who has done his best to destroy our democracy. But I am not sure that the Senate Republicans have the balls to ever remove McConnell from his position as their leader. Here is what Tomasky says: Why Republicans Are About to Throw Mitch McConnell to the Wolves It has as much to do with Biden as it does Trump. Nice title. It was hard to watch that Mitch McConnell video. That’s the second time he’s gone blanko in recent weeks in front of the cameras. We have no idea how often it’s happened when he wasn’t in front of the cameras. But odds are pretty good those aren’t the only two times. An excellent point. I don’t think that those blanko times were planned by McConnell’s brain for public consumption only. It’s a safe bet those senior moments have happened in front of his wife and staffers. Anyway, anonymous Republicans have let it leak that they are going to have a meeting about McConnell’s health. Tomasky admits that nothing will come of this meeting because McConnell has been an effective leader for the Republicans. And McConnell has a lot of purse strings to boot. But Tomasky states that when this happens a third time in public, Republicans will turn on McConnell despite all the supposed loyalty. And the reason you might say is “geriatric politics.” I’m sure that’s true today. But I wonder how long it will hold. The reason is pretty simple: The McConnell video is really about Joe Biden. Why? Age, obviously. McConnell is 81. Biden is 80. Trump and the GOP (and Fox News and One America and Sinclair and so on) are going to be making Biden’s age a major issue in the presidential campaign. And I have to say you can’t blame them. Polls show that Biden’s age is obviously his greatest vulnerability. This seems to set up a situation where his fellow Republicans are going to throw McConnell to the wolves. Think about it. If they keep McConnell and defend him and say everything’s fine, they’re saying that an octogenarian who is clearly losing his connection to terra firma is just fine, everything’s hunky dory, and he’s totally up to the job. That is implicitly saying that Biden too is up to the job of president. And that is something they cannot do. Tomasky is giving Republicans too much credit for consistency. Yes, it should be impossible for Republicans to keep saying with utter relish that Biden is “senile” if their Senate leader is clearly losing his cognitive abilities. But hypocrisy is a Republican superpower. I think that Republicans will just scream more about Biden, then throw in Feinstein. And when that isn’t working, they will go after Senator Fetterman for his stroke. The Republican thinking will be, “You have three big time politicians who are mentally incompetent, while we only have ONE! Nah, nah, nannah, nah!” They will conveniently forget that Trump is out to lunch as well. Never underestimate Republican projection and hypocrisy. However, Republicans would be underestimating that Democratic and indepenent voters might not be so hot on the idea of handing the control of the U.S. Senate to a frail old man like McConnell. He wasn’t popular or loveable before his concussion. Republican primary voters outside of Kentucky cannot stand McConnell for a lot of reasons, but the big sin for Trump voters is McConnell’s disrespect of Trump. And Tomasky is correct that Trump will not miss the chance to also campaign against McConnell for past slights. It will NOT be helpful to the Republican cause for Trump to trash talk McConnell, but who the hell is going to stop Trump? It certainly won’t be McConnell. His worry is getting Republicans back in control of the Senate, and he has done his best to not get into a direct confrontation with Trump for obvious reasons. It pisses off those Trump voters that McConnell needs to win back the Senate. So would Senate Republicans really throw McConnell overboard if he has another public episode of brain freeze? It’s a possibility. But like an old dying rich relative, greedy family members are kept in line with the thought of being in the old man’s will. And McConnell still has all those connections to corporations and wealthy donors that Republicans need to win elections. Keep in mind that Republicans are political cowards. Some Senate Republicans might want to see McConnell fall from his perch, but no one wants to be seen shoving the old man out of the way, except for the grisly ghoul Rick Scott of Florida. And he only got 9 others the last time to back his play againt McConnell. No, I don’t see them throwing McConnell out of his mini-throne, at least not when he has a blanko for third time. Instead, I think Republicans are going to be in an even worse position. McConnell will never surrender, and Republicans won’t remove him from leadership. McConnell will continue to serve as a public reminder that power corrupts, and he will make President Biden look good in comparison. And if McConnell’s health continues to fail, how effective is he going to be at his life mission of regaining Senate control in 2024? And as I have said before, I am not gracious like President Joe Biden who called on McConnell to wish him well. McConnell is an evil man who helped get Trump into office in 2016. Remember, it was McConnell who balked at President Obama releasing information to the voters that the Russians were interferring in the election to help Trump. Obama caved to McConnell, and look at where we are NOW. And let’s not even mention those two impeachment “trials” in the U.S. Senate. It would be lovely to see McConnell lose his leadership position. But I would be shocked if it ever happened. But Tomasky does put foward a scenario to delight the imagination. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/2/2191072/-Michael-Tomasky-Of-The-New-Republic-Thinks-The-GOP-Will-Throw-McConnell-To-The-Wolves-But Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/