Mighty Mitch McConnell's Hat Trick

It is no secret that politicians are pros at the art of self back slapping and tooting their own horn. These skills are only rivaled by their ability to find anyone but themselves to blame for just about anything. What sets a pro's pro apart from the rest is to do all three things at the same time, a political hat trick if you will, and do it with a straight face. Mitch McConnell demonstrated last week that he truly is a pro's pro, and then some.

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Last week the Senate approved a clean debt-ceiling bill, with Mitch McConnell among other Republican leaders voting for it. That in itself is not the news. Long ago are the days when anyone believes the current leadership of the Republican Party is going to stand in the way of Washington D.C spending every dime it can lay its hands on. The news is McConnell's hat trick. He got it Friday when speaking at a campaign event in Louisville, Kentucky. During the event the Associated Press reported McConnell saying:

“We were confronted with a clean debt ceiling in the Senate or default. I believe I have to act in the best interests of the country, and every time we’ve been confronted with a potential crisis, the guy you’re looking at is the one who stepped up to solve the problem,”

What was the problem that the Mighty Mitch had to step up and solve? It seems that Tea Party supported Jacobin, Ted Cruz, who had the gall to demand a filibuster to draw attention to another raise of the debt limit. It matters not that Mighty Mitch said he would appose any lifting of the debt limit imposed on the federal government unless provisions of spending cuts and debt reduction were part of the bill. Mighty Mitch, forced by Cruz to need 60 votes to get the bill passed was “forced” to vote for the bill and find other Republicans to change their vote and vote with him to give him political cover. It seems that he was happy to avoid voting for the bill, before he decided to “save” country and vote for it. By choosing to use the words “to protect the country” Mighty Mitch is implying he is saving the country from the likes of Senator Cruz, one of the few in the Senate that recognizes the risk of Washington D.C spending the United States into an economic heart attack. And there is the hat trick. Mighty Mitch scores first by patting himself on the back for saving the country. Mighty Mitch's second score is when he tooted his own horn saying “you’re looking at is the one who stepped up to solve the problem”. Mighty Mitch gets the official hat trick by implying he chose to “step up and lead” to protect the country from the likes of Ted Cruz. As Mitch McConnell would say to himself, a job well done.