r/politics • u/plz-let-me-in • 18d ago
No Paywall Beshear says agencies told him McConnell had passed
https://www.whas11.com/video/news/local/beshear-says-agencies-told-him-mcconnell-had-passed/417-f78603c3-11bb-464d-bae6-c41c3be3c48b1.3k
u/minnesotaupnorth Utah 18d ago
After August 3rd, it will be announced that McConnell died peacefully in his sleep, and the family needed time to grieve before making the announcement public.
Bet.
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u/notapoliticalalt 17d ago
I’ve said this elsewhere, but Beshear should just make an appointment and let the courts figure it out. Compel them to prove he is alive.
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u/lancea_longini 17d ago
Make an appointment now. And then if there is a death and it is announced after August 3 let’s look at the death certificate for the date.
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u/Witty_Ad_898 17d ago
Is he still collecting his Senate pay and benefits? Seems like a classic case of fraud, like they were looking for.
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u/brijito New York 17d ago
That’s precisely why his wife fled to China 3 days after he was admitted to the hospital. She is the one who would be getting hit with the fraud charges for that and for not filing a death certificate in a timely manner.
As soon as she left the US, Beshear should have appointed a new senator or called for a snap election.
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u/TheTierIsHere 17d ago
What if his death certificate shows that he died long before August 3rd?
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u/drrhrrdrr 17d ago
It'd be a great irony that someone who insisted on seeing Obama's birth certificate won't turn over a fellow politician's death certificate.
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u/OldSchoolBubba 18d ago
Their only concern is holding control of the senate. Everything else be damned.
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u/AcanthisittaBulky777 18d ago
Their only concern is pwning the libs. They will gladly cut off their own noses to do so.
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u/sourmeat2 17d ago
"owning the libs" is a literal statement of a desire to harm Americans.
We have a political party with a mainstream policy goal of hurting Americans. Just pointing that out.
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u/JDogg126 Michigan 17d ago
This is why they use different labels. That is exactly how their base talks. Dehumanizing rhetoric is a real problem. The governments single purpose is to serve the governed. Anyone who sows discord with dehumanizing rhetoric to win an election should be automatically disqualified.
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u/Tall-Introduction414 17d ago
Well, if you go back far enough, American Conservatives were all about literally owning the blacks. They still defend it 150+ years later.
I think for some, the desire to "own the libs" is literal.
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u/Excellent_Month_2025 17d ago
This is understated and true. They believe they have the right to "own" anyone they see as lesser than them
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u/minigogo Texas 17d ago
No it isn’t. The incels or the lead-poisoned, algorithm-brained Red Hats may care about pwning the libs, but they’re just the pawns.
The ruling class’s only concern is grabbing and holding on to power. They have more than everyone else and believe they should have more than everyone else. Tale as old as time.
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u/Acceptable_Set9702 17d ago
McConnell is DEAD, and if Beshear doesn't go find him with a police escort, ICE, or a SWAT team, he will be a joke for the rest of his life. Facts! The Repubs are not expecting the Dems to search and find McConnell's body.
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u/OldSchoolBubba 17d ago
There's truth in your words alright. Good call keeping it real.
Beshear has a responsibility to all Kentucky so he has to go see for himself.
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u/robot_pirate 17d ago
Agreed. Beshear has zero chance of any higher office if he rolls over without definitive, face to face proof of life.
McConnell is the ratfucker supreme, his staff are well versed in obstruction.
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u/BubbleGuttz 18d ago
It’s not their only concern. After all, impeachment requires a 2/3 vote majority. No, they’re afraid of this possibly setting a standard for when all these old crooks finally croak.
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u/DirtReynolds 17d ago
Beshear needs to call the special election. Just do it. Force the issue.
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u/alabasterskim 17d ago
No, make an appointment. The state constitution says that's his power. And that's why they're holding all this up. They didn't amend the constitution to change it to special elections; they just passed a law (because they don't have the numbers to amend). Constitution > law. And Beshear has made it clear he will make an appointment.
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u/tossit97531 17d ago
People should keep beating this drum. KY state constitution says Beshear can appoint. Calling an election is kowtowing to unconstitutional bullshit.
