Mitch McConnell plan to sabotage MAGA GOP during the midterms.

There have myriad recent reports that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell isn’t actually doing his best to support the GOP during the midterms.

Recently, the Arizona Mirror revealed that GOP in Arizona is urging McConnell to financially support U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters. 

Masters, secured the coveted endorsement from President Donald Trump which enabled him to triumph during the primaries.

In the beginning, Masters was trailing his Democrat rival and sitting Senator Mark Kelly by a significant margin of 12 points.

But matters have swung in Masters’ favor now., a recent Emerson College poll has Kelly leading Masters by just two percentage points. Since the margin of error is around two points, this could be regarded as a tie. 

This is an astronomical achievement because Masters is lagging significantly behind Kelly in terms of fundraising.

So how has McConnel reacted?

Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC associated with McConnell, reduced its advertising budget in Arizona last month by around $8 million.

It was reported that McConnell was in talks with billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel, who spent more than $13 million behind Masters through the Saving Arizona PAC in the primary, to provide financial support for Masters's general election as well. According to The Washington Post, those talks failed.

Time will tell if Thiel, Masters’ friend and longtime employer, would put additional money into the Arizona Senate race. 

Saving Arizona PAC recently announced it will be spending to promote Masters. 

Sentinel Action Fund, a super PAC associated with conservative issue group Heritage Action for America, has pledged to spend at least $5 million to boost Masters. $3.5 million will be dedicated to television ads while $1.5 million to fund voter outreach.

So what is the score on the fundraising so far?

As of the end of June 2022, the Kelly campaign had raised around $55 million while the Master's campaign reported raising around $5 million, according to the Associated Press.

This has enabled Kelly to conduct a prolonged smear campaign against Masters, reaching every inch of Arizona digitally and geographically.

Kelly is pushing the narrative that Masters is a dangerous conservative fringe candidate. This seems to be congruent to Biden’s recent utterances where he baselessly and viciously attacked MAGA Republicans as semi-fascists and extremists.

Masters fired back and questioned Kelly’s description of himself as a moderate since he often toes the Democratic Party line. 

According to a FiveThirtyEight tracker that monitors the voting records of congressional members, Kelly has voted in line with President Joe Biden’s position an astounding 94.4 percent of the time, with Conservative Review giving the Arizona Democrat an “F” grade for consistently voting for the president’s leftist agenda.

How does the advertisement budget compare overall?

So far in Arizona, Democrats have purchased $39 million worth of ads between now and Election Day, compared to $14 million from Republicans. 

Should Masters emerge victorious in Arizona, it would not only put the GOP one step closer to retaking the Senate, but it would also rid the legislative body of one of its most radical members in Mark Kelly.

Yet McConnel seems indifferent.

McConnell’s motives for not supporting Masters is possibly personal.

During the heated primary campaign, Masters said that the minority leader needed to be replaced and that McConnell was not exactly adept at legislating. 

Since his triumph at the GOP Arizona primary, Masters expressed hope for McConnell’s support while conceding that he’s “not Mitch McConnell’s favorite candidate.”

Masters isn’t the only candidate receiving a cold shoulder from McConnell

Senate Republican nominees such as  J.D. Vance (Ohio), Mehmet Oz (Pennsylvania), Adam Laxalt (Nevada), and Herschel Walker (Georgia) who were endorsed and backed by President Donald Trump during their states’ respective GOP primaries haven’t exactly received much financial support either.

Financial support enables campaigns to counter Democrat smear campaigns and reach out to independent or ignorant voters. 

In August, McConnell questioned the caliber of some of the Republican candidates for U.S. Senate. 

McConnell said the following regarding the midterms.

“I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate. Senate races are just different — they’re statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome,”

This is shocking and unprecedented.

In politics, every candidate and their party leader always display optimism and confidence about their chances in electoral races, even for the candidate who is doing poorly.

But McConnell is spreading negativity about his own party.

What could the reason be?

Perhaps because he knows if the GOP wins with a significant number of MAGA candidates in the Senate, he lost his leadership position.

McConnel would prefer a GOP loss if it means him retaining his status as leader rather than the GOP winning a majority in the Senate but him being relegated to a backbencher Senator.

McConnell is an also old guard of the Washington establishment who is more comfortable working with Democrats instead of MAGA Republicans.

He is probably relieved that Trump is no longer in the White House.

For him, working with Biden is much more convenient.

He gives Biden what Biden is demands.

The GOP votes to send billions of taxpayer dollars to Ukraine, devoid of tracking or accountability mechanisms.

McConnell reportedly told Biden that he wanted to blunt President Trump's influence by conveying to allies in Eastern Europe that "Republicans believe NATO is important" and to "push back against the isolationist sentiment in my own party." 

Mitch McConnell also voted for a ”gun safety" bill.  Among the provisions in this bill is a "red flag" law that empowers a judge to order the seizure of firearms merely based on suspicion.

McConnell remains mum about the January 6 Select Committee that exists to persecute Trump and the MAGA Republicans and push the narrative that MAGA Republicans are dangerous extremists. The committee doesn't even allow Trump’s representatives the right to cross-examine witnesses.  

In exchange, the DC establishment overlooks McConnell’s conflict of interest and potential corruption.

McConnell's wife, Elaine Lan Chao’s family has extensive business interests in China and close ties with the establishment in China.  

Chao was the secretary of Transportation in the Trump Administration. It was said that Chaos used her office to promote her family's shipping business, even trying to include family members in high-level meetings with Chinese government officials.  

There were allegations that Chao boosted her husband's political fortunes by showering attention and grant money on McConnell's constituents and prominent Kentucky supporters. 

If MAGA Republicans win during the mid-terms they could begin working against the establishment. There may be sanctions or restrictions against China which could affect McConnell personally and financially.

Hence it is a combination of self-interest and loyalty to the establishment that is dictating McConnell’s reluctance to support MAGA candidates.

So what happens now

Obviously, McConnell has to be stripped of his leadership position in the Senate and be replaced by Sens. Rand Paul or Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, etc.

What can the donor do?

The donations, irrespective of the amount must be made to specific campaigns and not to the overall GOP. That could be a good way to boost the MAGA movement.

Also appears on American Thinker