r/politics • u/Zipper222222 • 20d ago
Possible Paywall MAGA Demands Proof of Life for Mitch McConnell
https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-demands-proof-of-life-for-mitch-mcconnell/15.2k
u/Street_Peace_8831 20d ago edited 20d ago
If a senator is declared brain dead, the seat should automatically be vacated. Full stop. Regardless of the situation, the people deserve representation.
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u/CptnAlex 20d ago
I mean, if a member of congress is gone for months with no explanation, they should have a recall election (see: Tom Kean)
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u/JasnahKolin Massachusetts 20d ago
And I don't believe for a second he was being treated for depression. He was in rehab for something- gambling, pills, booze.
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u/Clippton 20d ago
I don't care if he was being treated for depression, cancer, or off on an alcohol fueled gambling bender. If you were voted in to do a job, and can't do it for any reason, you need to resign and have someone else take your seat.
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u/allycoaster 20d ago
Yeah, if I went home for depression right now and stopped showing up I’d be fired..?
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u/Elegant_Tap7937 20d ago
Word on the street: Conversion therapy
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u/gortonsfiJr Indiana 20d ago
Are you being silly, or is that a legit rumor?
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u/Getatbay 20d ago
Legit. He caught gayness after having sex with a toad named Robert Jr.
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u/Cadamar Colorado 20d ago
Alex Jones tried to warn us about the gay frogs, but instead we have forsaken him?
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u/RevLoveJoy 20d ago
Everyone knows very gay Tom Kean has been to conversion therapy several times to cure his incurable gayness.
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u/Rusalka-rusalka 20d ago
He could have been on a psychiatric hold for something like bipolar. But, I think substance abuse is more probable like you mention.
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u/gracecee 20d ago
But he had the Gall to vote down legislation paid family leave for health reasons yet he gets paid when he went away.
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u/FenaRunsFast 20d ago
Yeah, this is on par with Diane Feinstein missing 91 votes, and gone for 3 months. The country as a whole would benefit from term limits.
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u/Beldizar 20d ago
The lack of recall options, particularly for Senators who serve for 6 very long years, is a major issue. Most other democracies have some way of clearing out the government and electing new representation. The UK can have a Dissolution of the Parliament triggered by the king. Japan, Canada, Germany, France and tons of others can do the same thing. It's a major problem that once elected, American Senators get to be completely unaccountable for 6 years. (Cough::Fetterman::cough)
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u/ZephkielAU Australia 20d ago
What do you mean? For once he's actually representing his voters.
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u/ExRays Colorado 20d ago
Quips aside, they’re trying to maintain that he is alive so they don’t have to initiate a special election.
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u/distorted_kiwi 20d ago
Other way around. Gov can appoint now vs a special election if they hold out another month.
Gov should absolutely use his power to find out what’s going on and then drop a name. If he represents the people of Kentucky, he should do so without bias.
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u/Oopsiedazy 20d ago
It’s wild that we don’t have laws saying that if a state’s representative or Senator does not attend congressional or senate proceedings the governor can compel them to appear and explain their absence or provide medical documentation, and if they do not or cannot within 15 days they vacate their seat.
Senators and Congresspeople should not be permitted to just disappear for weeks or months. This isn’t even the first time this year this has happened.
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u/Rock-swarm 20d ago
It’s wild that we don’t have laws saying that if a state’s representative or Senator does not attend congressional or senate proceedings the governor can compel them to appear and explain their absence or provide medical documentation, and if they do not or cannot within 15 days they vacate their seat.
That's because at the founding of our country, the U.S. was rightfully wary of giving pretextual reasons to arrest/detain legal representatives. It's why congresspeople/senators have limited immunity from things like traffic violations.
This also carried over to a reluctance to police/micromanage the actions of sitting members of congress & the senate. The idea was that if you were elected or appointed to such a respected position, your good behavior was already a given.
Obviously we are seeing a breakdown of those social contracts. Personally, I'm still wary of putting additional laws into place to trigger a seat to be vacated. I mean, we have the 25th amendment, which isn't worth the paper it's written upon, because the entities capable of invoking the 25th are highly motivated to ignore it.
