Summary
Sen. Mitch McConnell warned that Donald Trump’s presidency places Americans in a “very, very dangerous world,” likening Trump’s isolationist policies to pre-World War II “America First” rhetoric.
McConnell, a staunch interventionist, criticized the GOP’s growing resistance to U.S. global engagement, particularly Trump’s stance on reducing aid to Ukraine.
While he voted for Trump in November, McConnell expressed concerns over Trump’s influence and the party’s direction.
Recently stepping down as Senate GOP leader, McConnell plans to focus his final term on countering isolationism within his party.
Imagine putting party loyalty ahead of your own sense of right and wing. I mean, can you? Because I can’t imagine it.
I can understand selling out for money. Enough significant digits on a check buys a certain amount of moral flexibility. But that dude has enough. For way less than that guy has, I’d retire someplace with warm beaches and spend my days engaged in utter debauchery.
Once a person has enough money to do that, I can’t understand the need for anything more.
Imagine putting party loyalty ahead of your own sense of right and wing. I mean, can you? Because I can’t imagine it.
I wouldn’t describe it as “party loyalty” but I’ve voted straight D for over 20 years.
2008 was the only time I felt like I was voting for “right”, every other time has just been the least worst option.
2020 the candidate I voted for became president, I didn’t feel like I won though. I thought moderate policy wasn’t able to effectively fight fascism and Biden would move too slow to hold anyone accountable for 1/6.
I was right, but in 2024 we didn’t get a primary and my only option was Kamala, and even though I had the same concerns I still had my nose. But not enough other people did. Even if they had, we still wouldn’t have “won” just lost less.
If everyone put their own sense of right and wrong above loyalty to either party, we’d have a third party president. Because both parties are wildly corrupt and care more about rich donors than voters.
I think Biden was too moderate on justice, but I’d be hard pressed to think of a more progressive president than him in my lifetime. Since you said you were only happy voting for Obama in 2008, I assume you are similarly disappointed in his performance compared to his campaign, and I can’t think of anyone else even in the running. So I don’t judge his moderation harshly. A more progressive candidate probably can’t win the swing states, and I think Kamala demonstrated that (though racism and misogyny and such also played a role, I’m sure).
As for third party, I did that for years. I think up to 2000, I always voted third party. Obviously did no good, but it was never because I wanted the candidate to win, but as a protest vote against both parties. I always imagined if they wanted my vote, they would have to adopt a platform closer to my personal way of thinking. Instead, Republicans sprinted hard right away from me, so now I’ve got no one to vote for but Dems.
I have no party loyalty at all (don’t even see myself as a Democrat), but I thought Obama was a good leader even if he wasn’t everything I wanted. Same with Biden. He doesn’t get nearly enough credit for the “soft landing” and one of the lowest inflation rates anywhere and his dedication to student loan relief. But what I really loved about him was he wasn’t Trump, and I admired Kamala for the way she also wasn’t Trump.
Even if I were still a conservative, I would still vote for a moderate Democrat on that basis. I don’t understand why McConnell didn’t.
but I’d be hard pressed to think of a more progressive president than him in my lifetime
Huh?
I think you’re confusing an 81 year old who finally stopped fighting against social change and someone fighting for social change…
And Obama was far from perfect, but waaaaaay more progressive than Joe. Joe was literally bundled with Obama so old white people wouldn’t be scared of the young smooth talking Black guy with a progressive campaign.
What logic makes Biden the most progressive president of your life time?
And that’s an opinion, if you believe it to be true. I struggle to understand why that means it’s enough when it clearly wasn’t or trump wouldn’t be going back to the White House…
Quick edit:
dedication to student loans
Lol
What about his dedication to abortion too? Or anything else he promised, barely tried to do, then immediately called voters ignorant for thinking a Dem president with a Dem House and Dem Senate could accomplish anything.
After running a primary campaign focused solely on how only he could get Senate Republicans to vote for the Dem party platform.
Stop giving credit for what they say they want to do, give credit after they do something
A more progressive candidate probably can’t win the swing states, and I think Kamala demonstrated that
In what world did Kamala not run as a conservative democrat? She talked about her glock more than climate change, sucked up to every Republican willing to be decent for once, and took the stage how many times with Liz Cheney while not allowing even 60 seconds of speech from a pro-Palestine lawmaker or advocate at the DNC, and went hard right on the border. And shit at this point I’ve probably brain dumped other events that had my jaw on the floor. She spent most of the last month holding hands with as many Republicans as she could, trying to get as many R votes as she could (spoiler alert - it was precious few).
And I’m not even super far left compared to a lot of potential D voters. I voted for her anyhow, but angrily by that point. She killed the motivation of many likely D voters all to rub noses with republicans and conservatives in the most crucial weeks of the campaign. To suck up to the very people who got us to this point in the first place and pretend every last fucking one of them wasn’t complicit.
All I can remember now from her campaign:
- I’m not Trump
- I’m not Biden, but don’t expect much to change
- Look how much these three Republicans like me
- Fuck Gaza
- Fuck a sustainable and humane border policy
- I own a glock
- Vote for me and we can pretend it’s 2016 again, because those are the policy positions I will bring.
Edited to add - and that’s the last time I cast an angry vote for D. I’ve done it enough times. They need to get their shit together, or stop pretending they are anything other than corporate owned slightly less evil conservatives compared to R. If I can’t feel good about pulling the lever for D next time, I’ll pull it for someone else.
You still chose based on right and wrong, and at the end of the day that’s all most people can do in your fucked up system and that’s ok.
People like McConnel are the ones with the real power to create the options that the people vote on and when they just vote in line with what their party says every single time they have simply failed as representatives of the people.
Buddy, voting for someone that actively supports a genocide isnt “right” anyway you cut it.
It’s “less worse”.
And if you don’t think I’m saying it eloquently enough:
I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.
It ain’t just a race thing, it’s a class thing.
So MLK’s quote is very relevant to how Moderates aren’t our allies, they’re actively working against us.
