'I think he's dead': Mitch McConnell pulls a 'Franco'

Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky speaking at the 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, Gage Skidmore

The Guardian reports mystery is still surrounding the health of Sen Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as Congress prepares to return from recess next week.

McConnell, 84, has not been seen in public since he was admitted to a Washington hospital in June 14. Nearly a month later, the Kentucky Republican’s office has released so little information that speculation is swirling about the possibility of her permanent absence while his office claims he is “continuing to improve.”

“Emergency dispatch audio obtained by media outlets indicates that first responders were sent to his home following reports of an unconscious person and that CPR was under way. On Friday, CNN released video footage that showed a person on a stretcher being wheeled towards an ambulance, though their face was not visible,” the Guardian reports.

“I think he’s dead,” said Malcolm Nance, a career counter-terrorism intelligence officer on the Truth in the Barrel podcast. “It’s very clear. I heard that 911 tape and I was an EMT when I was in the military at one point and you know we used to do CPR a lot. One of the things that teach you about CPR is the probability of coming back from CPR is very, very, very small.”

The show is hosted by Amy McGrath, who lost to McConnell in 2020. McGrath, a former marine fighter pilot, replied: “Well, it’s an interesting take. We’ll see what happens there as well.”

Meanwhile, the Guardian reports that what is currently happening is unelected staff is running things for the voters of Kentucky, consulting with Congress and making decisions in his absence.

“But while he is incapacitated – and I go back to Feinstein, there are staff who are basically making decisions on behalf of the people of Kentucky, said Reed Galen, president of JoinTheUnion.us, a pro-democracy coalition. “These are all people with pretty significant political equities of their own. We saw this, frankly, with President Biden’s people. It’s the next example of a gerontocracy in Washington DC that thinks more of itself than it does of its people.”

Should McConnell remain in office but be unable to return before January, there is little constitutional remedy, reports the Guardian. “Senate rules do not permit proxy voting, meaning Republicans simply lose one vote whenever he is absent.”

His resignation or death would create an even more complicated situation, thanks to Republican greed in Kentucky. Seeking to nullify Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, the Republican-dominated legislature in 2024 eliminated the governor’s power to appoint a temporary replacement, meaning any vacancy now triggers a special election. But the Guardian reports the timing of the election remains legally untested, and it could become the subject of court challenges. Depending on when a vacancy occurred, the seat could potentially remain empty until the new Congress is sworn in next January.

The governor is already demanding an update to McConnell’s condition.

Author and pollster John Zogby told the Guardian that the situation resembles the touchy state of things in fascist Spain just a few decades ago.

“This in some ways reminds me of Generalissimo Franco in the 1970s, who was reported to be unawake but still alive, and no one believed it after about six weeks, because they hadn’t figured out a transition yet in Spain,” said Zogby.

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