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Quote of the Day: Deception
When you start to realise how much of what you’ve constructed of yourself is based on deception and lies, that is a horrifying realisation.– Jordan Peterson
Now I believe I can hear the philosophers protesting that it can only be misery to live in folly, illusion, deception and ignorance, but it isn’t -it’s human. Desiderius Erasmus
In spite of my exposure to the lies, betrayals and ineptness of our Congress, I can’t imagine that I will ever become comfortable with the way Congress operates. Until recently, I believed that (for the most part), Republicans would be honest with other Republicans. If there were deceptions, they would be minor and annoying.
But few people seem bothered by what appears to be a major deception that Mitch McConnell foisted on his Republican colleagues. (If I’ve misunderstood what transpired, feel free to set me straight.)
From what I know, McConnell seems obsessed with supplying Ukraine with arms and humanitarian assistance. Over time, more and more people have become skeptical about helping Ukraine, in part because of the lack of accountability by Ukraine, the incessant corruption, and the lack of a plan by the US for continuing our support. Regardless of this pushback, McConnell continues the drumbeat for Ukraine support.
Meanwhile, Republicans decided that it would be a clever strategy to link the demand for U.S. border legislation to support for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Secret meetings over months were held to develop the legislation, and when the bill was released, all hell broke loose. Some Republicans stated that at least the border bill provided some improvements; many other Republicans condemned it. Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House opined on X :
‘I’ve seen enough. This bill is even worse than we expected, and won’t come close to ending the border catastrophe the President has created… If this bill reaches the House, it will be dead on arrival.’
Others claim that Republicans were influenced by Donald Trump who didn’t want the bill to pass so that it would remain an election issue. (Even with Trump’s popularity, I have a hard time believing this explanation.)
The observations that I think might be credible is that James Lankford was recruited to work on the bill, because McConnell could “guide” him on the creation of the bill. And Chuck Schumer bragged about how closely he and McConnell had worked together on the bill. I believe that McConnell never wanted the Ukraine funding linked to anything else, and by making sure that an unreasonable border bill was written, there was no way for it to pass. He led Republicans to believe that it was a good bill.
He lied to them.
So the border bill was voted down, without a new one in sight. Since then, a bill with $60 billion allocated for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel is in the works. Mitch got his wish.
As I listened to the podcast, You’re Wrong, with Mollie Hemingway and David Arsanyi, Mollie commented that she believed McConnell was the most despised politician in America; I agree. He has deceived himself about his relevance to the country and to the Republicans. He has deceived Republicans about his intentions for creating legislation. And he has tried to deceive all of us to believe that he is acting in the best interests of the country.
It’s time to step down, Mitch.
Published in Group Writing
Hey Mitch, here’s a clue. If what you are doing has Chuck Schumer rubbing his hands together with glee, one of the two of you is getting jobbed.
There is apparently much that we don’t know is going on. I remember Pelosi educating reporters that “I am a master legislator.” I didn’t grasp the full meaning of this at the time. I think she would have been clearer if she’d said, “I am a master Machiavellian legislator.” I think McConnell’s the same thing. There are deals turning within deals.
I don’t know whether to be more offended by the racist tone of her comment or the patriarchal assumption contained therein. When you (not you you, they you) start manipulating the definitions of words and ordering others to stop using them because their privilege is showing, and then you pepper your own conversation with them in this way, and expect people to celebrate your cleverness as a result, it’s no wonder the rest of us have trouble keeping up.
Or perhaps it’s just that we’re way ahead.
I’ve given up tracking their new definitions. I’ll use the words I wish to use, and they can pound sand!
Term limits for Congress …
I think we should give retired congressmen and senators a UBI to live on. And see to it that they only live on that.
It’s been a number of months, but my recollection differs from yours, Susan, about this part:
My recollection is that it was the Biden administration that linked these four spending issues.
Here’s a story from October 19 from Politico, reporting the Biden administration linking all four, and here’s another story from CNBC on October 20 reporting the same thing.
I’m not sure why you blame McConnell, though I’m not happy with his position (he voted for the bill — you can see the roll call here). He’s the minority leader. He’s not in charge of very much, at the moment.
The vote was 70-29 in the Senate:
In a complicated bill like this, it’s hard to evaluate the reasoning behind individual votes. I was pleased to see this much Republican opposition.
My recollection is that the Republicans in the House blocked this proposal last year. I hope that they do so again, but we’ll see.
From Nov. 26 2023 https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2023-11-26/republicans-want-to-pair-border-security-with-aid-for-ukraine-heres-why-that-makes-a-deal-so-tough
It looks like Biden was “proposing cash” for the migrants, not comprehensive legislation for the border.
With accommodations at Guantanamo.
From the OP: “… James Lankford was recruited to work on the bill, because McConnell could “guide” him on the creation of the bill.”
Or, …
He was “recruited to work on the bill” because …
1.
He’s not up for reelection until … 2026, by which time this will have been well forgotten.
2.
He got the 4th largest vote percentage of any Republican Senator in 2022 (64.3%), so he’s a heck of a lot “safer” than just about any other Republican Senator whom McConnell could recruit for the task.
Oklahoma hasn’t elected a Democratic senator in 32 years. The contest is for the nomination. Linking arms with McConnell and Romney is a good way to lose that. Langford’s opponent, Madison Horn, carpetbagged her way to Oklahoma just to run for Senate.
And, I suspect that some of those deals have been engineered by Elaine Chao (and her family). Any goodwill that Mitch built up with his Supreme Court nomination work is long gone.