The home of Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell in Louisville, Kentucky, was vandalized on Saturday morning. Spray painted messages on the Republican leader’s door appear to be a response to his opposition to the increase coronavirus relief checks for Americans from $ 600 to $ 2,000.
One message says “weres (sic) my money,” another, “Mitch kills the poor,” according to photos shared by CBS News affiliate in Louisville WLKY. McConnell blocked a vote on increasing checks for three consecutive days last week, calling the proposal “socialism for the rich”.
McConnell and the Republican Party argue that the project would benefit the rich. McConnell, however, previously supported the $ 1 trillion tax cut in 2017, which disproportionately benefited the wealthy. The Republican Party leader also questions how much money the bill would cost the government. Larger checks would total about $ 530 billion, about $ 385 billion more than what $ 600 checks would cost, according to Heights Securities. The Senate, led by McConnell, approved on Friday a $ 740 billion defense policy bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act, NDAA.
To pass the NDAA, the Senate had to override President Trump’s veto, marking the first time Congress voted to overturn Trump during his entire presidency.
After blocking the House bill that would have authorized $ 2,000 stimulus checks, McConnell presented a bill that linked increased payments to two separate issues assessed by Trump: Nixing: Section 230, a legal shield for Internet companies and the creation of a commission to examine electoral integrity. The president also linked the repeal of Section 230 to the NDAA, but several members of Congress, including some Republicans, successfully argued that it was not relevant to national security.
“Here is the deal,” McConnell said in comments on the Senate floor earlier this week. “The Senate is not going to split the three issues that President Trump has linked just because Democrats are afraid to address two of them.”
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, called the vandalism at McConnell’s home “unacceptable” in Twitter Saturday. “While the First Amendment protects our freedom of speech, vandalism is reprehensible and never acceptable for any reason,” wrote Beshear.
McConnell said in his own statement that “vandalism and the politics of fear have no place in our society”.
“I spent my career fighting for the First Amendment and defending peaceful protests. I thank every Kentuckian who engaged in the democratic process, whether they agree with me or not ”, says his statement. “My wife and I were never intimidated by this toxic manual. We just hope that our neighbors in Louisville are not too bothered by this radical tantrum.”
It appears that House of Mayor Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco was also vandalized this weekend, reports the CBS SF Bay Area. The garage door of a residence in the Pacific Heights neighborhood was spray-painted and a pig’s head was left on the sidewalk.
The graffiti, which said “cancel rent” and “we want everything”, also appears to be related to the coronavirus stimulus checks. Democrats support greater checks, and Pelosi herself pleaded with McConnell not to block voting on the bill. “Mitch McConnell, remove the obstacle that you have so that the American people have the opportunity to have this direct payment and do it now,” she said.
The San Francisco police have not confirmed whether the residence belongs to the speaker. Pelosi is currently in Washington, DC