It’s a little surprising today’s Mitch McConnell observation took so long to surface.

One gets to that conclusion by thinking back about seven-plus years to the aftermath of Sandy when Republicans in Congress initially balked at providing aid to New Jersey and New York. That prompted an angry outburst by then-Governor Chris Christie.

Sure, the issues are different.

Sandy was a natural disaster for a small part of the country.

We are now coping with a nationwide pandemic.

But the framework is somewhat the same – opposition to helping some of the hardest-hit states (New Jersey and New York) deal with an emergency. This time it is economic fallout from COVID-19.
McConnell suggested in a radio interview that instead of more federal aid to New Jersey, New York and similar locales, it may be preferable to just let them declare bankruptcy.

An immediate problem is that states can’t legally do that.

It is also remarkable on one hand that a conservative like the Senate Majority Leader is advocating such an irresponsible position.

Declaring bankruptcy, of course, means your creditors wind up holding the proverbial bag. How is running away from your debts a conservative economic position?

Still, the politics makes sense from McConnell’s point of view. He gets to tell his base that he wants to stop “hand-outs” to “blue state” governors. That would be a guaranteed applause line at any upcoming McConnell political event, assuming we can have some of those again.

Phil Murphy’s reaction at his briefing today was expected.

Saying McConnell’s words took his breath away, the governor called them completely and uttery irresponsible Striving to take raw politics out of the equation, Murphy said he’d feel the same way if the
Majority Leader was a Democrat, a Martian or a Communist.

It makes you wonder. What would rankle McConnell more? Being called a Martian or a Communist?

In a more serious vein, Murphy said he actually thinks he and the president are in the same place when it comes to federal aid.

There was bipartisan agreement in the Senate a few days ago about replenishing the fund that aids small businesses. And the governor mentioned another $500 billion bill to help local governments being
championed by Bob Menendez and Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana. Murphy said that is what should happen in an emergency. While Murphy seemed morally repulsed by McConnell’s comments, he
didn’t forget the politics of it all. And he said forcing a state to go bankrupt would be terrible politics because of the hardship it would cause residents.

The governor reminded all that he’s not running this year, but that, “a lot of people are on the ballot, including him.”

And speaking of him, some may recall that McConnell was in New Jersey a few months ago for a fundraiser hosted by the aforementioned Chris Christie.

After today, you’ve got to figure Murphy will do all he can to help the Democrat challenging McConnell. In case the governor forgot who she is, her name is Amy McGrath.