# 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:** 3
**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:** [July 27, 2023, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/41 "2023-07-27T01:02:32Z")
He looked stricken. If you ever needed a definition for that word, it was McConnell in that moment. ---
**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:** [July 27, 2023, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/42 "2023-07-27T01:04:15Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > And notice there’s been no word of his condition. If it was a momentary lapse, there would have been an immediate release of the news. I thought McConnell came back to the podium later and finished his remarks suggesting he’s just fine (even if he is not). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/43 "2023-07-27T01:04:54Z")
No matter how this turns out, when Mitch is gone the Republican party will not soon find another majority or minority leader for their party as effective as he was. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/44 "2023-07-27T01:05:57Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > If Biden was to freeze up like that, I’d say it’s time to step aside. I’m no doctor but that did _not_ look like a momentary lapse of memory. Eh, between John Fetterman and Bernie Sanders, there’s not a whole lot of room on the left to demand a politician step down after they’ve had some sort of brain injury. Mitch’s glitch doesn’t automatically mean he’s not fit for his office anymore. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/45 "2023-07-27T01:07:21Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I thought McConnell came back to the podium later and finished his remarks suggesting he’s just fine (even if he is not). He says he is fine. [Mitch McConnell says he’s ‘fine’ after freezing during news conference | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/26/politics/mitch-mcconnell-freezes-press-conference/index.html) A McConnell aide said that the senator “felt light headed and stepped away for a moment.” Of course what we all saw with our own eyes is irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/46 "2023-07-27T01:17:14Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > He looked stricken. As in, had a stroke? Because that’s my thought. And it’s very predictable how hypocritical the right wing is going to be about this. Was this even reported on by the Fox’s of the world? ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/47 "2023-07-27T01:19:48Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Eh, between John Fetterman and Bernie Sanders, there’s not a whole lot of room on the left to demand a politician step down after they’ve had some sort of brain injury. That is terrifyingly true. I worry every day that Biden is going to stroke out, have a bad fall, show unmistakable signs of dementia, or otherwise demonstrate compromised health. Before attacking McConnell’s fitness to remain in his position, it would be wise to consider the extent to which the Democratic leadership consists of doddering old guys. Why we haven’t been able to rally behind a progressive younger candidate is beyond me. ---
**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:** [July 27, 2023, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/48 "2023-07-27T01:20:12Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > As in, had a stroke? > > Because that’s my thought. NOTE: There has been no formal explanation for what happened from a doctor attending to McConnell. That said, many have suggested/guessed it might be a [Transient ischemic attack (TIA).](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/transient-ischemic-attack/symptoms-causes/syc-20355679) Again, IANAD and no diagnosis has been made (that I am aware of). **100% speculation.** But it seems to fit what we saw. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/49 "2023-07-27T01:21:22Z")
The CNN doctor suggested it was an absence seizure, probably a consequence of the accident he had a few months ago. [Absence Seizures | Johns Hopkins Medicine](https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/epilepsy/absence-seizures#:~:text=An%20absence%20seizure%20causes%20you,by%20a%20period%20of%20hyperventilation). ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/50 "2023-07-27T01:34:03Z")
Shit. I feel like a heel for sharing that meme, now. Sorry about that. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/51 "2023-07-27T01:44:29Z")
Someone clearly destroyed one of his horcruxes. ---
**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:** [July 27, 2023, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/52 "2023-07-27T01:47:22Z")
I doubt either a TIA or an absence seizure will take him out of commission. I’d love to see him out of the senate, but I’m not optimistic this will do it. Unless, I dunno, his wife has been pressuring him to leave and this gives her leverage or something. ---
**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:** [July 27, 2023, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/53 "2023-07-27T01:53:54Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I doubt either a TIA or an absence seizure will take him out of commission. The page on TIA linked above suggests it is a sign of things to come. Maybe a year. Maybe more or less. But it is a sign. What McConnell chooses to do with that is anyone’s guess. My guess is he is the kind of person who will stay in his seat, in power until he dies. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/54 "2023-07-27T01:55:16Z")
“I’ll give you my power when you pry it from my cold, dead hands” ---
**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:** [July 27, 2023, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/55 "2023-07-27T01:56:35Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Why we haven’t been able to rally behind a progressive younger candidate is beyond me. Because we learned from Obama that being young, smart, and forward-thinking with lots of people rallying behind you (2 terms, after all) is no substitute for knowing how the system works and _working it_! Behind the scenes. I doubt if anyone under age 65 in either the House or Senate has the hard-won experience to get anything done. What you stand for and promise don’t count for anything unless you can make the system work. Alliances, deals, trade-offs, etc. Politics is “the art of the possible.” However, to pursue this discussion here would be a hijack, so 'nuff said. In this thread. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/56 "2023-07-27T01:58:36Z")
Ah, yes, thanks. Waiting for another vote deprives the party of a vote. That could be important, and if the voters chose a party they should continue to be represented. ---
**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:** [July 27, 2023, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/57 "2023-07-27T02:10:13Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > My guess is he is the kind of person who will stay in his seat, in power until he dies. That’s where my money is. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/58 "2023-07-27T02:40:06Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I just think it’s not fair to the voters to fill such an important position so close to an election. 100% this. If it comes down to a replacement, delay, delay, delay. This would be so full of crunchy turtley goodness. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/59 "2023-07-27T02:42:45Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Just wait til Biden or Trump freezes up in the debates next year. Trump is not going to debate anyone, at any time. Not gonna happen. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661/60 "2023-07-27T02:43:35Z")
Man, that was tough to watch, and I find Mitch _deeply offensive_ on so many levels. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mitch-mcconnell-and-medical-issues/987661.md?page=4)