Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway has had enough of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY). She is not alone—McConnell’s antics during the 2022 midterms are cause enough for new blood in the leadership. That same standard should be applied to the entire party. From Republican National Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel to leaders in Congress—they should all go after this disastrous election cycle that saw a red wave fizzle and the GOP barely managing to win back the House. To cap it off, he praised this $1.7 trillion boondoggle as one that should be held up as a shining star of GOP initiatives getting passed with the Democratic Congress and president. Also, military aid to Ukraine is the number one priority for GOP voters—it’s not.
Hemingway delivers a thorough and detailed case for why it’s time to move on from the Kentucky Republican, who is a fixture on the Hill. It goes beyond the failed 2022 cycle, and it’s not loaded with the platitudinous claim that he’s not conservative enough, which is a Tea Party throwback swipe. The Federalist editor gave much praise for what McConnell has done well, keeping the filibuster from being nuked, confirming a trove of Donald Trump’s judicial nominees, and being, for the most part, a legislative grim reaper for liberal initiatives. Now, the latter accolade has slipped, and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has regained the upper hand in the war over the judiciary (via The Federalist):
The Kentucky Republican claimed giving more money to Ukraine is “the No. 1 priority for the United States right now, according to most Republicans.” The new $1.7 trillion Democrat spending bill he enthusiastically supports would give Ukraine another roughly $45 billion in assistance, bringing the total over the past eight months to more than $100 billion, a staggering figure even if it weren’t happening during a time of inflation, looming recession, and other serious domestic problems.
The comment about Republican priorities is so false as to be completely delusional. Among the many concerns Republican voters have with Washington, D.C., a failure to give even more money to Ukraine simply does not rank.
A large coalition of conservative groups, including the Heritage Foundation and the Conservative Partnership Institute, publicly opposed ramming through more Ukraine support during the lame-duck session before Republicans take over control of the House on Jan. 3, 2023. Strong pluralities and majorities of Republicans have told pollsters they want decreases, not increases, in foreign spending and global military involvement.
Many Republican voters support helping Ukraine fight Russia’s unjust invasion, but it is absolutely nowhere near their top issue, contrary to McConnell’s false claim.
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Another comment from McConnell also shocked Republicans. Of the $1.7 trillion left-wing spending spree McConnell is working so hard to help Democrats pass, he said, unbelievably, that he was “pretty proud of the fact that with a Democratic president, Democratic House, and Democratic Senate, we were able to achieve through this omnibus spending bill essentially all of our priorities.” As an indication of how deeply sick and broken and unserious the Senate is, no one had even begun to read the lengthy bill, which was put forward just hours before votes began.
The American people voted for Republicans to take over control of the House of Representatives, and House Republicans had begged McConnell to push for a smaller, short-term bill to keep the government funded while also giving them a rare opportunity to weigh in on Biden’s policy goals. McConnell allies dismissed House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and other House members who tried to persuade Republican senators not to support Democrats’ spending frenzy.
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The politically toxic McConnell has continuously ranked as the country’s least popular politician, well behind Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. He is so disliked by Americans that he is underwater by an average of 35.3 points in polls gauging his favorability.
Unfortunately for Republicans, he has been the top elected Republican in the country for the last two years, a period marked mostly by inexcusable impotence, fecklessness, and muddled messaging from the GOP.
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Rather than present a coherent and persuasive vision of what Republican control of the Senate might look like, or even demonstrating consistent opposition to Democrat policies, too often McConnell overtly or covertly helped Democrats pass their signature policy goals. He had his deputy Sen. John Cornyn negotiate a bill to restrict Second Amendment rights. He notoriously and embarrassingly caved on a promise to help Democrats get huge numbers to pass their CHIPS subsidy, giving Biden a huge win he could celebrate with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo two weeks before the midterm elections.
Look, I’m no McConnell hater, though I have torched him for pulling moves, some of which could have been classified as political suicide at the time. He overreacted to the January 6 riot and seemed poised to get on the Liz Cheney ‘purge Trumpism’ express but balked when he saw how enthusiastic base support was for Trump, especially regarding guiding the party’s future. Hemingway is quite clear: the GOP can’t win until McConnell leaves.
"So long as Mitch McConnell is the top elected Republican in D.C., eagerly trashing Republican voters, vociferously advocating for Democrat policy goals, pushing $1.7 trillion Democrat spending packages, and weakly fighting for whatever Republican goals he can be bothered to pursue, Republicans have a major problem. This is beyond obvious," Hemingway concluded.
The only issue is who can take the mantle. Who can be McConnell’s successor, and more importantly, who could be that person and not deliver a similar or even worse performance in leadership? Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) was always seen as the heir apparent for years, but his caving to the Democrats on gun control should disqualify him for the post. Then again, when has this bunch ever cared about what the GOP base thinks—they’re about to pass this $1.7 trillion Democratic package?
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