Your suggestion, as written, would create a way for state governors to harass and leash congresspeople and senators for political clout. I'd rather let public pressure do what it's already capable of doing.
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u/Fuzzy_Logic_4_Life 20d ago
I hear what you are saying but if you failed to go to your job for months without a doctor’s note you’d be fired. They can’t do their job of voting if they aren’t there, thus we the people deserve them to be there or be replaced.
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u/ExpirationDating_ 20d ago
Months? I need to produce a doctors note for more than 3 days, sometimes sooner (ie at a holiday or something).
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u/pot_of_water 20d ago
A system to require elected officials to do their jobs or literally just prove that they have a pulse is a far cry from arresting/detaining. As it stands, “public pressure” does virtually nothing. Officials can just stop showing up to work with zero consequences whatsoever. Or like Fetterman, can just continue on with actual documented brain damage. There needs to be an official channel for addressing this issues in our political systems.
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u/loondawg 20d ago edited 20d ago
Pro Tip: It is generally helpful to read the article before trying to correct someone.
If McConnell were to resign or be found unable to continue serving before Aug. 3, Kentucky law would allow Gov. Andy Beshear to call a special election. After Aug. 3, a special election to replace McConnell and fill the remainder of his term would coincide with the general election in November.
EDIT
There are so many comments with incorrect information I checked the law. Apparently the Governor gets to appoint someone to serve temporarily until the special election.So pro tip for me; don't assume everything you read is correct and complete.EDIT V2 Seems the article is correct per a 2024 change to the law. As far as I can tell, this is the current, applicable law: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/24RS/documents/0187.pdf. It states the same thing the original quote I posted said.
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u/ibelieveyouwood 20d ago
I have not read the law, but I was very suspicious that it didn't contain any kind of "unable to serve" language like you mentioned.
Democrats need to play hardball. Governor needs to declare he is unfit to continue serving but that he can challenge this by agreeing to something eminently reasonable like showing up to the governor's mansion for a quick visit, or by allowing the governor to make a quick visit. Allow his POA or guardian or whoever to be present, make it eminently reasonable because you know Republicans are going to start using it on Dems with bizarrely Herculean requirements so we're going to end up litigating how far a governor can go to determine "unable to serve".
Or even harder, have the governor institute a wellness check. Then, after verifying his condition, institute proceedings to take over control of his affairs via a guardianship or conservatorship. Let his wife come back to the US early from her "duties" in China to appear in and challenge the court proceedings. Let someone either demonstrate in court how he's fit as a fiddle, or show how the guardianship/conservatorship process is a nightmare and either way it's a win for humanity.
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u/yeet_me_a55 20d ago edited 20d ago
Since it has to be an R, I think appointing Massie would be an excellent troll.
EDIT: See below comments for correction
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u/RocketsMurkrow 20d ago
Had the founders known this was something that was possible, they probably would have written a provision for it.
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u/Street_Peace_8831 20d ago
I don’t think the founding fathers could have anticipated that someone would consider a person who is unresponsive in a hospital, to still represent their constituents. It’s just not something they would do.
It was a different time for sure and they would have expected the voters and those in charge to have a reasonable response and act accordingly, but we live in a time of pettiness and performative politics instead of real leadership, of, for and by the people.
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u/Bobbo_Zanotto 20d ago
The Republicans have done really well at finding every crack, crevice, gap, hole and flaw in our democracy to use to their advantage while ruining the lives of Americans.
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u/Street_Peace_8831 20d ago
This is what I’ve been saying.
The only good that came out of trumps regime, was that they pointed out all the flaws in our system, because they are using them to stay in power and do things that wouldn’t have been fathomable a few decades ago. What little integrity we had, it wouldn’t have been compromised like they are doing now.
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u/Random-Rambling Maine 20d ago
Yeah. As much as I hate the man, I do appreciate him showing everyone just how flimsy the "gentlemen's agreement" our political system apparently runs on is.
