That seems reasonable, with the additional hypothesis that whether he decides to stay or not may depend on whether the Republicans win back the majority in 2024. If they do I think the lure will be so strong that only the cold hand of death could break it.
It looks like he had another episode.
That man is barely above Weekend at Bernie’s.
I came here to see if anyone is talking about this. I know he is terrible and enabled Trump, etc., but it is sad to see a man suffering like this. Yes, he has health care he would never provide to the nation as a whole, but I hate to see this.
He needs to resign or take a medical leave and I would say this if he was the strongest, most liberal senator in the group.
I don’t. I’d be delighted to see him drop dead of a stroke on national TV. But it’s probably better for the US if he’s just too sick to show up and vote, but refuses to step down.
Anyway, I find this encouraging. The first event could have been a one-time transient thing. This is looking more like he’s developing a crippling disability. I can only hope so.
Looking at that video, there’s no way someone that impaired should be continuing to work. But Feinstein and others before her have shown that anyone can cling on as a Senator if they want to, no matter what mental state, and I expect Mitch will do the same.
Anyone see the last episode of The McLachlan Group? In it John looked and acted very, very, very near death (which he was). This reminds me of that.
I’m thinking of Strom Thurmond.
I do pity him. But karmically, he had this coming.
Good Lord.
If he was in a long term care home, I’d still be worried. He should not be operating anything more complicated than a soft sponge. I would not trust him with a pencil at this point - he might hurt himself or others.
And this guy is STILL the leader of Republicans in the Senate? That’s just sad.
They can cling on by staying in the background and having handlers tell them which which button they need to push in order to vote against feeding orphans, but they can’t manage a speakership. So far they still seem to be isolated spells, I don’t notice that I’ve noticed any general decline, and so long as they stay isolated he can probably keep doing his job.
I suspect that for every one of these that we see in public, his staff has seen at least 10 when he wasn’t in front of a camera. Unlike the first time, this time they seemed to have a plan for damage control in place “he just couldn’t hear the question” 
His condition may not be self-inflicted, but his determination to keep trying to work is definitely his fault. And it’s completely unsurprising. Congress is entirely made up of those who are ruthless and untiring in their pursuit of power. He’d never have made it to where he is if wasn’t that type. Feinstein, too. All of those party leaders are the type to cling to power with a Stalin-esque tenacity.
I’m simultaneously sad for him as a human being, and happy for the damage he’s inflicting on the Republican Party instead of on the world as a whole.
Since 1965, Canadian senators have had a mandatory retirement age of 75. Of course, they are appointed, not elected, but just sayin’
Before then you just sent them into the wild when their time was up, didn’t you?
Yes, and we presume they were eaten by bears.
Meanwhile, here is a journal article that may help explain what is happening to McConnell:
The causes of new-onset epilepsy and seizures in the elderly
From the abstract:
With increasing age, the prevalence and incidence of epilepsy and seizures increases correspondingly. New-onset epilepsy in elderly people often has underlying etiology, including cerebrovascular diseases, primary neuron degenerative disorders, intracerebral tumors, and traumatic head injury.
Bolding mine. Didn’t McConnell have a concussion from a fall earlier this year?
They don’t just set them adrift on ice floes anymore?
Global warming - not as many ice floes.
Also, federal pollution regulations.
Oh, shit, he is beyond ill. He just zones out on everything. Good. We can get rid of him now, or he can get rid of himself. There’s just no way he shouldn’t be hospitalized.