At a Kentucky public appearance for his 2020 reelection campaign, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell lamented over a lack of civility from "both sides" of the political spectrum.
McConnell stated both sides needed to "learn how to behave better, how to be able to disagree without anger."
He added:
"We have a behavioral problem. People are acting out and it's not, I don't think, limited to one ideological place or another. You've just got a lot of people engaging in bad behavior."
But the Kentucky Democratic Party pointed out the 6-term GOP Senator need look no further than his own 2020 reelection campaign to see the lack of civility he complained of.
Kentucky Dem Spokeswoman Marisa McNee stated:
"If that's what he believes, that this is such a stain on our politics, the lack of civility, does he regret the way he has allowed his own campaign to behave?"
McNee has a good point. The McConnell campaign has repeatedly shown that civility is the least of its priorities.
But when McConnell was asked to take responsibility for his own campaign, his own words and Twitter attacks—rather that apologize and vow to do better—McConnell said:
"I think we have a civility problem and I didn't confine it to just liberals. I think it's across the board."
The 77 year-old Republican—who referred to himself as the Grim Reaper while bragging about blocking legislation and judicial appointments to undermine President Barack Obama and Democrats—then singled out 18 year-olds attending college.
"You read stories of young people, incentivized I think by the faculty actually on college campuses, who don't want to hear anything they may disagree with. It might upset them to be exposed to a point of view that they don't always subscribe to—being brilliant, of course, and knowing everything at 18. I think that's troublesome."
McConnell then held himself up as an example of civility.
"I intend, for what little impact I can have on that, not to act that way. We have plenty of incentive to get angry. But as you may have noticed, I try to stay calm, be respectful and don't get caught up in these intense debates that we have."
But McConnell then gave his campaign an excuse for their attacks on his opponents.
"The campaigns, of course, are always, shall I say, hot salsa, but the governing part doesn't need to be that way. And I can assure you in the Senate it's not that way."
After the infamous attacks against his 2020 challenger—retired US Marine Corps pilot Amy McGrath. McGrath responded to McConnell's choice to tweet a photo that featured her name on a gravestone after the El Paso mass shooting.
People shared other highlights of the Team Mitch campaign.
Others pointed out McConnell is an expert on incivility, but not in a good way...
...as well as being an expert on hypocrisy.
As of November 18, the 2020 election is 350 days away.
The book How Democracies Die is available here.
