Symbolic sleight ofhandbySenate majority leader

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, perhaps the GOP’s 2018 MVP, may be on his way to another title.

In a senatorial sleight of hand, he has suddenly put opportunistic colleagues who have been swept up in the AOC tailwinds in an uncomfortable position. They are now going to have to vote on the Green New Deal, which they have loudly supported, in the well of the Senate.

The Green New Deal, a proposal rolled out by freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey on the Senate side, is a fantastical plan to combat climate change and completely remodel the economy of the United States. It would move the country completely away from fossil fuels and onto renewables (but not nuclear) in about a decade.

In truth, it would be an economical and, ultimately, humanitarian disaster.

Democrats far and wide endorsed the deal, hoping to capture some of the progressive energy that has made Ocasio-Cortez such a star in the party. Presidential candidates in her party have embraced the spirit of her Green New Deal and use it on the campaign trail to prove their far-left bonafides.

Tuesday, McConnell announced that he would bring the bill to the floor of the Senate and call a vote.

That must be horrifying news to Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Kamala Harris of California, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. They have all strongly supported the measure publicly and used the issue to attack the Trump administration’s position on climate change.

Now they are going to have a choice: Either attach their name to an insane proposal that would upend the lives of almost every American or be exposed as unprincipled, cynical opportunists.

It is a master stroke by McConnell. Indeed, it is also an example of base, political maneuvering, but at least it is of some utility to voters as it will give them a unique read on a stable of candidates.

Additionally, some of those Democrats are the very same ones who comported themselves disgracefully during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. Americans should give no quarter to their protests.

We look forward to hearing those senators plead their case to the American people as to why they should be trusted to sit in the Oval Office. This vote will be a welcome litmus test.