Sunday, March 10, 2024 | 3 a.m.
View more of the Sun's opinion section
Mitch McConnell said “it should come as no surprise …”
The lame-duck U.S. Senate Republican leader was talking about his endorsing Donald Trump last Wednesday immediately following Trump’s Super Tuesday rout of Nikki Haley, which all but locked up the GOP presidential nomination for the former president and current criminal defendant.
Well, Mitch, I almost hate to tell you but, yes, there was a bit of a surprise when you told the world that Trump was your guy to return to the Oval Office this November. The surprise, of course, was that it wasn’t that long ago when you charged then-President Trump with the moral, if not legal, responsibility for the insurrection at the Capitol in 2021.
You know the one I am talking about. That’s when, as president of the United States, Trump pointed his unruly mob at the Capitol and told them to “stop the steal.” That would be the “stealing” of the 2020 presidential election in which Joe Biden won and Trump lost — bigly! And legally. And honestly!
You might also remember that Trump’s cult followers wanted to “hang Mike Pence” because Pence would not abuse the U.S. Constitution to help Trump stay in an Oval Office he resoundingly lost. Instead, Pence was determined to “protect and defend” the Constitution. Those words come from the oath Pence took when he was sworn in as vice president. It’s the same oath Trump took in becoming president but which, obviously, meant so much less to him.
There haven’t been too many policy choices on which I have agreed with McConnell over the years. But there are some.
I certainly didn’t think it was right for him to manipulate the Supreme Court nominations in a way that allowed Trump to appoint three judges hell-bent on overturning Roe v. Wade. They did exactly that and now they have set their sights on other ways to intrude into our private lives.
But, I did and do agree with McConnell that the United States must remain an important player across the globe, which means we must keep our commitment to friends and allies and support those who yearn for peace and democracy against those who would subjugate entire countries to their will. Think Ukraine versus Russia.
Heck, think bigger than that. Imagine Russia versus a NATO country. That’s when our servicemen and women will be obligated to fight in Europe — the way we did in World War ll. Remember how many lives were lost and how much of our treasure went up in smoke?
And what about our southern border? Mitch was all-in on the recent deal made between his Senate colleagues and the White House. It was good for the United States.
But Trump thought it was bad for him. So McConnell gets shoved aside yet again by the man he endorsed last week. The man with whom there was so little agreement and toward whom there was so much animosity.
Oh yeah, here’s the big one, and yes, it’s personal.
McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, was appointed secretary of transportation by Trump. She is an accomplished and fully capable public servant in her own right. Until Jan. 6 happened. In the ultimate example of loyalty to the United States and disloyalty to Trump, Chao resigned after the insurrection.
Trump couldn’t wait to get even with her and did so a year later by calling her crazy. That’s how Trump gets even, I suppose.
McConnell, unlike most husbands I know, let the insult aimed at his wife of 30 some years slide. And this past week he all but forgot about it as he dutifully fell in line behind his dear leader and “surprised” no one by his spineless act.
No, I, like many Americans, wasn’t all that surprised by McConnell’s obeisance. That’s become the norm for many Americans these days.
We forget the kind and quality of citizens it took to fight for our independence and give us a Constitution. We either never learned or conveniently forgot about the strength of men like Abraham Lincoln, who acted with moral purpose and gave his very all to keep our union together when lesser men tried to tear it apart.
And we dishonor the Greatest Generation, which saved the world from Hitler’s Nazi Germany and created the American Century. And what about the men and women who heeded the call when America needed them in Vietnam and Desert Storm and Afghanistan ?
How do we honor their memories when we forget what it is like to stand up against immorality and indecency?
No, I am not really surprised by what Mitch McConnell did. That’s because, unfortunately and sadly, nothing people do in 2024 surprises me.
I am, however, saddened by what he did. It is just one more step down that slippery slope upon which this democracy may slide into yesteryear.
Brian Greenspun is editor, publisher and owner of the Sun.
