# 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:** 16
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/301 "2023-09-01T07:19:16Z")
Marjorie Taylor Greene of all people is calling on Mitch to step down. > **[Republicans Are Starting to Call on Mitch McConnell to Resign](https://jezebel.com/republicans-are-starting-to-call-on-mitch-mcconnell-to-1850793846)** > > “Severe aging health issues and/or mental health incompetence in our nation’s leaders MUST be addressed,” tweeted Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/302 "2023-09-01T07:51:42Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > but it’s difficult to imagine clearing him for duty without ruling those things out. > > Which either means they haven’t been ruled out – that’s bad – or they _have_ been ruled out and people know more than they’re saying. Certainly not _all_ of them, there’s no need to go chasing zebras. Also, Mitch McConnell owes us a lot less about his confidential medical information than you might think. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/303 "2023-09-01T08:27:38Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Marjorie Taylor Greene of all people is calling on Mitch to step down. In the pool of elected officials whose brains don’t work correctly, she sees an opportunity to reduce the amount of competition. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/304 "2023-09-01T11:58:08Z")
Some Republicans – even RINOs – are starting to say the quiet part out loud: > **[Some Republicans want more details about McConnell's health after another...](https://news.yahoo.com/republicans-want-more-details-mcconnells-003445447.html)** > > McConnell's office released a 51-word statement from a Capitol physician Thursday. A GOP lawmaker said McConnell needs to be more transparent if he wants to remain Senate minority leader. For fans of West Wing, I’m reminded of the “**[Separation of Powers](https://westwing.fandom.com/wiki/Separation_of_Powers)**” plot line where the Chief Justice was in ill and declining health. Nobody owes _me_ honest and complete information here. What I hope is that there _is_ honest and complete information, and that the people who run the machinery have that information and are prepared/preparing to make decisions as circumstances change. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/305 "2023-09-01T12:01:28Z")
Also, it’s not absolutely clear thst “continuing his regular schedule” (whatever that entails at this point, does bear wondering, I mean there’s 4 weeks to approve either a budget or a continuance) means “nothing to worry about at all, moving right along…” It could mean “for now, keep at no more than the pace you are but listen to your specialist if he tells you otherwise”. But that would be privileged communication subject to the patient’s consent to release. The Attending Physician of Congress is not Dr. McCoy, he is not there to say “you are in no condition to serve I order you to sickbay” for everyone to hear. So if “no, he’s not about to drop dead” is the part the patient approves for release, that’s the part that’s released. ---
**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:** [September 1, 2023, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/306 "2023-09-01T12:57:59Z")
We have 100 senators. If one or two aren’t functional, it doesn’t actually break anything. I would think the minimum standard to continue as a senator is quite low. I don’t know how critical the minority leader is, and that might be more problematic. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/307 "2023-09-01T13:47:25Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I don’t know how critical the minority leader is, and that might be more problematic. In 2008, Mitch established that the only job of a minority leader is to always say no to the majority. I know four year olds that can do that job. ---
**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:** [September 1, 2023, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/308 "2023-09-01T14:45:11Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > In 2008, Mitch established that the only job of a minority leader is to always say no to the majority. From The Atlantic article I quoted at length above (post #265): > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > > An up-and-coming senator named Mitch McConnell was quoted crowing that opposing the Democrats’ agenda “gives gridlock a good name.” * * * * * * > [@puzzlegal](#): > > We have 100 senators. If one or two aren’t functional, it doesn’t actually break anything. There are times when that one vote makes all the difference in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/309 "2023-09-01T14:59:16Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Sorry, but the symptoms of being lightheaded are dizziness or feeling faint, and maybe weaving back and forth. The symptoms are definitely not a catatonic, speechless state like we’ve seen from Mitch. I disagree. I’ve often found myself in the situation where I’m perhaps a bit low on potassium, the room is a bit too warm, and a basic question triggers me to go on a vision quest. Totally happens. (In all seriousness, obviously I hope his condition can be treated well, but he really should retire. Indeed, it’s difficult to understand why he even wants to continue) ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/310 "2023-09-01T15:16:49Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > His staff and now the doctor attribute these spells to lightheadedness. The doctor didn’t, he just gave two possible causes of lightheadedness. I assume that was a symptom reported to him by McConnell. The statement is basically totally empty. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/311 "2023-09-01T15:53:12Z")
Mitch: “I’m feeling lightheaded.” Doctor: “I diagnose you with lightheadedness.” ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/312 "2023-09-01T16:27:26Z")
