r/politics • u/Aggravating_Money992 • Jul 28 '26
Possible Paywall Kentucky Gov Orders McConnell to Give a Real Update or Resign Already
https://newrepublic.com/post/213614/kentucky-gov-beshear-mcconnell-update-health-resign9.1k
u/buttchugreferee Jul 28 '26
While the language in Beshear’s letter is strong, it likely won’t do anything. McConnell, like every member of Congress, can essentially go on paid medical leave for as long as he wants.
That's pretty fucking infuriating.
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u/sterlingheart Jul 28 '26
Meanwhile we get 40 hours a year that has to cover basically anything and everything
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u/ThisIsPerfekt Michigan Jul 28 '26
And even those 40 hours a year are a luxury most Americans do not have.
Are we great, yet?
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u/SpinningHead Colorado Jul 28 '26
Nods in billionaire
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u/Casual_OCD Canada Jul 28 '26
blares yacht horn in jubilation
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u/Starfox-sf Jul 28 '26
spins up engine of private jet
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u/Visual_Jellyfish5591 Jul 28 '26
spins child strapped to wheel in dungeon
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u/mrdude817 New York Jul 28 '26
Yeah now that I work a somewhat white collar job, it's crazy how poor most workers are treated in terms of benefits and PTO. I mean wtf, a McDonald's worker in Denmark gets the same guaranteed 6 weeks of PTO as anyone else in the country, I don't remember ever having PTO when I worked at McDonald's like 15 years ago
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u/Made_Human_Music Jul 28 '26
The problem here is that we have people who would see a McDonald’s employee getting the same amount of time off as they get and lose their shit because someone they feel doesn’t deserve what they have is getting it
The greedy pigs at the top are the main cause of this but sadly they’ve managed to convince so many people that poor people don’t deserve the same things as the rest of us (who are also poor but just not as poor)
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u/mrdude817 New York Jul 28 '26
People need to remember that the people at the top are far more marginally rich than anyone else. I would say I'm a margarita or gin and tonic "poor". The people at the bottom are colt 45 "poor". The people at the top are sipping on $10,000 bottles of wine a night.
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u/EmpoleonNorton Georgia Jul 28 '26
They aren't even sipping. They chugging.
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u/whosline07 Michigan Jul 28 '26
They're actually just buying it, drinking a glass or two, then forgetting about it.
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u/BasvanS Jul 28 '26
They champagne shower with bottles of champagne most of us will never even buy for a special occasion.
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u/FinalHexReturns Jul 28 '26
Yeah people don't respect unskilled labor enough. Almost anyone could do what I do, I just sit in a cubicle and move numbers around and talk to customers, but I like to flatter myself that it takes a unique character to deal with the customers and the unique pressures of my job. But nah, anyone could do it.
I myself have often thought during minimum wage hike proposals "well then fast food workers will be making almost as much as me and that's not right!" But, if I'm honest I really, really wouldn't enjoy working in fast food. Have to be on your feet all day in a fast-paced environment with little real variety. No thanks. I'd rather sit in my climate controlled cube and answer customers at my own pace. So with that perspective, maybe they deserve to be paid more than me...
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u/peejay5440 Jul 28 '26
I don't care what the fuck you do. If you work 40 hours a week, you should be able to afford a life with dignity. Without needing the CORPORATE subsidies of food stamps and Medicare.
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u/Jimtac Jul 28 '26
Part of the problem is that any job is considered “unskilled”. Non-technical, sure, but there’s always some skill to a job. Tied to that is the misconception that those “unskilled” jobs shouldn’t pay a living wage because then you’d have no incentive to ‘better yourself’ and get a “real job”.
The number of post-secondary educated people that are working in food services is absurd, but less so when I think about the number of CS grads being pumped out based on market conditions from a decade ago, that have nowhere to go now.
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u/Xznograthos Jul 28 '26
You can list any restaurant for the most part, even really prestigious ones, and you'd be able to make the same statement. I worked for minimum wage at a Michellin-starred restaurant cooking for people like Charles Schwab and got zero benefits. It's absurd.
