C. Pierce: There simply is no more loathsome creature walking the political landscape than the ...

[Botany]

... Majority Leader of the United States Senate.

There simply is no more loathsome creature walking the political landscape than the Majority Leader of the United States Senate. You have to go back to McCarthy or McCarran to find a Senate leader who did so much damage to democratic norms and principles than this yokel from Kentucky. Trump is bad enough, but he's just a jumped-up real-estate crook who's in over his head. McConnell is a career politician who knows full well what he's doing to democratic government and is doing it anyway because it gives him power, and it gives the rest of us a wingnut federal judiciary for the next 30 years. There is nothing that this president* can do that threatens McConnell's power as much as it threatens the survival of the republic, and that's where we are.

McConnell declared himself in opposition to Barack Obama right from the first day in office. There's even video. Most noxiously, in reference to our present moment, when Obama came to him and asked him to present a united front against the Russian ratfcking that was enabling El Caudillo del Mar-a-Lago, McConnell turned him down, flat. Moreover, he told Obama that, if Obama went public, McConnell would use it as a political hammer on Hillary Rodham Clinton. (Obama should have done it anyway, god knows.) McConnell issued a watery denial of these charges, but there's no good goddamn reason to believe him.

He doesn't have the essential patriotism god gave a snail. He pledges allegiance to his donors, and they get what they want. He's selling out his country, and he's doing it in real-time and out in the open. This is worse than McCarthy or McCarran ever were. Mitch McConnell is the the thief of the nation's soul.

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a25956710/mitch-mcconnell-op-ed-voting-bill-democrats/

[TreasonousBastard]

1. My thoughts exactly-- Trump is inept and maniacal, but McConnel has the skills to hold...

him back and reduce the damage.

That he doesn't consigns him to the depths of whatever hell there may be.

[Botany]

2. I wonder just to what level is Mitch compromised?

I might be wrong but Putin has been playing the long game and no doubt he has been
"working" McConnell along w/Trump too.

McConnell is very dirty.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

51. And most likely, so is his wife.

Money is the goal....for everything. So Christ-like./s

[homegirl]

64. Follow the money..

Putin washed $2.5 MILLION through the NRA straight into McConnell's last campaign.

[mcar]

3. Loathsome is the perfect word

To describe soulless monster McConnell.

[DemocracyMouse]

24. Loathesome with a fake "deep voice."

Anyone ever notice how Republicans, devoid of soul and ideas, do the voice thing? Republican men either lower it or they join Republican women and stick in an irritation quaver – as in “everybody but us is going to Hell.”

[milestogo]

42. + a brazillion

[bobGandolf]

4. OH MY GOD! I so Believe....

...he will go down in history as the worst Senate Majority Leader ever. Well, McCarthy might have been worse. He most certainly understands that he is destroying our Democracy as we've known it.

Thanks for posting this OP. I have seen very few articles describing what McConnell was doing to our democracy. His destruction IMO is more destructive to our country than anything Trump has done so far.

[EarnestPutz]

43. Joseph McCarthy wasn't a Senate Majority Leader.

He was a back bencher who was facing a tough re-election
campaign and needed a gimmick. He latched onto a fierce
anti-communist rhetoric with a "list" of Communist "sympathizers"
in public life during a period of cold war tensions and screwed up
American politics for years. Substitute "illegal immigrants" for
"communists" and you've got Trump.

[onit2day]

63. We are watching this hypocrite dismantle our democracy powerless to stop him

This has never been about a wall. It is about the dismantling of our democratic institutions, as if it is being orchestrated by Putin himself. We have no legal way of stopping it. The president should not have the power to shutdown our government. This is our government. OUR democratic republic and he just waltzes in and shuts it down? I reject anyone, any law that claims he should have the power to do that. We must rise up against such tyranny or this will be the end of our Democracy. Like cutting off the head of a snake except there are so many snakes, and ending this right wing propaganda machine. Our Democracy is precious and could never be understood and looked upon as a brotherhood by a half wit inheritance baby, vindictive, petty, criminal con man grifter and his enabler- Mitch McConnell.

[bobGandolf]

83. Oops, Thanks,...

for pointing out specific's of McCarthy. I was just ranting over McConnell....I should have worded that better. I was just referring to McCarthy being a Senator.

[Solly Mack]

5. K&R

[ginnyinWI]

6. more light needs to be shed on this guy.

Why rehearse over and over what's wrong with Trump when after two years we pretty much know it all. But McConnell flies under the radar for the most part.

[dalton99a]

9. McConnell is stealthy and insidious. The damage will be long lasting and pervasive.

[Botany]

11. "The damage will be long lasting and pervasive."

