McConnell takes a lot of crap, much of it unfair.
Where McConnell "fails" is that he's unwilling to fight for symbolic victories that are defeats in practical terms. He doesn't push for votes where he knows he would lose, even if some believe there may be a political advantage in making a stand on principle. He cares about winning votes, and is careful to avoid alienating key swing voting Senators just to make those symbolic points. So, though some wish he'd call out the Collins and Murkowskis of the Senate more frequently, he doesn't do it. And he doesn't embarrass them because he still wants their votes on other critical issues.
But when he thinks the votes are there, he is willing to piss off the Democrats and ram those votes through. He has done that consistently since Trump has been elected. He's got a one vote margin, and hasn't shown the slightest hesitation in terms of maximizing that authority regardless of Democrat squawking.
Here...the GOP is in a fight that it still can win, so McConnell is coming out guns blazing to try to win that fight. Good for him. His practicality isn't as emotionally satisfying as a "give me liberty or give me death" approach, but for a legislator, that kind of practicality ends up paying dividends.
