And, as usual, taxpayers pay the bill.

Typical R behavior and "ethics".

... is to Republicans what water was to the Wicked Witch of the West. They have a definite aversion to it.

They have absolutely zero amounts of that as well.

Hell, some of them are the opposite of it!

I think maybe "ethics" is a legal term in the OP's context, and encompasses all they do – or don't do – in service to their constituencies, and the nation as whole. As to morals... well, I'd say that each and every one of them have the moral compass of a rabid hyena, otherwise they wouldn't be Republicans.

Is what Mitch would want. He probably has an Advance Directive that specifies when he can be let go depends on how close the date comes to an election.

GMTA!

He should have voted to remove Donvict.
I don’t have a flying fuck of either empathy or sympathy for MM or his family - not after what he put the US and the planet through with his cowardice re Trump.

Honestly...I've wondered if Elaine was in China to see about some advanced medical technology, etc. that might be used to keep him alive longer.

The following is a true story. I knew someone a few years back who believed that the end times were going to occur very soon. Her father was gravely ill. She was adamant that each time he coded, he be revived because she didn't want him to "die" but rather be raptured up. I can remember her telling me that even the chaplains were pleading with her to let the man go in peace and cause no further harm to him. She blew that off as Satan talking. The man's body ultimately gave out and nature took its course. The whole situation shook me to the core and I've had no further contact with this person because of that. I cannot imagine what she put all of the medical personnel through insisting that they do something they knew was causing harm and that the man's death was inevitable.

I should stop as I'm getting a little far fetched as to the trip to China. Or am I?

Being out of the country gives her plausible deniablity.

Hmmm...I've been through two extended family instances where an elderly person was dying and didn't have a DNR. There was no discussion either time as to heroic measures partly, I'm sure, due to age. They were both allowed to pass without intervention as there was no objection from any of the family. Neither of these persons were as old as McConnell.

Not disputing what you're saying at all. Merely a reflection on how things typically work for "ordinary" Americans. I realize we aren't dealing with anything ordinary here.

She's the daughter of a billionaire, so she could have seen her opportunity to bail permanently and never return.

She doesn't need his money. His lack of power and influence will probably make him pretty much useless to her going forward.

…does he have a health care proxy? Who might that be? Is that person keeping this going?

but who knows? anything is possible. and some new technology would be a hell of a lot better than shoving a stick up his back, propping him up and telling us "see? he's fine"

and that is so sad and so terrible what that cult wife did to her husband. damn!

organ donors.

a reminder to any of you who might be a match for trumps kidneys.

That poor man 😔

For the damage and harm that ‘that poor man’ has brought upon this country - FUCK HIM!!!!

I believe the poster was saying that the "poor man" was the man that I described in my post about his daughter insisting on keeping him alive as she felt the rapture was imminent.

Just sayin'...

His end was not fun.

I was talking about the woman who put her father through hell so he'd be raptured.

I was talking with others while I was scrolling through - I 'thought' I was responding to something about 'Mitch the Bitch!'
I meant nobody else - but it WAS sure meant for McTurtle!

I share you disgust for him.

Probably checking on contract obligations, best ways to save money on taxes if Mitch's name is on anything regarding the shipping company. Maybe meeting with representatives of Putins re how new orders from the Kremlin will be transmitted and who their new Senate Leader will be.

You know, just the basic widow stuff before she tells them to pull the plug.

Honestly, when DEMs take control, one of the investigations might be 'just how much insurance fraud was involved with keeping a corpse from going bad in a very secure hospital suite'. Some medical corporation is probably making a bundle on going along with the GOP (Ghoulish Oligarch Protectors) orders that 'Mitch is speaking daily with Senate leaders'.

That seat is up for election in November. It's Andy Barr(R) vs Charles Booker(D). Barr will almost certainly win. If a special election would need to be held, it wold only cover the seat for a few months at most. The Republican would almost certainly win the special election.

Leaving the seat vacant harms Republicans much more than a secial election would (vacant means they have one less vote for Trump. Special election almost guarantees they pick that vote back up)

It's better that one less Rethublican be present to vote.

He can go to hell anytime.

So why do so many people here think there is some republican conspiracy to pretend he's alive when he's really dead? The Republicans would be purposely harming themselves if that were true. Almost all Republicans almost certainly want him to die ASAP to minimize the time with only 52 votes in the Senate instead of 53.

