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.
We’re not yammering, it’s not “rampant idiocy,” and that sound you hear is not “the shrieks of a thousand posters on Threads”. It’s a politics-in-August burst seam that is venting.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a reaction to 40 years of being branded as weak for ignoring the electoral power of bitch-slap/dominance politics. And the experts, consultants, and strategists are totally misreading the mood of the party this summer. For all the intricate interplay of levers of power and triangulation of strategic aims, a “win” would be (however temporary) the naming of a Democrat to the Senate for the gret stet of West West Virginia.
Energizing your side and demoralizing the other is a provable benefit. Denying Mitch the dignity of a victory lap and a decorous Senate departure has its satisfactions. Getting the Republicans to start shivving each other as they jockey for the spot is not a bad thing. (The “undiluted glee of KY Republicans” is not enough reason not to do Mitch dirty; Jesus, have you noticed even his own team wants him gone?)
Anyway, events seem to be overtaking the discussion: Governor Beshear has been going out of his way to announce the benefits of doing nothing, which is his missing vote after vote.
“Doing nothing” can be “doing something” — the act of omission — if it is communicated effectively. Doing nothing, saying nothing, appearing impotent, shrugging that it is completely obvious why you shouldn’t be doing something, and suggesting only rampant idiots want to do something? Terrible politics.
In the gathering gloom of post-literacy politics, action is ideology.
Noted. One example of an ideology prizing action for action's sake is, of course, fascism. (Dives to crush depth)
ReplyDeleteSo let me be clear that the context is an annoying procedural maneuver by a sitting governor to interfere with the smooth operation of his opponents' plans that may ultimately not change the final result, and NOT blowing the nearest bank "to show the Man" or breaking the nearby shopkeepers' windows.
ReplyDeleteThe annoying procedural maneuver will result in his near-immediate impeachment and conviction by the Kentucky legislature, with corresponding court action to prevent the Dem from being seated. Either way the seat will remain McConnell's (i.e. de facto unfilled) until the November election. Looks bad from our two commonwealths, but that's how it is in that commonwealth.
ReplyDeletePlus, if McConnell is alive (which I think he is despite being mostly dead) I'm not sure there are any options available, e.g. no state-level 25th Amendment equivalent.
“ I would argue — and I think there’s tons of evidence for this — that we are in a very anti-establishment, disenchanted political moment in which Democrats especially feel that the civic democratic order is being destroyed. They’re scared and they’re angry and they want people to signal and commit to fighting back in a way that seems commensurate to the scale of the threat. They’re simply not hearing that from most current Democratic officeholders in Washington, D.C. For many Democratic voters today, their elected representatives are showing up at a horrific auto accident with aspirin, a few salves and maybe a pillow. It’s a total disconnect. So they’re going to voices that are embodying a more defiant, pugilistic and confrontational approach.” —recent TPM ed.note
ReplyDeleteWith this emotional backdrop, doing nothing still looks weak and actually is weak.
You keep mentioning impeachment. Beshear is very popular (65% approval in his state) and appears to be positioning for a national run. An impeachment fight against KY Republicans would be a helluva show.
I want to be very clear that my observations are directed specifically to the situation in Kentucky; that Beshear may be constrained does not mean national Democrats are constrained. (For the records I am remiss in not subscribing to TPM; I have been reading it since its founding and largely agree with Marshall.) Schumer-type reactions are just as annoying to me as they are to you, believe me, which reminds me that I need to call my Senators' offices for a polite WTF regarding their confirmation votes.
ReplyDeleteHere's the timeline for Beshear's impeachment and removal (to be clear, I keep mentioning both):
1. Beshear names a Dem to the seat, in violation of KY statute.
2. McConnell is wheeled (alive) onto the Senate floor to stormy and prolonged* bipartisan applause.
3. KY legislature impeaches and removes Beshear on the basis of 1 and 2 above. I am not familiar with the rules around impeachment in KY but presume the legislature would maximize hammering 1 and 2 and minimize the ability for defense. (Precisely what defense could Beshear mount in this case?)
4. The national media plays up the executive overreach angle while riding the "horse race in horse country" metaphor into the ground. "In Derby Country, Democrat Jockey Stumbles on Turn"
To quote the bomb in Dark Star: This is fun!
*Standard adjectives used in the Soviet press/transcripts for audience reactions to leadership speeches