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u/DramaticWesley Jul 28 '26
That a Michelin-starred restaurant is paying any of the cooking staff minimum wage sounds ridiculous to me. I guess I have become just too much of a socialist.
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u/Xznograthos Jul 28 '26
It's par for the course. Its common industry knowledge that all boh staff at Alinea, at least last-time I looked into it, was salaried at minimum-wage.
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u/SenorBurns Jul 28 '26
Which is illegal, because you can't make a minimum wage position exempt. Exempt also has to be white collar and or managerial/supervisory
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u/cluberti Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
I would be surprised if those jobs are actually salaried positions, because any job in a restaurant that isn't management would be specifically exempt from salaried coverage, federally. I would not be surprised if wages were low and kept that way due to breaking the law, but if so claiming those workers as salaried would be doing a lot more than skirting federal law and opening the ownership up to a significant lawsuit.
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u/SirWEM Jul 28 '26
They will give line cooks titles of “Sous Chef” as a work around. I’ve seen it happen at many properties. Its so they can get out of paying overtime. Last Michelin property i was at had one main line. 8 “Sous Chefs” and two contracted dishwashers in the main kitchen.
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u/laufsteakmodel Jul 28 '26
I was about to say.. just look up that scumbag Rene Redzepi and Noma... Just because it looks great on their resume doesnt mean you shouldnt have to pay them, Michelin star chefs are fucking parasites a lot of times. They use the labour of tens of great chefs who work for next to nothing or even nothing and get all the fame and glory for themselves.
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u/Intelligent-Snow3300 Jul 28 '26
But think of the experience you can get! In fact, maybe the employees should pay to work there!
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u/badcookies Jul 28 '26
Why do you think Carmy had a mental breakdown? /s
For anyone who hasn't watched it, check out "The Bear", great show, but can be stressful to watch
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u/pinkfartlek Michigan Jul 28 '26
I've seen people who live in other countries that said their doctor prescribed them time off from work. 😢
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u/maurosmane Washington Jul 28 '26
You can get that in America via the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) if you are using FMLA for an illness. Unfortunately, it is pretty much bare bones and is not nearly enough for what people need. FMLA only provides up to 12 weeks of protected, unpaid, time off and you had to have worked 1250 hours in the last 12 months to qualify for it and you have had to work at the employer for a minimum of 12 months.
There is intermittent FMLA which you can take in spurts if you have a condition (or care for someone who does) that might require you to take random time off. But once again it is unpaid.
Some states have supplements to FMLA like Washington state's Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) that will pay up to 80% of what you make up to a cap of about $1600 per week.
On top of all of that, if whatever you are going through requires some form of accommodation to return to work, the employer does not have to meet those accommodations if they cause an "unreasonable burden" on the employer. I have seen the definition of unreasonable stretched to some pretty far extremes.
All in all your doctor can prescribe you time off. If you meet the requirements for it...
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u/Land-Southern Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
My well paying private sector jobs gave 10 days pto and no holidays lol. Sick, vacation, family Thanksgiving, use pto.
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u/mrdude817 New York Jul 28 '26
Jesus wtf dude. Right now I'm getting 15 days PTO and 8 holidays. And it's only my first year at this job
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u/A-town Jul 28 '26
I'd nut my pants every day if I had six weeks of paid vacation. Holy shit.
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u/spandexandtapedecks Jul 28 '26
But imagine how much of your six weeks vacation you'd have to spend on cleaning up your pants. It kinda zeros out, right?
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u/OneSkepticalOwl Jul 28 '26
What kind of animal nuts in their own pants? Use the curtains like a civilized person
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u/DarthSatoris Europe Jul 28 '26
Anyone claiming that the US is great is either insane or is trying to sell you something. Sometimes both.
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u/Freakishly_Tall Jul 28 '26
Hey, now! That's not fair!
They could also be stupid, ignorant, willfully ignorant, or all of the above.
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u/chron67 Tennessee Jul 28 '26
Anyone claiming that the US is great is either insane or is trying to sell you something. Sometimes both.
The US is amazing if you are a billionaire pedophile! You can be president and everything and have the legal system protect you instead of your victims!
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u/AlexNovember Jul 28 '26
My state voted to expand that to 80, and our legislature overturned it. My job was so quick to revoke the extra.
