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It’s Time To Make An Example Of McConnell
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There comes a time when, after being sucker-punched by someone you considered a friend and ally, you have to exact a comeuppance: establish a definitive understanding of a realignment in the relationship. Just such a time has come for US Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
Yes, it’s common knowledge that McConnell and Donald Trump have a deeply-seated dislike for each other, although, by all accounts, Trump has been more adult about their differences than McConnell. But, it is not McConnell’s prerogative or political station to not only put himself above the President’s agenda but also to usurp the mandate of the American people.
He is and has done both. His vote against Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) is the latest example. His vote was vindictive and shallow, and it should have significant consequences, most of which the Deep Staters will be reluctant to pursue.
This week, the US Senate voted to confirm Gabbard as the DNI, The New York Post reporting:
“The US Senate confirmed former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as President Trump’s spy chief Wednesday, elevating the ex-Democrat and privacy hawk to a cabinet-level position in the Republican administration.
“The upper chamber voted 52-48 to confirm Gabbard, with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) joining all 47 Democrats in opposition.”
In his descent, McConnell stated that Gabbard was “unworthy of the highest public trust” and that he feared that future intelligence assessments could be “tainted” given her “history of alarming lapses in judgment.”
What are those lapses that McConnell is so troubled by? Well, those lapses included not condemning National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden’s “treasonous betrayal” of the US and refusing to condemn Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, as well as not acknowledging that the growing threat of the communist Chinese on the world stage is not a result of “threat inflation” by the West.
“Entrusting the coordination of the intelligence community to someone who struggles to acknowledge these facts is an unnecessary risk,” McConnell said.
It should be noted here that McConnell voted for these Biden cabinet nominees:
* Antony Blinken for Secretary of State
* Janet Yellen for Secretary of the Treasury
* Lloyd Austin for Secretary of Defense
* Alejandro Mayorkas for Secretary of Homeland Security
* Avril Haines for Director of National Intelligence
* Jennifer Granholm for Secretary of Energy
* Pete Buttigieg for Secretary of Transportation
* Deb Haaland for Secretary of the Interior
* Gina Raimondo for Secretary of Commerce
* Merrick Garland for Attorney General
* Tom Vilsack for Secretary of Agriculture
* Xavier Becerra for Secretary of Health & Human Services
* Marty Walsh for Secretary of Labor
* Marcia Fudge for Secretary of Housing & Urban Development
In fact, McConnell only voted against one of Biden’s cabinet nominees, Neera Tanden, for Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), who withdrew her nomination after it became clear she did not have enough support for confirmation.
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Additionally, McConnell voted for these Obama cabinet nominees:
* Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State
* Eric Holder for Attorney General
* Janet Napolitano for Secretary of Homeland Security
* Kathleen Sebelius for Secretary of Health & Human Services
As an aside, McConnell is married to Elaine Chao, who, while serving as the US Secretary of Transportation in President Trump’s first administration, elicited concerns about potential conflicts of interest due to her family's business conne