Do you guys remember how angry Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell got when the nickname “Moscow Mitch” started gathering steam on the internet? Like, it got to the point where he actually went on the Senate floor and passionately defended himself against charges that he’s in the pocket of Russia over campaign contributions and blatant political favors.
His words fell on deaf ears, of course, because “blatant” has a meaning, and its meaning in his case was literally millions of dollars in money from a sanctioned Russian oligarch, who Mitch then lifted the sanctions from, after which that same oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, invested more millions into the biggest new aluminum rolling mill that Mitch’s home state of Kentucky had seen in 40 years.
It’s pretty obvious. But maybe that’s why McConnell was so angry: He KNOWS that the public is on to him, and he is starting to fear, maybe just a little bit, for his seat in the Senate. If that makes you smile as big as it does me, you could go ahead and send a few dollars to the woman running against him in 2020, former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath.
Anyway, it turns out it wasn’t just a weekend of taunts that Mitch had to put up with, as he was surely hoping. No, the “Moscow Mitch” moniker has stuck, possibly for good. It’s on billboards, in hashtags on Twitter, and now, it’s become a chant at his public appearances.
When the embattled Majority Leader showed up a few weeks ago for his first public outing of the August congressional recess in Fancy Farm, Kentucky — a tiny little census-designated place in the southwestern corner of the state with a population under 500 — a huge part of the crowd was comprised of protesters, all chanting in unison, drowning out the aging Senator.
Their chant? Moscow Mitch! Moscow Mitch!
In his first public appearance of the August recess, Mitch McConnell was greeted by loud chants of #MoscowMitch that drowned out his speech. It infuriated him. Buying Say Nyet to #MoscowMitch merch would make him even more mad: https://t.co/4H4YvzArbK pic.twitter.com/F9vX3Rv6LB
— Kentucky Democrats (@KyDems) August 3, 2019
Listen as a crowd of Kentuckians drowns out @senatemajldr with chants of “Moscow Mitch” today at Fancy Farm. Cc @KyDems pic.twitter.com/Ds5jSJOl5c
— Krystal Ball (@krystalball) August 4, 2019
In fact, if those short clips aren’t enough to convince you the Majority Leader was actually drowned out, or that the crowd of protesters was as big as I’ve described here, go ahead and watch one event-goer’s handheld video of Mitch’s speech.
That’s certainly nyet the way Mitch thought he might be spending his Saturday afternoon.
Featured image via screen capture
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