Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) is building some goodwill on the right with the Keystone XL vote this week, more because of the process that he is following than the particular policy.
“The story this week is that McConnell kept his word that we’re going to have an open process on bills,” a conservative Senate aide tells National Review Online. “That’s been the source of most conservatives’ [anger] over the last four years, both with Harry Reid and with our own leadership.”
The open process, the source says, means that Republicans can shift away from internal fights about tactics to fights about policy. That’s a particularly welcome change on the eve of President Obama’s State of the Union address, which is a wish list of liberal priorities, many of which never drive the headlines.
“The crazy things that Obama is talking about in his speech tomorrow night is a never-ending grab bag of goodies for Republicans to beat Democrats over the head with,” the aide says. “It’s going to be awesome.”