Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sounded off on the growing radicalism rampant in today's Democratic Party on Monday. But conservatives don't have to worry. With him at the helm, none of their socialist ideas will see the light of day, he promised during his remarks to community leaders in Owensboro, Ky. He even gave himself a new nickname to prove it.
McConnell, speaking in Owensboro, argues that socialism is "pervasive" among Dems. "I don't want you to think this is a couple of nutcases running around the fringe." He says if he's reelected and is majority leader: "Think of me as the Grim Reaper. None of that is going to pass.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 22, 2019
Conservatives have had their share of complaints about McConnell. But the leader formerly known as Cocaine Mitch has proven to be a man of his word when it comes to the Supreme Court. In 2016, he refused to allow a vote on Merrick Garland, President Obama's nominee to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia. McConnell kept his nerve despite the pressure and the criticism that he was holding the open seat "hostage." A couple of years later, Congress instead confirmed President Trump's nominee Neil Gorsuch, a much more welcome addition for conservatives.
McConnell also made the bold move of agreeing to hold a vote on the Green New Deal because it would force progressive Democrats to go on the record and actually vote for the radical legislation. That measure, like many other far left ideas, came from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). But as the majority leader noted, the problem is much larger than her.
"Now, my friends, we're having a legitimate debate about the virtues of socialism," McConnell said on Monday. "And I don't want you to think this is just a 28-year-old congresswoman from New York. This is much broader than that."