Mitch McConnel knowing when to say goodbye

Mar 12, 2024 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

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H@rd Truths by GHK Lall

Kaieteur News – Senator Mitch McConnell has had enough, is giving up the Republican leadership in the upper house of the U.S. Congress. I salute him for picking the right time, for knowing when it is time to say no more, it is time to go. And not stay at the helm a moment longer. At 82, he should have gone earlier; but, all things considered, he is going out on his own steam, and while still on top. After those falls and other scary moments, it might have been better to have called it quits there and then. But he tarried on, and now a torrid brawl is going to be waged to replace him.

Senator McConnell knew how to get things done. When to put up a blistering partisan fight, when to compromise. It is what is called the art of politics, and he grew into being a master of it. Let there be no mistake, he was all for the Republican party and its interests, but the citizen and strategist in him knew when it was time for compromise in the interests of the country. Those are two of the dirtiest words around nowadays in the political lexicon. That is, compromise and country. Take a close look at Guyana and look around and determine how much those two words (compromise and country) are missing in action, and where their absences have led us. Despite President Ali’s blusters and Vice President Jagdeo’s Freedom House filibusters, this Guyana of ours is not even close to where it should be today. All the brick and buildings in the world cannot camouflage that reality; simply spare a moment and speak with hungry Guyanese driven silly by a dreadful cost of living sickness.  Incidentally, the Jagdeo filibusters are what he proudly identifies as press conferences. On the few occasions that I can absorb his verbal three-card game, conclude that he is reading from the phonebook, like they do in the United States Senate. Exxon has taught him well; he must have studied some of McConnell’s more sparkling moments.

McConnell was a loyal and tireless worker in the trenches for Ronnie Reagan; but he had more than his share of philosophical and ethical difficulties with one Donald Trump. Who wouldn’t, if they are honest people who hold what is honourable dear.  When he broke with Trump by refusing to provide partisan cover in the Senate for his crimes was one of his finest moments. My calculation is that McConnell sees the writing on the wall: the return of Trump come November, which would not be such a positive for America, or McConnell himself, or this Guyana of ours.  Mark my words. My understanding is that McConnell has not spoken to Trump since the attempted coup d’etat of January 6, 2021. I can identify with that, for there are political leaders in this country that I have never spoken to, but the necessity of having to mention their names is an utter revulsion. The most demanding of self-sacrifices.  Yeah, my contempt for them is that complete, that far out there. Nonetheless, duty is still owed to the country and contemporaries, even posterity. Even more importantly, I must be true to my beliefs, my calling, and despise what they stand for, what they do, but not they themselves. Like I said, it can be challenging, but it is part of the territory, and what brings out the best.  This is what love for the motherland stirs.

Finally, the senator from Kentucky had an eye for any opening, an ear for politics and a nose for a deal that made him and his group look good.  He also knew when to be hardnosed, bare-knuckled, and let things go down to the wire. I really thought at the beginning that he and President Joe Biden would work well together, break some new ground on how to get Capitol Hill and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to see eye and eye, moving again, and with much more than has been achieved. My assessment of Senate Leader McConnell is that he leaves on his own terms and could do so with his head held high. It has been well-earned, distinctively so. Now a bruising battle is sure to be in the works before a successor can be finalised. The man that is most fiercely partisan, one with an eye to leadership longevity, could emerge as the eventual winner. He who kowtows to Donald Trump is the best of a terrible lot. This is what has proven to be the surefire formula for success in recent times, and a little while before for the Republicans in Congress since the days of Newt Gingrich.  Whoever among the contenders that identifies most closely with the man who would be president (again), the obnoxious and obstreperous and offensive New Yorker would have a clear edge.  This should remind Guyanese of a similar character in this neck of the woods, through whom just about everything must pass, must get his nod of clearance.  Including naming a dog.  Or taking a trip to the bathroom.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

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• GHK Lall, H@rd Truths, Mitch McConnel, Republican, U.S. Congress

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