Difference between revisions of "Mitch McConnell"

Revision as of 18:29, January 23, 2020

Mitch McConnell
U.S. Senator from Kentucky From: January 3, 1985 – present
Predecessor	Walter Huddleston
Successor	Incumbent (no successor)
Information
Party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Elaine Chao
Religion	Baptist

Addison Mitchell "Mitch" McConnell, Jr., born February 20, 1942 (age 82), is the senior Republican United States Senator from Kentucky and the current Senate Majority Leader. Although his voting record has been rated as conservative by some,^[1] McConnell is an establishment-leaning RINO Backer who has blocked pro-life legislation, pushed for pro-abortion nominees to the courts, and who sometimes rams through liberal-favored deals to increase the debt ceiling.

A globalist, McConnell was arguably the least effective Majority Leader ever during the 115th U.S. Congress, accomplishing remarkably little in two years of Republican control of both the White House and Congress under President Donald Trump. While credited with confirming some appellate judges, not all of whom are conservative, McConnell has made very little progress in confirming Trump's nominees to district court judgeships.

In 2018 and again in 2020, McConnell worked overtime to try to keep his critic Roy Moore from being elected to the U.S. Senate from Alabama, preferring instead that the deeply Republican state elect a Democrat or a pro-Deep State Republican.

McConnel has been married to Elaine Chao since 1993.

In light of the impeachment coup against President Trump, McConnell called the House vote "unprecedented" and said that the Senate will "provide stability".^[2] However, it is unknown whether McConnell will actually prevent "partisan passions from boiling over", given his past weak leadership.

Early life

McConnell was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama to Julia Shockley and Addison Mitchell McConnell and raised in south Louisville, Kentucky, he attended duPont Manual High School and graduated from the University of Louisville College of Arts and Sciences with honors in 1964, where he was student body president and member of Phi Kappa Tau. He graduated in 1967 from the University of Kentucky College of Law, where he was elected president of the Student Bar Association. McConnell gained experience on Capitol Hill as an intern under Senator John Sherman Cooper, later as an assistant to Senator Marlow Cook, and was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General under President Gerald R. Ford.

U.S. Senate

McConnell was elected to the Senate in 1984 when he defeated two-term Democratic Senator Dee Huddleston. Since then he has been re-elected four times. After the 2006 elections, he was unanimously elected Senate Minority Leader, previously serving as Majority Whip. He is married to former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, who is from a wealthy family profiting off foreign trade. McConnell has been very involved in Republican party politics. He was chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the 1998 and 2000 election cycles. In both, Republicans maintained control of the Senate. McConnell is viewed as a conservative on nearly all issues, receiving an 89% lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union.^[3] However, he was one of just three Senate Republicans who voted against a Constitutional ban on flag desecration.^[4]

McConnell offered offshore oil drilling resolutions on the Senate floor in July 2008. He was intent on setting a trigger to initiate drilling if the price exceeds a certain mark. First, he offered to drill if gasoline prices hit $4.50 a gallon. This was rejected by Democrats. Then he offered a trigger at $5.50 a gallon, $7.50 a gallon and $10 per gallon, with Democrats rejecting each offer.^[5]

Mitch McConnell managed to hold onto his Senate seat in the 2008 elections, which saw a Democratic surge, just short of a supermajority. Mitch McConnell was widely regarded within the Republican Party as an adept Minority Leader. The filibuster strategy used by the Democrats was first pushed by McConnell.

McConnell said he would join the gun control filibuster.^[6]

In 2014, McConnell faced Tea Party challenger Matt Bevin in his primary for re-election, and held on only by heavily outspending his conservative rival. McConnell then defeated Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes in the heavily Republican Kentucky in the general election.

McConnell became the Senate majority leader in 2015 after the GOP retook the Senate. While he promised to make the Senate less dysfunctional, it had only gotten worse by 2018.^[7]

Since being elected, they have not sought to keep their promises.

Broken promises

McConnell, like many Republicans, has promised that if a senate majority could be reached, they would work toward passing an actual budget instead of stop-gap spending measures.^[8]

Controversies

In 2013, it was reported that McConnell said that he wanted to "punch Tea Party bullies in the nose".^[9] A further examination by The Blaze indicated the plausibility that McConnell was probably talking about the Senate Conservatives Fund, which is known for supporting more conservative candidates over Establishment-preferred candidates.^[10]

Personal life

McConnell is married to Elaine Chao, the current United States Secretary of Transportation. He is a Baptist but was married to Sherrill Redmon from 1968 to 1980 before divorcing.^[11]

Liberal opposition

See also: Moscow Mitch syndrome and Left-wing violence in the Trump era

McConnell has been subject to multiple liberal smears and attacks after the 2016 election. In one case, he was confronted by an unhinged liberal while dining with his wife.^[12] In another instance, protestors outside his home called for violence against the senator.^[13] After blocking two partisan "election security" bills, he has been labeled as "Moscow Mitch" by communist-supporting liberal hypocrites.^[14]

References

External links

• Sen. McConnell's Official Web Site