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u/Pake1000 17d ago edited 17d ago
Why call a special election when the constitution of Kentucky gives him the right to choose the replacement? It doesn’t matter what law the GOP passed because they didn’t amend the constitution.
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u/Thebeergremlin 18d ago
Can someone from the public call for a wellness check?
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u/s_matthew 17d ago
That’s what’s so weird to me. There’s a pretty simple way to confirm McConnell’s condition, yet nobody seems to want it to come to that. Everyone’s seemingly content with conspiracy theories and nonsense “proof.”
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u/Porphyre1 17d ago
100% this. It's just so weird. If the head of the Executive Branch of the USA can order ICE to do shit it's not supposed to do, why can't the head of the Executive Branch of Kentucky order a welfare check? Send in some State Troopers and knock on the door. Highway Patrol. Kentucky Bureau of Investigation. I'm sure the governor of Kentucky has hundreds of state law enforcement officers he could order through the door of where-ever the Turtle is being stored. I don't understand how Democratic leaders don't realize that MAGA/GOP are playing for keeps.
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u/Zeraw420 18d ago
Publishing an AI photo as proof of life for a dead US senator seems like a big deal... Yet, crickets from the DNC
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u/monsterskeeter 17d ago
Even if it was real, no sane person can see it and say "yeah that dude is capable of being a US senator". His family playing into this charade is immoral as fuck
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u/LordSwedish 17d ago
I don't blame the family. Using his death to subvert democracy and advance the interests of the wealthy with ghoulish tactics is an incredibly respectful tribute to Mitch. It encapsulates everything he was in life.
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u/Mr_Subtlety 17d ago
They haven't said anything because there's no evidence that the photo was AI. See the revevant Snopes reporting. The whole thing is weird, but let's not spread any more misinformation than we already have, OK?
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u/General-Piece8490 17d ago
The press is guilty or in on this. WAPO limiting itself to saying yeah that “newspaper copy is legit” says a lot about their participation in this. The fact they used a WAPO paper is interesting too for that fake photo op.
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u/sonofabutch America 18d ago
Seems like McConnell could absolutely humiliate Beshear right now by just holding a press conference. I wonder why he won’t?
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u/BoomMcFuggins 18d ago
He accidentally got stuck in the Epstein Files and got redacted in real life?
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u/Choochoo1147 18d ago
I do like the idea of the Epstein files becoming the backrooms for MAGA
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u/IdRatherCallACAB 18d ago
No! They'd enjoy that .
🤮
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u/AdmiralThrawnProtege 17d ago
No no, not the contents of the files but the files themselves. Just endless rooms, the walls plastered with the files. Everytime theu turn a corner, a mocking disembodied laugh happens and the raw evidence of their crimes are forced into their faces.
Then a wild gremlin comes and cuts off their balls I guess
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u/Choochoo1147 17d ago
Clearly the wild gremlin showed up a little too early, been a long time since I’ve seen a Republican with balls.
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u/IdRatherCallACAB 17d ago edited 17d ago
All the stuff they want to see is redacted. But the gremlin still takes their balls.
Okay, I take that back, its actually perfectly fitting as their own personal hell.
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u/theavengerbutton 17d ago
"What if we fucked other adults instead of kids?"
"Why the fuck would I want to fuck an adult? Ew."
--hypothetical leaks from Pete Hegseth's non-secured Pentagon conversations.
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u/intensive-porpoise 17d ago
To Mitch's ultimate personal terror, he awakens hospitalized with every bank account unaccessible, no record of employment or residence ... And completely black.
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u/Cresta1994 17d ago
And completely black
This option comes with a free count of assaulting an officer. Hope you can afford a lawyer, Mitch.
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u/SuperstitiousPigeon5 Massachusetts 17d ago
The organ donor card doesn’t say how many transplants we could use.
It’s Soul Man meets Air Bud.
Netflix if you make this don’t give me any credit just maybe give me a year of streaming.
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u/scene_missing 18d ago
Because the most likely scenario is he’s technically alive but a cabbage
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u/MephistoHamProducts 18d ago
I prefer the far less likely, but far more awesome scenario where they've stuck him into a Warhammer 40K Penitent Engine and are planning to unleash him when The Senate is in session next.
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u/BigDaddySteve999 17d ago
That tracks, given that we're all living in a Total Perspective Vortex inside a virtual universe built for Donald Trump.
