Without a doubt, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is one of the best strategists and tacticians we have on the Hill. He held firm when Senate Democrats attempted one of the nastiest and overt character assassination attempts to derail the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination. He got the Trump tax cuts that led to economic growth, bonuses for workers, and the repatriation of billions of overseas cash. McConnell has his mark on reshaping the judiciary towards a much more conservative tilt—the Ninth Circuit, one of the most left-wing appeals circuits, was overhauled under Trump. There’s plenty that the Kentucky Republican has done well, but he’s lost a step. Backing the Democrats’ anti-gun package this summer was not wise, though it did give football fields’ worth of political cover for any Republican who was sitting on the fence
What has conservatives in an uproar following the GOP’s immensely disappointing midterm season is how McConnell managed the 2022 Senate elections. There was dithering regarding the allocation of much-needed resources for cash-strapped candidates. He conceded defeat in August, which is now viewed as prophetic, owing to the upcoming GOP shortfalls due to candidate quality issues. That’s a classic establishment fallback, along with ignorance, as these upper-crust types fail to recognize their side lost in the primaries.
So, with Mitch remaining as minority leader now that Nevada and Arizona will retain their Democratic senators, should we ditch Mitch? After this disastrous midterm election year and his reallocating resources to states where the GOP never had a shot at winning, like Colorado, I’m open. Still, one major issue remains: who would replace him?
The most obvious answer is McConnell’s heir apparent, John Cornyn (R-TX), whose also been stained for his support of this year’s anti-gun package. Is that a massive shakeup? Cornyn is just a younger McConnell. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) should just take his luxury yacht back to Italy, resign his seat, and never be seen again for fumbling his chairmanship of the National Republican Senatorial Committee this year. Even McConnell reportedly took him aside in February to tell him he was doing a piss-poor job managing the Senate GOP’s campaign arm.
Who can take up the mantle? Sen. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Joni Ernst—you tell me because there are some plausible names, but no guarantee they’d take or even want the monumental task of guiding Republicans in the upper chamber.
So, while yelling ‘ditch Mitch’ may make us feel better, what’s next? Who’s next? It’s why the Never Trump wing of the GOP in 2016 looked so ridiculous and incompetent. They didn’t want Trump as the 2016 nominee but didn’t have anyone in mind on their alternative candidate list. If someone wants to make a move on McConnell, fine, but we better have a good name to replace him.