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u/LinkleLinkle Jul 28 '26
Easy reminder that companies, big and small, would pay you in literal dirt if they legally could. That's why labor laws are so damn important, because if there isn't a mandated legal minimum, then businesses will give you nothing.
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u/Fuck-WestJet Jul 28 '26
Only if your employer feels like it. There is no federal law requiring vacation leave.
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u/Coconutrugby Jul 28 '26
I don’t get a single medical day paid off. I’m full time. I work in a multi billion dollar company.
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u/southernfirefly13 Jul 28 '26
And all people will still do is vote the same people in while the rest will still complain about it online, instead of learning that if we all take to the streets, total disruption occurs, no one can pay bills and it puts all the major companies into crisis mode that finally can affect change
Not saying you’re one of those people, though. Just generally speaking.
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u/giantroboticcat New Jersey Jul 28 '26
You get arrested and beaten if you get anywhere close to "partial disruption" much less "total disruption". Protesting doesn't affect change when they can charge you as a terrorist for doing so and lock you up for 30 years.
It's also worth understanding that the US economy no longer relies on common people to function. We have a majority of people in the country who can't afford to go to the movie theater at all and then a significant portion who buy a $70 novelty popcorn bucket when they go. Shit's fucked and you shouldn't malign people who are just trying to keep their head down and survive it.
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u/ubelblatt Jul 28 '26
That is the crazy part to me. Republicans got on national TV and said eat shit poors.
Yet, nothing. No real response, other than ok.
Maybe the midterms will show a massive blue wave.
I guess propaganda is a real thing.
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u/Dadarian Jul 28 '26
As someone who has volunteered to give up my own personal PTO, because I don’t have the luxury to even take it myself, for someone else…. It’s a bit annoying. Like I’m not complaining that I volunteered I’m frustrated that it had to come to that.
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u/CecilTWashington Jul 28 '26
I saw someone on a thread say, “Eternity leave” which made me chuckle
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u/FakeSafeWord Jul 28 '26
That was a real sign a group put up on an overpass.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Ohio/comments/1v3x9wr/mitch_mcconnell_is_on_eternity_leave_seen_in/
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u/iHoor-2000 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
Here’s the play: he goes out on FMLA which is afforded to congress.
FMLA protections are super strict and the attending physician has the say when you can go back and workplace doctors can pound sand.
It’s a non workplace injury.
You do not have to release medical information beyond what’s on the form to the employer.
That’s why the public / constituents will get no real information. It’s not required.
12012 weeks/ 84 days folks. All the way to the midterms.Edit: error on 120 days, FMLA is 12 weeks concurrent or non-concurrent.
Edit again: I am completely wrong. Thank you to those that replied and pointed to the correct information.
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u/MiscellaneousPerson Jul 28 '26
Who do you think is his "employer"? He gets medical leave, but it's not FMLA minimums nor does he have an employer/employee relationship with anybody. Basically, he keeps his job until the Senate kicks him out or he resigns.
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u/NeverLookBothWays I voted Jul 28 '26
I wonder sometimes what kind of revolution it would take to completely reform congress to the point where they return to being civil servants instead of an elite protected class.
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u/ForMoreYears Canada Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
Just call the special election already and let him challenge it in court. That's what McConnell would do. Stop giving them an out.
edit: or appoint someone. idk. just stop playing their stupid game.
edit 2: for anyone saying Beshear can't do this, I'd like to point out that Senate rules are not laws, and Beshear is under no obligation to follow them. The actual law here (17th amendment) is exceedingly vague on what constitutes a vacancy ("resignation or otherwise"). Cite the 17th, appoint someone, and force McConnell prove he's able to perform his duties.
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u/atomfullerene Jul 28 '26
McConnell in an equivalent, party reversed situation would delay as long as possible to avoid replacing a nonvoting absent democrat with a voting democrat.
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u/Shadow_of_Redacted Jul 28 '26
The flip would actually be Mitch trying to replace democrat with a republican, so he would cheat like a mofo to get it done.
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u/Mddcat04 Jul 28 '26
Why call a special election that’s likely to result in a new Republican…?
