Mitch McConnell is an enigma. Not even in the way we have come to conceptualize the scheming-Frank-Underwood-esque type of elected leader we often reference or the schemata we have built in our head for what political shrewdness is supposed to look like. He is something outside of even that realm; a political boogeyman of sorts. Lying in wait under whatever socio-political bed metaphor you want to insert here to reek havoc on the institutions, ideologies, and conversations you think are essential to the continuation of American democracy. Mitch doesn’t care about your version of democracy- he already has the “right one” figured out.
Mitch wants the Republican party to be rid of Donald Trump not from some moral or justice standpoint but from the simple fact that his party lost to a Jewish American and an African American in the deep south in a run off Senatorial election. As such he has concocted his greatest heist yet- the myth of a bi partisan coalition to vote guilty on Donald Trump’s impeachment in the Senate.
The Republicans led by Mitch McConnell understand that momentum is everything in politics. The first 100 days of a presidency are the barometer by which success or failure will protrude throughout a presidency and term. It’s the political equivalent of a shot clock that stands the test of time- you have 100 days to shoot your best shot. Run your best play. Make your biggest mark and statement for the voter and, more importantly, for the entirety of the American people. Knowing such, Mitch has leaked information to the New York Times that he is now interested in a trial in the Senate when, in fact, he and his party have no interest. His only intention is for Democrats and the Biden Presidency to waste their 100 days chasing justice in a chamber filled with Republicans who have no vested interest in the conversation of morality or justice. They will vote no and what will the American people have to show for it? Wasted time that could have been spent building and executing legislation during a time in which they will have their largest share of political power and momentum in 10 years. Green energy. Police reform. Gender equality pay. Infrastructure. Student loans. Stimulus checks. The Senate has shown itself incapable of walking and chewing gum for the better part of two decades. The impeachment will halt every measure of business and for what? Political grandstanding at the cost of significant change?
Either vote up or down yes/no on impeachment or allow the courts to find justice on the matter. Anything more is making a morality statement in a time where life and human needs upstage political statements. Senate Republicans have no interest in convicting Donald Trump and ,as such, the Democratic party must not continue to look in their closet and hide under the sheets at the behest and fear of the boogeyman they have chased for ten plus years.
The Griddle 