Why Mitch McConnell won’t go away quietly — health problems and all: legal expert

Why Mitch McConnell won’t go away quietly — health problems and all: legal expert
Bank

No one has done more to push the U.S. Supreme Court to the hard-right than Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), who blocked former President Barack Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland, in 2016, before doing everything he could get all three of Donald Trump's nominees (Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett) confirmed.

Tensions between McConnell and Trump, however, have helped fuel the MAGA push to replace McConnell as Senate GOP leader. And McConnell's health problems have only added to MAGA calls to oust him.

But progressive legal expert Elie Mystal, in an article published by The Nation on September 18, lays out some reasons why the 81-year-old McConnell won't leave the U.S. Senate quietly — health problems and all.

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?

"McConnell, of course, shows no sign of being willing to retire," Mystal observes. "In private calls, he has allegedly assured Republicans that he is 'fine,' and I guess everybody is supposed to take his word for it."

The attorney adds that while "normal" politicians may avoid retirement because of "pride," McConnell is "far from normal" where politicians are concerned.

"He is perhaps the most successful congressional operator since Henry Clay and a man who wouldn't turn on a light switch unless it somehow helped Republicans win political power," Mystal argues. "Whether or not McConnell wants to retire is irrelevant; from his perspective, he probably can't. That's because his home state of Kentucky has a Democratic governor, and a law McConnell helped engineer to limit that governor's choices on McConnell's replacement is probably unconstitutional."

The Kentucky governor Mystal is referring to is centrist Democrat Andy Beshear, who is up for reelection. Mystal notes that "if McConnell retires while Beshear is in office," Beshear "gets to fill his seat temporarily."

READ MORE:GOP push to 'throw Mitch McConnell to the wolves' is motivated by their hatred for Biden: journalist

"The Kentucky law requires the governor to pick a senator from the same party as the retiring senator, and requires the governor to pick from a list of three candidates provided by the executive committee of the departing senator's political party," Mystal notes. "The Kentucky Legislature passed the law over Beshear's veto."

READ MORE:'Owes the public an explanation': Critics call on Mitch McConnell to retire

Read Elie Mystal's full article for The Nation at this link.


Understand the importance of honest news ?

So do we.

The past year has been the most arduous of our lives. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to be catastrophic not only to our health - mental and physical - but also to the stability of millions of people. For all of us independent news organizations, it’s no exception.

We’ve covered everything thrown at us this past year and will continue to do so with your support. We’ve always understood the importance of calling out corruption, regardless of political affiliation.

We need your support in this difficult time. Every reader contribution, no matter the amount, makes a difference in allowing our newsroom to bring you the stories that matter, at a time when being informed is more important than ever. Invest with us.

Make a one-time contribution to Alternet All Access, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you.

Click to donate by check.

DonateDonate by credit card
Donate by Paypal
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}
@2023 - AlterNet Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. - "Poynter" fonts provided by fontsempire.com.