It's been 119 days since the House passed the $3 trillion HEROES Act, which Mitch McConnell has refused to take up, and it's 19 days until the government runs out of funding with the end of the fiscal year. One hundred and nineteen days in which Mitch McConnell has refused to act. When he finally did act, it was with a symbolic bill, negotiated only with Republicans who carved it down to $300 billion, $161 million of which was targeted to the coal industry. Democrats—not included in any of the negotiations—rejected the bill unanimously for what it was: a stunt.
And look how that was reported by the Capitol Hill press, who en masse let McConnell play them again. Lisa Desjardin from PBS's Newshour tweeted "Failure by Dems + GOP to agree on more COVID relief," as if Democrats had any part on a bill that included little relief; Bloomberg's Laura Litvan said "Democrats have mustered the votes to block the pared-down GOP-only pandemic relief bill." How about "McConnell failed to garner any Democratic support for the bill he negotiated solely with Republicans"? CNN's Manu Raju tweeted "52-47, Dems block Senate GOP relief package. No Dems voted for it." Every major outlet reporting on this did the same, falling for McConnell's cynical ploy. No wonder he keeps doing this. He plays them every goddamned time.
The headlines:
- NPR: Senate Democrats Block GOP's $300 Billion Pandemic Relief Bill
- The Hill: Senate Democrats block GOP relief bill
- ABC News: Democrats block Senate GOP COVID-19 relief proposal
- USA Today: Senate Democrats block $300 billion coronavirus stimulus package, leaving little hope for relief before November
- Wall Street Journal: GOP 'Skinny' Bill on Coronavirus Aid Is Blocked by Democrats in Senate
- Washington Post: Democrats block slimmed-down GOP coronavirus relief bill as hopes fade for any more congressional support
You get the picture. Democrats block relief and there's no hope in sight. Then there's this, the most perverse take of all.
It's a political victory for McConnell when he succeeds in preventing an actual relief bill when millions of people are losing their homes, are food insecure, are at risk of infection and death. Remember the core of this: McConnell's COVID bill included $0 for direct stimulus payments and $161,000,000 for the coal industry. Yay him. Fifty-one nihilists endorsed his symbolic bill. And coal.
He’s getting away with it again, because the national traditional media is letting him. They slap his narrative frame on the story and call it a day, then go hang out with their buddies in the GOP. There are receipts, out there in public. Look at this from the same Lisa Desjardin letting her friend Josh Holmes, McConnell’s former Chief of Staff and campaign manager, that she—and her network—are there for him and his GOP pals.