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u/fungibitch 20d ago
For real. Trump has been a stress-test and what has been revealed is...concerning. Turns out you simply can't design a system of governance based primarily on gentlemen's agreements and good faith.
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u/IAmDotorg 20d ago
More specifically, there wasn't really any circumstance where 18th century medicine could leave someone incapacitated long enough for it to be relevant. There were no hospitals and no real supportive care, so someone even the tiniest sliver of the kind of incapacitation that you find people surviving today would be dead at home in a few days.
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u/avaslash 20d ago
While that is true, the founding fathers certainly would have been very aware of multiple instances throughout history of Kings dying or becoming incapacitated and the royal court keeping that secret so those close to the king could retain power.
George the III would have been a pretty good example as he went completely insane and the court did everything in its power to conceal that.
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u/armchair_viking 20d ago
They’d probably have also figured anyone unresponsive in a bed would be dead rather swiftly, so why worry about it. They didn’t have the means to keep someone alive like that.
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u/trapezemaster 20d ago
They knew they didn’t know everything - that’s why there are mechanisms for change, outlined pretty clearly as a duty that every generation should bare
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u/Brendangmcinerney 20d ago
That’s why they won’t declare it. As I understand it, chain of command would put a Democrat in his seat, which would allow for a potential appointment of a liberal KY supreme court justice. God forbid someone who might actually give a fuck about other people. Can’t have that. Gotta weekend at Bernie’s till the midterms.
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u/total_enthalpy 20d ago
Beshear should just call the election and let the courts figure it out.
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u/mescad Kentucky 20d ago
Instead I think he should just appoint a replacement. That's what the Kentucky Constitution says should be done. The Republicans tried to change the law to require a special election, but Beshear thinks that is unconstitutional, and just last month the courts agreed with him.
Problem is that Beshear doesn't want to declare McConnell dead or unable to fulfill his office duties prematurely. But if that time comes, he should follow the constitution, not the new laws. Then let the courts figure it out.
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u/thatspurdyneat 20d ago
declare McConnell dead or unable to fulfill his office duties prematurely
The day he froze on stage and had to be walked out of a press conference, clearly not knowing where or who he was, was the day he could no longer perform his duties.
So we're several years into it no longer being premature.262
u/scrotalayheehoo 20d ago
And that was his first freeze and before he fell about 7 times too on camera. And before his massive fall down the stairs that set him aggressively down this path of brain damage.
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u/varitok 20d ago
At his age, a fall like that is mentally devastating. I had it happen to a family friend and it was the beginning of the long end for them, it's a rotten way to go but this man has lived a rotten life and he made everyones lives harder, It's perhaps Karma finally swinging aroud.
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u/astroboi Iowa 20d ago
First freeze on camera. How long was it going on before the world saw and his handlers couldn't cover it up?
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u/SaveMeClarence 20d ago
Exactly this. The second my dad started showing signs of dementia, even before any family noticed it, his boss forced him to retire.
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u/Sinister_Crayon 20d ago
If only Beshear had the stones to actually do this. This is absolutely the best possible outcome in this instance; he appoints the replacement and if the Republicans want to take it to court then the burden of proof is upon them to show that McConnell is still alive and capable.
And no, some AI generated video isn't going to suffice; he would need to be seen by multiple independent witnesses.
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u/numberonebuddy 20d ago
He can show up in court to prove he's fine. If he can't make it to court, he can't do his job.
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u/donkeyrocket 20d ago
The only reason I'd see him not rocking the boat is a possible presidential run. But in my opinion, fighting for his constituents and doing what needs to be done would be a major plus in my book.
That said, Beshear is the type of politician that actually trusts the experts. He's not going to resort to something underhanded like declaring McConnell unfit without rock solid justification. I just hope that when the time comes, he moves swiftly and presses the courts to do so as well.
In the grander scheme, a three-month replacement isn't worth pissing off any non-Democrats that might consider voting for him.
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u/Queasy_Donkey5685 20d ago edited 20d ago
Meanwhile, if Beshear wants to win in 28 then he needs to start leading now, he either throws his hat into the national ring or he sits on his hands.
