The last thing Mitch McConnell wants to see is Russian tanks rumbling into Kyiv. The penultimate thing Mitch doesn’t want to see is the American people blaming his party for it. And yet, he and his colleagues effectively voted for this outcome yesterday afternoon. They were sent home to try and figure out what they should demand in exchange for something they want to do anyway, which represents a level of dysfunction that would make the House proud.
Why is this happening? Because Donald Trump, who loves Putin and hates Ukraine, is going to be the GOP nominee for president. Why is that? Because McConnell made no effort to round up votes to convict him at his second impeachment trial. And why did that happen? Because McConnell thought Trump was finished, and he wanted to keep the base happy.
As a result of this atrocious miscalculation, the viability of the McConnell Project is highly questionable, and Mitch himself is a spent force. He can no longer keep his troops in line; Trump rules the GOP, even in the Senate. He’s definitely gone if Trump wins in November, and probably gone even if Biden prevails.