# Mitch McConnell and Medical Issues **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 26, 2023, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661 "2023-07-26T19:02:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/241 "2023-08-31T00:29:07Z")
I think one of the reasons they stay is inertia. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/242 "2023-08-31T00:35:15Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > The GOP will lose a very senior place holder and maybe the next in line for some of his positions Shh, you’re only supposed to complain about all the old people in the Congress not show you understand how the Congress actually works. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/243 "2023-08-31T00:47:44Z")
They would have to vote on a new leader. That could be a bit scary. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/244 "2023-08-31T00:52:01Z")
> [@MulderMuffin](#): > > Why are he and Feinstein both continuing to serve? I can answer the question a little with respect to Diane Feinstein. Feinstein sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is the committee that allows Joe Biden to continue to appoint new judges to counter all the damage done by Trump and McConnell appointments during Trump’s term. Democrats tried to temporarily replace Feinstein on the Committee while she recovered from illness. Republicans blocked the effort and made it clear they will do whatever is necessary to prevent Biden’s appointments if Feinstein leaves her seat on Judiciary. So basically, she can’t step down without ruining Biden’s ability to continue to appoint judges. > **[Senate Democrats fail to replace Feinstein on Judiciary Committee over GOP...](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mitch-mcconnell-dianne-feinstein-senate-judiciary-committee-replacement/)** > > "Senate Republicans will not take part in sidelining a temporarily absent colleague off a committee just so Democrats can force through their very worst nominees," McConnell said. Republicans will also not permit her replacement assume her position on Judiciary. These things are never as simple as we’d like them to be. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/245 "2023-08-31T01:04:20Z")
If McConnell does step down/retire/die/get Raptured, can he pick his own successor or would there be a fight? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/246 "2023-08-31T01:05:06Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > If his legacy is anything he cares about preserving, rather than _power_, best to retire or take an extended leave NOW before his becomes known as the person who had a stroke on the floor / died on the floor / went into a coma on the floor of the Senate. I don’t know. John Quincy Adams did exactly that in the House. Why not the Senate? ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/247 "2023-08-31T01:09:52Z")
There are currently 3 Republican senators vying to be McConnell’s replacement should it become necessary to replace him: John Thune, John Cornyn and John Barrasso. > **[The shadow race to succeed McConnell is on — and all-John](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/12/mcconnell-successor-three-johns-race-526920)** > > Thune and Cornyn are best-positioned to become the next Senate GOP leader — but Barrasso is in the mix too. My money is on Thune. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/248 "2023-08-31T01:24:54Z")
I’m not saying dying in the harness in public is wrong, or without precedent, but that IF (big IF) legacy matters, it’s not the best idea. Very quickly the circumstances of your death can overwhelm your actual achievements, however considerable (evil though I judge them to be, MM has plenty). Of course, that doesn’t apply to scholarly works, but the public? Yeah. Then again, as I implied with my italicized “power” reference earlier, no, I don’t think his _posthumous_ legacy is one of his top 3 motivations. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/249 "2023-08-31T01:27:01Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > My money is on Thune. Mine is on John. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/250 "2023-08-31T01:27:39Z")
I’ll bet you’ll win. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/251 "2023-08-31T01:28:01Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > There are currently 3 Republican senators vying to be McConnell’s replacement should it become necessary to replace him: John Thune, John Cornyn and John Barrasso. - Wow. A choice of three toilets. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/252 "2023-08-31T01:28:52Z")
Poetic justice of a kind. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/253 "2023-08-31T01:43:38Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I think it’s easy to have pity on a chinless little old man who looks like a dottering cartoon turtle. Don’t let his looks fool you. The man is an absolute monster who has fucked our country worse than anyone in recent memory. Seeing him lose his dignity on the national stage is pretty delightful. I couldn’t have said this better myself except for “delightful” being hardly a strong enough word. In my opinion McConnell was the most evil person in American politics before Trump and perhaps even since. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/254 "2023-08-31T02:07:28Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > If McConnell does step down/retire/die/get Raptured, can he pick his own successor or would there be a fight? In terms of his Senate seat, Kentucky law requires the Governor to choose his replacement from a list of three individuals prepared by the Kentucky Republican Party. In regard to his position as Minority Leader, his successor will be whomever can secure the votes of a majority of the Senate Republican Caucus. It’s all done behind closed doors, so we’ll be spared the public circus of the Speaker’s race earlier this year. As @Aspenglow notes, the “three Johns” are most commonly thought to be best positioned to take up the mantle as they’ve all held senior party leadership positions in the Senate. But strange things can happen in a leadership race, and each Republican Senator will try to cut the best deal he or she can in return for their vote. ---
**Author:** ![Digger11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@Digger11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digger11)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/255 "2023-08-31T02:09:49Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > I couldn’t have said this better myself except for “delightful” being hardly a strong enough word. In my opinion McConnell was the most evil person in American politics before Trump and perhaps even since. How quickly is George Wallace forgotten! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/256 "2023-08-31T02:14:21Z")
Let’s not overlook Newt. 🦎 ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/257 "2023-08-31T02:58:56Z")
> [@Digger11](#): > > How quickly is George Wallace forgotten! > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Let’s not overlook Newt. 🦎 George screwed ‘those people’ in Alabama, but AFAIK didn’t have a lot of actual affect at the national level. Newt on the other hand is in the running, but McConnell’s packing of the courts at all levels dwarfs anything Gingrich managed. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/258 "2023-08-31T03:10:04Z")
I swear, McConnell’s next ‘episode’ is going to be a complete collapse on camera and no one needs that. Not the least of whom, McConnell. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/259 "2023-08-31T03:16:16Z")
Newt’s small potatoes compared to the damage Mitch has inflicted on this country. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/260 "2023-08-31T03:18:51Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Mine is on John. All previously employed by Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems, oddly enough. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661.md?page=14)