Mitch McConnell

 Interesting fissures within the Republican Party are appearing.

I've seen an attempt to distance national conservatism from MAGA. With all due respect, it looks to me like a distinction with little difference. NatCon was never anything but an attempt to lend some coherence to Trumpism, without much success.

There's also the current debate on whether Mitch McConnell is an effective leader of Pubs in the Senate. Of course, the MAGA fever swamp's take is that the GOP became a new critter in 2016 - for the better, in their estimation - and whatever usefulness McConnell had had was irrelevant in the new landscape. But he has his staunch defenders as well.

I have found him frustrating over the years. Maybe part of my predisposition is on superficial grounds. His barely-flappable demeanor and his appearance (I can't get over George Will's likening him to a turtle) seemed not quite up to the task in a few situations over the years. He never employed brinkmanship in debt-ceiling debates, for instance. Most recently, his affirmative response to the question of whether he'd support Trump in a 2024 presidential race - well, made me sick.

But I'm just a pundit in flyover country. There's a lot about what's required to maneuver successfully in the Senate over the course of a long career that I'm quite sure I know next to nothing about. I'm willing to interpret his measured tone of voice and care to avoid inflammatory wording as a steadiness of nerves that his position requires.

And I want to make clear that I have no problem whatsoever with the obstructionist stance he took during the Obama years. He did what he could to prevent and then repeal the "Affordable" Care Act and stimulus packages. Those positions earn my loud applause.

I think I weigh in on the side of the current debate that says he needs to stay put as Senate Minority Leader. It's a position that requires chops one doesn't acquire quickly. McConnell knows the lay of the land, and, in that understated way of his, will surely proceed on the understanding that Trumpism is toxic for the Republican future. I think the recent midterm results have deepened that understanding. 

Anybody else that the opposition in this debate would put forward would have at least some taint of NatCon/MAGA, I think. Sticking with Mitch is a wise first step in seeing if that infection can be cured.