It took a comedian’s drubbing to get McConnell to move. Perhaps there’s a lesson in that.

So is Kentucky’s own Sen. Mitch McConnell actually capable of ... shame?

For a long time it’s seemed like the answer was no, from his failure to notify the public of Russian interference to the audacious block of Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland during President Obama’s last term to, well, constantly shameless corruption of our campaign finance system that makes politics subject only to the highest bidders.

Then came comedic giant Jon Stewart, battling on Capitol Hill for Congress to extend the compensation fund that helps the first responders of 9-11 with the numerous illnesses they’ve incurred helping people escape from the wreckage of the Twin Towers. His heartfelt pleas led McConnell to tell Fox News that Stewart seemed “bent out of shape.”

Luckily, Stewart has his own media mouthpiece.

“You really want to go with the ‘we’ll get to it when we get to it’ argument with the heroes of 9-11?” he said during a surprise appearance on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show. “We’re saying you love the 911 community when they serve your political purposes. But when they’re in need, you slow-walk, you dither, you use it as a political pawn to get other things you want and you don’t get the job done completely ... meet with them tomorrow.”

On Tuesday, McConnell did. And McClatchy’s Lesley Clark described how he met with the first responders with considerably more engagement than on previous visits. Not only that, he scheduled a vote for August.

McConnell is probably invulnerable in Kentucky, but has become a popular punching bag in national Democratic circles. In Wednesday’s debate, he was called out almost as much as Trump, a role in which he naturally revels.

Still, where others have failed to move McConnell to action, Stewart succeeded. Now that he’s retired from comedy, maybe he, not George Takei, should move to Kentucky to challenge McConnell next year. Or just keep on shaming him into action.

Linda Blackford writes columns and commentary for the Herald-Leader.