# Mitch McConnell's Shutdown **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 16, 2019, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861 "2019-01-16T13:10:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861/21 "2019-01-16T17:21:10Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > McConnell is heroically making an Alamo-esque last stand. How’d that turn out for Bowie, Travis, Crockett, and company? > [@](#): > > Dems blink first. Like Santa Anna? 😉 He did get his eventually, but not then and there. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861/22 "2019-01-16T17:21:37Z")
What an odd endorsement of Mitch McConnell. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861/23 "2019-01-16T17:30:35Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > If only… Based on a sound bite from him I heard on the radio yesterday, I think he believes this to be true… Dude has a legit pelican-gullet, though. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861/24 "2019-01-16T19:57:36Z")
The Republican Senators love McConnell right now, because he’s protecting them from having to decide to either vote against Trump or vote to continue the shutdown. So don’t expect him to be pushed aside any time soon. Yes, if there was an open vote on a spending bill that didn’t include Trump’s wall, there might be a veto-proof majority in favor of it. That doesn’t mean the rank and file want that vote to happen. They think there’s still a chance the Democrats will blink, and give Trump a big win. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861/25 "2019-01-16T21:15:37Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Mitch is a walking, breathing example of the fact that Republicans require a stacked deck to succeed. That’s good! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861/26 "2019-01-16T21:18:05Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > I know everyone calls him Yertle, but he is definitely Cecil. You insult Cecil Adams, the smartest man in the world! Shame! :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861/27 "2019-01-16T22:00:14Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > You insult Cecil Adams, the smartest man in the world! > Shame! > :dubious: Ha! Cecil the TURTLE!!! Don’t ban me! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861/28 "2019-01-16T22:00:51Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Apt wording when talking about a guy that appears to be Cecil the Turtle’s brother. I know everyone calls him Yertle, but he is definitely Cecil. > > Fuck McConnell and the rest of the Republicans. > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > You insult Cecil Adams, the smartest man in the world! > Shame! > :dubious: I think \*\*wguy123 \*\*was talking about this Cecil: > **[Cecil Turtle](https://looneytunes.fandom.com/wiki/Cecil_Turtle)** > > Cecil Turtle is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of films. Though he made only three theatrical appearances, Cecil Turtle is remarkable in that he is one of the very few characters who was... ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861/29 "2019-01-16T22:08:59Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Exactly my question. > > History is not going to be kind to McConnell. If and when Trump goes down and is seen to be the American Hating Fuckstick that he is… Mcconnell will be the guy who supported the traitor, and made sure that the Legislative Branch was neutered. History will largely be written by the federal courts that the Senate Majority Tortoise packed with alt-right extremists. McConnell will be worshipped as a Saint. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861/30 "2019-01-16T22:19:23Z")
One of the Mitchster’s claims about not holding a vote is that it would be “a waste of time” to vote on a bill that the President wouldn’t sign. Didn’t seem to stop him in 2015 when the Senate passed a bill to partially repeal the Affordable Care Act. Not only did President Obama not sign it, he vetoed the sucker. I don’t know if it’s the hypocrisy itself, or the fact that it’s so blatant and shameless, or that “flip-flopper!” used to be practically a Republican curse word hurled at Democratic candidates … okay, it’s all those things. They all piss me off. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861/31 "2019-01-16T22:20:49Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > One of the Mitchster’s claims about not holding a vote is that it would be “a waste of time” to vote on a bill that the President wouldn’t sign. > > Didn’t seem to stop him in 2015 when the Senate passed a bill to partially repeal the Affordable Care Act. Not only did President Obama not sign it, he vetoed the sucker. > > I don’t know if it’s the hypocrisy itself, or the fact that it’s so blatant and shameless, or that “flip-flopper!” used to be practically a Republican curse word hurled at Democratic candidates … okay, it’s all those things. They all piss me off. Agreed. In addition, it would not be a “waste of time” if they would override any veto. T ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861/32 "2019-01-17T16:05:14Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The problem is that Mitch is up for re-election in 2020 and he has incredibly crappy polling numbers. Just about any other Republican could primary his ass. Until Kavanaugh. McConnell’s support of chump’s guy raised his poll numbers 17%. Mitch may be evil but he isn’t stupid. As long as he is seen by the people of Kentucky to be chump’s stooge, he has a very good chance of being returned to DC. Break with Der Fuhrer and he’s toast. > > His stubbornness also gives the rest of the Republicans political