Annals of Senatorial Stupidity

Has Mitch McConnell lost his mojo? Also, the Senate is a ludicrous governing institution.

I’m Michael A. Cohen, and this is Truth and Consequences: A no-holds-barred look at the absurdities, hypocrisies, and surreality of American politics. If you received this email - or you are a free subscriber - and you’d like to subscribe: you can sign up below.

55,232 Votes

The number above, 55,232, is the number of votes that Jon Ossoff beat Senator David Perdue by in the Georgia Senate runoff in January 2021. That margin of victory (only slightly smaller than the 93,550 margin separating Raphael Warnock and Senator Kelly Loeffler in the same election) is the difference between the legislation passed yesterday in the United States Senate becoming law … and not becoming law.

It’s the difference between a $370 billion federal investment in climate and energy programs that will make it possible for the United States to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent below 2005 levels by the end of this decade … and investing nothing. It’s the difference between extending subsidies for Obamacare recipients … and not extending them. It’s the difference between cutting prescription drug costs for Medicare recipients … and not reducing those costs.

It’s the difference between passing the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan … and passing something much smaller. It’s the difference between Ketanji Brown Jackson being on the Supreme Court … and a black woman not being on the highest court in the land.

In short, 55,232 votes is the difference between progress and regression; hope and pessimism; success and failure. On the one hand, it’s a damn good thing those 55,232 votes went to the candidate and party that actually wanted to tackle the climate crisis, lower the cost of health care and prescription drugs, and use the power of the federal government to do good. On the other hand, that progress relies on such a thin margin of votes is really no way to run a country.

Let Them Eat Cake

On Sunday, by a vote of 57-43, the Senate defeated a proposal for a $35 cap on the cost of insulin. I know I am prone to occasional typos and misstatements, but this is not a typo or misstatement. The Senate voted 57-43 to cap the cost of insulin, but it failed because 60 votes were required to pass this amendment into law.

Keep in mind that the underlying budget reconciliation legislation that this proposal would have been included in — the Inflation Reduction Act — passed by a majority vote. But because of a parliamentarian ruling, the cap provision didn’t comply with the rules guiding the passage of reconciliation legislation, so it had to be voted on by the Senate — where it could be filibustered by Republicans, which is what happened. So just to get the facts straight — $370 billion in climate spending can pass by majority vote, but a $35 insulin cap needs a supermajority.

Ladies and Gentlemen: your United States Senate.

Of course, in a normal political world, a $35 insulin cap in a country with nearly 40 million diabetics would be a political no-brainer. But, of course, we don’t live in the world. So while seven Republicans joined 50 Democrats in voting for the insulin cap, 43 other Republicans did not.

This one has left me at a loss — and much of the blame can be laid at the feet of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. It appears Republicans opposed the measure because they didn’t want to give Democrats a political talking point about how they cut the cost of insulin for diabetic patients. Instead, they’ve arguably given Democrats an even better talking point by opposing it.

Three Republicans who voted against the measure include Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Iowa Senator Charles Grassley, and Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson. All are on the ballot this November. How is this good for their reelection campaigns? Johnson’s race is a toss-up, but he’s clearly decided to go complete MAGA, full-fever swamp, so I suppose this vote is consistent with his larger political brand. As for Rubio and Grassley, both are expected to win, but they are in competitive races. Why would they hand a cudgel to their political opponents? Voting against an insulin cap isn’t going to win Grassley or Rubio any votes. But it certainly has the potential to cost them a few. Indeed, it didn’t take long for Rubio’s opponent, Val Demings, to attack him over the Senate vote:

Val Demings @valdemings

Today, Marco Rubio put drug company profits over Floridians struggling to afford insulin. Send me to the Senate and I’ll do what’s right to lower prescription costs for the people in our state.

This is just bad politics, and I don’t really have a good explanation for why either man made this choice. I have even less explanation for why Mitch McConnell let any of this happen.

Remember that the original insulin provision was removed from the budget reconciliation act because Republicans demanded that the Senate parliamentarian weigh in on the matter. Once that happened, Democrats tried to amend the legislation to include the insulin caps, and then Republicans had to go on the record voting yea or nay. Why McConnell put his fellow Republicans in that position is beyond me. Where is the upside here, especially since nearly 20 Senate Republicans — including many of those who voted against the $35 insulin caps — have spoken publicly about the need to cut insulin prices?

Less than one hundred days before the midterms, Republicans have handed Democrats a winning political issue, which all their candidates can run on, and put three Republicans up for reelection in a tough spot. If this one was one screwup from McConnell, I might chalk it up to a bad day, but it comes on the heels of two major mistakes. First, he got completely outfoxed by Schumer and Manchin on the passage of the CHIPS Act. Next, he let the GOP Senate caucus vote down the PACT Act, which extended health care benefits to sick veterans. Days later, Republicans ended up supporting the bill but only after several days of bad press and accusations that Republicans had turned their backs on the nation’s veterans. Put all this together, and it makes me wonder if the senior senator from Kentucky has lost his mojo. Whatever the explanation, in a political environment that should highly favor the GOP, Republicans seem extremely intent on doing everything in their power to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.