McConnell Wakes Up the Left

First Read: “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is a shrewd tactician… But we’re not sure if his decision to silence Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) for reading Coretta Scott King’s letter opposing Jeff Sessions from back in the 1980s was a smart play.”

“If the goal was to keep people from reading/hearing that letter, well, that backfired…. If the goal was to keep Warren from repeating her message, well, that didn’t work… And if the goal was to help Sessions with his Democratic colleagues, well, that didn’t go over well, either.”

Rick Klein: “Sessions will still be confirmed as attorney general on Wednesday, and Warren will be allowed to speak on the Senate floor again after that happens. The lasting impact of this week in the Senate, however, may be massive.”

“For starters, lamentations of fierce partisanship resulted in the formal rebuke and silencing of a liberal hero – and with no apparent larger reason. (Senators have said worse of each other, and Republicans have the ultimate silencing weapon – the majority.) More broadly, the organizing energy that began outside of Washington now has outlet inside of it. Between Betsy DeVos, Sessions, and now Andrew Puzder, the Trump Cabinet has woken up the left without even actually doing anything.”