How Mitch McConnell used Netflix to taunt a political enemy

Rarely does Netflix, the well-known live streaming service, enter into contemporary American politics. However, in the aftermath of the West Virginia Republican primaries, a graphic for “Narcos,” a program on Netflix about drug traffickers, was used to taunt one of the losers. Social media was, naturally, appalled.

Blankenship’s strange candidacy

The matter started when one of the GOP candidates for the United States Senate, businessman and convicted criminal Don Blankenship referred to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as “Cocaine Mitch,” according to USA Today.

The jibe stemmed from an incident in which a ship belonging to a company founded by McConnell’s father-in-law was found to have, tucked away in its cargo, 90 pounds of cocaine. No evidence existed that the company was aware that one of their ships was being used for drug smuggling. Certainly, no one seriously thinks that the Senate Majority Leader was in on the scheme.

National Republicans were scared to death of Blankenship. He spent a year in jail for a safety violation at one of his coal mines that resulted in numerous deaths. Blankenship blamed the Obama administration for his legal woes. He was given to saying off-putting things, including racist references to Ms. McConnell’s Chinese heritage.

The fear was that if Blankenship were to win he would be a disaster in the general election and would cede to seat to the incumbent Democrat.

‘Cocaine Mitch’ was amused

McConnell, it is said, was vastly amused at his nickname, answering his phone as, “Cocaine Mitch.” He also quietly moved to fund a campaign to deny Blankenship a primary win.

The effort was successful and the convicted businessman came in a distant third.

McConnell decided to twist the knife a little by taking a graphic from the Netflix series “Narcos” and photoshopping his head in the place of the actor who plays Pablo Escobar. The effect showed the Majority Leader in a cloud of cocaine powder.

The reaction on social media was sharp and to the point. The official Twitter account of Narcos had a caustic response.

Other reactions ranged from sentiments that the McConnell tweet was the funniest to appear in a long time, to accusations that the Senate leader was being insensitive about the opioid epidemic, which has hit West Virginia particularly hard. In any case, “Narcos” has gotten some oblique publicity and another chapter in political humor has been written.