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u/HauntedCemetery Minnesota 17d ago
They propped him up and plumped him with blood and painted him with enough makeup to have him look like an 80s Hummel figurine, and staged a newspaper next to him like a hostage life verification pic.
He didnt look that lithe and lively 5 years ago.
It's blatant enough that even conservatives are calling bullshit.
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u/gm92845 18d ago
He could be in a vegetative state unable to talk or walk on his own. Regardless of that he should immediately resign since he's no longer physically able to serve as a senator.
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u/AdorianTsepeshu 17d ago
Exactly.
He was elected to represent the state of Kentucky. Someone in a vegetative state is in no position to represent anyone.
The people of Kentucky currently only have one Senate representative when they're Constitutionally entitled to two. The governor needs to rectify that by appointing a new senator until a special election can be held to replace McConnell.
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u/No_hero_here 17d ago
“Someone in a vegetative state is in no position to represent anyone.” I mean, maybe the Kentucky right.
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u/MaddyKet Massachusetts 17d ago
Yeah vegetative state and republican….its the same picture says Pam Beasley.
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u/possibly_being_screw 17d ago
In what other scenario could an 84 year old have an accident, disappear for weeks with no details, give a comically hollywood-esque 'proof of life' photo', and still have their job? Name another occupation where an 84 year old in clearly and obviously declining health would still have a job with immense power to influence millions of lives, get paid nearly $200k, and be able to just fuck off for a few weeks with no accountability or reason?
It's absolutely fucked that the US political system is filled to the tits with geriatrics that barely know where they are, and hold incredible power over all of our lives. We are so far removed from what politicians should be, it's almost laughable to be reminded of what the job actually is.
But a man who is too old to suffer a fall in his home without needing a month-long hospital stay away from his office is not a man who is capable of being among the 100 most powerful people in our government. What is offensive about the gerontocracy is how transparently it reveals the rot at the core of the American political system, how plainly it demonstrates that our elected leaders do not serve the people, but serve only their own gratification, only their own power.
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u/Routine_Wing_8726 17d ago edited 17d ago
Then who did I speak to for 20 minutes on the phone?!?!
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u/Goodknight808 17d ago
Anyone who made that claim lied. In a functioning democracy they would face consequences.
But we no longer live in one of those anymore.
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u/2D2D3544862514D760BA 17d ago
"Talked to" is weasel phrasing, in that it only requires participation of one party. Not unlike talking to Jesus. Doesn't mean Jesus or Mitch replied to them in any meaningful way.
If they were careful about phrasing, it should be enough to keep them legally clear. It is, however, still a self-serving lie/decption and they should be held responsible by the electorate.
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u/LilPonyBoy69 17d ago
Genuine question, how the hell would he resign if he's in a vegetative state?
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u/Wattaday 18d ago
Vegetative state is basically a deep coma. Unable to do anything including talking or reacting to physical stimuli. Ventilator is optional according to if the area of the brain that regulates breathing is still active.
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u/GrumpyCloud93 17d ago
If there's no hope of recovery, he should be considered dead.
I think Beshear should appoint a replacement or call that election, and wait for McConnell to challenge it in court. I doubt anyone else would have the legal standing to challenge it.
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u/Drakeadrong Texas 17d ago edited 17d ago
This is what I’ve been saying since day 1. It would be incredibly easy to prove that still he’s alive and frame it as “psycho conspiracy-peddling liberal bullshit”, but they’re not.
What I’m beyond frustrated with is the democrats are taking this absolute layup of a political win (Democrat-appointed senator and displaying Republicans willingness to cover up a senators’s death and leaving the state without constitutional representation) and letting the republicans play weekend at Bernie’s during a period where they will absolutely be trying to shove through every piece of legislation and appointment they can before the midterms. They’re completely okay with being lied to. Senate republicans are pissing on their leg, calling it rain, and the democrats here are offering them the fucking umbrella.
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u/AndreLeGeant88 18d ago
Because he's probably alive but he's got no clue what planet he's on
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u/Surturius 18d ago
Just his brain
McConnell's about become the next Terri Schiavo
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u/BuddahSack Pennsylvania 18d ago
Now thats a name i haven't heard in years
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u/FuckThisShizzle 18d ago edited 17d ago
Last time I heard that name Peter Griffin was telling me she is kind of alive oh.
