As I mentioned yesterday, Ben Sasse of Nebraska is running for the Senate against a guy who has Mitch McConnell’s backing. Some of McConnell’s friends are holding a fundraiser for Sasse’s opponent at the NRSC. One name stands out pretty significantly on the invitation: Billy Piper.

Mr. Piper is not just Mitch McConnell’s former Chief of Staff. He’s now a well paid lobbyist working on behalf of companies implementing Obamacare. The Lexington Herald-Leader had a report on this just a couple of months ago.

Senator Mitch McConnell has received $75,000.00 from UnitedHealth Group. UnitedHealth owns the company that built Healthcare.gov. It also “retains former McConnell chief of staff Billy Piper as a Washington lobbyist to work on its behalf in Congress on implementation of the Affordable Care Act, Senate records show.”

That’s not the only Obamacare related client retaining Billy Piper. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports

Senate records show that Piper has several other clients who pay him for his assistance in implementing the Affordable Care Act, including the Federation of American Hospitals. The FAH has praised the health care law for making life easier for patients. The group’s political action committee has given a total of $15,000 since 2011 to McConnell’s campaign and to his Bluegrass Committee.

While Billy Piper is sending contributions to Mitch McConnell from entities profiting from Obamacare, McConnell’s current Chief of Staff, Josh Holmes, is working out of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, where Ben Sasse’s opponent is holding a fundraiser with Billy Piper on the host committee.

Just connect the dots. The Chamber of Commerce says it is going to work to fix, not repeal, Obamacare. A top policy wonk who has Mitch McConnell’s ear is starting a think tank to fix, not repeal, Obamacare. The Chamber of Commerce is going to attack conservatives in Republican Primaries. The Republican Main Street Partnership is getting Democrat money to join them. McConnell sends his current Chief to the NRSC, which in turn black balls a political shop helping conservatives. The NRCC joins in the black balling.

Folks, you may want to sit it out. You may think all Republicans will advance in your direction. But all the talk about the GOP just fighting over tactics is crap. This is a fight over the direction of the party and whether it will repeal Obamacare or work with Democrats to fix it.

Mitch McConnell and his ilk no longer believe the problem with government is government. They believe the problem with government is Democrats in charge of it. If you want to clean up the mess in Washington, you can no longer just vote Republican. You have to vote against Mitch McConnell and his preferred candidates inside Republican primaries.

If you want to clean up Washington, the singularly most significant thing you can do is replace Mitch McConnell and those who benefit from the Washington status quo.