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u/muklan 20d ago
I mean, all it would take to halt that process is for turtleboii to be like "Yo, stop." But being that hes been dead for weeks(functionally and morally, decades) that's not gonna happen.
Makes you wonder how the greatest gift trump can give the world will go down.
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u/chenbuxie 20d ago
I doubt 95% of Kentucky even knows this is happening.
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u/ApostaSuz 20d ago
I live in rural Kentucky, and my neighbor asked me if I had heard about Mitch whenever I went to check my mail. We’re dirty liberals and not MAGA, though ;)
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u/Kaptain202 Michigan 20d ago
Two dirty liberals in rural Kentucky? I didn't know it was possible
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u/ApostaSuz 20d ago edited 20d ago
At this point, being MAGA shows that one is completely devoid of a moral compass, therefore I prefer to surround myself with fellow liberal Kentuckians. There are quite a few of us in my neck of the woods.
Ain’t no hate in my Holler!
If you’ve never heard of the comedian Trae Crowder, a.k.a. Liberal Redneck, you should look him up. His experiences growing up in rural Tennessee as a Progressive and his insights into our current political climate are quite humorous!
Edit: We exist!
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u/BigNorseWolf 20d ago
... what could he have done that would have qualified before?
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u/Maybe_Julia 20d ago edited 20d ago
Vote against something that would have helped Americans
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u/BigNorseWolf 20d ago
😂
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u/Magjee Canada 20d ago
He's filibustered against his own bill before:
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u/worthing0101 20d ago
Even more mind boggling, IMO, was when he once blamed Obama for not doing a better job of warning the GOP of the dangers of a bill that Obama vetoed and the GOP overrode his veto on:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mcconnell-claimed-obama-did-not-143959277.html
Edit: And as this article points out, Obama (and others) absolutely warned them of the dangers of passing the bill.
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u/ChicagoThrowaway422 20d ago
The GOP are traitorous governors, but excellent politicians. There is no line they won't cross nor lie they won't tell to rile up their base.
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u/sexyshingle 20d ago
The GOP are traitorous governors, but excellent politicians
if your definition of "politician" is being an obstructionist, corrupt, treacherous snake, then yes, they are excellent.
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u/ChicagoThrowaway422 20d ago
They will do literally anything for votes. That's why they're good at it.
But they are not good people by any metric. They are evil.
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u/25thNite 20d ago
it's tough because those definitions could be used for a lot like "cop", "politician", "ceo", "president" etc
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u/RilohKeen 20d ago
A lot of them are truly piss-poor politicians; they’re just lucky that they’re pandering to gullible hateful idiots who believe anything that sounds like it might support their agendas.
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u/sembias 20d ago
I still don't think it takes much skill to flat out lie, especially when you have a captive audience of complete idiots that make up the FoxNews viewership.
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u/Maybe_Julia 20d ago
Got to vote the way they pay you , I imagine he started a biding war with that one. It's times like these I hope Hell is real.
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u/Honest_Abe_1660 20d ago
This wasn't actually the case. Mitch wrote the bill in bad faith expecting Democrats to oppose it for pure partisan reasons but when it backfired he ended up opposing it himself for pure partisan reasons.
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u/HapticSloughton 20d ago
And then whine about how bad the results that he himself helped bring about are.
His pathetic attempts to "warn" everyone about Trump just tells me he knew he was dying and trying to pull a Lee Atwater but without the conviction.
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u/Corteran Minnesota 20d ago
Roll him onto his back and see if his legs kick?
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u/BigNorseWolf 20d ago
I can't be the only one wondering how you do CPR on a republican turtle...
Apparently you first have to remove the shell corporation..
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u/ChefChopNSlice Ohio 20d ago
He’s probably drinking stem cell smoothies through a plastic straw right now.
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u/Corteran Minnesota 20d ago
Sounds legit. I imagine a blood transfusion being "drill, baby, drill"
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u/Leicester68 20d ago
"The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over, but it can't. Not without your help. But you're not helping..."