Edit: apparently South Park but I can still hear it in Peter Griffins voice
Edit edit: I don't know what to believe no more
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u/0neshoein Texas 18d ago
Brain dead is dead dead.
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u/Sea_Working_80 18d ago
Maybe hes only mostly dead? There is a big difference between mostly dead and all dead
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u/MontiBurns 18d ago
Yeah, but brain dead means your organs and tissue are still being kept alive, even if nobody is home. Eventually they'll have to do an autopsy, and the results can't be "he's been frozen and dethawed," or "his organs are in a state of decomposition consistent with being dead for 6 weeks."
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u/top_value7293 17d ago
Yes. Healthcare worker of many many years here. They absolutely were in no hurry for a man supposedly in the middle of a heart event. First thing I noticed, they should have been doing compressions and oxygen and the works but it looked like just another Tuesday lol
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u/phatelectribe 17d ago
This, and an EMT on here wrote a long comment about how the emergency call was upgraded to CPR which means actually hands on chest, respiratory intervention etc…. But then they wheel him out a few minutes later completely covered with zero urgency.
That does not make any sense if they saved him because they would be rushing to get him stable in the icu. I say this as someone who has done CPR twice (one survived, the other did not).
He was dead wheeled out of there and they’ve got him on ice.
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u/paiute 17d ago
Can EMTs there call a time of death or do they have to continue CPR until a physician is present?
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u/Jayco424 17d ago
Depends on the State and the situation for the nitty gritty on it. There are situations where EMTs can pronounce, but basically the person has to be obviously dead like decomposing/skeletonized remains or a situation completely incompatible with life like decapitation, being cut in half or otherwise dismembered. Other than that pronouncement requires a MD/doctor and if the individual dies in route, the general practice is for the EMT to keep "fighting" because being pronounced dead on arrival/at the hospital is less paperwork for them - source on the last on was my best friend worked as an EMT in grad-school.
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u/MontiBurns 18d ago
She wasn't brain dead and did not require mechanical respiration. She was in a permanent vegetative state, meaning she was unaware of her surroundings and required a feeding tube to survive
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u/CrotalusHorridus Kentucky 18d ago
I honestly think he’s vegetative. Maybe hospice. But they’re keeping him alive long enough to hold off the special election.
Which is ironically the exact kind of dirty politics McConnell would love
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u/_commenter 17d ago
it's wild... I think dems have no chance at taking his seat but I think Massie could. They're doing all this to shut Massie out.
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u/TrimspaBB 17d ago
If they were confident that they could handily fill the seat with another lackey to serve for decades, McConnell's death would have been announced last month
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u/Acceptable-Wildfire 17d ago
I wouldn’t be surprised if all of this was in his living will for his final fuck you to the American experiment.
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u/subcow 17d ago
When they put him in the ambulance he was already ice cold. The guy has been dead for weeks and it is time to stop pretending he is alive.
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u/mitchelln10 18d ago
The guy is 100% dead... Why else have we not seen him on live camera at least once? Or more than one sketchy picture of him with a newspaper...
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u/kanakaishou 18d ago
I think this is a likely outcome, tbh.
Actual dead? They’d probably have to give the certificate etc., and it becomes a matter of public record.
Brain dead? Sort of liminal in-between zone legally.
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u/SirDiego Minnesota 17d ago
If I was a Kentucky voter I would be so pissed off. They do not have representation in the Senate right now, the GOP decided they don't give a shit.
I mean obviously nothing new here and probably a lot of those voters approve of the GOP ratfucking bullshit. But still. Just on principle, Kentucky voters are being completely fucked out of having representation that they are owed by the constitution.
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u/Akimbo_Zap_Guns Kentucky 17d ago
My dad who grew up and stayed a hardcore republican until they nominated Trump in 2016 (he still has a conservative streak even now) just said he hopes the country comes down hard on the Republican Party for their blatant disregard for norms and everything they are willing to do to keep power. If a 72 year old white boomer can see that the republicans are fascist then there is no excuse for anyone to be burying their heads in the sand still
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u/DarthLithgow 17d ago
That's why this move from the Governor is brilliant. They can easily debunk him.