Going back to the real reason people are worked up, the big deal is that with not only an election year rolling in, but more immediately only 3 legislative working weeks in the fiscal year with a split Congress and the batshit let-it-burn caucus riled up and feeling empowered by having a weak Speaker of the House grabbed by the delicates, yeah, it would be important to have an R leader in the Senate who is (a) not from the batshit insane end-the-world wing (b) steadily firing on all cylinders and ready to go when the time comes for hard horsetrading and keeping people in line. Now, sure, the senior committee ranking members, the whips and deputies should all be expected to be prepared to step up if calked to, but how well have they laid ground work for the conference to move on in Mitch’s absence without it degenerating into the same flustercuck the House experience? To a great extent, the Senate majority and POTUS counted on this “known quantity” in the opposition. If there is a sudden vacuum there, things get even more complicated. So everyone’s counting on that at least his mental faculties are all there and they only need pause for five or ten minutes now and then to let him reset and resume work. ---
**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:** [September 1, 2023, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/313 "2023-09-01T18:27:19Z")
“Of all people”? This is her excuse to talk about how ‘Sleepy’ Joe should be removed from office because of the infirmities the right imagines he has. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/314 "2023-09-01T18:42:52Z")
Yep. The howlin’ mad caucus are not concerned about age and cognition, they just want to get rid of seasoned, procedure-focused leaders that work the levers of the system, to be replaced by their own kind of bombthrowers to just go berserk at the system, rip out the levers and smash it to pieces for the likes. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/315 "2023-09-01T19:48:55Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > This is her excuse to talk about how ‘Sleepy’ Joe should be removed from office because of the infirmities the right imagines he has. I mean, it said pretty much that in the story I posted. Should I have quoted the whole thing? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/316 "2023-09-02T05:53:05Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > There are times when that one vote makes all the difference in the world. Truly the case now. IIRC Feinstein is still being wheeled in to the senate to cast votes because she is the tie-breaker in the judiciary committee and republicans have said if dems try to replace her they will block that person from the committee. That happens and Biden cannot get another judge confirmed for at least 16 months. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/317 "2023-09-02T12:52:22Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > The doctor didn’t, he just gave two possible causes of lightheadedness. I assume that was a symptom reported to him by McConnell. Exactly. I’m not a doctor but I’m pretty confident that “lightheadedness” is a symptom, not an illness, and therefore you can’t be diagnosed with it. That’s like being “diagnosed” with having arm pain or coughing. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/318 "2023-09-03T01:37:27Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Seeing him lose his dignity on the national stage is pretty delightful. Maybe next he’ll shit himself in the chamber. We’ll, a boy can dream anyway… _“It’s an amoral aroma. Nasti!”_ ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/319 "2023-09-04T00:56:55Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > > [@Cheesesteak](#): > > > > Maybe he can just leave the position open until the voters have their chance to cast a vote? > > I think this would be entirely appropriate. He can call this the “Merrick Garland Rule” and say that it will be up to the voters in the next election to select a Senator How long does the governor have to choose a new senator (in Kentucky)? Can he just leave the slot open like the GOP did with Garland? If it is a definite time period are there any procedural tricks that can be used to keep moving the date back? > [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > The one good thing about Mitch is that, while he is a power hungry Machiavellian SOB, he is also sane. Definitely a Lawful Evil kind of guy. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2023, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/320 "2023-09-04T01:41:08Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > How long does the governor have to choose a new senator (in Kentucky)? Can he just leave the slot open like the GOP did with Garland? > > If it is a definite time period are there any procedural tricks that can be used to keep moving the date back? I mentioned this upthread, under the Kentucky statute the Governor has 21 days to make his appointment once he receives the list of three names from the previous Senator’s party. The law is silent on what happens if he fails to take action. The Kentucky Republican Party would probably sue to compel action. Realistically, though, Beshear isn’t going to leave Kentucky without its equal representation in the Senate for over a year. That might make Senate Democrats happy but it won’t do him any favors with voters back home. Might as well pull the trigger and appoint a Democrat to the seat in spite of the law. And speaking of which: > **[Kentucky’s governor won’t commit to appointing Republican if McConnell resigns](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/01/kentucky-governor-beshear-mcconnell/)** > > Gov. Andy Beshear (D) previously vetoed a 2021 law that requires him to replace an outgoing senator with someone of the same party, but the Republican-controlled legislature overrode the veto. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661.md?page=17)