Another poster here. I also mentioned that the pay of $174,000 is rather low for the job.
As for ethical bounds, if it turns out he really was at a resort while claiming to be in rehab, there will be an issue.
As for other industries, the Republicans should join the Democrats in making unionization easier, and then industrial democracy will determine whether to prioritize wages or sick leave.
Maybe some here think McConnell should be judged more harshly because of his anti-progressive positions such as concerning unionization. That may be the main issue here. That and whether being a legislator is a good job for the elderly. I want to judge ill Republicans in a non-partisan way, and I think the Senate IS a good job for the elderly.
EDIT: Why do I keep posting in this thread? Probably because it is a lot more pleasant than posting about wars. I have made my points here and should take a resolution to stop, at least until we have a more or less final take on things with McConnell.
Over on r/politics people have almost universally bought into the “he died a month ago and the pictures are AI and they’re going to announce it on August 4th so there can’t be a special election” CT. I suspect those people are going to be awfully quiet come August 5th.
They’re also demanding that Beshear storm into the hospital and demand to see McConnell right away whether he wants to be seen or not (because that’s how hospitals work, right?) or that he unilaterally declare him dead and appoint a Democrat to replace him (as if those were things he had the power to do).
I do think this opinion is probably over-represented on reddit, but the main political subs feel almost 100% bot traffic to me and I’ve stopped using them to gauge anything. You probably should too.
Honestly, i believe in disability insurance. If something bad happens, and you become unable to work, i think society ought to support you. Sick leave us for people who are going to get better.
And while senators get full pay for unlimited time off, my white collar job provided 60% disability pay, had i become fully disabled. It’s not like it’s crazy unheard of and dishonest for people who have bad things happen to them to stop working.
That has nothing to do with what I asked you. Do you believe that McConnell is capable of having 20-minute two-way conversations? Is it a conspiracy theory to think that maybe he can’t talk at all?
That wouldn’t be legal either. The Supreme Court has ruled that states can’t add conditions on Congresspersons or their terms of office. So recalls and term limits are not allowed because they’re not in the Constitution.
The one thing I never see mentioned in all of these discussions is insurance. Congresscritters get unbelievably good coverage. If McConnell were to lose his job, he certainly won’t be able to get a new one, so he would be left with only Medicaid.
It’s entirely possible that this whole charade is just his colleagues banding together to make sure he gets good medical care.
Medicare. I know, it’s stupid that the U.S. has two completely separate government-run health insurance systems, with very similar names. Medicaid is largely for people with very low income; Medicare is largely for people age 65+. McConnell is absolutely not in the first group, and absolutely in the second group.
But, someone who is presumably as wealthy as McConnell* is doesn’t really need to worry about health insurance, as far as determining whether or not he can pay for healthcare. (Also, if he is going to be in a nursing home for the rest of his days, Medicare doesn’t cover that, anyway, but this is a sidetrack.)
*- Also bear in mind that his wife, Elaine Chao, is a very successful businessperson, and has been on the boards of directors of a number of companies and organizations, as well as being a Cabinet member in both the GW Bush and Trump administrations. It’s not like they would be living on McConnell’s federal pension if he retired today.
I will say though, that if he is in ICU, that can easily be $35k per day. The average for a stroke rehab stay is $50-75k. No matter how rich you are, you would prefer to have insurance pay that.
I don’t think they’re allowed to, unless McConnell’s family authorizes them to, because of HIPAA. Which, if they’re lying, they wouldn’t, and if they’re telling the truth, they would. So, given that there hasn’t actually been a public statement directly from the Attending Physician, what conclusions can we draw?
He’s not dead, because if he were, then his doctors would say so. But “or similar”? That’s where all the evidence points.
Those proof of life photos convince me he’s not in an ICU. And even if Medicare somehow didn’t pay that stroke rehab cost (i believe it would) his household can easily afford it.
I, previously, wondered if it was about the benefits. But I’ve been convinced it’s not. P
After (I think) 5 years, any Congress members (house or senate) get a full pension and (I think) the same health benefits that they had as members when they retire. That’s why MTG quit in January - she made sure she had enough time in for full pension and benefits for life. So, no, Mitch would not be reliant on Medicare. Eligible, yes. Receiving benefits, yes, but he will have other coverage, too.
On the Health Plan thing: Mitch has been in Congress long enough and until old enough that he qualifies for pension and to keep his Health Plan with him into retirement. But as mentioned his household rich enough to not care.
I’m sure that the paramedics weren’t lying, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that their assessment is accurate, and it almost certainly isn’t complete. A paramedic’s response to cardiac arrest is CPR, but what caused the cardiac arrest? What sort of long-term treatments are most likely to be effective or appropriate? Those are not questions that it’s a paramedic’s job to address.
These are good thoughts. Something that can essentially do what a stroke does, but not technically be a stroke.
“Ruled out stroke” was actually a mis-remembering on my part – that was never actually said and further, what was said (“I didn’t have … a stroke …”) was not said by a doctor but in a statement purportedly released by McConnell himself with the first proof-of-life photo on July 12th..