Tag: Mitch McConnell

Where’s Proof Of Life?

One of the mysteries of DC….other than the mental capacity of Donny….is the saga swirling around Mitch McConnell….

Mitch McConnell has been hospitalized for three weeks, and his staff still won’t say why. The lack of transparency has led to all kinds of speculation about the 84-year-old Kentucky senator and his prospects for returning to the chamber. What we know:

  • Hospitalization: McConnell was admitted on June 14, and emergency dispatch recordings suggested that first responders performed CPR on an unconscious male at the senator’s Washington address, reports the New York Times. McConnell’s name is not mentioned in the recordings. A dispatcher also speculated about a “cardiac arrest.”
  • Few details: McConnell’s staff acknowledged the hospitalization without providing details. The only other statement came Thursday: “The Senator continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session,” it read in its entirety, per the Washington Post.
  • Rumor mill: In the absence of concrete info, unsubstantiated speculation is rampant, and it’s coming from high-profile figures. The far right’s Laura Loomer wrote that McConnell “is allegedly in a vegetative state.” Steve Bannon used his platform to amplify claims “that McConnell remains in office to avoid triggering a special election that could allow Thomas Massie to run as an independent.” The Daily Beast has a roundup.
  • Not so fast: But longtime Kentucky political observer Al Cross rolls his eyes at the rumors. McConnell’s staffers are “causing themselves problems by not saying more about it, but he’s always been very private about his health matters,” Cross tells the Hill. (McConnell had polio as a child and has had a number of health issues in his later years, per the AP.) Cross’ hunch is that McConnell will return to the Senate. He is due to retire this year, in any event.
  • Two friends: Fellow GOP Sens. John Thune—the majority leader—and John Barrasso told reporters they had spoken to McConnell the day after his hospitalization. McConnell is “clearly dialed into what’s going on,” said Thune. Still, McConnell’s absence has already delayed work in the Senate Appropriations Committee, where Republicans need his vote. A prolonged absence would shrink the GOP majority in the Senate to 52-47, which could complicate some votes.

Fascinating stuff, huh?

But there is more and it is getting good now….

A number of MAGA figures are demanding that Sen. Mitch McConnell’s aides provide proof that the 84-year-old is still alive nearly a month after he was hospitalized.

Speculation about the Kentucky Republican is continuing to intensify as his team refuses to provide new information about his treatment, his condition, or whether he will ever be able to return to work after he was hospitalized on June 14.

McConnell’s team has repeatedly issued the same statement, saying he “appreciates the outpouring of support” while he continues treatment after he was found unconscious and requiring CPR at his Washington, D.C., home following an apparent cardiac arrest.

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.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-demands-proof-of-life-for-mitch-mcconnell/

Fascinating stuff, as I said…..

What do you think is going on behind those gilded doors?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

The McConnell Diagnosis

A few days ago I wrote a post about McConnell’s most recent ‘brain fart’ and the official ruling by a Senate doctor on his condition…..for those not keeping up….

McConnell Forgot Something (Again)

I was not convinced with the glowing report the doctor gave…..I said it was BS and a couple of other doctors concur with my assessment….

Seven neurologists consulted by the New York Times say the video of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell freezing up while addressing reporters on Wednesday suggests the problem is more serious than the official explanation indicates. Dr. Brian Monahan, the Capitol’s attending physician, has issued a statement that mentioned dehydration and recovery from a concussion as possible causes for the “occasional lightheadedness” that may have led to McConnell shutting down for 30 seconds at a time. “If I gave that tape to a medical student and that was his explanation, I’d fail him,” said Dr. Orrin Devinsky, of NYU’s medical school.

While conceding that they can’t offer a remote diagnosis, the neurologists said videos can provide information leading to a diagnosis. “They’re very helpful, because you’re not subject to the vagaries of someone’s description and you can capture the beginning of” the spell, said Dr. Anthony Kim of the University of California, San Francisco. Devinsky said doctors would want more data but added, “we do have this very powerful clinical information, which is quite honestly how I have to diagnose seizures and epilepsy all the time, often without the video.” And dehydration and lightheadedness were not what the neurologists saw.

