“I am a proud guardian of gridlock. I think gridlock is making a big comeback in the country." —Mitch McConnell in 1994

“They won’t even be voted on. So think of me as the Grim Reaper.” —McConnell in 2019 (so much has changed)

PARTISAN GRIDLOCK: A primary reason people do not have faith in government and there is an all-time low approval of Congress. The GOP’s deliberate attempts—beginning in the 1980s—to obstruct Congress and prevent it from passing bills has morphed, naturally, into total fucking chaos (as you can easily observe by picking up any newspaper today). Their mission was to create total dysfunction and ruin in their paths, and they’ve succeeded. What was once a great deliberative body has devolved into a muddled mess where it’s all zinger one-liners and sound bites, and little of substance occurs. It’s become a ratings show. Congress doesn’t solve problems. It bickers, then raises money, then campaigns. In a cycle just like that. No wonder it’s hard to find people who want to run for office.

This was all part of their plan. Here's an all-encompassing, one-sentence description of the GOP agenda: If Congress does not function properly, it can’t pass any meaningful legislation. Why? Because dysfunction benefits private industry, particularly congressional Republican financial supporters (the radical rich), who want the government to play as small and insignificant a role as possible in their lives, both professionally and personally.

That and more on this week's episode