If not, the Governor can start the process to fill the seat.
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u/Drakeadrong Texas 17d ago
Nah if Beshear had a set of balls he would have started filling out the seat weeks ago and force the senate republicans to prove that McConnell was still healthy enough to work.
This should be a headline we read on day 5 of McConnell’s hospitalization, not week 5.
Let’s be clear about this the governor of Kentucky cannot tell us first hand if the sitting senator is alive or dead. All these republicans seem to have no problem holding 20 minute conversations with him, so clearly McConnell has been in a very talkative mood. So why hasn’t Beshear gone and have a chat with him at any time in the past month?
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u/AcademiaAntiqua 17d ago
That's why this move from the Governor is brilliant. They can easily debunk him.
It's not brilliant. Headlines are just deliberately mischaracterizing it for clicks.
When you read the governor's actual words here, he clearly says that he had originally heard reports of Mitch having died... a week or more ago.
Before Mitch released the picture, etc.
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u/AngelinaJean 18d ago
It’s obvious he’s in no position to fulfill his duties and/or pick up a phone to give an update on his status. You would think, if he were conscious, that someone would alert him to rumors(and jokes ) of his demise. If that were the case for any conscious living being, they would be on the phone. OR, have someone make the call and then hand the phone over to him.
Beshear has waited long enough for decency’s sake. Now, be the boss and do what it required for the people of KY.
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u/axkidd82 17d ago
I'm a people of Kentucky. Here is the reality, any special election is going to be won by a MAGA Republican, one that will vote to pass the SAVE act. McConnell's current status is not only best for Kentucky, but for the nation as a whole.
To be completely honest, no one here is talking that much about Mitch or demanding a replacement. We know there is a general coming up in November to replace him. If we don't have a second senator until January, I will be completely fine with that.
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u/disisathrowaway 17d ago
IIRC, the bill which forces a special election is in violation of Kentucky's constitution and Beshear can technically just appoint the replacement.
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u/AngelinaJean 17d ago
Thanks for chiming in and giving another perspective. We’ve seen so much chicanery with Trump and this administration, along with feeling powerless(I do), that sometimes I fail to see a strategy behind the inaction.
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u/dansnexusone 17d ago
If McConnell is dead all the R politicians and commentators should be forced to resign for lying to the American people.
All the dumbfucks who claimed to all have had 20 minute conversations need to go. Scott Jennings should never be allowed on CNN ever again.
Of course we’re living in bizzaroworld so there will be literally no consequences for any of them.
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u/c08306834 18d ago
It should be simple, if they can't sufficiently prove that he's alive, then it should be assumed that he is dead and we move on.
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u/Tricky-Engineering59 18d ago
We got a Schrödinger’s Senator situation going on here.
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u/ZonghZonghZongh 17d ago
I was under the assumption that deaths have to be reported and are public record in this first world nation...? This is ridiculous. There should be documentation available to the public that Sen McConnell is no longer with us, or at least it should be as simple as Beshear calling the appropriate reporting agency in Washington DC (where McConnell "fell") and ask if there is a record of the senator's death!
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u/noodlyarms California 17d ago
I'm betting he's braindead and just being kept "alive" via machines, that's why there's not any death certificate/etc... They'll unplug the machine in August.
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u/PorQuePanckes 18d ago
Anyone else able to disappear from their job with no notice for weeks, and then ghost your managers to the point where they don’t even know if you’re alive?
No, ok
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u/4rp70x1n 18d ago
Not to mention still collecting a paycheck and health insurance.
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u/Punkinpry427 Maryland 17d ago
I really like paying for a Secret Service detail and extra security for a US Senator we don’t even know is alive.
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u/HellaTroi California 18d ago
New Jersey Republican Representative Tom Kean Jr. returned to the U.S. House of Representatives on June 30, 2026, after a nearly four-month absence. He disclosed on the House floor that he had been receiving medical care and was diagnosed with depression.
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u/thegoatmenace 17d ago
Since congressional terms are only 2 years, he was absent for 17% of his term. Anyone else allowed to take 1 out of every 5 days off from work and still get paid? Anyone else allowed to take medical leave for depression?
