As Senator Mitch McConnell approaches the finish line on his record-setting tenure as Senate Republican leader, histories of his outsized impact on American policy and politics are already being written. One can’t overstate his accomplishments on issues ranging from the judiciary to the tax code to foreign policy, and commentators will rightly focus on those successes. But another, smaller part of Minority Leader McConnell’s legacy also warrants special attention.
Both sides have learned to embrace big spending and light-touch regulation, free to run their campaigns without the government’s micromanagement. This new bipartisan consensus is a far cry from McCain and Feingold’s vision of a tightly controlled campaign finance system, and it shows no signs of ending soon. It’s a consistent theme throughout his career: Senator McConnell played the long game.