cover so they don’t have to stick _their_ necks out. Which is why they haven’t replaced him as Majority Leader. McConnell is a traitor just like Trump. He made sure Deripaska was no longer on the sanctions list. McConnell is involved in the traitorous relationship with Russia up to his eye balls. His wife is in the cabinet and one brother in law was just nominated director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation by Trump. Another brother in law, Jim Breyer, has helped facilitate a major Russian investment in Facebook through Yuri Milner. And a bunch of other cozy Russian ties. [McConnell has steered millions of Russian oligarch dollars into GOP coffers.](https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/12/15/putins-proxies-helped-funnel-millions-gop-campaigns) ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861/33 "2019-01-17T16:35:23Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > McConnell is a traitor just like Trump. He made sure Deripaska was no longer on the sanctions list. McConnell is involved in the traitorous relationship with Russia up to his eye balls. > > His wife is in the cabinet and one brother in law was just nominated director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation by Trump. > > Another brother in law, Jim Breyer, has helped facilitate a major Russian investment in Facebook through Yuri Milner. And a bunch of other cozy Russian ties. > > [McConnell has steered millions of Russian oligarch dollars into GOP coffers.](https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/12/15/putins-proxies-helped-funnel-millions-gop-campaigns) It really cannot be emphasized enough that the Republicans represent kleptocracy and oligarchy. Maybe not to a man, but for so many powerful and influential Republican party members and activists in the party, their belief is that government should be used to enrich private interests. This is not conspiracy talk; this is real. It’s blatant. It’s a departure from the Jeffersonsian aphorism of governing lest, governing best. The last 40-45 years of Reagan’s propaganda has been developed with the intention of undermining confidence in the government. Obstructionism helps to underscore that message. Government shutdowns also help to underscore that message. Republicans exist to unwed the public from the idea that government can actually do good things for the people. So they under-fund it. They under-staff it. They bilk from it if they can. Unfortunately, far too many are too cynical to envision a government that, with public activism and support and vigilance, can be relatively clean, stable, and functional. And deliver value to taxpayers. The propaganda has succeeded to the point that the private sector has far too much power. The only thing that can reverse this trend is economic collapse and the outrage that results from it. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861/34 "2019-01-17T17:34:20Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I find Mitch McConnell to be a fair, principled and honest politician. This shutdown is on the Democrats, against whom McConnell is heroically making an Alamo-esque last stand. Dems blink first. Uuuuuh can you elaborate on that? > [@asahi](#): > > It’s a departure from the Jeffersonsian aphorism of governing lest, governing best. The last 40-45 years of Reagan’s propaganda has been developed with the intention of undermining confidence in the government. Obstructionism helps to underscore that message. Government shutdowns also help to underscore that message. Republicans exist to unwed the public from the idea that government can actually do good things for the people. So they under-fund it. They under-staff it. They bilk from it if they can. This. Boom. In a nutshell. Thank-you. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861/35 "2019-01-17T18:10:18Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Let’s be honest. It’s Mexico’s shutdown. If they had just paid for the wall like Trump promised there would be nothing but rainbows and unicorns going forward. Wouldn’t the rainbows and unicorns allow immigrants to just fly over the wall? > [@Ravenman](#): > > No way! It’s Crooked Hillary’s shutdown! And Rosie O’Donnell’s, too! You forgot Jon Stewart and Meryl Streep. > [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I find Mitch McConnell to be a fair, principled and honest politician. This shutdown is on the Democrats, against whom McConnell is heroically making an Alamo-esque last stand. Dems blink first. [You’re a funny guy.](https://youtu.be/C5QAHzu_kAc) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861/36 "2019-01-18T13:57:41Z")
Plenty of time to [scribble nonsense](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/call-hr-1-what-it-is-the-democrat-politician-protection-act/2019/01/17/dcc957be-19cb-11e9-9ebf-c5fed1b7a081_story.html), no time to do his fucking job. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861/37 "2019-01-19T22:35:09Z")
So, is Mitch going to actually allow a vote on Trump’s ‘deal’? I’d say it’s going nowhere, but I’m pretty sure it’s already arrived. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861/38 "2019-01-19T22:47:08Z")
Those projects will require planning. Many lawyers will have to meet and discuss property issues, local officials consulted. Naturally, we shall supply comfortable and dignified surroundings for these lengthy and protracted discussions. Hotels, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861/39 "2019-01-19T23:03:39Z")
Let’s put him in a bag with a few vipers and cats. I bet we vote quickly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnells-shutdown/827861.md?page=1)