In most cases, it's the next of kin (wife) who can make the ultimate decision when to pull the plug unless he designated someone/something else. Or maybe he gave his wife instructions on what to do.

I don't care about him personally, but you'd think his family wouldn't all be nutty enough to allow the GOP in Congress to tell them what decision to make.

He may have advocated for keeping him going in his will.

everything else is merely a means to advance or protect that objective. Behavior, ethics, past actions, and present circumstances can all be disregarded, justified, or leveraged depending on what best serves their immediate interests. That certainly explains their willingness to choose and continue supporting paxton and trump...

Disagree. And his wife took off on a trip to China so she’s not missing him that much either.

If they told her to leave the country.

Of course, I operate under the theory of paranoia: just because I am paranoid doesn’t mean they are not out to get me.

...if the whole he's-brain-dead-and-it's-being-kept-secret-for-political-advantage thing is real, McConnell would most likely have included a clause in any sort of advance directive dictating that his death or permanent incapacitation should not be divulged if it might cost Republicans in some way.

Yea but McConnell deserves it.

we the taxpayers do not deserve to have to pay the bill.

the mad king and his administration are robbing us blind. i suppose his deathbed bill will be peanuts compared to the damage they're doing.

Does not need them to be held up for him and not available to others.

It's not up to me to decide what he deserves, etc. I'll leave that to God as is my practice. Do I think he was a horrible person? I do. I think he hurt a lot of people in very selfish ways. I just don't think manipulation of "time of death" should allow him to continue to hurt anyone else.

This is not unprecedented for either side.
Teddy Kennedy never cast another vote after April 2009 and didn’t pass away for 5 more months, thus depriving the Senate Dems of his presence, and robbing Massachusetts of its representative.
In the 15 months following his diagnosis he only cast 11 votes.
We also have Sen Robert Byrd, and infamously Strom Thurman.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein was said to have been totally incapacitated before her resignation.
All parties do everything they can to maintain power.

n/t

There should be Senate (and Congress) rules about being fit to serve.
The problem is with such razor thin margins neither side will give up a number unless it is 100% safe to do so.

That seat is up for election in November. It's Andy Barr(R) vs Charles Booker(D). Barr will almost certainly win. If a special election would need to be held, it wold only cover the seat for a few months at most. The Republican would almost certainly win the special election.

Leaving McConnell in the seat or leaving the seat vacant harms Republicans much more than a secial election would (McConnell can't vote now so McConnell or vacant means they have one less vote for Trump. Special election almost guarantees they pick that vote back up)

Is possible that, if an important bill came up for a vote, McConnell's staff could claim that he had a lucid moment and told them how to cast his vote? Or could the staff claim that he could cast his vote electronically?

I don't know if that's even possible by Senate rules. Just trying to figure out how the Rs might benefit from pretending that he is recovering.

motions, and nominations. Remote or proxy voting is not allowed for floor votes.

I would beware, though, if Rs decide to change that rule.

he would order the Senate to make a change for McConnell to vote yes, and the Senate would do it. McConnell's staff would enter the vote if he was not able to.

to prevent a Dem Congress and we know that he is lawless.

I wasn't pushing CT I was saying there was something weird going on, and the people of Kentucky deserved to know, even if it took suing for proof of life.

We STILL need proof, of life or brain-deadness.

At least no one is laughing about this anymore.

R's cheating in this way breaks federal and state law. If the R's can't come clean it's time to pressure wash the situation

His office has refused to either confirm or deny that he is brain dead. Their response has been very calculated "he's hospitalized and recovering" (paraphrasing).

I think this transcends HIPPA rules, etc. His constituents have a right to know that they still have living representation in Congress.

Just my opinion. I'm sure someone here will now post ten links that explain why that can't happen. That's not what I'm getting at.

I'm not debating whether it can or cannot, but stating that it SHOULD be something addressed at some point. He voluntarily ran for office and with that comes certain responsibilities AND waivers of privacy. This, in my opinion, would be one of those times.

and treated as DEATH immediately.

That doesn't preclude delays to deal with various potential donations that maybe must await family signing off.

For an older person maybe not a heart or kidneys, but maybe cornea, bone marrow or such.

Right?

...for as long as they can get away with it.

