GET WELL, MITCH McCONNELL, THE ALTERNATIVES ARE FAR WORSE

Everyone by now is aware that Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican Minority Leader in the Senate, suffered a concussion when he fell at an event last week. He is expected to be away from the Senate for at least another month.

I’m one progressive Democrat wishing Mitch a speedy recovery, partly because I’m a nice guy and partly because it’s best for the country right now.

Say what you want about Mitch McConnell, but he’s the only one who could keep the fractured GOP Senate caucus in line so that some business gets done, at a minimum, the stuff that’s absolutely necessary, like avoiding defaults and shutdowns. He’s also capable of cutting some deals to allow necessary nominations for the bench and ambassadorships to move forward. There is a small cadre of serious Republican Senators who actually want to get things done; even if I don’t often agree with them, no doubt they sincerely seek solutions to actual issues and are not running around babbling about “wokeness”, transgender sports, or Hunter Biden, and they don’t claim Trump won the election. I’d place Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, and Bill Cassidy in that group. They’d have no input if McConnell were gone. I think the two former Dakotas governors, John Hoeven(ND) and Mike Rounds (SD) would like to join them, but are too afraid of MAGA crazies going after them in a primary. It’s also clear McConnell has come to understand he must personally fight the looney-toons in his party, and while he hasn’t gone nearly far enough, he did dress down that fool Rick Scott, punished a few of Scott’s supporters, and he’s certainly not afraid to stand up to Trump.

We definitely don’t want McConnell or any Republican to head up a majority, but whichever role, McConnell beats the other options. John Thune and John Cornyn will not be able to reign in the nutjobs like Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Tommy Tuberville, Rick Scott and Mike Lee, and they’ll create a circus in the Senate.

I think if Dems are eager to see Mitch go, it’s necessary to recall the old saying “Be careful what you wish for, you just may get it,” and it doesn’t mean things get better.

Let’s win more Dem Senate seats next year and whoever heads the caucus in the other party won’t matter all that much! In the meantime, get well, Mitch!