Before Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told the world (or at least the readers of Politico)
his plan to cripple the government or force a shutdown, he
told the secret Koch brothers-hosted gathering of millionaire and billionaire Republican donors about the plan. Presumably, he wouldn't have publicly unveiled it without their approval. But that's not all McConnell had to say to the Kochs' little cabal:
And we're not going to be debating all these gosh darn proposals. That's all we do in the Senate is vote on things like raising the minimum wage (inaudible)—cost the country 500,000 new jobs; extending unemployment—that's a great message for retirees; uh, the student loan package the other day, that's just going to make things worse, uh. These people believe in all the wrong things.
"We're not going to be debating all these gosh darn proposals"? Wait a minute, I thought Mitch McConnell supposedly had high-minded objections to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's refusal to debate every single poison pill amendment Republicans try to attach to bills as a delay tactic. That's certainly what he says when he goes crying to the press about how Republicans just
had no choice but to filibuster a wildly popular bill because they weren't allowed to eat up weeks of the Senate calendar with dozens of amendments gutting the bill in question and repealing Obamacare. But in fact his plan is that "we're not going to be debating all these gosh darn proposals" like the minimum wage, unemployment insurance, and student loans? How interesting. Political reporters, are you taking note?
And, I mean, heaven forbid the Senate debate the minimum wage. After all, it was raised in 2009—a mere five years ago—and is the princely sum of $7.25 an hour, which is almost above the poverty threshold for a family of three. My God, what more could you people want! McConnell seems actually outraged anyone would dare even talk about the idea that if you're working, you should be able to support a family on what you earn. Then there's student loans—debt that can't be discharged even in bankruptcy or, in some cases, in death. Good to know that one of McConnell's top priorities is keeping America's college students and graduates burdened by debt and high interest rates. Do you hear that, middle-class parents? Because the Koch brothers and their fellow ultra-rich Republican donors sure do.
(Audio of McConnell's remarks below the fold.)