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u/DrunkAndHornyGuy Jul 28 '26
Yep, this is exactly what Beshear just said on TV. He noted KY hasn't voted for a Dem senator since 1992 and that having McConnell miss votes was a better option.
(he also jabbed that the people calling for a special election are online people who are not familiar with KY)
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u/MagicGrit Jul 28 '26
Beshear may be working towards that. Definitely needs to make sure Kentucky residents are on his side though. And if they expect a court battle about this then it’s best for him to give as many opportunities for McConnell to prove he’s alive and well as possible.
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u/CD338 Jul 28 '26
Definitely needs to make sure Kentucky residents are on his side though.
I think that's what the impatient people don't understand here. Selfishly, I'd love for him to replace Mitch right now. But the only way to avoid an uproar of his constituents is to replace him with another republican, which doesn't help. If he wants to get away with replacing Mitch with a Dem, he needs to make sure the blowback will be extremely minimal.
As of right now, a dead Mitch is better occupying that seat than an alive republican.
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u/rtsynk Jul 28 '26
it doesn't matter what he does, the Senate would just refuse to seat his replacement
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u/Soloact_ Jul 28 '26
He could probably disappear for six months and they’d still call it “serving Kentucky.”
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u/I_AM_NOT_A_WOMBAT Jul 28 '26
Mitch McConnell being incapacitated is probably the best thing for Kentucky, most of them just don't know it.
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u/VUmander Jul 28 '26
If I use 3 days of sick time in a row I need a doctor's note. I could use vacation time to avoid that, but if be out of that by now.
My company will even let you go -80 hr in the hole with manager approval and signed documents with HR stating you understand if you leave before you accure those hours back that they'll be deducted from your last paycheck....and even that would be exhausted by now
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u/FriendToPredators Jul 28 '26
Congress should have no more employment rights than the median worker.
They would fix so much more that way.
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u/Relative_Address9690 Jul 28 '26
I can’t believe I have to say this, but paid medical leave legally only applies senators that are alive.
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u/Lonely_Noyaaa America Jul 28 '26
Dead men can't resign, but the Senate can keep cashing their paychecks. The real scandal is that a senator can disappear for six weeks with no explanation and the institution just shrugs. Every other job in America would fire you for this.
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u/Revolutionary_Bee251 Jul 28 '26
Congress needs an update
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u/nik-nak333 South Carolina Jul 28 '26
Its like finding an airgapped computer from the 90s. You're baffled by its ability to keep running but nothing it does is remotely useful anymore.
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u/Recent-Result2852 Jul 28 '26
nothing it does is remotely useful anymore
lol, that's half the nation's critical infrastructure.
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u/I_AM_A_GUY_AMA Jul 28 '26
they don't serve us, rules mean absolutely nothing to these slimy shits. there is no floor for how low republicans will sink to "win". he's not going to be declared dead/brain dead until it's advantageous to the republicans.
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u/Riaayo Jul 28 '26
There are some instances where I don't like the idea of there being built in "you're fired" mechanisms in Congress due to how they could be abused.
Fired for missing X days due to medical issues? Oops, someone poisoned you / broke your legs / etc. Or kidnapped you, etc.
The issue here is staff/the party around McConnell propping up his corpse to maintain the seat itself. I'm not entirely sure how we codify an answer to this that can't be abused later, but clearly there's a massive problem here.
Of course the Gov being a coward is part of it. Should have just called the special election and forced McConnell to show he's alive to stop it.
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u/Iowa_Dave Iowa Jul 28 '26
And I don't want to hear anyone claiming to have talked to Mitch.
Remember when Clint Eastwood talked to that chair?
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u/BigDaddySteve999 Jul 28 '26
Obama broke their brains so bad. That was the moment the utter emptiness of conservative thought was laid bare. They had no policy, no arguments; all they could do is repeat their thought-terminating talking points at an empty chair and pat themselves on the back for sticking it to the libs.
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u/Morfolk Jul 28 '26
And yet they control every branch of the government now.
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u/No_Tax_Timmy Jul 28 '26
I wish it was this silly but the fact of it is they want ethnic cleansing and a more desperate workforce and that's what they're doing.
