The Logic Of McConnell's Dickishness

[ProSense]

The Logic Of McConnell's Dickishness

Jonathan Chait

Mitch McConnell is not even trying to appear reasonable:

McConnell is signaling that the White House should be prepared in the new Congress to support Republican policies – not the other way around.

“If the president is willing to do things that we believe in, I don’t think we’re going to say, ‘No, Mr. President we’re not going to do this any longer because you’re now with us,’” McConnell told POLITICO in his ornate office across from the old Senate chamber. “Any time the president is willing to do what we think is in the best interest of the American people, we have something to talk about.”

Coming on the heels of McConnell's previous boast that his top goal was to defeat Obama, it seems obvious that McConnell does not find it necessary to even pretend to be interested in compromise. His strategy of obstructionism is very useful for Republicans, but the sheer brazenness of it isn't -- most Americans think Obama wants to compromise with Republicans, but that Republicans don't want to compromise with him. That (accurate) perception is going to give Obama a stronger hand both in his dealings with the GOP and in his 2012 run.

So, again, why isn't McConnell at least putting up a facade of reasonableness?

Probably because he's already thinking about re-election:

“I’m not planning on running – I am running,” he said definitively. “I’ve never been someone who has started late or who agonized publicly over whether I was going to run. I feel like I’m at the top of my game, at my peak effectiveness and I certainly am going to run again in 2014.”

Remember, McConnell saw his hand-picked candidate in Kentucky defeated by insurgent challenger Rand Paul, in a race that pitted his state's grassroots activists against McConnell. McConnell has to worry about a right-wing challenger. That's why he's not just taking a hard line against Obama, he's broadcasting it.

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[Blaukraut]

1. 2014?? So he is campaigning for the next 4 years? Dickishness indeed n/t

[ProSense]

2. I think Graham

is suffering from the same thing. He has been acting like a major-league teabagger lately. He's also not up for re-election until 2014.

Yesterday, he said the Senate should apologize to Kyl.

[OHdem10]

3. I heard Kyle, Arizona is nipping at his heels in an effort to become

the next Senate Minority Leader. Kyle is right of
Atilla, the Hun and McConnell feels he must be farther
right to hang onto his job.