Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 12:31 pm
In a piece for The Lexington Herald-Leader, op-ed columnist Linda Blackford criticized Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for voting to acquit former President Donald Trump for inciting an insurrection against Congress, writing that his speeches “won’t save his beloved legacy.”
“McConnell gave a pass to white supremacy, a pass on attacking the U.S. Capitol. He gave so many passes to Trump that we are left with a country that is sick in mind and body,” she wrote. “His beloved Republican party has turned into a death cult in thrall to a pathetic and pathological egotist. There will be some poetic justice in watching him try to unravel it over the next five years.”
Let him try, along with whatever machinations he’s got up his sleeve as the new minority leader, while President Biden and Congress work toward healing the country, both literally and figuratively with vaccinations, COVID relief, a minimum wage increase and a bold plan to ease child poverty,” she continued. “It’s the kind of action that Mitch McConnell has upended, diluted and blocked his entire career in his quest for personal power. The good of the country has always come in second to the good of Mitch McConnell.”
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McConnell appears to have set his sights on guiding the GOP in a post-Trump world and retaking the Senate in 2022.
“My goal is, in every way possible, to have nominees representing the Republican Party who can win in November,” McConnell told Politico. “Some of them may be people the former president likes. Some of them may not be. The only thing I care about is electability.”
McConnell was accused by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a noted Trump supporter, of crafting a speech that would be used against the GOP come elections. (McConnell, despite voting to acquit Trump, said he was “practically and morally responsible” for the siege of the Capitol which resulted in five deaths.)
“He got a load off his chest, obviously, but unfortunately he put a load on the back of Republicans,†Graham said. “That speech you will see in 2022 campaigns.â€
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
