Since the earliest rise of the modern tea party, no political pastime has been more joyous than doling out savage ultra-violence against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
You know, in “A Clockwork Orange” kind of way.
No political bludgeoning of the longtime Republican Senate sage went unrewarded by voters. Insurgent political candidates — from Sen. Ben Sasse to Donald Trump — notched victories by running against Mr. McConnell as much as they ran against their actual opponents.
For voters sick of everything Washington, merciless attacks on Mr. McConnell were music and poetry.
“Oh, bliss! Bliss and heaven! Oh, it was gorgeousness and gorgeosity-made-flesh!” Then unloose all manner of political war dogs against the veteran old parliamentary master!
Set, of course, to the tune of Beethoven’s 9th. And blood splattering against white linen.
This blind rage against Mr. McConnell has produced both surprising wins for Republicans, as well as some stupendously idiotic losses.
Such is the unpredictability of partisan anarchy.
But it might be time now to step back and re-evaluate Mr. McConnell and his leadership. I dare say, it might be time to put away the Skeletor-faced pinata — or, at the very least, take stock of some hugely significant achievements of the Senate majority leader.
The most obvious accomplishment was his bold and visionary willingness to simply refuse to budge on President Obama’s nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia after the constitutional lion died unexpectedly during Mr. Obama’s final year in office. Had Mr. Obama gotten his way, the high court would have been trashed for another generation.
Mr. McConnell’s steadfast opposition preserved the opening for President Trump to fill with Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, a true constitutionalist. In addition, by keeping that high court seat open, Mr. McConnell gave conservatives a big reason to vote in the 2016 election, undoubtedly helping Mr. Trump win.
Another, earlier, accomplishment that went largely unnoticed was his success at keeping every Senate Republican in line against Obamacare — leaving the disaster a partisan government overreach owned 100 percent by Democrats.
Then, for the past year we have been hearing from the salivating jackals in the media how Mr. Trump’s legislative agenda was doomed after Republicans failed to repeal Obamacare. His entire presidency was headed for the trash heap.
Even worse, Republicans in Congress started going wobbly.
But throughout, Mr. McConnell proved to be a savvy purveyor of Mr. Trump’s agenda.
In the end, he not only delivered on Mr. Trump’s tax cut package, but also managed to insert (on his own) a repeal of the Obamacare mandate, which effectively guts the whole health care Ponzi boondoggle.
To be sure, Mr. McConnell remains a swamp creature. But that swamp creature has been turning out concrete achievements that have been daring, ambitious, principled and supremely conservative.
He has become a swamp creature Mr. Trump can count on.
• Charles Hurt can be reached at churt@washingtontimes.com; follow him on Twitter via @charleshurt.
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