McConnell’s Norm January 20, 2019January 19, 2019 I’ve testified on Capitol Hill a total of once: to a Senate subcommittee. The chair was Mitch McConnell and on the issue at hand — moderate, sensible tort reform* — I was on his side. He was unpleasant anyway. In the 20-some years that have followed, it’s my view that McConnell is right up there with Dick Cheney in the warmth of his spirit and the harm he’s done. So it was with some interest that I read “How Mitch McConnell’s weak-kneed cowardice makes him the perfect target for agents of power and influence.” (And this from the Dallas Morning News: “How Putin’s oligarchs funneled millions into GOP campaigns.”) It is a norm, not a law, that only the Majority Leader can bring a bill to the floor for a vote. It’s time to suspend that norm and reopen the government. *Read it here (chapter 4) or get a glimpse here.