Republicans Need to Replace Pence with Mitch McConnell
President Donald J. Trump (R-Florida) needs to replace Vice President Mike Pence (R-Indiana) with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky).
Even The Washington Post admits McConnell is “one of the greatest Senate leaders of all time.” However, Republicans could lose that effectiveness because McConnell faces a difficult reelection battle in his home state of Kentucky this year.
In fact, The Morning Consult estimates McConnell faced a 50% disapproval rating in 4th Quarter 2019. Consequently, McConnell was the second least popular U.S. Senator after Susan Collins (R-Maine) last quarter.
Thus, Republicans face the nightmare of President Trump with no McConnell to back him up in the U.S. Senate. In fact, Trump could face a second term with a leaderless Senate.
Why Republicans need Vice President Mitch McConnell
However, there is a way Republicans could keep McConnell’s Senate leadership without the possibility of a humiliating loss in Kentucky.
I think President Trump needs to ditch Vice President Mike Pence (R-Indiana) and pick McConnell as his running mate. Pence is one of the most boring and lackluster politicians in America. Moreover, there is no evidence Pence is an effective legislative leader.
To explain, under the Constitution, the Vice President presides over the Senate. In fact, the Vice President can vote to break a Senate. Thus, Vice President is the perfect role for Mitch McConnell.
McConnell could go to the Senate every day, oversee it, and fight for the Republican agenda on Capitol Hill every day. Moreover, McConnell could act as the adult at the White House and control Trump’s worst instincts.
In contrast, I do not think Pence is strong or smart enough to stand up to Trump. Trump will not bully or intimidate McConnell. Finally, McConnell can provide effective Republican leadership in Washington. I believe neither Trump nor Pence provides effective leadership.
Why Republicans Need to Dump Mike Pence
Mike Pence is a political lightweight, whom nobody cares about or respects.
The only argument for Pence’s retention is that he is a Conservative Christian. However, I think the Religious Right is a spent force in American politics.
Furthermore, I believe Conservative Christians will be far more supportive of the man who delivered two Supreme Court seats and the federal judiciary to them. That man is Mitch McConnell.
Why Christians Want Vice President Mitch McConnell
Today’s Christians want aggressive fighters not prayer warriors. McConnell is one of the most aggressive and effective fighters in Congress.
Many Conservative Christian thinkers; such as The American Conservative’s Rod Dreher want protection from what they see as a growing secularist majority in America. Unlike the New York pundits, Dreher reads data; such as the Pew Research Center survey that shows the percentage of Americans identifying as Christians fell by 13% in under 10 years.
To explain, Pew found 78% of identified themselves as Christians in 2008 and 65% of Americans called themselves Christian in 2009. Thus, Conservative Christians could be a minority in America and they want protection, not prayer.
Consequently, I think Christian voters could be more responsive to Vice President McConnell than Pence. By picking McConnell Trump could say “I’m fighting for you and I just drafted our toughest heavyweight to back me up.”
In the final analysis, picking McConnell for Vice President is a smart move Trump. McConnell on the ticket could help Republicans win a tough presidential race. Additionally, Republicans could avoid a humiliating high profile Senate loss in Kentucky and keep one of their most effective assets in place.
