Mitch McConnell is terrible. I've known this for a long time, though it probably first came to my attention personally after his open commitment to making Obama a "one-term president," which was near a decade before he started gleefully referring to himself as the "Grim Reaper." But while it's been no surprise to watch his Machiavellian enabling of Trump, I've never really understood how any rational human could look at McConnell and see someone worth rallying behind. He revels in the destruction of all social fabric and proudly caters to corporate interests that do objectively demonstrable harm to human life. Even if you take Republican voters at their word about the things they claim to care for, McConnell still disavows it all.
Most private American citizens could probably reach a general consensus on the things that are wrong in Washington, even if they continue to disagree on the solutions — but Mitch McConnell embodies every single one one of those problems, and doesn't even try to hide it. Worse, he prides himself on it. He is a walking nuclear bomb, branded with corporate logos, who says, "Government is evil and will destroy your lives, and if you vote for me, I'll prove it."
I recently read (or more accurately, listened to, via Audm) two longform articles that really dig into the Lovecraftian horror that is Mitch McConnell's overall existence. And while I emerged from these articles with an even more profound disgust for the man, I have at least come to a better understanding of his special brand of nihilism. It's also brought me some comfort, knowing that he is in fact largely despised even by his own voter base. Seeing his Shakespearean, soul-selling lust for power spelled out so clearly, I can … appreciate? … how an already-pathetic human being could come to court corruption in the way McConnell has. He has no qualms about what he's done or continues to do; I don't even think he cares enough to justify his actions with bullshit self-delusions of ideological consistency. I'm honestly almost impressed at the way he's come to embrace the void. Almost.
If you want to stare back into the McConnell abyss with me, check these out:
Mitch McConnell: The Man Who Sold America [Bob Moser / Rolling Stone]
How Mitch McConnell Became Trump's Enabler-In-Chief [Jane Mayer / The New Yorker]
Image: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons (CC 3.0)
