MITCH, PLEASE!
How Mitch Mcconnell Sold Out Kentucky (and America, Too)
by Matt Jones with Chris Tomlin
The founder of Kentucky Sports Radio chronicles his travels around Kentucky and his disdain for Mitch McConnell, who “is quite simply everything wrong with American politics in 2020.” Jones and his companion, Tomlin, who mostly contributes snarky footnotes and humorous barbs, visited all the state’s 120 counties, talking with a wide array of locals—from right to left—about McConnell, political issues, sports, and other topics. The author found himself uniformly welcome (except, oddly, in one church); he even befriended the “tracker” whom McConnell’s team sent to follow him around in search of gaffe and dirt. Throughout the book, Jones employs a sharp political scalpel, eviscerating McConnell. Those looking for a disinterested analysis of the senator will not find it here—as the subtitle broadcasts. The author assails McConnell for his numerous flaws: flipping on issues (abortion rights), hypocrisy (on the power of money in political campaigns), and favoring the rich over most of his constituents. Ultimately, writes Jones, McConnell is “a soulless political being.” We also learn about the author’s history (his father left the family when he was young), his struggles with epilepsy, and his growing realization that if he decides to run for office, McConnell will do his utmost to destroy him. Most effective are the author’s descriptions of the towns and sites he visited and the people he met. In the small cafes, on farms, at festivals and colleges—Jones came to see that there were three issues that dominate the political debate in Kentucky: God, guns and babies, a list that serves as one of his chapter titles. Regarding guns, he writes, “McConnell has repeatedly refused to advance any gun control legislation after each of our nation’s many mass school shootings.” Jones notes how the GOP pounds away at those issues, knowing that many in Kentucky rank below them such issues as health care and the environment. A tendentious but effective combination of description and vivisection.