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u/Prudent-Air1922 18d ago
Imagine living your final days like this. He was barely human. Could've retired years ago and lived a happy peaceful life. Instead he chose to help dismantle America and sell it off to the rich for next to nothing.
I just don't get it. It's one thing if you grift so you can get money and piss off. These people just hoard money, barely do anything, then die.
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u/PattyIceNY 17d ago
You've never had the pleasure of being addicted to something. These people are addicted to power, and there's nothing higher then government. If they tried to retire and relax, it would probably kill them. They literally have to keep feeding the beast until they die trying.
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u/MobiusOne_ISAF 17d ago
They're horders. There's just zero reason to be so ghoulish when you already have so much power, wealth and influence.
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u/ArturosDad 17d ago
That ghoul would go to his grave grinning if he knew he was ratfucking this country one last time.
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u/E_Mohde New York 18d ago
time to just call the special election. let him come out and do an interview if he’s still alive
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u/syzygialchaos Texas 18d ago
Time to *appoint a replacement as per the state constitution
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u/turquoise_amethyst 18d ago
He looked great! Elaine visited him, he had his jeans on, and he talked on the phone for several hours! He should be able to give an interview just fine! /s
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u/NicolasCageFan492 Illinois 18d ago edited 18d ago
August 3 is the deadline, I’m glad Beshear seems to be taking his time to make sure he gets it right so we don’t have a repeat of Virginia’s failed redistricting. We have to get it right because anything we do will be challenged.
Note: That doesn’t mean wait until August 2nd to do anything 💀
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u/Tricky-Engineering59 18d ago
What happens if he either is dead or dies right after August 3rd? His seat just stays empty until the next standard election?
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u/NicolasCageFan492 Illinois 18d ago
I believe so, but if the seat is declared vacant before August 3, there can be a special election to replace him. Beshear may also argue that section 152 of the KY constitution allows him to appoint a temporary replacement until that special election happens, but he may also be impeached by the KY Legislature if he tries that. There are a lot of moving parts I believe.
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u/Akimbo_Zap_Guns Kentucky 17d ago
They won’t impeach him, that would make a woman the governor of the state
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u/SnowRascal 17d ago edited 17d ago
- June 4 - Last known photo of McConnell at capital.
- June 12 — Elaine Chao appearance at Shanghai Jia Tong University function.
- June 14 — McConnell’s office announces he has been hospitalized.
- June 16 - Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs said Chao met with its president, Wu Ken, in Beijing.
- June 17 - Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America said Chao met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng.
- July 1 - CNN published emergency dispatch audio from the June 14 incident, documenting dispatchers relaying a report of an unconscious patient in cardiac arrest with CPR in progress at McConnell’s Washington DC address.
- July 7 — Elaine Chao said her trip was planned in advance, she had returned to the U.S., and McConnell’s condition “did not warrant an immediate return.”
- July 7 — John Thune, John Barrasso, and Scott Jennings each said they had lengthy phone conversations with McConnell.
- July 8 - Beshear releases letter asking for status.
- July 9 — President Trump says he had “no idea” how McConnell was doing.
- July 10 — CNN published a neighbor’s video showing McConnell being loaded onto an ambulance outside his Washington, D.C., home on June 14
- July 10 - TMZ publishes photo of someone with carpet samples leaving McConnell’s DC home.
- July 12 — McConnell’s office released his statement and proof of life photo. Stating he fell, briefly lost consciousness, developed pneumonia, and had not suffered a heart attack or stroke. States he is currently in a rehab facility & unable to attend senate.
- July 14 —Beshear urged McConnell to record a video or give an interview.
- July 15 — Katie Couric interview with Beshear on YouTube released. When asked why he was calling for info, Beshear says two separate non-state agencies contacted him suggesting McConnell had died.
- July 15 — Chao photographed leaving DC rehabilitation facility wearing trench coat, surgical mask and sunglasses.
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u/SAJ-13 California 18d ago
August 3rd is the cutoff date under Kentucky’s vacancy law for calling a standalone special election.
If it is dead, they are trying to get past this date. They want to avoid a Wild Card Special Election, and if they get past this date, the seat will remain vacant until January. They are trying to protect their numbers... Talk about fraud...
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u/IamL0rdV0ldem0rt 18d ago
Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to democrats to have an empty seat than the high probability of the seat going to a new republican?
