Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) may be absent from the Senate, but his ghost maintains a stranglehold over the Republican Party will last for a generation.
Writing for New York Magazine, Nate Weisberg said that while McConnell remains in recovery, allies remain unclear about his condition and stability.
After falling in his home on June 14 and briefly losing consciousness, the 84-year-old U.S. Senator has only released two photos from his hospital room. When McConnell moved from the hospital to his Capitol Hill home, there weren't any photos or videos to witness the movement.
Weisberg raised two possible interpretations: One is that McConnell has become an incapacitated officeholder whose staff may be exercising greater control while concealing the seriousness of his condition.
The other explanation is simpler: McConnell is seriously ill, nearing retirement and feels no obligation to satisfy public demands for more information. Since he is not seeking reelection, he may believe he can focus on recovery without the pressure to justify himself to voters.
“He could be barely able to communicate, or he could be just as articulate as ever. We got no way of knowing,” former Democratic representative Mike Ward told Weisberg. “Mitch doesn’t give a s—— about letting the people know how he’s looking or feeling.”
Keith Runyon, who spent 25 years running the Louisville Courier-Journal’s editorial page, had doubts. “I’ve lost the ability to believe entirely in what his office says."
"For many, McConnell is the latest exhibit in a familiar pattern: An elderly legislator — in this case, after 41 years in office — becomes hopelessly debilitated, and his staff conceals how much power has quietly passed into their hands," said Weisberg.
Meanwhile, "McConnell’s longtime chief of staff, Terry Carmack, earns an annual salary of $226,850, making him one of five senior staffers in the office earning more than the senator himself. Samuel Moyn, the Yale Law professor and author of Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth — and What to Do About It, told me this is the 'underappreciated syndrome' of the very old remaining in office. A politician, he said, 'can be completely incapacitated' while the people around him have 'every interest in hiding the medical reality of the situation,'" he added.
While Moyn may describe absentee lawmakers propped up by their staff, Weisberg said it isn't even necessary in this case.
"He rigged the system to protect his party’s power years ago," Weisberg wrote.
After Democrat Andy Beshear won his election, McConnell ensured that the governor could no longer appoint a replacement if he died while in office. Even if McConnell were to die while in office, the legislation said that Beshear would have little power to do anything about it.
The problem with that, however, is that Beshear could easily challenge the constitutionality of the laws. The Kentucky Constitution says that all statewide vacancies "shall be filled" by the governor. The legislative law change didn't change the Constitution.
McConnell's leadership in the Senate persists as Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and John Barrasso (R-Wy.) spent many years on the leadership team with their ailing colleague.
Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) is seen as McConnell's likely successor. He was a former McConnell intern, as were three of his primary opponents.
"When McConnell disappeared, they were among the Republicans publicly vouching that they were still speaking with him. Even Thune’s general approach to dealing with Trump seems to be learned from McConnell — don’t always do what he wants, especially on Senate prerogatives like the filibuster, but never argue with him," said Weisberg.
He closed by suspecting that if there's a close vote, McConnell could be wheeled into the Senate to vote.
"It would be the most McConnell ending available: months of silence followed by one decisive exercise of power," Weisberg quipped.