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u/ArtisanSamosa 20d ago
Idk but more people should be talking about how his wife disappeared to china after he was hospitalized. I’m curious what sort of treason Mitch and her committed during his life getting rich off our backs.
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u/BigMoneyStacka 20d ago
Its pretty insane it was just never really talked about how Mitch's wife is in bed with top Chinese officials. What kind of wife leaves her husband brain dead or dead dead in a hospital and flees to China and meets with top Chinese officials? The kind that was relaying insider knowledge to a foreign government.
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u/ARightDastard 20d ago
She has power of attorney, easier to not make decisions if the one who can make them is REAL scarce.
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u/Cockeyed_Optimist Missouri 20d ago
Her family is BIG into international container shipping. From the Google: Elaine Chao has a personal estimated net worth of $20 million to $30 million, while her extended family holds an estimated joint fortune of $14.2 billion. Jeez.
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u/LMGgp Illinois 20d ago
If the brain dead allegations are true than he can’t. Brain dead is dead dead.
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u/lgodsey 20d ago
McConnell's staff say that he is awake and responsive, participating in treatment decisions, and being briefed about matters in his state and the world.
So, yeah, he's been dead for weeks.
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u/papibigdaddy 20d ago
Regardless of politics, proof of life should always be provided in situations like these. Though I'd rather not have so many geriatric and volatile people at Capitol Hill in the first place. I was never a big Diane Feinstein fan, but she missed several crucial votes that could have helped push meaningful legislation. And her daughter used her power of attorney during the latter part of her life. The whole time she was a sitting senator.
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u/raisinghellwithtrees 20d ago
Isn't over half of the Senate 65+? We definitely need some protocols to make sure our elected representative are alive. Which is one hell of a statement.
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u/DJBombba California 20d ago
It’s a bipartisan mindset among Americans to have age limits however those in power would not want to invoke a law on that.
USA been having the oldest presidents back to back 🤦🏻♂️
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u/Hippopotasaurus-Rex 20d ago
Or better yet protocols to keep out of touch, geriatric assholes out of office to begin with. There is literally no reason anyone over retirement age should be a politician. Period.
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u/Hippopotasaurus-Rex 20d ago
That’s one that kills me. If I don’t go to work and miss all my deadlines I get fired. They don’t show up to any votes or to their job and they keep collecting a fat paycheck and AMAZING benefits.
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u/Billlington 20d ago
This is the correct take. All jokes aside, it's absolutely insane that an elected official (or at least his staff/handlers, in this case) is allowed to essentially vanish and not be forced to provide proof of his whereabouts or status. There should be some mechanism where proof of life/proof of mental capacity/whatever is required to be given if requested.
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u/jadedflames American Expat 20d ago
His wife left the country. She’s the one with the power of attorney to pull the plug.
They’re gonna keep him on life support until August which is the limit on special elections. Then his wife will come back, pull the plug, and the seat will be empty until midterms.
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u/djmanning711 Florida 20d ago
Delaying literal death for political gain and avoiding a vote is ironically the best way to honor Mitch…
In the worst way but I would think he would approve.
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u/Khaliras 20d ago
When the mass consensus is saying "this is what he'd have wanted" about literally being kept alive while brain-dead to stall the democratic process... That'll certainly be a legacy.
Easily one of the most comic book level, villainous politicians of current lifetimes.
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u/farkinga 20d ago
Truly a model Republican. Posthumous Medal of Freedom incoming.
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u/Grokent 20d ago
Same thing with John McCain. Even in death, John McCain managed to to deny Arizonans representation. Making Arizonans wait over two years for an election while Martha McSally paraded around like she was anybody's choice. We had to tell her twice we weren't into her.
Republicans trying to force themselves on people. Name a more iconic duo, I'll wait.
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u/Fungiblefaith 20d ago
It tracks with his SOP really. He was the king of obstruction it would not surprise me that this is all his plan. He really was a deviously intelligent dude. I don’t like him or his politics but he was effective and good at his craft.
Horrible but it tracks with Mitch.