“The possibility at the top of my list would be a seizure,” Kim said. Focal seizures, which can be caused by an irregularity in part of the brain, can stop and appear to isolate patients, per the Times. Mini-strokes are a possibility, but experts say they rarely have identical effects each time; McConnell has had two alike spells that were filmed. But they wouldn’t preclude most people from carrying on as before with work or life. “Seizures have a stigma in our society, and that’s unfortunate because these are very brief electrical interruptions in behavior,” Dr. Jeffrey Saver of UCLA. Medication can control the episodes, he said, but they shouldn’t be dismissed. “Two seizures you definitely would want to treat,” said Dr. Sami Khella of Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. “You don’t want them to happen—they’re not good for you.

Time for McConnell to consider taking it to the house…..he is old and feeble…..the Senate needs dynamic leadership and Mitch just ain’t it any longer.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

McConnell Forgot Something (Again)

Once again the Senate GOP majority leader has stumbled with words while giving a speech…..

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell froze up during a press conference in Kentucky Wednesday, a month after he experienced a similar episode while talking to reporters at the Capitol. McConnell spoke for several minutes at the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Government Forum before freezing up while taking questions from the press, WLWT reports. NBC News reports that the 81-year-old paused for more than 30 seconds after he was asked if he would run for re-election and remained frozen after an aide asked, “Did you hear the question, senator?”

After McConnell told an aide he was OK, two other questions—one about Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and one about Donald Trump—had to be repeated before he was led away by aides. “Leader McConnell felt momentarily lightheaded and paused during his press conference today,” a spokesman said afterward. An aide speaking on condition of anonymity tells the Washington Post that McConnell will consult a doctor before his next public event as a “prudential measure.”

Go see a doctor?   And what would think his diagnosis will be?

If you think McConnell will be cleared and pronounced in good mental health….then you would be right.

The Capitol’s attending physician has pronounced Sen. Mitch McConnell good to go and said he can carry on with his duties, a day after the minority leader froze at a microphone during an appearance in Kentucky. “I have consulted with Leader McConnell and conferred with his neurology team,” Dr. Brian Monahan said in a statement. It was his second such incident in weeks. “After evaluating yesterday’s incident, I have informed Leader McConnell that he is medically clear to continue with his schedule as planned.” The statement was released by McConnell’s office, CNN reports.

he 81-year-old McConnell suffered a concussion when he took a fall in March. “Occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration,” said Monahan, echoing the diagnosis the senator’s office has provided. The release of the doctor’s statement represents the first time McConnell’s staff has acknowledged the freeze-ups, per NBC News. President Biden said during a visit to FEMA headquarters in Washington on Thursday that he had just had a conversation with McConnell. “He was his old self on the telephone,” said Biden, who was stricken by two brain aneurysms in 1988. Such spells, Biden said, are “part of the recovery.”

Should Republicans need to choose a successor to the longest-serving Senate leader in history, the New York Times rates potential candidates for the job. The early front-runners would be the senators referred to as “the Three Johns:” John Thune of South Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas, and John Barrasso of Wyoming. Other possibilities include Sens. Joni Ernst of Iowa and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, who are both members of the GOP leadership team. The Times‘ assessment can be found here. So far, McConnell has given no indication that he plans to step down; his Senate seat will be on the 2026 ballot, and there’s not a way to force a leadership vote until after the 2024 elections, per CNN

Come on people….this man is too damn old….time for him to be put out to pasture and find a younger leader of the aging GOP.  He looked like he had no idea where he was, what he was doing or anyone around him.

Yes we all have ‘brain farts’ from time to time but ours does not involve the running of this country.

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Mitch, You Devil

This post is about the Senate’s majority leader. Mitch McConnell…..his actions during the impeachment trial of Trump leaves lots to desire…but that is for a future post (maybe)……

I have said on numerous occasions and posts that the GOP is excellent at politics….and for that I tip my hat….respect for their tactics…..and Mitch has shown just how masterful he can be as well…..