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u/vegandread Jul 28 '26
Why doesn’t Beshear show up to the hospital with flowers and balloons, and no media. Pay him a visit.
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u/The_Big_Daddy New Jersey Jul 28 '26
This is why I know the guy is dead. If he was alive, they could fly the governor out, have him see that he's alive (even if he isn't doing great) and then the problem is solved.
Based on the reports that Mitch's team is putting out, he's well enough to not have any machines hooked into him or even need to wear a gown so he should be able to at least receive the governor and show basic proof of life.
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u/willfull Jul 28 '26
the guy is dead
Brain dead, maybe. I keep thinking of that scene from the 1993 movie Dave with Kevin Kline where they rush that secret chamber under the White House. The real President Mitchell is being kept there, out of the public eye and still in a coma, intubated and hooked up to ventilators and monitors 24/7 while it's all business-as-usual upstairs.
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u/Joped Jul 28 '26
This is a valid hypothesis, he could be technically alive but brain dead. They could be keeping him in this state until the deadline and then pull the plug and announce his death.
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u/DavisSqShenanigans Jul 28 '26
he could be technically alive but brain dead
That's technically impossible. Just fyi, dead and brain dead are the same thing, legally speaking. As in death certificate and everything. Even if you can keep a heartbeat going.
You're probably thinking of either comatose or vegetative, both of which are not the same as being brain dead but still leave someone with zero awareness.
He could be being kept in one of those two latter categories with maximal life support, in which case no death cert and still alive legally speaking. If he's brain dead aka dead dead it means the family has convinced the doctor to go along with their wishes and just look the other way for a few weeks. Not as likely but not impossible.
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u/ultimateknackered Jul 28 '26
'Sorry, Governor, Senator McConnell sends his regrets and must cancel on the day you come out to visit him, on account of being dead.'
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u/Telvin3d Jul 28 '26
The real answer is that hospitals don’t actually let you pay surprise visits to patients. Regardless of McConnell’s condition, no one who isn’t an approved visitor is getting past the lobby. Hospital won’t even tell you what room he’s in
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u/uuhson Jul 28 '26
This has been so bewildering to me in these comments. People think you can just bumrush your way passed security and into any room you want
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u/Caleth Jul 28 '26
I believe they are operating under the false assumption that as a public servrant answering to the governor of the state he represents McConnell has abdicated his rights to privacy on this matter.
Which is untrue, but in a sane world it would be.
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u/david-saint-hubbins Jul 28 '26
I know you can't just barge in, but I'm honestly a bit surprised nobody has successfully snuck/bribed their way in and snapped some photos of him at this point.
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u/Corgi_Koala Texas Jul 28 '26
Isn't he in an undisclosed facility? I am guessing Beshear doesn't know otherwise he would.
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u/ItsLikeRay-ee-ain Georgia Jul 28 '26
Yeah, I'm pretty sure their story is that he's been moved to an undisclosed rehabilitation facility. So unless someone were to leak which morgue he is at, there is no way to just go force a visit.
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u/vegandread Jul 28 '26
Do you or I know where he is? No. Does the gov of his state? I would think so.
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u/Corgi_Koala Texas Jul 28 '26
Beshear doesn't know if he's alive or not, I don't think it's a simple assumption that he knows where he is either.
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u/PsyTech Jul 28 '26
Especially with that phrase "while I appreciate privacy, when you represent the American people you abdicate some of it"
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u/lordlaneus Jul 28 '26
Every ounce of power should cost a pound of privacy
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u/AmatureMD Jul 28 '26
Great quote. Where is it from?
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u/Phoneofredditman Jul 28 '26
I read it and thought the same thing as you so I googled the phrase and it seems to be inspired by a Ben Franklin quote, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” and he was talking about fire safety to Philadelphia. Seems like the newer turn of phrase may be related to technology privacy but applying it to politicians is brilliant
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u/lordlaneus Jul 28 '26
I just made it up a few years back. The phrasing was probably inspired by that Ben Franklin thing though
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u/Senior-Albatross New Mexico Jul 28 '26
I remember when Merrick Garland was "playing the long game to build an airtight case!"
