Brand That Nickname of “Grim Reaper” To Moscow Mitch Too.
<I know I took a break from blogging, but there is a critical life threatening intersection between gun violence, racism, and Republican politics that compelled me to get off the sidelines for now.>
I am no communication expert, but the recent tragic mass shootings in El Paso, TX and Dayton, OH require those of us who believe in some basic sane gun control policies to employ a tactic that will make some uncomfortable — we need to link the deaths to Mitch McConnell’s actions or inactions on gun control. And McConnell has provided us with just such an opportunity: his embrace of the nickname of “The Grim Reaper.”
Please hear me out.
We have had too many mass shootings, and several are now based upon racism. We can all agree upon this. Correct?
Trump is the Racist in Chief. Besides making racism “cool again,” Trump has condoned violence against his political opponents. It doesn’t take a leap of imagination that the racists who support Trump think that he has their back when it comes to using violence against those they hate.
Now, we have Moscow Mitch who has been Trump’s biggest supporter and protector. And Moscow Mitch routinely uses his position to kill Democratic House bills in the Senate. Besides killing voting security bills, Moscow Mitch will allow no gun control measures to come up for a vote in the Senate.
The fact that all Democratic bills “Go off to the Senate to die” is something that Moscow Mitch is PROUD of. Moscow Mitch has embraced his other nickname: The Grim Reaper. Just yesterday he was proudly invoking his “Grim Reaper” moniker at the major political gathering called Fancy Farm.
McConnell, instead, focused on his record reshaping the federal judiciary and how he “saved the Supreme Court for a generation” by blocking President Barack Obama's pick in 2016. He bragged about his reputation as the “Grim Reaper” for killing the progressive measures coming out of the Democratic-controlled House.
Well, seems to me that Grim Reaper also applies to McConnell’s role in mass shootings. McConnell is at least partly responsible for the deaths in mass shootings, especially in shootings where assault weapons are used. Democrats need to directly link McConnell to the mass shootings.
McConnell = Grim Reaper = Mass Shootings.
Some may be horrified by this, but we need to play hardball. Republicans have linked Democrats to death and terrorism in the past, and the Republicans have won elections doing so. Don’t think so? Ask Max Cleland and John Kerry.
And maybe, just maybe, some Democrats are realizing this. This is what came out of some Kentucky Democrats today:
Meanwhile, Democrats McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot who is running against McConnell for U.S. Senate, U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth and state Rep. Charles Booker called out McConnell in their own tweets.
“This epidemic of gun violence is only going to be addressed by fundamentally changing our government — electing people who can’t be bought off by the gun lobby,” McGrath tweeted. “Mitch McConnell will never meaningfully address this crisis, even though there are measures many gun owners support.”
And…
In a series of tweets, Yarmuth called the shootings “unspeakable acts of terror and violence.”
“The House has acted and would do more,” Yarmuth tweeted. “But President Trump and Mitch McConnell are AWOL. Moms demand action, as do dads, and children and brothers and sisters. Where is our leadership?”
Booker called out McConnell directly in a response to the Senate Majority Leader's tweet.
“You ain’t praying bruh. Prayer changes things,” Booker tweeted at McConnell. “Prayer brings clarity. Prayer provides direction. Prayer builds the path to action. No one believes someone who calls himself the Grim Reaper actually talks to God. You aren’t praying, you’re preying. Meanwhile, we keep dying.”
Booker is thinking about running against Moscow Mitch next year.
I emboldened what he said, and it pulls no punches.
While I am all for still using Moscow Mitch, we have an opening to literally brand McConnell as the Grim Reaper or a merchant of death. We need to use McConnell’s pride in the Grim Reaper to help defeat him next year, if only to stop the killings.