That came from a tweet from Laura Loomer who is as reliable a source as Trump. Not a single reliable news organization has reported any such thing.

https://sundayguardianlive.com/world/fact-check-is-mitch-mcconnell-really-brain-dead-viral-rumours-spread-after-hospitalisation-heres-what-his-office-has-officially-said-about-his-health-check-latest-health-update-229805/

My whole post is about "IF" reports are true. I clearly indicate in the post that we do not have confirmation. Perhaps in your haste to counter the narrative, you missed that part.

I haven't bothered to google and look for information to smear Ms. Townsend's reputation. I'll leave that to anyone else who might choose to do that.

Have a great afternoon.

Some completely unknown person tweeting something is not a "report". It's called rumor mongering. If it were true, reputable news organizations would report it. The fact that none have should have clued you in.

Besides, your original premise was ridiculous. Republicans gain NOTHING by keeping an incapacitated McConnell in the Senate. If he were truly brain dead Republicans would be racing to try to set up the special election. Otherwise, they will be down a Trump supporting vote. It's all but guaranteed a Republican would win a special election. But from this point forward until that position is filled, they only have 52 votes in the Senate, not 53. McConnell can not vote if he's not present. For example, now Democrats only need 3 Republicans to vote against confirming Blanche as AG to kill his nomination. With that position filled with a Republican, Democrats would need 4 votes.

BTW, https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/07/mitch-mcconnell-health-senate-gop.html

Your responses have been insulting. Why would you spend the time replying to someone you deem ridiculous?

I’ll let the recommendations to this post speak for themselves. Most who read it, got it.

But ... we're just speculating because we don't really know.

We can only guess, based on the lying and cheating that the Repukes do every other day.
Today is no different, until we learn otherwise.

It's a puzzling situation but probably irrelevant to the vast majority of us.
If I was a KY citizen, I'd want some answers. Since McC is no longer majority leader the rest of us don't have much of an issue.
As someone has pointed out, the seat is almost a sure-thing for the Republicans, regular election, special election, or "appointment" due to KY state law.

They're entitled to representation and they aren't getting it....

The Kentucky voters have a right to know.

Republicans are NOT "cheating". And they're not lying either. Republicans want McConnell to die ASAP. In the meantime they are down a vote in the Senate. But for some reason dozens (or more) of people here are convinced that Republicaans are engaged in some sort of conspiraccy that actually HURTS their cause, not helps it. Amazing.

but I wouldn't put anything past the current day Republicans. One thing we can be sure of is that they put party above principles, integrity and decency.

If McConnell is indeed dead, I hope he haunts each and every one of them for all time.

and he is STILL cheating, while barely alive, to prevent a fair election to choose his replacement in the Senate.

Once a cheater, always a cheater.

maybe thats the reason for building a hospital at the White House. They could keep him hooked up through a 3rd term....


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-19/trump-says-ballroom-to-include-military-hospital-research-site]

Maybe Mitch is just their first Frankenstein!!! LOL Others to come perhaps.

I don't think there IS a bottom.

Gilead and people hanging on walls may be in our future.

parties. We must consider how to go about describing political behavior that is not allowed and then enacting severe penalties. The 1st Amendment and the rest of the Constitution cannot be allowed to be used for destroying the country.

A Star Trek reference that although obscure, fits:






https://trekipedia.com/file/Balok

I think this episodes was Clint Howard’s 1st role.

Yes, that's Clint, Ron Howard's brother.

I almost posted a Capt Pike instead….yours is better

Wish I could take full credit for it but nope—I just recognized it would be a classic.

Until then I feel they are lying through their asses, as usual.

not. The governor of KY is no longer able to appoint a replacement.

Every last one of them. Silence is complicity.

The constituents of KY deserve a representative even if it’s one I don’t agree with.

Watch as the GOP lies, cheats, and steals…. Gasp at their depraved attempts to hold onto power…. Recoil in horror as they commit crimes against basic humanity and decency to advance their evil reign of terror and fear!

Or would that be a HIPPA violation? Could they be forced to sign NDA’s?

Delay a SCOTUS appointment until the other side gets to fill it.
Deny impeachment over an attempted coup claiming the criminal justice system will deal with it eventually

would put a stop to it. Like the insurance companies paying for his life support? But I guess they are for this ruse, politically. I'm just thinking, how many people have to be involved in this and know what is going on, and they think they will get away with this?

What a sad state of affairs.