It’s not a sure thing, but the smart money says the Senate is poised to acquit President Trump of impeachment charges without calling witnesses. That became clear after GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander, whose vote was said to be in question, announced that he did not want to hear new testimony. At CNN, Chris Cillizza points out this means the trial might be wrapped up before Trump’s State of the Union address on Feb. 4, and he gives Mitch McConnell all the credit for orchestrating this political feat. This outcome “was unthinkable 10 days ago and is a testament to McConnell’s skills as a persuader and vote-counting virtuoso,” he writes. Cillizza recounts the strategy, beginning with McConnell’s “power play” move to go ahead with the trial with no guarantees on witnesses.

As the trial progressed, McConnell kept a low profile, but Cillizza likens him to a duck—placid on the surface but paddling furiously below water. He persuaded enough GOP senators, especially vulnerable ones, that allowing witnesses would prolong the trial and cause more them harm in the long run. And then there was the Alexander factor. The Tennessee senator is a longtime friend of McConnell’s. At Mediaite, John Ziegler thinks the whole will-he-or-won’t-he drama was a McConnell charade believed by gullible reporters. “It was always clear that McConnell was setting Alexander up for the role of the guy who, after careful and considerable contemplation, decided that it was somehow in the best interest of the country for Trump’s impeachment trial to be the first in history to not have witnesses.” But there was never any chance Alexander would vote otherwise, he adds. Read Ziegler’s full column here, and Cillizza’s full column here.

This whole Senatorial affair has been brilliantly played….my hat is off to Mitch.

But it is a cesspool of nonsense masquerading as a “fair trial”….that stated…..well done Mitch!

Then there is the Supreme Court thing in this trial…..

The Senate vote Friday against permitting more testimony or documents in the impeachment trial did more than put President Trump on the fast track to acquittal, Nancy Pelosi says; it forced John Roberts into a bad place. “It is a sad day for America to see Senator McConnell humiliate the Chief Justice of the United States into presiding over a vote which rejected our nation’s judicial norms, precedents and institutions which uphold the Constitution and the rule of law,” she tweeted on Saturday. The 51 votes against witnesses all came from Republicans, NBC reports, including Mitch McConnell, the majority leader. Had the Senate vote been 50-50, Roberts could have stepped in to break the tie. The chief justice ruled that out Friday, saying, “I think it would be inappropriate.”

Two other senators alluded to the awkwardness for Roberts. In announcing Friday that she was voting against witnesses, Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, said she didn’t want to “drag the Supreme Court into the fray.” The day before, Democrat Elizabeth Warren asked about the effect of the trial on the judiciary, per the Hill, saying that many Americans lack faith in their government. “Does the fact that the chief justice is presiding over an impeachment trial in which Republican senators have thus far refused to allow witnesses or evidence contribute to the loss of legitimacy of the chief justice, the Supreme Court, and the Constitution?” she asked.

I have said many many times….”Dems have great ideas but suck at politics”….and this whole impeachment thing has proved my point.

One last note about Mitch….recently the Dems have started calling him “Moscow Mitch”….a title I thought was a bit childish….but now with more information it may well be a good call….

McConnell recently voted to drop sanctions against Russian aluminum company RusAl which is still owned by one of Vladimir Putin’s sanctioned oligarchs, Oleg Deripaska. His action directly benefits one of the GOP leader’s major donors, whose fortune comes from Russian oil.

The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC run by Sen. McConnell’s former Chief of Staff, received a total of $3,500,000 ($2,500,000 in 2016 and $1,000,000 in 2017) via Access Industries and a subsidiary. Len Blavatnik is a Russian oligarch with US and UK citizenship who owns Access Industries and donated to Sen. McConnell’s 2016 Senate campaign vehicles.

Blavatnik’s Access Industries made many of its billions from Putin’s decisions about its Russian oil partnership. He is also a long-term business partner of Kremlin-linked Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska at RuSal, in which he is a major investor, as well as Viktor Vekselberg, who is entangled with Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen through his U.S. family office Columbus Nova.

View at Medium.com

It all comes down to where his loyalties lie…..money can be a powerful motivator…..and buys a lot of loyalty…..no matter the party.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”