The Misadventures of Moscow Mitch: KDP: As Kentuckians Suffer, McConnell Spends Another Long Weekend Not Working
By KENNY COLSTON
Kentucky Democratic Party
Frankfort, KY — As hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians are worried about paying their rent tomorrow due to a lapse in federal unemployment assistance, Mitch McConnell has decided to take yet another long weekend instead of helping his own state.
It’s just the latest failure for the Senate’s top Republican, who has spent the last week being absolutely useless in Congress. He has sat on his hands for months while COVID-19 swept the nation.
After spending last weekend relaxing at home despite looming deadlines, Mitch returned on Monday only to release a bill so bad that one of his top allies, Lindsey Graham, said Mitch’s bill wouldn’t even get majority support in the Senate GOP caucus.
Instead of getting back to work, McConnell spent hours whining in Senate floor speeches and blaming everyone but himself for his failures. McConnell’s failure to lead is so stark that he’s not even included in negotiations between the White House and the U.S. House on how to proceed with further relief, despite being the leader of the U.S. Senate.
Meanwhile, more than 200,000 Kentuckians are currently unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, up to 48 percent of Kentucky renters are at-risk of eviction, and Kentucky’s business community is warning about massive tax increases while begging McConnell for a forgivable unemployment insurance loan.
In a statement, Kentucky Democratic Party spokesperson Marisa McNee said this week shows that McConnell is an absolute failure of a leader.
“Kentuckians are hurting. They need real leadership, but Mitch McConnell prefers to take a long weekend at home instead of working. You can’t call yourself a leader if your own party hates your bill and no one includes you in negotiations on future legislation,” McNee said. “Kentucky deserves a real leader like Amy McGrath who will fight for them every day -- not just when it’s convenient.”