How is Mitch McConnell doing?

[Free]

McConnell’s health emergency sparks questions on whether he will return to Senate

Emergency dispatch audio indicating that someone at Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) home in Washington, D.C., suffered “cardiac arrest” earlier this month has raised questions about when the former GOP leader will return to the Senate or whether he will return at all.

McConnell’s office has provided few details about his health status but reported a few days ago that he “appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital.”

His office on Thursday also said the 84-year-old senator “continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”

But the scant detail about what sent him to the hospital on June 14, combined with the alarming audio from an emergency dispatcher, has fueled speculation that McConnell’s condition is much worse than his staff has acknowledged.

Meanwhile, the rumor mill is spinning.

Trump Confidante Says Mitch McConnell, 84, Is ‘Brain Dead’

A right-wing political activist with close ties to President Donald Trump and senior figures in his administration has claimed that former Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is “brain dead” and wi...

www.yahoo.com

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

Putting my own personal feelings about him aside, this is a serious problem that so many of our lawmakers hold on to power all the way up until they die of old age. We just desperately need age limits for any high office. And it's a bipartisan issue that most people in the country support. This has also been an issue with a few democrats refusing to step down when it was clear they needed to. People should not wield such power after they are clearly senile and all the way up until they die of old age.

...shifting gears back to Mitch himself, the only reason I hope he recovers is because he'd probably be replaced by someone who's even more of a rabid Trump loyalist. I actually think Mitch hates Trump personally, but is just too spineless to stand up to him directly.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

replaced by someone who's even more of a rabid Trump loyalist.

After awhile anyway, the Governor (D) apparently can appoint a senator so gotta do that Weekend At Bernies in the meantime. Oh, and his wife's apparently in China.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

After awhile anyway, the Governor (D) apparently can appoint a senator so gotta do that Weekend At Bernies in the meantime. Oh, and his wife's apparently in China.

I totally missed that they had a democrat governor... I'm surprised. So yeah... interesting.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

As I understand what I've read, should Senator McConnell die, then the question of whether a special election would need to be called immediately or remain vacant until the November midterms depends on the date of his death.

If that's the case then if -- as has been suggested -- he's on a life support machine with no hope of recovery, the question of whether or not to turn off the life support system becomes intensely political, and I can see why his family might want to avoid that.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

What a capstone for the guy who refused to confirm Garland but ramrodded Comey-Barrett in in the final weeks. So on brand.

 

[Jopsy Pendragon]

I've nothing nice to say. I'll just leave it with:

 

[Beebo Brink]

I actually think Mitch hates Trump personally, but is just too spineless to stand up to him directly too heavily invested in the corruption to rock the boat.

Fixed it for you.

By the way, totally nothing to be concerned about, within days of McConnell going into the hospital, his wife jetted off to China for a meeting with the Chinese government. Nothing to see here...

 

[Beebo Brink]

If that's the case then if -- as has been suggested -- he's on a life support machine with no hope of recovery, the question of whether or not to turn off the life support system becomes intensely political, and I can see why his family might want to avoid that.

Um, define "his family." I'm sure there's someone he's related to that might want to avoid that, but my bet is on his wife using his death date to her own advantage. After she's cleared it with her handlers, of course.

 

[Free]

MTG left her job in Congress, but she has not really left politics. Thank the gods.

Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls Sen. Mitch McConnell's Wife, Elaine Chao, a Communist Spy

Marjorie Taylor Greene thinks Senator Mitch McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao, is a Chinese spy who bailed on her husband who was at death's door to meet with a Communist Chinese leader.

www.tmz.com

 

[detrius]

McConnell's wife - Elaine Chao - is one of Trump's Kennedy Center trustees, btw.

 

[Free]

This is from CNN. Still, your mileage may vary on the report.

McConnell was loaded into ambulance on a stretcher, according to eyewitness and new video

Emergency responders took Sen. Mitch McConnell to an ambulance on a stretcher after being called to his home last month for a report of an unconscious person, according to new video of the incident and an eyewitness account.

A neighbor of McConnell told CNN that they opened their door to find commotion outside their home at around 8:30 a.m. on June 14, with two ambulances a fire truck and Capitol Police officers blocking the entire street.

