I think that McConnell is in a real pickle over this. I be guessing, but I bet that Mcturtle did not care for McCain very much or his brand of politics. McCain was a sore thumb in Mitch’s eye more than once. But the vote is already at least 50-49 if it ever gets to the floor. It will be interesting to see who else with an R after their name jump’s on board.
here, here
Finally a real non-partisan,bi-partisan issue that everyone should support. Unless a big majority of the Repubs supports it McConnell won’t even let it be voted on, and you just know that the president guy will oppose it.
Gee, they get to name something other than a post office. Pretty soon they might do actual work. And if they do it probably won’t be anything good.
edit to add…
Dang
The more I think on this the more it occurs that Kelli Ward will not be happy about McCain stealing her headlines even after he’s dead … people like her just should not be elected to anything.
My enthusiasm for naming stuff after John McCain is… highly bounded… but I am 100% down for stripping naming rights from segregationists.
Makes sense to this Arizona native, lifelong Dem progressive. The Russell Senate Building could use an updated memorial designation for a Senator who did work across the aisle occasionally. And exemplified extraordinary courage while in captivity, and McCain Feingold campaign reform. And more.
Bonus that it’d annoy Trump.
Beyond re-naming the building, until Fat Nixon leaves office they could also put a statue of McCain out front that looks toward the White House with its middle finger raised.
Edit: I never knew about the man whose name was on the building. Now I do.
Senator Richard Russell of Georgia
Richard Russell, Democrat from Georgia, served in the U.S. Senate for almost 40 years (1932-1971). During World War II Russell chaired a special committee, traveling extensively to observe the quality and effectiveness of war material under combat conditions. He chaired the Armed Services Committee during two major wars, from 1951 to 1953, and from 1955 to 1969, and was instrumental in boosting the defense budget. He authored the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and promoted the development of new forms of energy. Russell became known as a “senator’s senator” due to his mastery of Senate rules and procedures. As the leader of the Senate’s “southern bloc,” Russell often used his parliamentary skills to oppose civil rights legislation, including bills to ban lynching and to abolish the poll tax. In 1956 he co-authored the “Southern Manifesto” to oppose racial desegregation, and he led southern senators in their opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Respect for Russell’s legislative skills, even among his opponents, led to the Russell Senate Office Building being named in his honor in 1972.
Thank you, Senator Schumer.
Yeah, Russell was no Georgia peach.
A couple of years ago Michael Tomnsky at the DailyBeast suggested that the Russell office building be renamed for Humphrey since he was a lion of the senate for many years. But anything that removes the name of a retrograde segregationist is fine with me.
We know what trump’s response was to McCain’s passing. You can find it on instagram if you so choose (hint: there was a full body image of donald and language about him)
Below is the statement from Obama. Note the well written language about McCain and how Obama diverts attention to the subject and not himself. Ultimate class act in my opinion. It’s what a President does.
"John McCain and i were members of different generations, came from completely different backgrounds, and competed at the highest level of politics. But we shared, for all our differences, a fidelity to something higher-the ideals for which generations of Americans and immigrants alike have fought, marched, and sacrificed. We saw our political battles, even, as a privilege, something noble, an opportunity to serve as
stewards of those high ideals at home, and to advance them around the world. We saw this country as a place where anything is possible - and citizenship as ourpatriotic obligation to ensure it forever remains that way.
“Few of us have been tested the way John once was, or required to show the kind of courage that he did. But all of us can aspire to the courage to put the greater good above our own. At John’s best, he showed us what that means. And for that, we are all in his debt. Michelle and I send our heartfelt condolences to Cindy and their family.”
Damn I miss Obama
This is a very sad response made sadder and worse because I’ve heard that Chuck Schumer is behind this drive. I respect many of John McCain’s accomplishments but I don’t think we should overreact and take hasty decisions during a time of tragedy. This is an important Senate Building and we should not take our respect, hero worship and appreciation to the level of deification.
Another important question to ask ourselves is whether conservatives including John McCain would even consider doing this for someone objectively and definitively more worthy that was not a christian conservative? Let us simply keep Senator McCain in our hearts and minds and thoughts and prayers.
Finally, let us not build more christian conservative monuments in the our nation’s capital like the Southern christian conservatives and white supremacist neo-Confederates did throughout the South during the Civil Rights era.
The name they would be replacing - Russell - was an segregationist from Georgia. The man was known for it. i would much rather see McCain’s name on the building.
This reads like a posthumous description of a more-ambitious Mitch McConnell.
We should not praise people who use their power and expertise to oppress others, to defend bigotry and close-mindedness, or encourage such behavior in others. It sounds like the world would have been a better place if Russell had never amounted to anything.
In a better world, Mitch McConnell would have learned to love women or liquor, and would be ruining the lives of a much smaller group of people than he does in reality.
Maybe as a consolation, the coming Democratic Congress could rename something after the Bellowing Yam:
The Blue Plains Sewage Treatment Plant, located in Washington, DC, is the largest in the world, with a capacity of 370 million gallons of human waste per day.
Plus it would irritate Trump, so it’s a twofer.
For all that he’s still a relatively young guy, he is transitioning rather well into the role of Elder Statesman, don’t you think?
(And— he’s not gone yet. If we ever got a strong Democratic majority in Congress - both Houses-, I could see him as the second President who became Chief Justice. --Psstt, pass it on, who knows?)
Sometimes I wish I could flag a comment as worthy of the homepage.
I like how you think. 'cept our AZ representation in DC are mostly all GOPers Except for Raul Grijalva and one or two others. This needs to change. AZ has been GOPLand for waaaaay too long.