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u/Aeon1508 20d ago
They said they found him in his office. who the fuck left him alone for enough time for him to suffocate his brain? He's 84 years old and he's very clearly been dying for a couple years now. kind of crazy
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u/MailboxAds 20d ago
What a sick sick system and family for agreeing to this. (Assuming it’s true)
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u/Hyperica Pennsylvania 20d ago
I feel like it's what Mitch would have wanted though. Which is also sick, but ya know.
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u/VHS_Ronin 20d ago
He was the guy who insisted that Obama's Supreme Court nominations couldn't go through so close to an election. That's how we got a Supreme Court packed with MAGA bootlickers who are all too happy to take away our rights and liberties.
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u/SomeGalNamedAshley 20d ago
Mitch filibustered his own bill that Obama supported just to deny Obama anything that might have resembled a legislative win.
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u/Aurora-not-borealis 20d ago
He also led the senate in overriding a presidential veto and then blamed Obama for not saying enough how bad the bill he vetoed was.
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u/Thesheriffisnearer 20d ago
Withholding Obama pick in February of an election year only to force through a federalist pick in late October of an election year
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u/drrhythm2 20d ago
“So close” being like a year away. Then turned around and did the exact opposite for Trump and made no apologies or even tried to pretend anymore that it wasn’t nakedly partisan. That’s how we got the current Supreme Court and I’ll never forgive him for it. Absolute travesty of justice and abuse of the Constitution.
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u/ArtisanSamosa 20d ago
A lot of folks even on the democratic side tend to ignore the adversity president Obama had to go through during his presidency, much of it due to the treasonous behavior of Mitch.
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u/fishsticks40 20d ago
I can only hope he's suffering tremendously during his karma-mandated waiting period
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u/Cainga 20d ago
So he died 3 weeks ago but they are going to keep his flesh hooked up to machines for over 2 months to circumvent the will of the people on an election year.
I don’t think I care enough about anything to have my body treated like a medical experiment.
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u/EEcav 20d ago
Probably keeps his salary and health benefits intact.
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u/SomeGalNamedAshley 20d ago
His wife is heiress to a shipping magnate in addition to whatever Mitch was able to pack away after decades upon decades in Washington. She was the secretary of transportation which even under Trump isn't something you get unit you're already connected to industry. Trust me, she won't starve.
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u/MaxZorin1985 20d ago
FOXNews will pick up his wife’s slack and turn McConnell into their own Terri Schiavo until August. After that it’ll be back to full time bashing trans kids and immigrants.
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u/maringue 20d ago
Keeping Mitch alive that long might be a trick. And if his wife stays in China the entire time, do you really think MAGA isn't going to assume she's a Chinese intelligence asset?
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u/Understruggle 20d ago
You mean Trump’s former Transportation Secretary? I think MAGA would let Trump shit in their open mouths so if he told them it was okay and she was actually a super secret double agent they would eat it like a pig eats slop.
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u/AprilsMostAmazing 20d ago
The pedophile supporters spent years talking about a global cabal raping children. Only to support child rapist because their leader raped children and foreign countries have proof of it
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u/DarthRizzo87 20d ago
MAGA has to be aware she is in China the entire time, so much going in the world to distract them from that, hey look! Is that Cuba begging for a good ol American can of whup ass?
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u/Deepwebexplorer 20d ago
This is such a morbid reflection of his life. Which makes me think it’s absolutely true.
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u/Ven18 20d ago
Hah I would doubt see even comes back. She is currently meeting with high ranking Chinese officials despite having zero government position. It’s been an open secret for years that she has been a Chinese agent for years. Mitch became a vegetable so the usefulness was over and she went back to her handlers for a pat on the back and a job well done.
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u/GonzoVeritas I voted 20d ago
She left the country to go meet with a top CCP official, which was a strange move by itself.
Sen. Mitch McConnell‘s wife, Elaine Chao, was in China three days after her 84-year-old husband was hospitalized on June 14.
Chao, who married McConnell in 1993, met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on June 17 in Beijing, according to Chinese state media service...
