Editorials & Other Articles

Zorro

(16,452 posts) Sun Dec 15, 2024, 11:05 AM Sunday

McConnell has the chutzpah to complain about Trump's 'America First'

Mitch McConnell bears great responsibility for the return of Trump and his foreign policy.

Without minimizing the many factors responsible for reelecting the most unfit presidential candidate in U.S. history, we must not forget the singular role played in 2021 by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) in preventing then-President Donald Trump’s removal from office in his second impeachment trial, thereby enabling his return to office. It is therefore grotesquely hypocritical for McConnell now to bemoan the danger to the nation posed by the revival of Trump’s “America First” foreign policy.

McConnell recently told the Financial Times: “We’re in a very, very dangerous world right now, reminiscent of before World War II.” He added, “Even the slogan is the same: ‘America First.’ That was what they said in the ’30s.” He continued:

The cost of deterrence is considerably less than the cost of war. To most American voters, I think the simple answer is, “Let’s stay out of it.” That was the argument made in the ’30s, and that just won’t work. Thanks to Reagan, we know what does work — not just saying peace through strength, but demonstrating it.

McConnell strongly advocated for U.S. support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, a position starkly at odds with Trump’s insistence on “ending” the war immediately and scolding the Biden administration and Ukraine for “escalating” the war.

McConnell’s posturing rings hollow, considering not only his role in rescuing Trump from conviction after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot but also his opposition to Trump’s removal in the first impeachment trial, for abusing the office of the presidency to try to force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to help his reelection bid. In that impeachment trial, McConnell went so far as to block the introduction of evidence and disingenuously argue that Trump’s threats to withhold U.S. aid merely concerned the “timing” of aid.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/12/15/mitch-mcconnell-trump-america-first/

Probably don't need to say this, but...Fuck Mitch McConnell, traitor to this country.

7 replies

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Highlight:

McConnell has the chutzpah to complain about Trump's 'America First' (Original Post) Zorro Sunday OP

Why was this man ever a leader in our government, probably good at fundraising? Walleye Sunday #1

Of course, we should not forget Janbdwl72 Sunday #5

Is it fair to say The Wizard Sunday #2

He navigated... 2naSalit Sunday #3

Yep, after stepping down from leadership and probably not running again tanyev Sunday #4

Why Mitch McConnell's latest clashes with Trump matter LetMyPeopleVote Monday #6

Trying real hard to polish his resume and make himself look good. Fat chance, Turtle! machoneman Monday #7

(155,396 posts)

6. Why Mitch McConnell's latest clashes with Trump matter

Reply to Zorro (Original post)

Mon Dec 16, 2024, 05:05 PM

Monday

Despite his recent partisan history, Mitch McConnell has thrown a lot of brushback pitches in Donald Trump's direction lately.
https://bsky.app/profile/stevebenen.com/post/3ldgr2fa5v22m

I'm not getting my hopes up, but Mitch McConnell really has thrown a surprising number of brushback pitches in Trump's direction lately.

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/mitch-mcconnells-latest-clashes-trump-matter-rcna184354

In a statement to NBC News, the Kentucky Republican — who’ll soon step down from his GOP leadership post — didn’t mention Kennedy by name, but the longtime senator said anyone seeking a confirmation vote must be specific about their intentions related to the polio vaccine.

“Anyone seeking the Senate’s consent to serve in the incoming Administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts,” McConnell wrote. He added that “efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed — they’re dangerous.”

It was a notable brushback pitch from a key GOP official, but it was also part of a recent pattern: McConnell has thrown a lot of these pitches at Trump and his team lately.

In an interview with the Financial Times, published last week, McConnell warned about the dangers of isolationism, which he seemed to tie directly to his party’s incoming president. “We’re in a very, very dangerous world right now, reminiscent of before World War II,” the senator said, adding, “Even the slogan is the same. ‘America First’ — that was what they said in the ’30s.”
McConnell has a newly published essay in Foreign Affairs magazine, warning against the “right-wing flirtation with isolation and decline.” Referencing a signature phrase from Trump, the Kentucky Republican added, “America will not be made great again by those who simply want to manage its decline.”
The senator’s written piece echoed a speech he delivered earlier this month, rejecting his party’s isolationist wing.
In Congress last month, Matt Gaetz’s bid to become the next attorney general collapsed in the face of opposition from GOP senators. While there was no official tally on the scope of the Republican opposition to the former Florida congressman, The New York Times reported that McConnell was among those staunchly opposed to his prospective nomination.

When political observers take stock on Capitol Hill, looking for Republicans who might be a thorn in the president-elect’s side, they tend to focus on members such as Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski and Maine’s Susan Collins. But what if McConnell — who’s expected to retire at the end of his term, and who doesn’t appear to have anything to lose by standing up to Trump — unexpectedly joins the faction of Trump skeptics?

machoneman

(4,127 posts)

7. Trying real hard to polish his resume and make himself look good. Fat chance, Turtle!

Reply to Zorro (Original post)

Mon Dec 16, 2024, 06:42 PM

Monday

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