McConnell at Senate helm could actually ease gridlock

Tuesday was a beauteous night. Republicans won the Senate handily, picked up 14 House seats and won gubernatorial races in Massachusetts, Maryland and Illinois. Good times.

Two big losers weren’t on the ballot. San Francisco billionaire Tom Steyer’s super PAC, the NextGen Climate, blew through $65 million to help Democrats who agree with him on climate change. His money may have helped Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., retain her seat, but he threw $20 million at Florida’s Republican governor, Rick Scott, and Scott still won. Steyer went after GOP challengers to Sens. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., and Mark Udall, D-Colo., and the Republicans won. Climate change got frozen out.

Bill and Hillary Clinton all but moved into Arkansas to bolster Democrats — only to watch GOP Rep. Tom Cotton unseat Sen. Mark Pryor and former GOP Rep. Asa Hutchinson win the gubernatorial race.

The big winner is Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. Beltway sages had predicted either his fall or a narrow victory. McConnell won by a 15-point margin.

California Democrats hear McConnell’s name and reflexively associate it with his infamous assertion, “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.” Though Obama and Sen. Dianne Feinstein later asserted that McConnell made that pronouncement when Obama was newly elected, McConnell uttered that sentence in an interview with National Journal’s Major Garrett in October 2010 — right before the midterm elections.

Do not make the mistake of believing that McConnell is a ruthless partisan gridlock lord of the same stamp as Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid. A victorious McConnell told reporters he wants to work on areas of agreement with Obama. Right now, he complained, the Senate “doesn’t do anything. We don’t even vote.” Quoth McConnell: “We’re going to go back to work and actually pass legislation.”

McConnell prefaced his news conference with a plan to improve the Senate with a more open amendment process and stronger committees. Senators and staffers have to spend more time in Washington hashing out their differences. That’s a marked difference from Reid. Best of all: McConnell laid out the same ideas on the Senate floor in January — right after Reid invoked the “nuclear option” and changed Senate rules to eliminate filibusters for executive branch and judicial nominees. Rather than promise to bring a gun to Reid’s knife fight, McConnell proposed constructive change.

In that address, McConnell cited as his ideal Senate leader Mike Mansfield, a Democrat who took the gavel in 1961 and spent “16 years restoring the Senate to a place of greater cooperation and freedom.”

On Wednesday, McConnell told reporters, “There will be no government shutdowns.” McConnell is such an adult that Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the head scout in last year’s failed bid to “defund Obamacare,” pointedly refused to endorse McConnell as GOP leader in a recent Washington Post interview.

The question is: With an adult across the table, will Obama act like Cruz or like McConnell?

Debra J. Saunders’ email address is dsaunders@sfchronicle.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

Initiative promoter Tim Eyman takes a selfie photo before the start of a session of Thurston County Superior Court, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, in Olympia, Wash. Eyman, who ran initiative campaigns across Washington for decades, will no longer be allowed to have any financial control over political committees, under a ruling from Superior Court Judge James Dixon Wednesday that blasted Eyman for using donor's contributions to line his own pocket. Eyman was also told to pay more than $2.5 million in penalties. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Editorial: Initiative fee increase protects process, taxpayers

Bumped up to $156 from $5, the increase may discourage attempts to game the initiative process.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Thursday, March 28

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Washington state senators and representatives along with Governor Inslee and FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez break ground at the Swift Orange Line on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Editorial: Community Transit making most of Link’s arrival

The Lynnwood light rail station will allow the transit agency to improve routes and frequency of buses.

Protecting forests and prevent another landslide like Oso

Thank you for the powerful and heartbreaking article about the Oso landslide… Continue reading

Boeing’s downfall started when engineers demoted

Boeing used to be run by engineers who made money to build… Continue reading

Learn swimming safety to protect kids at beach, pool

Don’t forget to dive into water safety before hitting the pool or… Continue reading

An image of Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin is reflected in a storefront window during the State of the City Address on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at thee Everett Mall in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Editorial: State of city address makes case for Everett’s future

Mayor Franklin outlines challenges and responses as the city approaches significant decisions.

FILE - The massive mudslide that killed 43 people in the community of Oso, Wash., is viewed from the air on March 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Editorial: Mapping landslide risks honors those lost in Oso

Efforts continue in the state to map areas prone to landslides and prevent losses of life and property.

Comment: Why shootings have decreased but gun deaths haven’t

High-capacity magazines and ‘Glock switches’ that allow automatic fire have increased lethality.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Wednesday, March 27

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Burke: ‘Why not write about Biden, for once?’ Don’t mind if I do.

They asked; I’ll oblige. Let’s consider what the president has accomplished since the 2020 election.

Comment: Catherine missed chance to dispel shame of cancer

She wasn’t obligated to do so, but she might have used her diagnosis to educate a sympathetic public.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.