What’s up with Mitch McConnell?
I guess we know where he is – he’s been in the hospital for about three weeks. We simply don’t know why, or anything about his condition:
Here’s some gossip on the subject, though:
Neighbors of Mitch McConnell’s Capitol Hill home in Washington, D.C. have said the house hasn’t seen anyone come or go since his latest health scare.
The former Senate majority leader had not been seen in public for weeks before he was found unconscious after an apparent heart attack at his home on June 14, according to EMS dispatch audio.
One of his neighbors explained to independent journalist Desirée Townsend that she saw him being taken to the hospital by paramedics, but has seen no activity at McConnell’s nearly $2 million Washington house since.
“I haven’t seen anyone,” she explained.
And his wife?
Chao, who formerly served as transportation secretary in the first Trump administration and labor secretary in the Bush administration, traveled to Beijing and met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng just three days after McConnell’s hospitalization.
Curiouser and curiouser.
His Senate office has for days refused to answer basic questions about his health, and has only repeated that he is “working closely” with staff on Senate business while Congress is out of session. They have not answered questions about the senator’s treatment, prognosis, or timeline for his full recovery.
Far-right influencer and Trump confidante Laura Loomer alleged on Monday that the Kentucky senator was “brain dead” and would not be returning to Congress, citing a “high-level source close to the White House.”
Who knows? Not I.
[ADDENDUM: I just read a report here from Rasmussen, about McConnell’s wife’s trip to China:
Elaine Chao was already IN China when Mitch was getting CPR. The real question is, why didn’t she immediately fly back to DC instead of meeting with the Chinese VP 5 days later?
Don’t know what the truth actually is.]
What a terrible so-called wife.
Loomer’s account is plausible. BTW, McConnell’s youngest daughter has disabled her X account. Has anyone plumbed the dealings between Chao’s family and figures in the ChiCom political elite?
OUT: The Kremlin gerontocracy
IN: The DC gerontocracy
Hang in there, senator. I guess. Kentucky governor Beshear is a Democrat. Although the legislature passed a law (over Bashear’s veto) that he has to accept their nominee, he will probably refuse to accept it, leading to a court battle. Is it better to have a democrat or no senator?
Bob Wilson:
No senator is better.
Well of course McConnel’s staff and family are going to keep the grift going, as long as the pitiful husk of him is still breathing. Without him warming that Senate seat, they have no status, no “pull”, no influence — and his staffers would at the very least, be hustling for a new job; most likely one without any prestige at all.
Best to just stuck him in a plant pot in the corner of that nice office and remember to water him a couple times a week.
Why yes, I’m cynical about this sort of thing – it’s just good pattern recognition.
Where does the Senate Majority Leader stand on the “unfortunate accident “ succession list. Yes I could look it up but I’ve had 5 CT scans already these two weeks with another for Friday. Too darn tired.
Be a shame if lots of known entities are “indisposed” and we get an incapable enigma.
The people claiming to talk to him come across as lying. It would be trivial to show a still of him talking on the phone. Show him eating his oatmeal. A still reading the paper. Anything. Nope, nothing, just bullshit fake calls. Dead turtle.
CE, we don’t know what we don’t know.
Yes, very curious about the travel of his Wife. Trying to get a new place to live in Beijing?
Does the U.S. have an extradition treaty with China?
I just read a report here from Rasmussen, about McConnell’s wife’s trip to China:
Don’t know what the truth actually is.
I’ve also seen speculation that announcements of his demise could be a Republican strategy to prevent an unwanted candidate from seeking election, one that could conceivably win and become a disrupting influence over the next few months, possibly beyond. Not to mention any names, but his initials are Thomas Massie.
When someone dies, especially an elected official, is it legal to keep their death a secret? I would have thought ‘no’. How about medical condition? I guess the rules might be different for someone in the line of succession, which McConnell isn’t, anymore.
Working from a shaky memory here, I think Elaine Chao’s family is big in ocean shipping and has ties to the People’s Republic of China. Which is curious — she has been a darling of Republican administrations and is married to the senior Republican in the Senate.
At his age, I could well believe McConnell is brain dead. There are more than a few people in Washington who would tell you he’s been that way for many years.
Current state law in Kentucky requires a special election to fill a U.S. Senate vacancy. This is not unusual. What is atypical is that the law in Kentucky does not allow the governor to make an interim appointment for the period of time between the appearance of the vacancy and the election results being tabulated. Beshear can attempt an appointment anyway, but there is nothing which binds the U.S. Senate to accept the credential of said appointment.
Jason Chaffetz was subbing for Sean Hannity today, and he had Peter Schweizer on, who said Chao and McConnell have a long and troubling relationship with the Red Chinese.
Selfy:
I bellieve Chaffetz is right on that score. Troubling is a nice way to put it.
Laura Loomer? Really?
I wish McConnell no personal ill. I pray for him now. He has done many good things as a Senator, and I respect some of his actions over the years.
That said, I am also aware that there are valid reasons shy McConnell has been booed at GOP conventions. In many ways he is also the embodiment of some of the GOP’s worst traits.