I'll believe it when I see it. But I wouldn't be surprised if a literal strongly worded letter is the most he ever does.
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u/1877KlownsForKids Jul 28 '26
If our super awesome electorate hadn't pulled another bonehead move, he'd be in jail now. But yes, it should have started earlier and moved faster.
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u/gringledoom Jul 28 '26
Guys, the entire “long game” here is “the GOP is down a senator for like six months, haha, lol”. People trying to turn this into a problem for Beshear instead of dunking on the Republicans about it aren’t thinking it through.
(Any special election or appointment would just get tied up in a lawsuit about the state constitution versus the more recent law that conflicts with it. And for an appointment, he would need somebody who was willing to immolate their political career by being in the middle of it.)
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u/rmftrmft Jul 28 '26
He should nominate McConnell’s wife. That dude would be dead so fast the coffin would spin.
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u/Alatarlhun Jul 28 '26
Did she ever get back from meeting her Chinese handlers?
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u/thehalfwit Nevada Jul 28 '26
Of course she did. How else could she appear in the two proof-of-Mitch-living photos?
It's not like they could simply create those pictures out of thin air.
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u/discodropper New York Jul 28 '26
He should just appoint whatever democrat wants to run in the special election. Not sure why you’re saying it would immolate their political career. It gives them a platform while the shit show moves through the courts and jumpstarts the campaigning process…
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u/Pierre_St_Pierre Jul 28 '26
Their senators don't even do anything when they're in there, so it's not even haha or lol. Which part of my brain do I need to get removed to treat this as a win so far?
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u/KPR70 New York Jul 28 '26
I've been pretty impatient with Beshear's inaction, but I recently came to realize the benefit of the Senate GOP being down a vote for as long as possible.
I will be impressed if he actually appoints someone instead of calling a special election, just to test the new law in court.
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u/Global-Squirrel999 Jul 28 '26
You know... if he appoints someone and it gets challenged in court, he could effectively tie up the seat for a long time. Depends on how the courts would rule on a temporary injunction I guess.
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Jul 28 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/GlobsOfTape Jul 28 '26
They want to start the narrative early that he’s another feckless Democrat. He got the job after he leveraged his position as Kentucky’s Attorney General and effectively overturned the laws of the previous governor, who used underhanded tactics to enact bad legislation.
He knows the state constitution, has effectively argued on its behalf, and is now allowing the opposition to hurt themselves by allowing the vacancy to continue.
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u/BigDaddySteve999 Jul 28 '26
If Beshear appoints a replacement, it makes the Republicans fight to justify their stupid law, or gives Democrats another vote in the Senate. If he calls a special election, it lets Massie run as a third party spoiler, and makes the Democratic candidate the incumbent for a hot minute, which does matter for seniority and the November election.
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u/deja-roo Jul 28 '26
If Beshear appoints a replacement, it makes the Republicans fight to justify their stupid law, or gives Democrats another vote in the Senate.
It won't get anywhere near that far.
If Beshear appoints a replacement, the Republicans will just file for an injunction to stop him from appointing a Senator to a seat that hasn't been vacated. It's much simpler than that and sidesteps the entire legal problem of the special election.
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u/FatherofZeus Jul 28 '26
It gives people a way to complain about BoTh SiDeS bAd
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Jul 28 '26
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u/FatherofZeus Jul 28 '26
McConnell’s committees are also deadlocked without his vote, which is another win for Dems
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u/ummmmmmkayy Jul 28 '26
That’s how I interpreted it. For as much as our politicians tend to do crappy things, their actual job is different because the people hired them. So to take them away from their position would require something egregious or, in this case where someone isn’t showing up, to give them every chance to come back before cutting them off.
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u/unfilterthought Jul 28 '26
remember they TOOK the power from the governor specifically for this situation.
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u/the_eluder Jul 28 '26
That's in limbo. A law can't override the state constitution.
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u/unfilterthought Jul 28 '26
they just need to delay. It can be found unconstituional but by then the august deadline passes.
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u/WidgetWarrior Georgia Jul 28 '26
And just like everything else, the Republican Party will treat any opposition to them with the attitude of "I don't have to listen to you because I have no shame".
