WATCH LIVE: Senate opens, McConnell expected to speak after becoming longest serving party leader
PBS NewsHour
The Facts
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) became the longest-serving Senate party leader on Tuesday, surpassing the late Sen. Mike Mansfield (D-Mont.). McConnell became party leader in 2007.
McConnell celebrated his accomplishment by delivering a speech to the Senate floor, during which he recounted the history of past party leaders and their respective styles and even praised Mansfield.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
McConnell is the archetype of a strong and intelligent statesman. He has demonstrated a willingness to reach across the aisle, enjoying good relationships with many high-ranking Democratic leaders. Indeed, his style of politics has been marked by compromise and the ability to craft fair and intelligent deals. Even as the Republican Party experiences internal strife, McConnell's political acumen has guaranteed his position as a top leader.
Establishment-critical narrative
McConnell is just another establishment snake in the grass who only looks out for big business and the political class. His laundry list of betrayals to the conservative movement includes an ever-increasing national debt, continued illegal immigration, the stagnation of real wages, bailing out banks in 2008, and enacting Obamacare in 2010. More recently, he has enabled Biden to pass leftist policies, including giving Ukraine billions in aid, tightening gun laws, and attacking “MAGA Republicans.”