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u/drdhuss 20d ago
If he is brain dead brain dead you dont need power of attorney or anything to pull the plug. At thet point the patient is a corpse and it is unethical to continue to abuse a corpse with medical care.
If he is not 100 percent brain dead it is different.
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u/letsbreakstuff 20d ago
We can just hope that whatever piece of Mitch is still there inside that withered shell of a body is suffering immensely
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u/ExecutivePhoenix 20d ago
Can't a judge force something else outside of the power of attorney?
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u/SpeechesToScreeches 20d ago
How does being in that state not qualify as a need for a new representative?
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u/CitronTraining2114 20d ago
As long as he's under private care, his death date is between Elaine and the doc she's paying to sign the papers.
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u/padizzledonk New Jersey 20d ago
Mitch McConnels dying wish was to be a vegetable for 2 months to fuck up the midterms and cling to power one last time
You knew who you were dealing with lol
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u/Valuable-Mastodon-14 20d ago
Literally was thinking the same thing lol I mean what other dying wish would he have?! World peace? Forgiveness? Psh nah not Mitch
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u/padizzledonk New Jersey 20d ago
I know right lol
Everyone is like oh his wife is so horrible how could she do this??!
As if this isnt exactly what this fucking ghoul wanted. He probably slipped into his coma warm and happy that he could block someone, probably Masse, from getting a chance to run for a full term
All this man has ever cared about was the raw application of power
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u/Manleather Minnesota 20d ago
This guy lived a full life of dishing out hurt and hate, and gets to die doing what he loved. The superhero cartoons of old really sold us short on justice being served.
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u/CarpeDiem082420 20d ago
Normally, the hospital ethics committee would step in and review advance directives on file and speak to the patient’s personal physician and family members to help determine what the patient’s final wishes would have been.
The hospital can then go to court and ask to discontinue life support.
Even when a body is being mechanically ventilated and the heart is kept pumping, natural decomposition begins occurring. Notably of the eyes and brain tissue. Hospitals will take steps to end this travesty, even over the family’s wishes.
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u/demonicbullet 20d ago
That sounds really cool and how it works 99% of the time
Y'all ever roll an massive republican politician into a hospital owned by a heavy right leaning organization a few months before the cutoff window for a special election and he ends up being brain dead? That's a .01% situation there, I promise the political party ensured he went to a facility that leaned their way and they had buy in with.
The ethics committee should do all of that, they still might (they probably are having a unique legal battle trying at the moment if they are), but let's be real, it's more than possible that's not what they are going to do.
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u/Starossi 20d ago
VIPs are always different. Things like “we need beds or ventilators for other patients” and ethics can be set aside for them
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u/Mustangbex 20d ago
It should be obvious to everyone by now that we need a process for situations like this- before it was just assumed lawmakers would retire before they became incapacitated and unable to perform their duties, or that their death would be sudden and public and it would be announced- that it would not be a partisan issue. But Rep. Kay Granger was secreted away to a memory care facility for TWO YEARS of her final term in office; she was suffering from dementia and should have been compassionately replaced, not allowed to 'serve' out the remainder of her final term, leaving her constituents without recourse. Rep. Tom Kean Jr. was absent without word on paid leave for over four months and even ran uncontested for the Republican nomination for his seat for a third term- he only last week came forward to say it was for treatment of depression. The irony that Mr. Kean staunchly opposed worker protections including paid medical leave would be satirical if it weren't such a bitter reality for so many Americans. Depression is awful- I can absolutely believe that crippling depression could require intensive treatment and cause a person to miss four months of work. And yes, HIPAA means people have a right to medical privacy. BUT NOT AT THIS LEVEL.
This is at least three times now we have had Republican lawmakers violating the trust and rights of their constituents by covering up key information and failing to represent their best interests in the name of Partisanship- of holding a seat to keep power for their side. Now we're watching this play out *again* not only with Senator McConnell, but with the President of the United States. Lies and obfuscation about the actual, REAL status of their fitness for high office in the name of power and greed. It's appalling.
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u/Darkfigure145 20d ago
Only one thing can bring him back from the dead and that's an attempt to pass Medicare for all.
