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Now what, Mitch? McConnell not getting usual free pass

November 17, 2022 | | Print Article

On track to be the longest-serving leader in Senate history, newly reelected Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell now faces the daunting task of deciding what’s next on the agenda.

Speaking on Fox News’s “The Ingraham Angle” late Wednesday, eponymous host Laura Ingraham offered a few tips on which direction he should tread.

“Republicans want results and they also want inspiring leadership — a blueprint for the future that is clearly articulated and reflective of the views of a majority of Republican voters. And we’re also looking for fighters who fight as hard as the left, always united against the opposition’s agenda,” she said.

With that said, she continued, going forward Senate Republicans will be held accountable for how they handle four key issues: immigration, abortion, Ukraine spending, and Joe Manchin.

(Video: Fox News)

First up is immigration.

“Nearly five million people have entered the country illegally since Biden was sworn in, and that’s not including the countless got-aways that they weren’t even able to apprehend. But the Democrats are just getting started, and now that the election is over, it is not surprising in the slightest that they’re trying to fast-track immigration amnesty now with a novel theory,” Ingraham noted.

Correct. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, delivered a speech Wednesday calling for all illegal aliens in the U.S. to be granted a “path to citizenship.”

“We have a population that is not reproducing on its own with the same level that it used to. The only way we’re going to have a great future is if we welcome immigrants … get a path to citizenship for all 11 million,” he said.

Listen:

With this in mind, Ingraham warned McConnell that there will be hell to pay if he “plans to work with Schumer to ram some type of amnesty through.”

Same, she continued, if McConnell allows Schumer and crew to codify abortion into law: “If Republicans squander the legal victory over the abomination of Roe, then shame on them. This would demoralize the base terribly in the United States. So I ask where’s Mitch on this? Hmm?” she asked.

Next up is U.S. spending on Ukraine, which grew even more complicated this week when the Ukrainians reportedly accidentally fired a missile into Poland, killing two people.

“America could have been at the brink of war because of a Ukrainian mistake, yet most Republicans seem to want to give Ukraine a blank check when they should be pushing for immediate peace talks with Russia. So where’s Mitch?” Ingraham said.

Last up is Sen. Joe Manchin who got screwed over earlier this year when he agreed to support Democrats’ exorbitant climate bill in exchange for certain concessions that his colleagues later reneged on.

“Now some Republicans are proposing to rescue Manchin. Some of them apparently show an appetite for a matching deal, reports The Hill. Now you can’t make this up. Manchin already has a primary challenger in 2024, so all Republican efforts should move towards supporting that effort, not propping up Manchin. The odds are though McConnell will do the wrong thing here,” Ingraham said.

“Now, those are just a handful of the battles Republicans will have to face under Mitch McConnell’s leadership after losing the Senate and failing to win the House by a huge margin. Republican voters, they need assurances that the men leading the party are actually on their side,” she added.

In fairness, she continued, McConnell has done good work in the past, including by confirming judges and passing then-President Donald Trump’s proposed agenda.

But the past is the past, and what matters now is how he proceeds going forward. McConnell has a choice to make, Ingraham noted. Either he can unrepentantly push the right’s agenda or he can bend the knee and become a tool of the Biden administration.

“He can shun the populist movement and spend the next few years helping Biden, helping Schumer, helping Joe Manchin implement their agenda, and that will be done under the misguided presumption that this will help the party in 2024 — that this is what Republicans want — that as long as it’s called bipartisan it has to be good. If this is McConnell’s main focus, he should expect to be there on election night in 2024 watching Biden and Schumer celebrate another win,” Ingraham said.

“Now, even though we don’t agree with Mitch McConnell on some key issues, we certainly realize that he has support among most of the Republicans in the Senate, and we want to work with him and his team to advance a positive agenda that will make America better for working-class Americans. Now, that is going to be the populist conservative agenda. It always has been. And we’re going to be watching very closely to see what the Senate Republicans do next,” she added, concluding her remarks.

Vivek Saxena
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