In the original Star Trek series, Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu was the helmsman of the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701, and was depicted as a swashbuckling swordsman in his free time. Now it seems that the dragon he wishes to slay is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). From the Lexington Herald-Leader:

George Takei ‘tempted’ to challenge Mitch McConnell. He has support from other actors.

By Mike Stunson | May 24, 2019 09:07 AM | Updated 09:15 AM EDT

Could George Takei “live long and prosper” in a new self-advertised role of 2020 challenger to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky’s longtime senator?

Takei, famously known for his role as Lt. Hikaru Solo (sic) in the “Star Trek” franchise, set his sights on McConnell in a tweet Thursday.

“I’m tempted to move to Kentucky just to run against Mitch McConnell,” tweeted Takei, who is also known for his political activism.

In the words of Star Trek Capt. Jean-Luc Picard, some social media users told Takei to “make it so.”

There’s more at the original. But Hikaru Solo? 🙂

I have, of course, pointed out the bias in the media when that bias ran in a leftward direction. To be fair, I should note that this article, a supposedly straight news story in a supposedly professional newspaper, was written in a wholly mocking vein. Of course, Mt Takei’s tweet was wholly mockworthy, but that doesn’t mean that a straight news story should engage in such.

Senator McConnell has officially launched his 2020 re-election campaign. If he is re-elected, Mr McConnell will turn 79 a month and a half after his next term begins, meaning that he would be almost 85 at the end of that term. It’s very tempting to want someone younger in that office, but Mr McConnell, more than anyone else, saved the Supreme Court seat previously held by Associate Justice Antonin Scalia from being filled by President Obama. It was one heck of a gamble, since Hillary Clinton was widely expected to win the 2016 election, but the Majority Leader refused to permit a confirmation vote on Mr Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, thus saving the seat for President Trump to fill with Neil Gorsuch. It was a gutsy move, since if Mrs Clinton won the election, she could have been expected to nominate someone much further left than the (supposedly) more moderate Judge Garland, but it paid off.

Mr Takei would have one heck of a challenge in front of him: Mr McConnell has never lost an election. Following his narrow win over incumbent Senator Walter Huddleston (D-KY) in 1984, Mr McConnell has won his re-election bids by comfortable margins. In 2014, facing Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, a daughter of a famous Kentucky Democratic family and herself the winner of a statewide election, Mr McConnell utterly stomped her, 56.2% to 40.7%.

Democrats have been attempting to persuade former Marine Corps pilot Amy McGrath to challenge Mr McConnell, but she has not agreed yet. Mrs McGrath challenged Representative Andy Barr (R-KY 6^th) in 2018, but lost. If Mrs McGrath could not defeat a solid but nevertheless colorless Republican congressman in Kentucky’s second most liberal district — Lexington is the largest city in the district — she wouldn’t seem to have much of a chance against Mr McConnell statewide.

And Mr Sulu? A carpetbag Hollywood has been elitist and homosexual activist? In Kentucky? Looks like Mr Takei might’ve been drinking a bit too much Romulan ale.
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