Mitch's “Friends”

Following Mitch's Money, Presentation by Doug Price on June 8th, 2020

A Judge, a Corporation CEO, an Evangelical, and a Wealthy Republican Donor were in a bar. Mitch McConnell walked in and said: “Oh my! All of the people I love in one place. I must be in Heaven.”

These are his constituents not We The People.

Mitch wrote a memoir titled The Long Game. All of his “friends” are with him because of the conservative agenda that he pushes.

Did he orchestrate all of this? Was this a long planned out strategy that he has been working on for years? Did he “run a Long Game sting” on We The People? Let’s take a look!

Quoting from an article by Tom McCarthy from the Guardian: All new presidents change the courts by filling vacancies. But what is only now coming into focus is the impact that Trump’s unprecedented number of judicial appointments is having on the courts, ruling by ruling, and on the day-to-day lives of Americans, in areas such as healthcare, voting rights, criminal justice, anti-discrimination efforts and the climate.

“The change is happening. It’s happening before our very eyes,” said Sheldon Goldman, a professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst who focuses on the federal bench.

Interesting to note that while much has been said about McConnell’s withholding of an Obama Supreme Court appointment and promising to move very quickly if a vacancy opens now there is more movement to appoint conservative judges in the lower courts. Think about it how many cases make it to the Supreme Court? Conservative rulings can be left to stand by a conservative Supreme Court.

The Guardian reviewed dozens of cases affected by Trump’s judges, which included creating majorities in rulings that targeted immigrants and workers and undermined protections for societies most vulnerable. They have:

Attacked the Affordable Care Act and chipped away at healthcare.

Greenlighted funding for Trump’s border wall.

Stepped aside to allow partisan gerrymandering.

Defended abusive policing.

Permitted encroachments on the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Shrugged at emergency requests in death penalty cases.

Established and reinforced religious exemptions from anti-bias laws.

Recently Mitch said: “My motto for the year is leave no (Judicial) vacancy behind. That hasn’t changed. The pandemic will not prevent us from achieving that goal.”

Again, The Long Game.

Corporate money: Mitch raised just under $25 million and when the June 30, 2020 numbers are reported I expect that amount to rise to + $30 million.

Large Individual Contributions $10,003,360 40.44%

Small Individual Contributions (< $200) $6,151,183 24.86%

Other $4,761,003 19.24%

PAC Contributions* $3,823,136 15.45%

Candidate self-financing $0 0.00%

Mitch is a strong believer of the First Amendment as it relates to Free Speech. The Courts have ruled that giving money to politicians is Free Speech and Republican donors exercise their Free Speech very well.

Corporations look at donations to politicians as a necessary evil and are certainly willing to pass that cost along to their shareholders! Of course, that cost is also added to products meaning that We The People are supporting Corporations in their goal to have politicians like Mitch introduce legislation that benefits their companies.

How do Evangelicals fit into the equation? Here is one definition of that word: of or according to the teaching of the gospel or the Christian religion.

It is easy to ponder on this subject and have trouble rationalizing the true meaning. I would guess the bottom line would center around the definition of Conservatism: commitment to traditional values and ideas with opposition to change or innovation.

“proponents of theological conservatism”

the holding of political views that favor free enterprise, private ownership, and socially conservative ideas.

“a party that espoused conservatism”

Evangelicals support conservative issues and that makes them a great partner with Mitch. Never mind that many Americans support liberal issues.

Wealthy Republican Donors: This one is easy. People with money are willing to pay for what they want. Whether it is a mega yacht, a jet, access, a politician. As I’ve asserted in an earlier discussion someone like me would (and has been) unable to obtain something from McConnell. The Coal Miners who spent time and money to meet with McConnell and got about 2 minutes of time are another example. Mitch has said it many times: the key to being a success in politics is Money Money Money.

Wealthy Donors give him what he wants and he in turn gives them what they want — conservatism across the board.

Back to the bar: if I happened to walk in on Mitch with his friends I would not think I was in Heaven. I would think I was in Hell.

Doug Price is a member/treasurer of the MMRC and a regular participant on the #MoscowMitchMonday live stream, discussing Mitch and Money. Doug is an advocate of governmental change on the State/Federal level and has periodically worked on Democratic campaigns dating back to the 80s. Follow Doug on Twitter @ PriceDoug