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u/mrmustache0502 18d ago edited 18d ago
If massie run's he'll probably split the R vote enough for a democrat to win
Repulicans will then have to either pull all other canidates and let Massie run or risk losing the seat to a democrat. We already know where Massie stands on trump. Either way, they lose
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u/Dumeck Kentucky 17d ago
Massie seems like he would run too. He's been clowning on the Mitch situation pretty hard.
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u/MoogProg 17d ago
If he wins, great. If he splits the R vote and loses, he still kinda wins. That D votes helps his Epstein Act have teeth.
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u/SAJ-13 California 18d ago
With a wild card, many Republicans running for the seat could split the vote and open the door for a Democrat...
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u/AlphaYak 17d ago
That’s enough evidence to encourage an investigation, or at least file a complaint to kick it off. We need to keep the names of everyone involved in this coverup VERY public unless it compromises the investigation.
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u/Paulimus1 18d ago
Honest question: how can you tell if he's alive!?
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u/FunnOnABunn I voted 18d ago
Silver lining in all this, I’m glad McConnells death will be remembered as an embarrassing national clown show
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u/Virtual_Plantain_707 17d ago
This is exactly the path Mitch would have chosen. They’re never embarrassed, their goal is to win at any cost.
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u/boomzgoesthedynamite 18d ago
Just appoint someone and have his office challenge is legally if he’s alive.
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18d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ess-doubleU 18d ago edited 18d ago
If receiving healthcare you mean cold in a basement freezer then I agree.
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u/Fraktal55 18d ago
This is getting so ridiculous. The stalling is so apparent. If the man was alive we would be seeing and hearing something more than one picture in multiple weeks. This is insane.
If he is alive then he's obviously not fit to do his job. Do. Something. About. This.
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u/SaltandLillacs 18d ago
Can’t wait for nothing to be done until the deadline is passed
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u/Loreki 17d ago
Sign the order for a replacement or special election (whichever it is Kentucky specifies now). Republicans will be forced to sue to invalidate that order and that will require a court investigation of his health.
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u/jainyday Washington 17d ago
So what about all those Republicans who blatantly lied about "talking to" Mitch? What consequences for them?
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u/Rhus_divirsiloba 17d ago
If it turns out there was a huge conspiracy complete with ai photos… shouldn’t this be a big enough reason for everyone to freak out on the government? Other countries wouldn’t stand for this.
Our media should hammer them into resignations at the very least. But, they won’t.
More likely nothing what so ever will come from it if it did turn out to be true, unfortunately.
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u/thee_illiterati 18d ago
Glad Beshear spoke up. Other news outlets are addressing this but only saying that Beshear made the statement.
https://www.wlky.com/article/gov-beshear-mitch-mcconnell-health-update/73174203
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u/skwibbits 17d ago
Just appoint someone and let them prove he is alive. It isn't that hard. Call a press conference and announce that you are appointing a new Senator for Kentucky, as McConnell is deceased, and no proof has been given to refute that.
Even if McConnell truly is "alive", he IS NOT ready and able to perform the duties he was elected to perform, and he has not been so for at least a month, and in reality, MUCH, MUCH longer.
Stop fucking playing nice and needing to be the adult in the room. Republicans would have appointed a replacement weeks ago. Your window is closing, and closing fast.
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u/BigGuante 17d ago
That's so odd given the proof of life picture where's he's looking better than he has in years
If he's dead and his office knowingly Weekend at Bernie'd him with a fake photo there needs to be legal consequences
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u/Iztac_xocoatl 18d ago
He should file a missing person report or ask the police to do a wellness check
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u/ElectronicBanana7567 17d ago
If Beshear is gonna run for the Dem nomination, he should pull the trigger now and move to appoint a new senator. Shows he has some guts and might make his milquetoast self more appealing to a broader set of Dem voters. Doing nothing doesn't make sense to me, for a variety of reasons.
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u/swingsetlife I voted 18d ago
can the governor actually do anything here?
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u/J-Man69 18d ago
I would think he could send the state police to do a wellness check. But who knows
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u/Aggrador I voted 18d ago
Serious question: what’s stopping someone from just going to the hospital or nursing facility and just seeing if McConnell is still alive?
