"If there is one person who single-handedly held the power to banish Donald Trump from public life, and thus to save the republic from any threat he will return to power and use it as a weapon of vengeance, that person is Mitch McConnell. In the days after January 6, 2021, Trump had discredited himself with his party and stood on the brink of reputational ruin. The House had impeached him for his coup attempt, with ten Republicans joining in. With a small push, McConnell likely could have mustered enough votes to convict him and disqualify the former president from holding public office again.
"Instead, McConnell decided such a vote, by splitting his party, would put it at a disadvantage. He convinced himself Trump would simply fade away on his own. And now, three years later, Trump stands as the prohibitive favorite to regain power, as McConnell has watched his influence ebb as he fades away into retirement.
"The main story of every Republican who served in this era will be what they did as their party descended into authoritarianism. The defining story of McConnell’s career will be that he chose his own power over democracy..." -- Jonathan Chait, The New Yorker, in one of what will be many retrospectives on McConnell's destructive legacy (he goes on to note the many familiar McConnell outrages like blocking critical legislation and turning the Supreme Court into a Christofascist Republican supermajority). He even dubbed himself "The Grim Reaper" for his mostly successful efforts at undermining progressive governance. McConnell is only stepping down from his Minority Leader post; unfortunately, he'll be around until his term ends in 2026, or until he shuffles off the mortal coil for a much hotter climate, whichever comes first.
