Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was the subject of a likely premature obituary from a veteran political reporter from his hometown.
The 84-year-old Kentucky Republican remains out of sight, recovering in a rehabilitation facility from pneumonia after a fall last month that left him briefly unconscious, but the vague explanations for his lengthy absence have spurred rumors about whether he's still alive. So, Courier-Journal columnist Joe Gerth affixed a too-early epitaph on his life and career.
"Following the unexpected death of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham on July 11, it seemed that any criticism of the South Carolinian online garnered the same response — 'How dare you say that about a guy who just died?'" Gerth said. "That got me thinking about Sen. Mitch McConnell, who was rumored to be dead or on life support or in a coma or whatever and was the odds-on favorite to beat Graham to the gates of hell in the days before Graham’s death."
Gerth wished the late Hunter S. Thompson, another famed Louisvillian, could have paid proper tribute to McConnell the way he had done for his old political nemesis Richard Nixon.
"Thompson’s obituary upon the death of Richard Nixon was a master class in truth-telling," Gerth wrote. "It painted Nixon as the detestable person he was, who nearly broke the government with his lies and his efforts to hold onto power at any cost. And McConnell is every bit the detestable figure that Nixon was."
However, McConnell has largely escaped consequences for his own perfidy, Gerth wrote.
"Unlike Nixon, McConnell never paid for his sins that have damaged our nation’s trust in government, destroyed the country’s ability to have meaningful dialogue and cemented our nation’s politics as an arena in which winning is the only thing that matters," he wrote. "In fact, for all of Nixon’s flaws and crimes, he proved that the system worked as he was held accountable for what he had done."
The longest-serving leader in history won't be remembered for the principled stands he once took for free speech or the federal funding he brought back home to Kentucky, the columnist said, but will instead be cursed by future historians for his scheming to ensure a right-wing Supreme Court majority and enabling the rise of Donald Trump.
"McConnell’s shenanigans turned what had been a 5-4 conservative majority — with one member being a reliable swing vote — into a solid 6-3 radical conservative court. In the process, McConnell destroyed the court’s credibility with the American people," he wrote.
The veteran senator clearly disliked Trump and thought him unfit for office, Gerth said, but he never took an important stand to block him or curtail his power.
"His biggest failing may be his embrace of a president who he believes is stupid and who he believes led an attempt to overthrow the United States’ government on Jan. 6, 2021," Gerth wrote.
Trump was impeached for his role in fomenting the insurrection, but McConnell blocked the Senate conviction that would have prevented him from seeking a second term.
"That is the legacy of Mitch McConnell," Gerth wrote. "He ends his career adopting the anti-civil rights positions Barry Goldwater supported, handed to him by a despised and distrusted Supreme Court that he created, but didn’t have an iota of the bravery Goldwater summoned to stand against a criminal and corrupt president."
"Whew! I’m glad I got that off my chest while he’s still alive," he added.