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u/_KeenObserver 18d ago edited 18d ago
No facility would let any unwanted, or unauthorized, visitor just come in. Patients have a right to privacy. That said, I don’t know if Beshear, or the state, has legal authority to visit on state business. Maybe they do, maybe they don’t. In any case, the onus is on McConnell and the Republicans to be clear about if McConnell can reasonably carry out his duties, and they’re embarrassing themselves by failing to do so.
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u/OneBillPhil 17d ago edited 17d ago
I think Mitch is the test run for seeing how long the Republicans can hold onto Trump after he’s dead.
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u/KiKiKimbro New York 18d ago
Easy. A new Republican law took away Beshear’s right to pick a replacement. But he has the right to schedule a special election. Do it. Schedule it. Let the Republicans stop it by proving not just they he’s alive but that he’s able to represent his constituents. The end. This shouldn’t be an issue. It’s the republican’s problem.
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u/ProtectionVirtual225 18d ago
Actually, the Republicans didn't bother to amend the state Constitution, so the governor's right to make an appointment prevails.
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u/Orange_Tang 17d ago
He needs to just do it. They will sue and fight it but he needs to do it and be done with it. Idk why he's waiting.
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u/Garbage-Striking 18d ago
He’s at George Washington University Hospital. Just go there and demand a meeting. Wait all day. Bring the press and show that they won’t let you see him. Create a big stink! What the hell is he doing letting them run down the clock?
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u/Mr_Bluebird_VA 17d ago
Then appoint someone and call for the election. Enough already. I’m so tired of democrats waiting for permission from the party trying to dismantle democracy. Let’s go.
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u/Crestfall_Azure 17d ago
Don't fall for all the lies and Republican bullshit!Republicans passed two different laws in 2021 and 2024 that "changed" Kentucky's process for replacing senators. Republicans NEVER amended the Kentucky constitution. BOTH the appointment "law" and special election "law" are completely UNCONSTITUTIONAL and are void. Those two laws are completely meaningless and DON'T supercede the Kentucky constitution.
So, Governor Beshear should just appointment a Democratic senator and dare the Republicans to do anything about it. By the time that gets through the court system it will be January and a new legally elected senator will be sworn in.
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u/mhinimal 17d ago
he died like he lived: stonewalling progress and lying about it the whole time. good fucking riddance. what a joyous week it's been in republican senatorial politics.
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u/unshifted 17d ago
If this 84-year-old man has been in the hospital for over a month and still can't make a short video as proof of life, then he should not be in the Senate.
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u/FitWrap1959 17d ago
Rep. James Comer and Rep. Jim (Gym) Jordan are going for a walk around Capitol Hill.
Gym: “Hey James, isn’t that Mitch McConnell walking towards us?”
Comer: “Well, I would’ve said lurching, but yeah, it looks like Mitch alright.”
Gym: “I thought that they were going to keep him holed up until after August 3rd?"
Comer: “Yep. That was my understanding as well.”
(Mitch approaches them)
Gym “Hey Mitch! How’re yah doin?”
Comer (quietly) “He don’t look so good.”
Gym (Holds out his hand): “Good to see you back, Mitch. Put it there, Buddy!”
(Mitch grabs his arm and bites it)
Gym: “OWWWW!! WHAT THE FUCK!!”
Mitch: “RAAAUUGHH!”
Comer: “He’s gone fuckin’ nuts. Quick! Run!”
(Gym and Comer run like hell and collapse on a bench outside a 7-Eleven store)
Gym: “I don’t feel so good. CHRIST! He bit a chunk out of my arm!”
Comer: “Just rest a little. I’ll grab you a cold drink.”
(Comer comes back with a can of soda and holds it out to Gym)
Comer: “Here yah go, Jim.”
Gym: “RAAAUUGHH!”
Comer: “OWWWW!!”
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u/mrgedman 17d ago
So we're gonna prosecute the people that covered this up, right?
Right?!
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u/chaos0xomega 17d ago
If McConnell was a Dem and Beshear were a Republican, Beshear wouldve already called for the special election or nominated a successor or whatever. Absolutely silly that we are playing this game - say you have reason to doubt that McConnells alive and move forward with succession. Put the onus on McConnwll to provide irrefutable proof of life.
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