Earlier this week, Democrats sabotaged Senate efforts to pass COVID-19 relief measures by demanding that their unrelated legislative pet projects be included in any bill. On Monday, MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell has discovered the true villain of this story: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for daring to point it out.
Mitchell came to this strange conclusion during a segment with former Chicago Mayor and Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. After lamenting alleged mismanagement from President Trump, the two turned their ire to Senate Republicans with Mitchell declaring, "We also need a Congress that's effective. And Mitch McConnell took the floor and lashed out against Democrats."
Mitchell then played a clip of McConnell on the Senate floor explaining that Democrats, specifically Speaker Pelosi, torpedoed the bipartisan negotiations that took place over the weekend, "We were this close. This close. Then yesterday morning, the Speaker of the House flew back from San Francisco. And suddenly, the Senate's serious bipartisan process turned into this left-wing episode of Supermarket Sweep…This is no time for this nonsense."
For Mitchell, the key take away was not that Democrats are playing games with people's livelihoods, but that Mitch McConnell is just too mean and that country needs leaders who will bring people together, "I know that was a very direct attack on Nancy Pelosi, obviously, and both sides have their issues, but isn't this the time for Congress to stand up together and figure this thing out, when people do need leadership?"
MSNBC and their Democratic friends are not in a position to be demanding others be less partisan, but that would not stop Mitchell from later accusing Republicans of scheduling these votes to simply "embarrass the Democrats."
Here is a transcript for the March 23 show:
MSNBC
Andrea Mitchell Reports
12:53 PM ET
ANDREA MITCHELL: We also need a Congress that's effective--
RAHM EMANUEL: That is true, too.
MITCHELL: --And Mitch McConnell took the floor and lashed out against Democrats. Let me play just one of the things that he had to say today.
BEGIN CLIP
MITCH MCCONNELL: We were this close. This close. Then yesterday morning, the Speaker of the House flew back from San Francisco. And suddenly, the Senate's serious bipartisan process turned into this left-wing episode of Supermarket Sweep…This is no time for this nonsense.END CLIP:
MITCHELL: I know that was a very direct attack on Nancy Pelosi, obviously, and both sides have their issues, but isn't this the time for Congress to stand up together and figure this thing out, when people do need leadership?
