Politics
Mitch McConnell is Off to a Bitter Start
This Oct. 2, 2014, file photo shows Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., left, joined by his wife Elaine Chao as he speaks to media at Donamire Farm in Lexington. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)
(The Washington Post) – Mitch McConnell, the new Senate majority leader, has an exceedingly high opinion of his own power.
In a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday morning outlining his priorities for the new Congress, the Kentucky Republican suggested that the GOP takeover of Congress — not yet 24 hours old — had already boosted the American economy.
“After so many years of sluggish growth, we’re finally starting to see some economic data that can provide a glimmer of hope,” McConnell said in his clenched monotone. “The uptick appears to coincide with the biggest political change of the Obama administration’s long tenure in Washington: the expectation of a new Republican Congress.”
He was referring, obviously, to news that the U.S. economy grew at a 5 percent rate in the third quarter, the fastest in more than a decade, furthering record highs in stocks. By McConnell’s logic, Americans began to spend freely in July, August and September because they had a hunch Republicans would win the Senate in November and take control in January.