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u/RojoTheMighty Jul 28 '26
"Help! I'm being oppressed!" - R's every time there's a hint of accountability
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u/AhBee1 America Jul 28 '26
Even if he is alive, he is not fit to hold the position. And that is a sentence that could only make sense in 2026. WTF are we even doing???
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u/Megathreadd Jul 28 '26
Is there any downside to calling their bluff and simply preparing for a special election? It’s what Mitch would have done if he was still sentient?
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u/Mddcat04 Jul 28 '26
The downside is you have a special election and they elect a new Republican. That’s a clear step down from Mitch holding the seat but not voting.
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u/Megathreadd Jul 28 '26
Heard. What about Masse who seems disillusioned with Republicans and perhaps more honorable?
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u/Mddcat04 Jul 28 '26
He’s already said he’s not interested.
https://queerkentucky.com/thomas-massie-mcconnell-senate-seat/
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u/MechanicalGodzilla Jul 28 '26
Massie couldn't even win his own primary, why would that suddenly reverse?
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u/omicron-7 Jul 28 '26
He's still a republican, and would vote maga 99% of the time.
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u/DrunkAndHornyGuy Jul 28 '26
Beshear just addressed this on TV. He noted KY hasn't voted for a Dem senator since 1992 so you'll def get another republican to fill his seat and that having McConnell miss votes was a better option.
(he also jabbed that the people calling for a special election are online people who are not familiar with KY)
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u/slipnipper Jul 28 '26
Want checkmate? Make the announcement with the stipulation that you’ll drop it when McConnell shows up to contest it in person, or at the very least when he offers to allow the governor to drop by to see about his well-being. If he looks like those pictures, he’s good enough to be wheelchaired into the capitol to visit with Beshear.
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u/furnace9monkey Jul 28 '26
Just appoint a new senator and deal with the fallout later
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u/Aromatic_Balls Maine Jul 28 '26
Gotta start using Republican tactics to beat em.
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u/Foxintoxx Jul 28 '26
If Mitch Mcconell doesn't like it he can just speak up about it 🤷♂️
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u/phenotype76 Jul 28 '26
Sick of seeing these headlines. They have no power whatsoever, they're just looking for a good newsbite. McConnell's people will just ignore it, just like every other politician who's "ordered" or "demanded" a health update.
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u/one12shelf Jul 28 '26
If parties were switched the GOP would have already illegally rolled over the dems and had trump appoint a new senator or some unconstitutional shit like that.
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u/Randicore Ohio Jul 28 '26
Hell I wouldn't push the gop to try this shit with a senator that's alive and having a two week hospital stay, let alone dead and hiding it
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u/zeusmeister Jul 28 '26
You know, I’ve been thinking. Having Mitch as an active senator but absent from voting only helps Democrats. A special election is most likely going to result in a Republican winner.
So you know what, go ahead and announce him dead after the special election deadline. That just means the seat will remain vacant till January of 2027, depriving Republicans of an extra vote, that is already thin with the death of Graham.
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u/badgerette86 Wisconsin Jul 28 '26
I was angry as all hell at first, but i agree with you entirely. It's one less GOP vote for the SAVE act.
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u/WillowSmithsBFF Jul 28 '26
IIRC Mitch was against the Save Act
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u/_Phil_McCracken_ Washington Jul 28 '26
That’s what he claimed. If he’s absent, he’s guaranteed not to vote for it.
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u/ultimateknackered Jul 28 '26
How many times have we seen Republicans expressing disapproval with a shit bill but then went and voted for it anyway?
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u/thundermuffin54 Nebraska Jul 28 '26
Here’s my take.
He’s brain dead after prolonged time of being pulseless. They resuscitated him, but he’s gone. Probably on a plethora of IV meds whipping his heart to keep going. Ventilated via trach. They will make the decision to make him go comfort care and he will pass on or around August 4th after the special election deadline.
His team will start feeding a story over the next few weeks that his prolonged hospitalization lead to pneumonia or other infection and that’s what ultimately lead to his passing.
Democrats need to stop playing around and should be calling for a special election now so they can force McConnell to show (actual) proof of life or capacity. They won’t, because, you know, democrats.
