

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.


Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.

"Time after time after time," writes McFeatters, Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky "has defended Trump's indefensible behavior and policy positions that at one time were anathema to the Republican Party." (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell is from Kentucky, but he epitomizes what is wrong with the nation's capital.
McConnell is a 77-year-old white man who has been running the Senate -- deciding its agenda and what will or will not be voted on by all 100 senators -- longer than any previous Republican in history. He was first elected to the Senate in 1984 and was last re-elected with just over 56% of the vote.
McConnell's second wife is Elaine Chao, another Washington fixture who has served in a number of Cabinet posts and is currently heading the Department of Transportation. McConnell is worth an estimated $22.5 million, most of it inherited from Chao's mother. Chao's Chinese family runs a prosperous shipping company; she now oversees America's shipping industry.
"It's about clinging to power at any cost. It's about getting right-wing judges appointed to lifetime judicial posts who will be counted on for decades to keep the anti-abortion, pro-gun, tax-cuts-for-the-rich, social-safety-net-slashing, unlimited-campaign-donations-for-special-interests and anti-business-regulation agenda in full throttle."
We bring up McConnell, the Senate majority leader, because unequivocally he will never be awarded any sort of profile in courage award.
McConnell is steadfastly refusing to bring up two House-passed bills that would mandate stiffer background checks on sales of guns. After a week of devastating shooting massacres in California, Texas and Ohio, McConnell would not bring the Senate back from its August recess to vote on any form of common-sense gun control. That includes taking away guns from dangerously mentally ill people (red-flag laws), reducing the size of high-capacity magazines, making military-style assault weapons illegal, buying back unwanted guns or requiring tougher background checks.
This is despite the shooting deaths of so many Americans in schools, movie theaters, churches, mosques, temples, festivals, offices -- no place is safe. Two hundred fifty-five Americans have died in mass shootings in seven months this year.
Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown said in disgust that McConnell "has an addiction to gun company money."
Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, said, "Come on, Mitch McConnell, where are your guts? Get off your ... and get something done.... You could walk out of the Senate with your head held high that you actually did something other than pad your pension."
Just days ago McConnell was dubbed "Moscow Mitch" for refusing to bring up bipartisan legislation that had passed the House to strengthen America's elections from manipulation from foreign governments such as Russia. Russia is now proven to have intervened in the 2016 elections in favor of Donald Trump. Intelligence agencies say there is no doubt that Russia will try to interfere in the 2020 elections and is already preparing. Nothing is being done to forestall that.
McConnell first came to the attention of many Americans when he refused to permit confirmation hearings on former President Barack Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland, widely respected by both Republicans and Democrats, to be a Supreme Court justice even though Obama had another year in office.
Trump has now put two justices on the court, turning it solidly to the right, and hopes to win a second term and name one or two more. For that alone, McConnell will support Trump, right or wrong, through racism and white supremacist rants, through trade wars, through alienation of allies, through disregard for the environment, through praising evil dictators, through one moral outrage after another.
Time after time after time, McConnell has defended Trump's indefensible behavior and policy positions that at one time were anathema to the Republican Party.
It's about clinging to power at any cost. It's about getting right-wing judges appointed to lifetime judicial posts who will be counted on for decades to keep the anti-abortion, pro-gun, tax-cuts-for-the-rich, social-safety-net-slashing, unlimited-campaign-donations-for-special-interests and anti-business-regulation agenda in full throttle.
McConnell listens and smiles enigmatically as Trump defends white supremacists, talks about "invasions" of immigrants, separates children from parents and imprisons them, taunts minority members of Congress and abuses his power while being compared more to George Wallace than George Washington, in the words of former Vice President Joe Biden.
McConnell smiles and does nothing but wait to hear from Trump, applaud and implement Trump's agenda.
McConnell is what is wrong with the Republican Party. He is what is wrong with Washington and politicians who put themselves above the people.
Perhaps even more than the morally bankrupt Trump, McConnell is the worst among us. He sees evil and does nothing but permit it to flourish. He closes his heart to what is right and good about America. He is one of the most powerful people in the world but doesn't understand that power has responsibilities as well as privileges. And he is very likely to hold on to that perch of power for the foreseeable future.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell is from Kentucky, but he epitomizes what is wrong with the nation's capital.
