The home of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was visited by vandals over the weekend.
According to local Fox affiliate WDRB, several phrases were spray-painted in red and white on the Kentucky Republican’s red-brick home in the upper-crust Highlands neighborhood of Louisville.
NEW THIS MORNING: The home of @senatemajldr was vandalized. Messages in red and white spray paint are covering the front porch area. The rest of the home appears to be untouched. @WDRBNews pic.twitter.com/pBa1Kq8kqe
— Grace Hayba (@GraceHayba) January 2, 2021
“Were’s [sic] my money,” pleaded one of the pieces of graffiti in an apparent reference to McConnell’s rejection of a populist initiative by a minority of U.S. senators to helicopter drop $2,000 stimulus checks into all Americans’ bank accounts.
According to WDRB, the Louisville Metro Police Department does not currently have a suspect for the apparent misdemeanor.
McConnell decried the vandalism in a statement.
“I’ve spent my career fighting for the First Amendment and defending peaceful protest. I appreciate every Kentuckian who has engaged in the democratic process whether they agree with me or not,” McConnell told WDRB. “This is different. Vandalism and the politics of fear have no place in our society. My wife and I have never been intimidated by this toxic playbook. We just hope our neighbors in Louisville aren’t too inconvenienced by this radical tantrum.”
In similar news, Democratic House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi‘s home in the San Francisco Bay area was also recently vandalized by apparent anarchists who directly referenced the stalled $2,000 stimulus checks.
Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Josh Hawley (R-Ky.) had previously attempted to force the U.S. Senate into passing that stimulus measure by leveraging President Donald Trump‘s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and denying unanimous consent on the ultimately successful veto override.
Few media outlets covered that procedural wrangling but advocacy journalism outlet The Daily Poster took note of the goings-on:
The day began with Sen. Bernie Sanders following through on his promise to deny unanimous consent for the Senate to advance a $740 billion defense authorization bill, until Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell allows an up-or-down vote on legislation that would send $2,000 survival checks to individuals making less than $75,000 and couples making less than $150,000.
[ . . . ]
Only six members of the Senate Democratic Caucus mustered the courage to vote against McConnell’s maneuver — Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen, Jeff Merkley, Ed Markey and Ron Wyden. Democratic senators in fact provided the majority of the votes for the measure that lets the defense bill proceed without a vote on the $2,000 checks.
McConnell’s repeated efforts to kill the $2,000 stimulus checks–by barrelling through the NDAA leverage vote–were eventually supported by overwhelming majorities of senators from both parties.
Still, the popular understanding of those McConnell-led and bi-partisan efforts has heaped a substantial amount of blame on the Senate Majority Leader’s doorstep–quite literally.
“Mitch kills [the] poor,” another message scrawled on the front of his home said. “Mitch hates Kentucky.”
Response to the minor crime was celebrated by most commentators on Twitter but was met with scorn by a small minority of others. The latter group disagreed with McConnell’s politics while pleading for comity and respect for norms.
I don’t care whose side you’re on. Vandalism of any property that isn’t yours is NOT okay.
Also, people need to learn how to spell. https://t.co/GHzeKjwRy5
— Paige (@16Paige60) January 2, 2021
Police are currently investigating both incidents against McConnell and Pelosi.
[image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]
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