by CHQ Staff
Personnel is Policy, and despite his effectiveness in confirming some relatively conservative federal judges, the Senate’s Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has long been recognized as one of the major impediments to governing America according to conservative principles.
And McConnell’s real anti-conservative character was on full display this week at a private luncheon where Republican Senators were gathered and he asked Republican Senators to head off “problematic nominees” before President Donald Trump officially picked them, particularly singling out as a nominee who should be opposed our friend principled limited government constitutional conservative Ken Cuccinelli, who is a potential nominee for Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
We hope that President Trump understands that McConnell’s opposition to Cuccinelli is not based on any allegation that the former Attorney General of Virginia is unqualified for the job, or that his views on border security are out of sync with the President’s because that is simply not true.
The fact of the matter is that McConnell opposes Ken Cuccinelli because Cuccinelli agrees with Trump, and the last person an establishment Chamber of Commerce-type Republican like Mitch McConnell wants running DHS is someone who actually believes in and will fight for the Trump border security agenda.
And then there is the personal animosity that McConnell has for all those who have actively fought for conservative candidates in Republican Senate primaries, and Ken Cuccinelli, as head of the Senate Conservatives Fund is one of the most active and effective conservative players in GOP primaries.
In 2018, the Senate Conservatives Fund support pulled a number of candidates through close races by generating the grassroots enthusiasm necessary to overcome conservative frustration with the Ryan – McConnell “do nothing Congress,” and Ken Cuccinelli was not shy in saying Mitch McConnell should resign as Majority Leader after the GOP’s poor showing.
So, never let it be forgotten that McConnell’s claim that conservatives “cost” the GOP seats in the 2010 and 2012 elections is based on the premise that candidates who think and vote like Democrats should win Republican primary elections, and anyone who works to make the GOP the political home of conservatives should be blacklisted.
If McConnell’s opposition to Cuccinelli was the only example of the Senate Majority Leader opposing a conservative nominee we could chalk it up to personal animosity, but that isn’t the case.
McConnell is opposed to most any nominee who is a committed conservative or who vocally and effectively supports the Trump agenda.
At the same time he is trying to torpedo Cuccinelli, McConnell has also been ginning-up opposition to the nominations of Steve Moore and Herman Caine to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Both Moore and Caine are pro-growth conservatives who are well-qualified to sit on the Fed Board, and they are opposed by those establishment figures who hold the “Wall Street before Main Street” view and oppose Trump’s economic policies.
Fortunately, Ken Cuccinelli has friends in the conservative movement who have not been shy about pushing him forward.
A group of conservatives, headed by CHQ Chairman Richard A. Viguerie, has begun circulating a letter of support saying, “In this time of national crisis and emergency over national security and immigration, Ken’s background as a no-nonsense law enforcement officer and a major constitutional lawyer, along with his reputation as a fighter, combined with his extensive media experience, including television, make him ideally suited to carry out the duties of the Department of Homeland Security and your immigration agenda.”
The letter — which is expected to be delivered to the White House on Friday — expressed support for Trump’s “Make America Great Again agenda” and said Cuccinelli’s law background and popularity among Republican activists makes him a good fit for the position. In addition to Mr. Viguerie, signers of the letter include former South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, Brent Bozell of the Media Research Center and Jenny Beth Martin of Tea Party Patriots, among others.
We urge CHQ readers and friends to contact the White House through this link. Please let President Trump know you support Ken Cuccinelli for Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security because Ken agrees with President Trump and will fight for the Trump border security agenda.
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Photo “Ken Cuccinelli” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 3.0.
