Mitch McConnell gets honest about why Congress won't do much in 2016

Don’t expect much from Congress in 2016. Don’t take it from me. Take it from the Republicans who control what Congress does: Don’t expect much. They have their reasons:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) says he wants to continue finding agreements where he can, but he is making clear the chamber’s agenda will be driven partly by his members’ political needs.

“What we decide to allocate floor time to in the Senate, to be quite candid with you, is going to be to some extent…dictated by concerns I have about places like New Hampshire and Pennsylvania and Ohio and Wisconsin and Illinois,” Mr. McConnell said in an interview Thursday, referring to states with competitive Senate races.

At least he’s honest. Not that we can expect most reporters to remember this quote when McConnell and the Senate Republicans bring up nakedly partisan bills intended to boost the chances of those Republican senators facing tough races, or when talking about why Congress is so useless.

Of course, if you were expecting a lot from Congress in 2016, I have some bad news about Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.