McConnell has to know that his party’s slim chances of winning in November will disappear without additional stimulus. So why is he playing hard to get? Partly due to ideology, but mostly because he’s engaging in his usual tactic of threatening to shoot hostages. In the end, he thinks the Democrats will make concessions to him in exchange for stimulus that also primarily benefits him, because the alternative would be horribly damaging to the American public, and the Democrats–the party of adults–would never let that happen.
Except that this time, the political stakes are extraordinarily high, and the election isn’t far away. The Democrats hold all of the cards except indifference to the national welfare. I suspect, and hope, that they will drive a tougher bargain this time.