Look @ all of those federal judges and the US Supreme Court too.

McConnell knows that the demographics and issues doom the GOP in
the long run so he and others like him have to rat fuck our elections,
pack the courts, and have lap dogs in the media pushing the GOP's
agenda.

[dalton99a]

7. McConnell's complicity and corruption should be on the front page

but that's not happening. Liberal media?

[c-rational]

13. +1

[NurseJackie]

8. He deserves Trump's eventual fate... and more.

For obvious reasons, I'll just leave it at that.

[dalton99a]

12. +1

[lunatica]

44. All I want for these people is the full measure of

their earned karmic debt to come due. Not one thing more is necessary.

[Achilleaze]

10. k and r

[bdamomma]

14. I wonder if Mueller

and his team are investigating Mitch.

[lunatica]

45. If he's connected to any of it then they are.

That’s the nature of investigations.

[Pachamama]

75. My money is on it that Mueller found a link and in the future, he will be known only as...

....Moscow Mitch...worst and most loathsome creature to ever step foot on the Senate floor....

2nd on most loathsome ima Washington DC after Traitor Trump

[Nitram]

15. Long ago sold his soul (and the United States of America) for power.

[Firestorm49]

16. Yes, he's doing it right out in the open.

Yet here we sit, fat, dumb, and happy, preaching to our choir while Rome burns. We have no one to fault but ourselves. Once upon a time, our nation united around a cause. It wasn’t pretty, but things got done. Nowadays it seems we’re content to bitch to ourselves while our constitutional protections are being shredded by Republicans. The younger generations, not knowing what they are losing or already lost, dont seem too concerned.

[lutherj]

17. A boycott worked with North Carolina. Kentucky doesn't have as much tourism, but it might put some

pressure on.

[maddiemom]

26. April would be the best time.

The first weekend in May being THE major tourist and big money event over the northern part of the state.

[Texin]

18. Botany, explain something to me, please.

Why the FLYING FUCK did PRESIDENT Obama need to need to appear to ratfucker McConnell as a supplicant? Why did he need to fucking goddamned ask PERMISSION of that motherfucker? He was the POTUS for god sakes! He should have done it anyway and damn the consequences. There's a time when the leader of the free world needs to just to not fucking worry about what something *seems like*. I know full well that there'd have been a whole lot of shrieking coming from the Russian wing of the House about "putting his thumb" on the electoral scales, but so what? I blame Obama about as much for the damage being done as I do McConnell and Shitler now.

[Botany]

20. Because he thought he was doing the right thing at the time

n/t

[luvtheGWN]

28. Well, yes, because Obama is an honourable man, but also

he could foresee that the GOP would be inclined to pull out all the stops, declaring that this was just a ploy to help get Hillary elected. I think Obama was testing the Turtle, and he got the answer he expected.....

[lunatica]

46. Because that's the way things used to be done when both parties

wanted what they thought was best for the country.

Because he was the first Black President who knew he was setting a vital precedent and tried to unite the government to work for the benefit of everyone.

Because he knew the best way to govern was to unite all sides in the things they had common ground on. Not flip the bird at the opposition like an oversized two year old throwing a tantrum.

[Solomon]

73. Here we go again with this shit.

Blame Obama. Ridiculous.

[rickyhall]

19. Apparently and/or probably owned by China, Russian & the Kochs

What treacherous dick, the turtle is.

[marmar]

21. McConnell is emblematic of everything that's wrong with the political system.

[calimary]

22. Is that the same Mitch McConnell who's THREE degrees separated from Putin?

Taking money from a friend-of-a-Putin-pal?

From the reports (starting in mid-2017) in the Dallas Morning News:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/mavenroundtable.io/theintellectualist/api/amp/theintellectualist/news/mcconnell-received-3-5m-in-campaign-donations-from-russian-oligarch-linked-firm-93UjehU6aUCtejJRBFezCw/

Evidently it’s a mere three degrees of separation from Mitch - to Len Blavatnik to Oleg Deripaska to Vladimir Putin.

Oh - no. Never mind. There’s an even shorter ‘n’ quicker route. Only TWO degrees of separation between Mitch McConnell and dear Vlad:

donald trump.

No wonder some people refer to the top Senate republi-CON as “Moscow Mitch.”

[TNNurse]

23. I have never really believed in a literal Hell.

Now I so very hope it exists. But I want people like Mitch McConnell and others (the list is too long to put here) to suffer here on Earth first so we can know about it.

[Traildogbob]

29. 🐢👹🔥

It's a dry heat. Compared to Kentucky humidity, he will be fine there, deep in his Koch dollar lined shell.

[lunatica]

49. LOL!

You mean his face won’t melt off for good!?

