A taciturn tactician, McConnell’s leadership draws respect – and ire

In January, when former Senate majority leader Bob Dole of Kansas was honored with the Congressional Gold Medal, his fellow Republican, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, offered a tribute.

Senator Dole showed that “principles and pragmatism are not opposites, but complements,” said Senator McConnell. He praised the son of the Dust Bowl and Depression for breaking a stalemate to save Social Security, and for “reaching across the aisle” to help pass landmark legislation like the Americans with Disabilities Act. As leader of the Republican majority in the 1980s and ’90s, Dole could often be found in the Democratic cloak room, seated in an overstuffed chair, working out deals with the opposition.

In many ways, the contrast between the two men is striking.

As he officially surpasses Dole as the longest-serving leader of the Senate GOP, at 11 years, five months, and ten days, one of McConnell’s most important daily tasks is to count his own members. With only 51 in a 100-member