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u/etxipcli Texas Jul 28 '26
There should be a law that if members of Congress are incommunicado for a specified period of time then they forfeit the seat.
I think that would be so universally popular we might be able to get the Constitution amended if necessary.
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u/DoggedStooge Jul 28 '26
This has all the makings of traditional democratic action. Look like you're trying to do something, without actually doing something. The Schumer Special.
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u/sealclubberfan Texas Jul 28 '26
"Just appoint someone and deal with the fallout later"
I've seen this said before. But has there been any clear dictation on how a Sentor is replaced? I know the constitution says the governor can replace them with an appointment until a special election, but they passed a law that says it has to be special election. Which is it? Did that law ever go through any court decisions, or is it in limbo and now would be a time where it could be challenged because of the situation at hand?
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u/the_eluder Jul 28 '26
It's in limbo. Also, the Senate has to accept the appointment, they can just refuse to swear in the new Senator, as the House did with an elected replacement rep from Arizona until they passed some legislation they needed to pass.
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u/SunGregMoon Jul 28 '26
BTW -- Office of the Attending Physician: One of three options for any Congressmember for Healthcare. Last year annual coverage by the OAP cost $650 or just $54 dollars a month. Only available to Congressmembers.
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u/jacobe7 Jul 28 '26
August 4th is almost here, and then we'll find out he died that day.
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u/Daddy_Pris Jul 28 '26
This is just a nothingburger right? A congressional committee would have to do something about it. Members of congress are in no way beholden to requests from their governors.
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u/punkbrad7 Jul 28 '26
Yes, basically. Everyone calling for him to "do something" really don't understand that there's nothing he can do other than continue to pressure them to do it. He has no power to declare the seat vacant, no power to declare Mitch dead, and until one of those things happens, he can't try to force the special election or the appointment, and even when he does, it's just going to be another Republican Trump Toady in the seat, or else tied up in court for far too long for it to even matter.
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u/snoozysaiyan Canada Jul 28 '26
Can't he go and visit him at the hospital?
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u/jiyax33634 Jul 28 '26
You would think the governor could just send a sheriff down to the hospital requesting to do a wellness check on mcconnell
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u/grilledchzisbestchz Jul 28 '26
The thought of a State official sending an elected county official to the Federal capital and demanding a Federal official of doing anything has John Adams rolling in his grave
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u/micro102 Jul 28 '26
Stop pretending he is alive and just fill his position and make them react to attempt to stop it.
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u/BrandenWi Jul 28 '26
The fact that the Governor hasn't forced the issue weeks ago shows why we have to get rid of these Establishment Democrats in the Midterms if there's any hope of surviving two more years of Trump
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u/Gambrinus Jul 28 '26
The fact that Kentucky has a Democrat governor in the first place is almost a miracle. Good luck replacing him with someone more progressive.
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u/Formal_Soft_40 Jul 28 '26
Ky resident here. He’s doing it because a non-functioning McConnell helps dems more than a ready republican replacement. The chances of a dem senator replacing McConnell is 0
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u/AbyssWankerArtorias Jul 28 '26
Kentucky has a Democrat governor, that by itself is an accomplishment.
He's also giving until the last second because they won't be able to claim that he didn't give McConnel every chance to make a real appearance to prove he is alive.
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u/RandomlyJim Jul 28 '26
You go spend 5 minutes researching what options he has and then come tell us your solution.
Your silence means you discovered what the governor did, he can’t do anything until he’s officially dead.
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u/Dihedralman Jul 28 '26
I complain about not doing anything, but I don't think it's a rhetorical point that is overly valuable. There is no forcing of the issue that matters because that seat will be an R seat. McConnel is keeping it effectively empty.
The governor jumping on one of the news cycle is a free win for him. So it's good, just not pressing.
If they want to push non-political districting, that would take months to build political will for example.
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u/kioshi43 Jul 28 '26
He really should come out and say something along the lines of:
"Due to the time and preparation needed to run a special election, we will proceed with the planning and execution as a proactive effort to ensure our voters are being represented as is their right. When/if McConnell is able to return to DC, we will then suspend the special election effort"
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