Damn!

Welcome to DU!

[Traildogbob]

52. Thank you

I got banned from Twitter for dissing on Tomi Lauren. I only miss the John Fugelsang bible studies, otherwise it improved my health. I really like the DU family. I promise to be nice, mostly. Extremely informed conversations and much more civil. Great to be here and learn.

[lunatica]

53. Well it's not so civil during Democratic Presidential Primaries

But learn to duck and pick your weapons of choice and you’ll survive! Wear wading boots. It gets bloody.

If you need to take a break and have some warm human contact visit The DU Lounge. No angry stuff allowed there!

[Traildogbob]

55. Got it.

No worries, I live in Western North Carolina. 24/7 trump rally. JOINED the Navy during Vietnam era, Ops Specialist, retired college Faculty teaching Forest Ecology and Wildlife management. Trained Hot Shot Wildland Firefighters. I do not back down, I "Have a Specialised set of Skills". I am extremely passionate about protecting our natural resources and democracy. I raised a daughter, now 29, after we lost her mom to cancer 20 years ago. I fight for her future. Otherwise I would stay alone in the forest and not let this treason hell hole bother me. So, I am here to fight, civilly, until this regime is locked up.

[Botany]

70. Have you read The Hidden Life of Trees?

n/t

[Traildogbob]

78. Tnanks

I have not. I certainly will check it out.

[Botany]

79. Amazing

Trees talk to each other and stuff. The German forester, Peter Wohlleben, who wrote the book
is now going old school in timber production in "his woods." No heavy equipment to compact
the soil instead he brought back draft horses and skids the logs out in the winter and not surprisingly
the forest is more productive.

[Traildogbob]

80. Germany rules in forest management.

Gifford Pinchot was the very first American forester educated in Germany. Check out his history with Roosevelt and John Muir. Carl Schenk began the first school of Forestry here in WNC. On the Vanderbilt estates, now Pisgah National Forest. Our little Forest College here is so unique historically, plus we have the most diverse forest species in the Nation. Our students have to learn over 100 species by name, sight, location, Latin name, with leaves and without in winter and ecological requirements. Low impact small lot management with horses, on site portable mills help families keep large timber stands through proper healthy manipulation. Otherwise, taxes force them to sell to developers and we loose our air filters, oxygen generators and wildlife habitat. And........we do not freaking rake the forest floor. We prescribe burn and removes fuel of dead an dying trees, which climate change is the biggest culprit, inviting non indigenous insects and disease. 2016 marked 110 years of scientific, ecologically sound forest management and protection. We also train Wildland fire fighters, hot shot crews and some become elite smoke jumpers. We have had casualties in Storm King fire and others. And, trump, shut your Putin Holester, you know zero. The Kochs destroy more forest with little to no regulations, with their pulpwood business. My god I hate that fool trump. I will stop, I am passionate about caring for, through scientific management, 100 plus years of data, our forest and the wildlife therein.

[Botany]

81. I liked Trump's nonsense about Finland's forests and lack of fires there

Those forests are tiaga, they are covered by snow about 6 months a year,
the ground layer is really wet during the other 6 months, and until climate
change forest fires were really rare there.

You love the book. BTW Doug Tallamy's, "Bringing Nature Home" is amazing.

[Traildogbob]

82. Thank you a lot. Gonna look for both of them.

[calimary]

67. Welcome to DU, Traildogbob!

Great to have you with us! And you can diss Tomi Lauren anytime you want to, here!

Although sometimes you may have to take a number...

[Traildogbob]

77. ❤️✌🏼

[Hekate]

25. Chaz Pierce is as always an acute observer nt

[Texin]

27. Don't leave Elaine Chao, Mrs. No-Neck McConnell, out of this.

Her family in the transportation and shipping world in China have a cozy relationship with Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch business mogul, who is head of Ervaz, the steel producer, and they, Chaos, purportedly have a large investment within that company. And, of course, Putin's got a chunk of this company in his pockets too. Oh, and Invanka is BFF with Abramovich's daughter. You can just best your ass that tRump is in bed with this guy too, along with the rest of his crime family members. Here's a link to a story I read last week that says they're going to profit directly for those coveted steel wall slats that McConnell is continuing the shutdown over. This is now McConnell's shutdown every damned bit as much as it is tRump's. Importing the steel from Canada would be vastly cheaper to the U.S., but as they say, must needs. Gotta dance with the one that brung ya, and tRump must pay the man his dues.

[link:https:/www.sltrib.com/opinion/letters/2019/01/19/letter-who-will-profit/]

[SWBTATTReg]

38. Don't senators have emoluments restrictions too? Just curious...

Besides rump being guilty of many emoluments abuses, Moscow Mitch seems to be reeking in it.

