"Aunt Minnie" McConnell

I imply no doubt about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's manhood when I call him "Aunt Minnie" -- but, in his chinless-ness and droopy jowls, he does for all the world look to me like the stereotypical, fussy, old Aunt Minnie, lacking only the frilly lace boudoir cap and pince nez.

Like so many Aunt Minnies, McConnell's demure looks belie a mean spirit and an even sharper tongue.

As leader of the Senate Republicans, even more than House Speaker Boehner, he has dug in his heels and proved himself to be single-mindedly committed to anything that would prevent Obama's success. Right now he is working to prevent a deal on the debt ceiling.

He's the one who is saying "no in thunder." He with no chin acts like the biggest bully on the block.

Now he has come up with the crazy scheme to put the whole responsibility for the debt on Obama's shoulders. As though Republicans had absolutely nothing to do with creating the problem. So -- his scheme is to give Obama the power to raise the debt ceiling, then blame him for anything short of a miracle turn-around of the economy. It can't make things better; it can only prevent the disaster that will occur if they don't do it, that is if we don't pay our already-incurred debts.

Their logic is the same we encountered in the 1960's Japan -- where the actual rules of the road that govern legal responsibility for accidents declare that the last person who could have possibly prevented the accident, and didn't, is considered the sole cause of the accident. That is, if an oncoming driver crosses the median and runs into you head on -- and if you could have swerved into the ditch to avoid him, and didn't -- then the accident is your fault.

It's Obama's deficit, and Aunt Minnie is trying to make it Obama's sole responsibility. Never mind that Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy and starting two wars without paying for them, in addition to at least shared responsibility for the financial crisis -- all bespeak major, and I would say primary, Republican responsibility for our predicament.

Nevertheless, here's what the Great Chinless One said:

"I refuse to help Barack Obama get reelected by marching Republicans into a position where we have co-ownership of a bad economy. . . . What will happen is the administration will send out notices to 80 million Social Security recipients and to military families and they will all start attacking members of Congress. That is not a useful place to take us. And the president will have the bully pulpit to blame Republicans for all this disruption.

"If we go into default he will say Republicans are making the economy worse. And all of a sudden we have co-ownership of a bad economy. That is a very bad position going into an election. My first choice was to do something important for the country. But my second obligation is to my party and my conference to prevent them from being sucked into a horrible position politically that would allow the president, probably, to get reelected because we didn't handle this difficult situation correctly."

There's a little problem of historical reality here. This is the same Aunt Minnie McConnell that said, after the 2010 elections, that the top priority for his newly empowered party was to ensure the defeat of Obama's reelection. That sentiment has since become the more bumper-sticker friendly slogan: "Make Obama a one-term president."

Excuse me, who is playing politics, Aunt Minne? Go back to your knitting, you dottering old idiot !!!

Ralph

PS: Yes, you betcha, I am indulging in an ad hominem attack. And I freely admit that's what it is. This man deserves it and is a great target for it.