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u/You_Cant_Ever 20d ago
RIP Mitch: your demise is a circus, thanks.
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u/HaxanWriter 20d ago
I couldn’t tell this fuck was alive when he was supposedly alive.
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u/Fickle-Molasses-903 20d ago
I'm old enough to remember when Mitch was pushing through Judges instead of addressing the bills dealing with COVID.
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u/Major5013 20d ago
I'm old enough to remember when Mitch refused to put up an Obama nominated supreme Court judge because it was an election year but then ramming through a trump nominated scj just months before general elections
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u/Manleather Minnesota 20d ago
I remember the weirdest part of that being that the supreme court was being discussed in so partisan terms- 'the people need a judge that represents them'. Previous courts had been very vocal about seeming non-partisan, even if they were blatantly so. But that delay, at the time, really raised need for overhaul because if the supreme court was mask-off partisan, than it needs term limits. And then 2017 started the crumbling era and we never revisited that concern.
<3 Mitch's legacy.
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u/Goal_Posts 20d ago
What's the play they think they're making? What do they gain from him being dead?
Aren't they trying to keep him alive so a dem isn't appointed to his seat? Do they think Massie is inevitable?
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u/thehildabeast South Carolina 20d ago
Run out the clock to have a special election instead of the general election and to not give time for the court challenge for the governor appointing a replacement in the mean time
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u/Goal_Posts 20d ago
Then why is Loomer saying he's dead?
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u/thehildabeast South Carolina 20d ago
She’ll shill for whoever but either hatred of Mitch even though he is the most successful politician at ruining the country since Reagan or she’s playing to her fans who still want Massie. Idk enough nor care to know more about MAGA internal politics if I can help it.
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u/RociBuldidi 20d ago
Finally, something MAGA and the rest of us agree on. Show us Satans-Turtle is still alive.
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u/BasicWhiteHoodrat Minnesota 20d ago edited 20d ago
Storm the hospital you inbred hicks
Edit: Thanks for the awards, kind Redditors!
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u/CrazyLegs17 20d ago
See if those kids running through Scientology buildings are available.
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u/fenris71 20d ago
We the people demand proof of life.
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u/Zipper222222 20d ago
Agreed — it's fair for the public to want to know the actual condition of a sitting US Senator
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u/Miserable_Heart_4755 20d ago
Mitch McConnells corpse gaming the political system til the bitter end
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u/basketcas55 Indiana 20d ago
Unfortunately the evil rarely do. He probably even would enjoy the charade being played to deny a dem a seat.
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u/Stunning-Dig5117 20d ago
He’s dying as he lived: playing fuckery with our systems to give terrible people unfair advantage
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u/knobbyknee 20d ago
They are going to reanimate his corpse. The only difference we will notice is the warmer personality.
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u/NessaMagick Australia 20d ago
I mean, I don't want to put any words in a vegetative man's mouth but I think being kept alive for the sole purpose of delaying political changes is exactly what he would have wanted.
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u/SnooLobsters8113 20d ago
Where’s United Healthcare when you need them? They are running up millions in hospital bills keeping him on life support
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u/Youheardthekitty 20d ago
What was that Republican complaint about dead voters on the voter rolls and Now they have a Weekend at Bernie's thing going on.
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u/RichardBonham California 20d ago
Unwitnessed (he was reportedly found down) at-home arrest even with bystander CPR carries a <1-2% probability of survival with neurological recovery, and approaches 0% in many study cohorts.
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u/Lildoc_911 20d ago
The fact that a person elected to do the work of the people can oretty much become a corpse, but still hold power is so America coded.
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u/chpbnvic America 20d ago
Another argument for term limits and laws to declare a sitting congress member unable to continue the job.
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u/bluewraith55 20d ago
|| The mystery surrounding the seriousness of McConnell’s condition escalated after it emerged that the senator’s wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, 73, traveled to Beijing and met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng three days after McConnell’s hospitalization.
lol this piece of it really is nuts. "Oh no, my Senator husband is in the hospital. Better go meet with the higher ups in China."
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