McConnell: "Look ... they're not gonna wave a magic wand and it's gonna disappear ... put on a mask.

[sunonmars]

Link to tweet

I mean sorry, what was that, what's changed guys, you have been saying the opposite for months..........Donald has been telling us daily, it is going to go away on its own.

[SouthernCal_Dem]

1. Fuck you, Mitch

Tell your dear leader to wear a mask.

Until then....SHUT THE FUCK UP!

[dalton99a]

2. "I don't want to die"

[fleur-de-lisa]

9. Or "I don't want to lose the election"

Why did he wait so long to mention masks? Why is the turtle just now talking about another stimulus package for people making less that $40,000?

He knows they're gonna get trounced in November.

[leftieNanner]

3. So what Moscow Mitch is saying is.....

All those pilfered millions of $$$ are no good to me if I catch this damned thing and DIE!

Thanks for thinking about your constituents, Mitch. And the rest of us.

[dalton99a]

4. Bingo.

[RT Atlanta]

5. the "look..." moment

when reality finally dawns on a politician and they begrudgingly acknowledge what is going on (finally! and likely have many have been unnecessarily harmed/killed) and lead their acknowledgement with that word.

[EleanorR]

6. trying to save his own ass by distancing himself from the sinking ship that is trump

Four months and 130,000 deaths too late, asshole.

[ProfessorGAC]

13. The Rumor Was By Labor Day...

...they would see some turn around, or they distance themselves.
This sounds like an early warning shot.

[EleanorR]

17. FL, AZ, and TX forced their hand. Can't manage the economy without managing the virus

Simply trying to manage perception is a bust.

[coti]

7. This is called the TRUTH winning out, in time. nt

[denbot]

8. He can't comprehend ethics guidelines, but he can understand polls.

Fuck off Moscow Mitch.

[peggysue2]

12. Bingo!

McConnell can read the GOP's internal polls. He knows there is a rout coming, a Mega Tsunami that will sweep his party into the Deep Blue Sea.

As for the sudden round about? Too little, too late. Pretty much sums up the Republican Party's response to the virus, aka Donald Trump.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

10. No matter how long I live. I'll never understand how someone with the charisma of my left ball

can keep getting elected and re-elected. The masochism must just run that deep.

[smirkymonkey]

14. You and me both.

I am beginning to think that it's actually possible to make real-life pacts with the Devil.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

15. I swear! I'm starting to become a "believer". nt

[2naSalit]

18. ...um,

I don't know about the charisma in your left one but I'm sure MM has so little it doesn't even register on the charismatron!

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

24. Oh definitely! And try as he might. He won't even get to "right ball levels".

[2naSalit]

25. Not capable of that in a million earth lives!

[lagomorph777]

11. Too late, Mass Murder Mitch.

You're well and truly fucked.

[gratuitous]

16. What are you talking about, Senator?

The man you left to govern the country said the pandemic would be all over by Easter. Thanks again for that kangaroo court you conducted.

[2naSalit]

19. And that horrendous

SOTU pep rally!?! Seriously, if you think we've forgotten all that has come to pass since 01/01/2020, you've got a rude awakening coming, sportsfan.

[JonLP24]

20. He is in a Senate race

He can't appear too crazy this time of year.

[hunter]

21. Fuck off and die, Mitch. Take the Republican Party with you.

[Ms. Toad]

22. A simple question to all of those condemning this statement -

Do you care about people's lives - or is this (as the Republicans allege) all political to you?

Should he have said it earlier? absolutely.
Should he be doing more? Definitely.


Does saying it now make it more or less likely that his supporters will wear masks? More. That will save lives. So stop condemning the statement just because it should have been made months ago, unless you care more about politics than about saving lives.

[gratuitous]

26. I'll take a shot at a simple answer

I think McConnell is just back-filling. He's spent the last several months nodding and smiling along as Trump flailed about trying to make the pandemic go away like magic. Now he comes out with one reasonable statement to stack up against weeks and weeks of supporting Trump's madness. Talk is notoriously cheap, and my hunch is that McConnell is saying this only to provide cover somewhere down the line for accusations that he was far too complacent.

Will his supporters suddenly have the scales fall from their eyes and they will begin wearing masks? To this point, it appears that the folks in McConnell's camp long ago stopped at the point of maximum comfort for themselves and one brief statement from McConnell isn't going to move them off their "masks are tyranny!" safe (not safe) space.

I'll reconsider if this isn't just a one-off from McConnell, and he starts showing some real interest in the public health, and getting his Senate to move on legislation that provides for people who are out of work, supports the medical people, and gets a comprehensive program of testing, tracing, and isolating instituted (if it's not too late). Based on his career record, however, I think McConnell is far more likely to let this one statement disappear into the ether, and a couple of weeks later just shrug and lie, "Well, I tried."

[Ms. Toad]

27. All that may well be true - but it misses the point.

Will his statement make it more - or less - likely that his followers will wear masks?

ANY increase in mask wearing saves lives. So his statement will save lives, and the statement itself should be supported - not condemned.

His motives are completely political and also completely irrelevant. It is trivially obvious that his statement is likely to save more lives than if he hadn't made the statement. So opposing it and condemning it as too little, too late is just as politically motivated as his statement was in the first place - just as conservatives allege. We need to focus on saving lives, not scoring political points.

[gratuitous]

28. I thought I answered that

I think McConnell's followers have heard all they're going to hear on the subject of masks, and one statement from McConnell isn't going to move them off their position (masks are tyranny) in my opinion. I'm open to the possibility that it will make a difference if McConnell follows through and becomes a much more forceful advocate for the public health measures that the professionals have been advocating for months. A one-off statement while the Senate is out of session is very weak tea.

I liken it to Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka when he deadpans, "No, wait, stop" when one of the naughty children is about to do something self-destructive. It's the right thing to say, but the audience for the statement isn't listening, and Wonka doesn't mean for them to listen.

[Ms. Toad]

31. They are hearing it from people whose political motives they distrust.

That is not the case with McConnell. With McConnell, they are hearing it from one of their own.

[Hav]

23. Isn't it interesting how the tune changes

once the red states get wrecked by Corona? So much glee and downplaying from their side when it was mostly blue/purple states suffering.

[spanone]

29. Been in a coma, mitch?

[PufPuf23]

30. Why doesn't the GOP initiate another impeachment or

another method to force Trump from office now McConnell?

You are full bull goose looney complicit. Apologies to bulls, geese, looneys, and turtles.

[SMC22307]

32. Goldman Sachs issued a report last week (or the week before) endorsing masks...

to help the economy. THAT is what changed.