Videos taken by the neighbor show emergency responders wheeling a person on a stretcher toward an ambulance. The videos are shot from some distance, and the face of the person is not visible. Once in the ambulance, the person’s lower legs appear to be covered by an orange blanket, but feet are visible.

The neighbor said they asked officers what was going on, and the officers responded that there had been a “medical emergency.” But when the neighbor inquired if McConnell was having a medical emergency, officers said they would block the street for anybody. The neighbor said they learned from another eyewitness who saw the individual’s face that the person on the stretcher was McConnell and he was not wearing an oxygen mask.

 

[detrius]

https://www.reddit.com/r/DankLeft/s/dXqUCdsjqu

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Question: if Sen McConnell is, in fact, in a coma, what does that mean for his seat in the Senate, particularly since he's already said he won't seek re-election this November?

He can't resign, obviously. Is there any way he can be removed on the grounds of medical incapacity?

I ask because I'm struggling to understand the secrecy about his condition, and don't really understand what would be the disadvantages of his family authorising the hospital to issue some kind of anodyne statement combined with a request to respect his and their privacy at this difficult time.

 

[detrius]

Question: if Sen McConnell is, in fact, in a coma, what does that mean for his seat in the Senate, particularly since he's already said he won't seek re-election this November?

He can't resign, obviously. Is there any way he can be removed on the grounds of medical incapacity?

I ask because I'm struggling to understand the secrecy about his condition, and don't really understand what would be the disadvantages of his family authorising the hospital to issue some kind of anodyne statement combined with a request to respect his and their privacy at this difficult time.

Kentucky has a Democratic governor and the Republicans obviously don't want him to appoint a replacement for McConnell.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Kentucky has a Democratic governor and the Republicans obviously don't want him to appoint a replacement for McConnell.

The Kentucky legislature has hemmed in the governor's powers considerably when it comes to a reappointment. He must appoint a Republican and it can't be any Republican; the party will choose three possible candidates, and he must choose one of them.

 

[Beebo Brink]

I ask because I'm struggling to understand the secrecy about his condition, and don't really understand what would be the disadvantages of his family authorising the hospital to issue some kind of anodyne statement combined with a request to respect his and their privacy at this difficult time.

I'm struggling to remember the details, which were mentioned in one of the many political podcasts that I listen to. I believe it's all about the timing. If a replacement is named now, there are restrictions on that person's term and what other positions they can run for. Plus, there's the usual jockeying for power.

 

[Soen Eber]

Just a guess, but I'm a firm believer that to understand a states' culture, you have to understand their immigration and foundational patterns. Virginia was pretty much formed and ruled by 2nd sons of the landed English gentry, a culture inherited by Kentucky as it was once a part of that state and had an amiable split. Given McConnell's racist past and some of the events he's hosted, he considers himself as a member of the "overlord" landed gentry elite class.

You might as well ask why a 17th century lord with 5,000 acres in Herefordshire only occasionally deigns themselves to speak with the London papers.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

I'm struggling to remember the details, which were mentioned in one of the many political podcasts that I listen to. I believe it's all about the timing. If a replacement is named now, there are restrictions on that person's term and what other positions they can run for. Plus, there's the usual jockeying for power.

It's all very odd.

These colleagues and staffers who claim he's conscious and holding long conversations about senate business are obviously lying, and simply making things worse because, if he is conscious and dealing with business matters, then why on earth doesn't he issue a brief statement thanking everyone and reassuring them he's recovering?

So what's the point of all these statements?

If he hasn't yet regained consciousness, though, at what point can his position in the senate be declared vacant, and who makes that decision?

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Just a guess, but I'm a firm believer that to understand a states' culture, you have to understand their immigration and foundational patterns. Virginia was pretty much formed and ruled by 2nd sons of the landed English gentry, a culture inherited by Kentucky as it was once a part of that state and had an amiable split. Given McConnell's racist past and some of the events he's hosted, he considers himself as a member of the "overlord" landed gentry elite class.

You might as well ask why a 17th century lord with 5,000 acres in Herefordshire only occasionally deigns themselves to speak with the London papers.

In the unlikely event that hereditary peer also held an important political position, I would certainly expect his family to authorise the hospital to issue some sort of anodyne update on his condition, if only to satisfy the political reporters, who would be showing a great deal more interest in his health than are their apparently more deferential US counterparts in this case.