To Do Something, or Not to Do Something

Right before I left for vacation I posted some quick thoughts on the continued absence of Mitch McConnell from the Senate (or indeed from the land of the visible for that matter) and the yammering for Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear to take matters into his own hands and DO SOMETHING! After all, we have to FIGHT!

I can’t be the only one here (there are dozens of us?) who thinks that McConnell’s non-presence in the Senate is actually a good thing as it reduces the GOP majority. I mean, sure, the caucus will fall in line but Collins and Murkowski get less of a pass in this situation.

— Roy Batty’s Dove Wrangler (@dmslattery.bsky.social) 10:17 PM · Jul 23, 2026

Meanwhile everyone yammering for Beshear to DO SOMETHING seems unaware that at minimum his magic pixie appointment of a Democrat will be litigated until the end of time, and at maximum he will be impeached and removed by the KY legislature.

— Roy Batty’s Dove Wrangler (@dmslattery.bsky.social) 10:17 PM · Jul 23, 2026

In what I believe is an unprecedented response, someone actually replied substantively to something I posted on Bluesky. Better yet, it was someone who has actually been in my kitchen - two of them, in fact. (Kitchens, not commenters.) His general point (apologies if I misstate) was that obstacles be damned, we have to fight regardless to show we can fight. There was a lot of back and forth so posting all of that would result in a giant-length piece; if you like you can review the fun on Bluesky itself.

Robert Farley at Lawyers, Guns and Money posted this reprint of a news piece from Kentucky outlining the challenges faced by that perspective, then wrote a follow-up piece that gets to the heart of the matter:

This is why “FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT” is a dead end. It feels emotionally satisfying, but it’s not strategic, even as an effort to mobilize the party. You pick fights you can win, you pick fights where the benefits outweigh the risks, and sometimes you pick fights that you know you’re going to lose because the act of fighting has a special meaning to the supporters of the party. Understanding the need to use power carefully and strategically is what made McConnell an effective Senator for a very long time.

Beshear's position is not enviable but going after McConnell and/or his seat more aggressively will not improve it. At any rate, things seem to have quietened down such that a casual search on Bluesky and the web in general doesn't show continued calls for ACTION on Beshear's part.