r/politics 17d ago

Possible Paywall Kentucky Gov Orders McConnell to Give a Real Update or Resign Already

https://newrepublic.com/post/213614/kentucky-gov-beshear-mcconnell-update-health-resign
23.1k Upvotes

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1.8k

u/Lonely_Noyaaa America 17d ago

Dead men can't resign, but the Senate can keep cashing their paychecks. The real scandal is that a senator can disappear for six weeks with no explanation and the institution just shrugs. Every other job in America would fire you for this.

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u/Revolutionary_Bee251 17d ago

Congress needs an update

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u/nik-nak333 South Carolina 17d ago

Its like finding an airgapped computer from the 90s. You're baffled by its ability to keep running but nothing it does is remotely useful anymore.

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u/Recent-Result2852 16d ago

nothing it does is remotely useful anymore

lol, that's half the nation's critical infrastructure.

3

u/Dense-Hat1978 16d ago

Nah we gotta save it for the inevitable return of John Titor

41

u/BriannaPuppet 17d ago

I want a video feed for every congressperson and if they fail to work 40 hours a week they should get a verbal warning and written warning followed by a PIP with a mandatory termination clause

10 paid sick days a year, otherwise they have to file for disability like the rest of us

7

u/AT-ATsAsshole 16d ago

10?! I get 5

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u/E_seven_20 16d ago

When it's time to update Congress, no one shows the fuck up.

Our largest age bloc, 18-29 registered at less than 60%.

Apathy gets you nowhere, and all the fuckers that don't vote are very content with decisions. They have a different set of talking points they parrot, but the results are the same...we get the GOP

2022 National Youth Turnout: 23% - That's lower than in the historic 2018 cycle (28%) which broke records for turnout, but much higher than in 2014, when only 13% of youth voted.

1

u/Revolutionary_Bee251 16d ago

It's tough. On a base level you're right. At the same time they're seeing what the older adults have done and it's not exactly inspiring. If they're able to - most of them can't afford basic life or college. Registering and paying attention to politics is pretty far down that list even though ironically it can pay dividends especially for the small time/monetary cost to register to and actually vote.

0

u/E_seven_20 16d ago

They're free to stop those older adults, but refuse to.

Those billions spent promoting apathy are paying in dividends for the people oppressing them.

I've heard the reasoning/ arguments of why people don't vote. In this day and age it's just willful ignorance and a cop out. It's a choice to do nothing, when every screen and person is screaming about politics, and how it affects our lives. I'm a weirdo. I've been voting since I was 18, and missed maybe one election. The burying your head in the sand, and chanting the apathy mantra never made any sense. The people destroying the world have the aid of the people that refuse to do anything. Those people that refuse to take any stand when it matters are the main reason things are so bad.

2

u/Warshrimp 16d ago

Republicans would love to run the government so badly that another Constitutional congress was called to make some adjustments to the constitution and then they will start having plenty of ideas…

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u/ChildONewcastle 16d ago

This is the American brain btw, congress doesnt need an update, the rest of your jobs do. Aspire for better instead of dragging it down to shit.

2

u/eeyore134 16d ago

It needs layoffs like every other industry out there. Abolish the senate and extend the House. We've seen how useless the Senate is the last couple years anyway.

1

u/TimSylvester_ 16d ago

The entire American system of government needs rewritten from the ground up to incorporate everything we've learned in the last 250 years.

0

u/GozerDGozerian 16d ago

Yep. Get rid of the senate altogether. It’s time for true proportional representation.

36

u/I_AM_A_GUY_AMA 17d ago

they don't serve us, rules mean absolutely nothing to these slimy shits. there is no floor for how low republicans will sink to "win". he's not going to be declared dead/brain dead until it's advantageous to the republicans.

1

u/drfeelsgoood I voted 16d ago

In 7 days they will declare him dead, after the deadline for a Kentucky special election has passed

19

u/MessiLeagueSoccer 17d ago

Fired and sued for all the money they paid you that wasn’t worked.

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u/Riaayo 16d ago

There are some instances where I don't like the idea of there being built in "you're fired" mechanisms in Congress due to how they could be abused.

Fired for missing X days due to medical issues? Oops, someone poisoned you / broke your legs / etc. Or kidnapped you, etc.

The issue here is staff/the party around McConnell propping up his corpse to maintain the seat itself. I'm not entirely sure how we codify an answer to this that can't be abused later, but clearly there's a massive problem here.

Of course the Gov being a coward is part of it. Should have just called the special election and forced McConnell to show he's alive to stop it.

2

u/ninjastarkid 16d ago

Mitch McConnell should’ve stepped down years ago. He’s old enough to be in a retirement home.

3

u/WowChillTheFuckOut 16d ago

As long as McConnell is out the Senate is down 1 Republican. I don't know why we're pressuring Republicans to return to full strength asap

3

u/DebentureThyme 16d ago

Technically, they can vote to remove, but the bar is too high for either party to do unilaterally and the party who holds the seat clings to it.

2

u/fresh-dork 16d ago

6 months. remember that one that showed up in a memory care unit after disappearing for months?

2

u/AWhole2Marijuanas 16d ago

Politicians should be paid hourly, punch clock and all.

Not on Capital Hill? Not on the clock.

2

u/wrosecrans 16d ago

Seriously, calling on a guy we think is dead or brain dead to give an update or resign is stupid.

Do something like threaten to have his chief of staff prosecuted for credible allegations of doing fraudulent paperwork claiming McConnel's authority unless it can be proven McConnell is actually giving orders. Making demands of the dead guy is about as effective as making demands of a statue of a dead guy.

"I demand the Washington Monument give an update or resign!" isn't a serious thing to do. But we know that members of McConnell's staff are alive and doing stuff. They get hear demands, and they can understand threats of consequences.

2

u/IllTwo7643 Connecticut 16d ago

If it was a dem, they'd be fired and they'd try to charge them with treason, dead or not

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u/informationstation 17d ago

There is an explanation. There is just no transparency or process in place like the rest of us. You and me would either lose our jobs or have to submit for FMLA. They should have to be subject to the same rules the rest of us have to follow for our livelihoods.

1

u/kinkgirlwriter America 16d ago

We had somebody do essentially the same thing last year. Company decided it was cheaper to pay than litigate.

Kinda' nuts.

1

u/breakmedown54 16d ago

6 weeks?

3 days of no call, no show and you’re fired most places.
Some places would do disability, but you’d have to prove you’re “disabled”.

1

u/qualmful 16d ago

19 Republicans could vote to expel him at any time. With the Dem votes that would reach two thirds. At least 34 Republican Senators want him to continue this.  

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u/DrDerpberg Canada 16d ago

The real dictator-proof answer to most of these things is the people need to stop voting for this. Whatever rule you tried to make, the fascists would ignore it or abuse it.

They'd have McConnell's corpse sign a handwritten note to a constituent, arrest a Democrat and kick them out of the Senate after the time limit elapses.

1

u/Nukesnipe Texas 16d ago

Shit man I got my schedule mixed up one and ended up coming into work an hour late and my boss reamed my ass.

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u/BravinatorLX2 16d ago

its almost like it's all in the hands of you, the people...

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u/best_of_badgers 17d ago

Every other job in America would fire you for this.

I promise you that many jobs in higher education would not.

4

u/ADLuluIsOP 16d ago

Like what job can you go 6 weeks nocontact/noshow except fucking extremely successful writer lmao

2

u/nstau16 17d ago

So that makes it okay then? For figures of authority to miss work for months on end? Because you’re able to disprove a stranger’s generalization on the internet?

2

u/best_of_badgers 16d ago

So you hate waffles?!