HGotW: Mitch McConnell
The turtle picks the anniversary of D-Day to pontificate about how America stepped up to stop fascists, but mentions not a word on our own rapid descent into our own flavor of Nazism
I woke up this morning to an OpEd in the Grey Lady titled “We Cannot Repeat the Mistakes of the 1930’s”, wherein he lays out a pretty factual telling of the response that we eventually had to combat the fucking scourge of Fascism on the continent and across the world.
Then, as now, there was a strong sentiment in the US to be isolationist, and then, as now, it was primarily driven by the conservatives in the country. It was not a small fraction of the population, but it was essentially stick our heads in the sand and pretend that we wouldn’t be affected.
On December 7, 1941, when Imperial Japan, an ally of the Nazi’s who were blazing across Europe rolling through countries, committing atrocities, we were forced to enter the war, and the slumbering giant of our in progress massive pivot from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrial superpower was awoken and kicked into high gear1.
Generations have taken pride in the triumph of the West’s wartime bravery and ingenuity, from the assembly lines to the front lines. We reflect less often on the fact that the world was plunged into war, and millions of innocents died, because European powers and the United States met the rise of a militant authoritarian with appeasement or naïve neglect in the first place.
We forget how influential isolationists persuaded millions of Americans that the fate of allies and partners mattered little to our own security and prosperity. We gloss over the powerful political forces that downplayed growing danger, resisted providing assistance to allies and partners, and tried to limit America’s ability to defend its national interests.
You know what, I agree with the two paragraphs wholeheartedly. The turtle of doom is correct. As we look in hind sight, we are proud of the our response and kicking some Nazi and Japanese ass, but we were pretty fucking chickenshit until the issue was forced. Sure, we had some agreements where we “gave” war materiel to our ostensible allies.
And he does acknowledge that we are beginning to repeat our isolationist tendencies:
Today, America and our allies face some of the gravest threats to our security since Axis forces marched across Europe and the Pacific. And as these threats grow, some of the same forces that hampered our response in the 1930s have re-emerged.
Yup.
You know how he earned his title of HGotW? I bet you can guess.
It is the absolute cowardly and shameful he portrayed. He voted against impeachment of Trump, TWICE. He has at time uttered words of reproach towards the cheeto-dusted shitgibbon, but he WAS the fucking Majority Leader of the senate in the first impeachment (you know, the one where he decided that he would prevent the testifying by witnesses), and he was the Republican Leader in the Senate when the second impeachment happened, and he said that it was inappropriate to impeach Trump (thus removing him from being able to run again) and that the legal system can deal with Trump.
The consensus is that had McConnell voted to convict in the second impeachment, that would have provided air-cover for others who wanted to be rid of Trump forever post January 6th.
But now? He has committed to voting for Trump, because, of course he will vote for the Republican, as Biden is so fucking terrible.
For the audacity of penning a plum OpEd in the Times about the longest day, drawing parallels to today (especially since it is his fucking tribe that is the hard-core isolationist party), while he is a Trump enabler, who would be thrilled to regain the White House with the autocratic, proto-fascist leader who will utterly destroy McConnell’s idyllic views of America.
For that, you are the Human Garbage of the Week, McConnell. Here’s a hearty Fuck You!
Yeah, that US history I took in High School and University paid off, woo hoo!
Deripaska, and, therefore, Putin owns him.
Great stack! ty!