Sen. Mitch McConnell put Democrats on notice when he declared that he and the Republican Party would be putting “100% of our focus” on “stopping” Joe Biden. But after a recent White House meeting between Biden and the “leadership” of the Republican/Democrat duopoly to discuss infrastructure, it looks like McConnell won’t stop Biden nor his agenda.
It was only last week that McConnell made this now worthless promise (via the Wall Street Journal):
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Republicans are united behind stopping President Biden’s agenda, putting a damper on already slim hopes for bipartisan cooperation in Congress ahead of more talks with the White House on a possible infrastructure deal.
“One hundred percent of my focus is standing up to this administration,” the Kentucky Republican said at a press conference in his home state Wednesday, in response to questions about infighting among House Republicans. “What we have in the United States Senate is total unity from Susan Collins to Ted Cruz in opposition to what the new Biden administration is trying to do to this country,” he said, referring to the senators from Maine and Texas. (emphasis mine)
Mickey’s bold declaration didn’t appear to intimidate Biden and the Democrats. Immediately afterward, Biden said he wasn’t buying the “kill everything” talk from the man who promised in 2010 to make Obama a one-term president, and it looks Uncle Joe is right.
Following the White House meeting between McConnell, Biden, VP Kamala Harris, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy where they discussed Biden’s $2.3 trillion plan to pay off political allies of the Democrat Party disguised as an infrastructure plan, the Kentucky Senator said there is a “great chance” Republicans and Democrats can reach an agreement on an infrastructure bill.
In an interview with FOX News’ Bret Baier, McConnell was almost giddy about the role he’s playing in this sellout to Biden:
“I think they want a deal this time and I think they want a deal with us, because I don’t think they think they can pass this second effort through a reconciliation package.
“In other words, I don’t think they can get their own ducks in a row, and so they are coming to us, and that’s generally how you reach bipartisan agreements. Plus, the subject matter is pretty popular on both sides of the aisle.” (emphasis mine)
Let me get this straight. Since the infrastructure plan can’t pass without McConnell, he’s going to help them do it. Tell me again how that will stop the Biden agenda?
McConnell continued:
“And we may have some differences about how you define infrastructure. I mean, we think traditional infrastructure, roads, bridges, ports, water lines, broadband, are things we can agree on. To the extent that they start getting off in rather exotic definitions of what amounts to infrastructure, we could have a problem.
“But I think the takeaway from the meeting, Bret, is that I think both sides would like to get an outcome.” (emphasis mine)
Tough talk, Mickey. Almost as tough as your “100% committed” promise to stop the Biden agenda.
As it was when McConnell made the promise to stop him, Biden knows full well that McConnell is a political coward, and any conditions he might place on the infrastructure deal won’t stop his agenda.
In an interview with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell on the same day McConnell gave his to FOX News, Biden said he’s fully prepared to take whatever “bipartisan” agreement he can get with Republicans because he’s ready, willing, and able to move forward on his own if he’s unable to get everything he wants in the McConnell compromise capitulation.
“I want to get a bipartisan deal on as much as we can get a bipartisan deal on, and that means roads, bridges, broadband, all infrastructure.
“But I’m not giving up on the fact that we have, you know, 2 million women who are not able to go back to work because all the daycare centers are closed. They’re out of business. And so, they can’t go back to work.
“Let’s see if we can get an agreement to kickstart this — and then fight over what’s left and see if I can get it done without Republicans, if need be.”
Obviously, this whole scenario is just a replay of the lying, cheating, and stealing McConnell always engages in when he’s trying to protect his position of political power.
For example, when was becoming clearer that Republicans were going to lose power in the 2020 election, McConnell recycled every broken campaign promise made in 2016. In addition, he promised that the Republican Party would be a “firewall” against the socialist agenda of the Democrats, and he further promised to be the “Grim Reaper” of death for their far-left agenda.
To be fair, I have to some credit to McConnell for making some progress in the Grim Reaper department — after living off the taxpayers long enough to become the longest-serving Republican Senate leader in history, he looks an awful lot like death warmed-over.
Unfortunately but not unsurprisingly, Trump, McConnell, and the rest of the Republican Party were never going to stop the far-left, because under their “leadership” during the Trump presidency, they were instrumental in advancing several parts of the Democrat agenda in areas like paid family leave, the Green New Deal, the expansion of government-run healthcare, and the passage of gun control laws.
McConnell has played the “repeat broken promises” card before — Kentucky voters have fallen for it in his six reelection campaigns — and as the former majority leader desperate to win back his lost throne, he’s playing that card again by promising to stop the Biden agenda.
David Leach is the owner of the Strident Conservative. He holds people of every political stripe accountable for their failure to uphold conservative values, and he promotes those values instead of political parties.
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