[sandensea]

68. Plus, there's reason to believe Chao uses his rusty freighters to ship cocaine to Europe

https://www.thenation.com/article/mitch-mcconnells-freighted-ties-shadowy-shipping-company/

They apparently dump it off the coast of the Netherlands, for speedboats to pick the kilos up.

The Dutch Coast Guard intercepted just such a bundle off Rotterdam waters shortly after this story was published.

[benld74]

30. Moscow Mitch

[hueymahl]

31. I wish I could rec this over and over

McTurtle is not getting the attention he deserves.

[CrispyQ]

32. He's the master ratfucker & if we rid ourselves of Trump but leave McConnell in place,

nothing will change but there will be less drama.

[IronLionZion]

33. Time for a Mitch hunt

and then some Mitch trials. Dude is in dereliction of duty and should be removed from office.

[smirkymonkey]

48. +1000

The Dems in the House need to go after him with a vengeance. It's his turn to suffer and be exposed for what he really is.

[LuvNewcastle]

65. Yes, it's high time for a fall from grace.

Mitch is like an abscess that needs to be drained. You can't cure the patient without releasing some foul fluids, but it sure beats an amputation.

[ancianita]

34. Don't give us solutions, Mr. Obvious. Just keep beating on "the problem" drum.

[lunatica]

50. I agree with your frustration

but as much as I feel just the way you do, our anger shouldn’t be aimed at the messenger because he isn’t fixing the problem. How could he possibly solve a problem of such a gargantuan and insidious vastness?

[ancianita]

54. He could try. And he's usually ahead of the learning curve on this stuff. Not this time.

[Kurt V.]

35. Republicans are governing like elections don't matter.

hmmmm.

[Botany]

37. Mitch knows that the fix is already in for a lot of elections

The KY's 2015 governor's race sure doesn't pass my smell test.

The democrat who was I think the State's A.G. or the Sec. of State had a 5 or 6 point
lead going into election day but he lost by 9 points ... a 14 point swing w/no known
reason.

[Kurt V.]

58. Interesting. and he will block any legislation on election integrity.

[Botany]

61. The demographics and issues are a killer to the GOP

So Mitch & Company have to rig the game.


Fun fact before the 2016 election 16 million people were removed from voting rolls. Google it.

[UpInArms]

36. McConnell's donors are Russian

During the 2015-2016 election season, Ukrainian-born billionaire Leonard "Len" Blavatnik contributed $6.35 million to leading Republican candidates and incumbent senators. Mitch McConnell was the top recipient of Blavatnik's donations, collecting $2.5 million for his GOP Senate Leadership Fund under the names of two of Blavatnik's holding companies, Access Industries and AI Altep Holdings, according to Federal Election Commission documents and OpenSecrets.org.

[Hangdog Slim]

39. Amen

Amen to that Mr. Pierce.

[SunSeeker]

40. Yep. McConnell is a traitor in every way. nt

[NoMoreRepugs]

41. mcTurtle is the quintessential old white conservative politician that is becoming extinct.

Unfortunately, it's just not happening fast enough.

[Kitchari]

47. K&R. n/t

[YOHABLO]

56. McConnell knows the master who feeds him.

[Blue Owl]

57. The undertaker of democracy

n/t

[OMGWTF]

59. I LOVE Charlie Pierce!

This morning on The Stephanie Miller Show, Charlie said that Rudy Guiliani has been reduced to a vaudeville act. Made me LOL! FYI, Charlie calls in most Tuesdays around 7:30 am PT. to discuss the latest outrages.

[Duppers]

60. K & R

[spike jones]

62. The new USA flag

[link:|

[Dem_4_Life]

66. K & R nt

[bagimin]

69. k&highly recommended

[Journeyman]

71. Good article. Thanks for posting . . .

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

72. K&R

[47of74]

74. As long as Mitchell McFuckstuck and Rand Paul are in office

Kentucky should be boycotted.

[BlueJac]

76. K&R

[bobGandolf]

84. I so agree with you!

He has been sabotaging the Democrats since Obama's first term. What tees me off is how he never seems to be accountable for anything.

[Scurrilous]

85. K&R

[VOX]

86. The Turtle has been sucking down a gov't salary & benefits for 34 years.

Fills me with rage that these “anti-gub’mit” assholes (of which the Turtle is No.1) have ZERO problem fluffing their bottoms with cushy salaries and health-care benefits.

Mrs. Turtle is also stuffing her pockets with government goodies. These two think they’re going to ride off into the sunset without a care.

I’d be overjoyed if Mueller’s investigation hooks the Turtle and drags him under.