By BERRY CRAIG
AFT Local 1360
I’d love to see the expression on Mitch McConnell’s mug when he reads Toni Tilton’s constituent letter. If he does read it, he might put on Kevlar gloves first.
"You will never be a hero -- only a lying despot willing to do anything to keep riches & power," she singed.
Tilton belongs to Four Rivers Indivisible, a regional branch of the national Indivisible organization.
Tilton read her letter to about 20 people who gathered outside the senator’s Paducah field office Wednesday afternoon to protest his opposition to the Freedom to Vote Act. Her missive prompted cheers and applause.
Four Rivers and the Mayfield-Graves County NAACP sponsored the rally after which Tilton joined a trio of rally-goers who hand-delivered her letter and other protest letters to a staffer in McConnell's office.
The boss happened in town, but out at the city's Barkley Regional Airport, where he joined Gov. Andy Beshear and other state and local dignitaries at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new passenger terminal. Maybe McConnell dropped by the office afterwards and picked up the letters.
Anyway, the Senate minority leader fancies himself a frightening fellow. He's dubbed himself "Darth Vader" and the "Grim Reaper." He delights in dismissing detractors with smarmy smugness.
But McConnell blew a fuse in July, 2019, when MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, a former GOP congressman, called him "Moscow Mitch" on TV. (Retired Murray teacher and local newspaper columnist Marshall Ward had hung the handle on McConnell in print in April, 2019.)
While Tilton addressed him as "Senator McConnell" not "Moscow Mitch," her letter was anything but fan mail:
Senator McConnell
I wonder how you live with yourself. You are so afraid of losing power, you lie & cheat & steal our votes. I believe in Karma & I hope to live long enough to see you and your Democracy-killing Cronies get your due.
You test the strength of the Constitution daily. You appear to be betting you will last long enough than it will. We the people hope She wins & are doing all we can.
You obviously don't care about your legacy. You will never be a hero -- only a lying despot willing to do anything to keep riches & power. Karma will come.
Spare me any insulting, demeaning, I-know-you-are-stupid-ha-ha response.
Toni Tilton
Paducah, Ky 42001
The Kentucky Democratic party's online store still sells "Moscow Mitch" merch--from bright red buttons and stickers to tee-shirts and brown fake-fur Russian-style hats.
Party marketers might consider adding Tony Tilton tees with her photo on the front and her letter on the back.