McConnell is a 77-year-old white man who has been running the Senate -- deciding its agenda and what will or will not be voted on by all 100 senators -- longer than any previous Republican in history. He was first elected to the Senate in 1984 and was last re-elected with just over 56% of the vote.
McConnell's second wife is Elaine Chao, another Washington fixture who has served in a number of Cabinet posts and is currently heading the Department of Transportation. McConnell is worth an estimated $22.5 million, most of it inherited from Chao's mother. Chao's Chinese family runs a prosperous shipping company; she now oversees America's shipping industry.
"It's about clinging to power at any cost. It's about getting right-wing judges appointed to lifetime judicial posts who will be counted on for decades to keep the anti-abortion, pro-gun, tax-cuts-for-the-rich, social-safety-net-slashing, unlimited-campaign-donations-for-special-interests and anti-business-regulation agenda in full throttle."
We bring up McConnell, the Senate majority leader, because unequivocally he will never be awarded any sort of profile in courage award.
McConnell is steadfastly refusing to bring up two House-passed bills that would mandate stiffer background checks on sales of guns. After a week of devastating shooting massacres in California, Texas and Ohio, McConnell would not bring the Senate back from its August recess to vote on any form of common-sense gun control. That includes taking away guns from dangerously mentally ill people (red-flag laws), reducing the size of high-capacity magazines, making military-style assault weapons illegal, buying back unwanted guns or requiring tougher background checks.
This is despite the shooting deaths of so many Americans in schools, movie theaters, churches, mosques, temples, festivals, offices -- no place is safe. Two hundred fifty-five Americans have died in mass shootings in seven months this year.
Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown said in disgust that McConnell "has an addiction to gun company money."
Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, said, "Come on, Mitch McConnell, where are your guts? Get off your ... and get something done.... You could walk out of the Senate with your head held high that you actually did something other than pad your pension."
Just days ago McConnell was dubbed "Moscow Mitch" for refusing to bring up bipartisan legislation that had passed the House to strengthen America's elections from manipulation from foreign governments such as Russia. Russia is now proven to have intervened in the 2016 elections in favor of Donald Trump. Intelligence agencies say there is no doubt that Russia will try to interfere in the 2020 elections and is already preparing. Nothing is being done to forestall that.
McConnell first came to the attention of many Americans when he refused to permit confirmation hearings on former President Barack Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland, widely respected by both Republicans and Democrats, to be a Supreme Court justice even though Obama had another year in office.
Trump has now put two justices on the court, turning it solidly to the right, and hopes to win a second term and name one or two more. For that alone, McConnell will support Trump, right or wrong, through racism and white supremacist rants, through trade wars, through alienation of allies, through disregard for the environment, through praising evil dictators, through one moral outrage after another.
Time after time after time, McConnell has defended Trump's indefensible behavior and policy positions that at one time were anathema to the Republican Party.
It's about clinging to power at any cost. It's about getting right-wing judges appointed to lifetime judicial posts who will be counted on for decades to keep the anti-abortion, pro-gun, tax-cuts-for-the-rich, social-safety-net-slashing, unlimited-campaign-donations-for-special-interests and anti-business-regulation agenda in full throttle.
McConnell listens and smiles enigmatically as Trump defends white supremacists, talks about "invasions" of immigrants, separates children from parents and imprisons them, taunts minority members of Congress and abuses his power while being compared more to George Wallace than George Washington, in the words of former Vice President Joe Biden.
McConnell smiles and does nothing but wait to hear from Trump, applaud and implement Trump's agenda.
McConnell is what is wrong with the Republican Party. He is what is wrong with Washington and politicians who put themselves above the people.
Perhaps even more than the morally bankrupt Trump, McConnell is the worst among us. He sees evil and does nothing but permit it to flourish. He closes his heart to what is right and good about America. He is one of the most powerful people in the world but doesn't understand that power has responsibilities as well as privileges. And he is very likely to hold on to that perch of power for the foreseeable future.
Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell is from Kentucky, but he epitomizes what is wrong with the nation's capital.
McConnell is a 77-year-old white man who has been running the Senate -- deciding its agenda and what will or will not be voted on by all 100 senators -- longer than any previous Republican in history. He was first elected to the Senate in 1984 and was last re-elected with just over 56% of the vote.
McConnell's second wife is Elaine Chao, another Washington fixture who has served in a number of Cabinet posts and is currently heading the Department of Transportation. McConnell is worth an estimated $22.5 million, most of it inherited from Chao's mother. Chao's Chinese family runs a prosperous shipping company; she now oversees America's shipping industry.
"It's about clinging to power at any cost. It's about getting right-wing judges appointed to lifetime judicial posts who will be counted on for decades to keep the anti-abortion, pro-gun, tax-cuts-for-the-rich, social-safety-net-slashing, unlimited-campaign-donations-for-special-interests and anti-business-regulation agenda in full throttle."
We bring up McConnell, the Senate majority leader, because unequivocally he will never be awarded any sort of profile in courage award.
McConnell is steadfastly refusing to bring up two House-passed bills that would mandate stiffer background checks on sales of guns. After a week of devastating shooting massacres in California, Texas and Ohio, McConnell would not bring the Senate back from its August recess to vote on any form of common-sense gun control. That includes taking away guns from dangerously mentally ill people (red-flag laws), reducing the size of high-capacity magazines, making military-style assault weapons illegal, buying back unwanted guns or requiring tougher background checks.
This is despite the shooting deaths of so many Americans in schools, movie theaters, churches, mosques, temples, festivals, offices -- no place is safe. Two hundred fifty-five Americans have died in mass shootings in seven months this year.
Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown said in disgust that McConnell "has an addiction to gun company money."
Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, said, "Come on, Mitch McConnell, where are your guts? Get off your ... and get something done.... You could walk out of the Senate with your head held high that you actually did something other than pad your pension."
Just days ago McConnell was dubbed "Moscow Mitch" for refusing to bring up bipartisan legislation that had passed the House to strengthen America's elections from manipulation from foreign governments such as Russia. Russia is now proven to have intervened in the 2016 elections in favor of Donald Trump. Intelligence agencies say there is no doubt that Russia will try to interfere in the 2020 elections and is already preparing. Nothing is being done to forestall that.
McConnell first came to the attention of many Americans when he refused to permit confirmation hearings on former President Barack Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland, widely respected by both Republicans and Democrats, to be a Supreme Court justice even though Obama had another year in office.
Trump has now put two justices on the court, turning it solidly to the right, and hopes to win a second term and name one or two more. For that alone, McConnell will support Trump, right or wrong, through racism and white supremacist rants, through trade wars, through alienation of allies, through disregard for the environment, through praising evil dictators, through one moral outrage after another.
Time after time after time, McConnell has defended Trump's indefensible behavior and policy positions that at one time were anathema to the Republican Party.
It's about clinging to power at any cost. It's about getting right-wing judges appointed to lifetime judicial posts who will be counted on for decades to keep the anti-abortion, pro-gun, tax-cuts-for-the-rich, social-safety-net-slashing, unlimited-campaign-donations-for-special-interests and anti-business-regulation agenda in full throttle.
McConnell listens and smiles enigmatically as Trump defends white supremacists, talks about "invasions" of immigrants, separates children from parents and imprisons them, taunts minority members of Congress and abuses his power while being compared more to George Wallace than George Washington, in the words of former Vice President Joe Biden.
McConnell smiles and does nothing but wait to hear from Trump, applaud and implement Trump's agenda.
McConnell is what is wrong with the Republican Party. He is what is wrong with Washington and politicians who put themselves above the people.
Perhaps even more than the morally bankrupt Trump, McConnell is the worst among us. He sees evil and does nothing but permit it to flourish. He closes his heart to what is right and good about America. He is one of the most powerful people in the world but doesn't understand that power has responsibilities as well as privileges. And he is very likely to hold on to that perch of power for the foreseeable future.