Washington Post: The Plum Line Opinion: Why Mitch McConnell wants to raise your hopes and then dash them
Berry Craig
By PAUL WALDMAN
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is happy to be the bad guy. If you were counting on Congress raising the amount of the stimulus checks people will be getting from the latest pandemic relief package from $600 to $2,000, the Senate majority leader has no problem being the one to crush your hopes. And he’s doing it in a multiphase strategy that involves raising expectations and then dashing them. If done with the proper timing, Republicans can win political benefits on both ends.