McConnell appears to freeze while speaking with reporters in Kentucky
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared to freeze for about 30 seconds on Wednesday while speaking with reporters after a speech in Covington, Kentucky.
The incident is similar to an episode McConnell experienced at the US Capitol late last month and is likely to raise additional questions about the fitness of the 81-year-old to lead the Senate Republican caucus.
Wednesday’s episode occurred when a reporter asked the Republican leader if he was planning to run for reelection in 2026. McConnell had to ask him to repeat the question several times, chuckled for a moment, and then paused.
Someone at his side then asked him, “Did you hear the question, senator, running for reelection in 2026?” McConnell did not respond.
Article includes video of the incident.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/30/politics/mitch-mcconnell/index.htmlOpen linkView original on lemm.ee
Sounds kind of like when my maternal grandma had a series of micro strokes for a few months before having the Big One.
Time to retire, Mitch. For both our sakes.
Maybe Mitch and Dianne can agree to retire at the same time
A little ditty about Mitch and Diane...
Oh yeah, their terms go on...
Long after their cognitive functions are gone.
Jesus, that's some dark humor there. Hilarious, but dark.
Dark humor or sad truth?
Yes.
A+
I'm surprised Dianne Feinstein isn't running again. I thought she would have been stubborn enough to try to stay in office well into her 90s until she achieves lichdom just to troll us.
She is currently 90, and her term isn't up until 2024. Apparently she isn't running again, but she might think she is...
I feel at this point it's gotta be ego.
Like...you have so much power that you don't even sweat elections.
Maybe it'd be a better course to work with your party, find a worthy successor that you agree on and start preparing the way for them.
Public functions, etc. get them in the spotlight. Then when the time comes, go out on the campaign trail with them, endorse them, tell your loyal base that the new person will now carry the torch.
If you pick the right person, in a state that's so consistently supported you, it shouldn't be too too difficult.
Not doing it this way is the elected position equivalent of RGB refusing to retire in the Obama administration and fucking the very SCOTUS (and American people) she claimed to be wanting to serve. Now she's going to forever have the tainted legacy of having great views, but being too proud to do the sensible thing, and choosing her own ego over her ideals.
"Okay, fine. On three... One... Two... ... ... ... ..."
four hours later, we are still not sure if they're waiting for the other to blink, have bluescreened, or both
All these old fossils need to GTFO. Him, Feinstein, all of em.
But McConnell in particular has royally fucked this country. No member of Congress should have that much power. But he used it quite effectively for his own ends. So fuck him
Its either happening frequently and just happens to have been caught on camera twice, or it could instead be related to hearing well enough to understand.
My grandparents were like this. Even if they could hear you, a lot of times it seemed out of context to them because they missed some other important piece.
The people handling him knew exactly what was going on there. This happens all the time, I'm guessing.
Source: youngest grandchild of a huge family.
You'd think if it were a hearing issue he would just say "Could you repeat the question?" and not stand there like a deer in headlights.
🦌💡💡
He did ask them to repeat the question, several times, before just standing there blankly.
Schrödinger's McConnell: competent enough to lead the Republicans in Senate, not competent enough to answer questions about Trump under oath.
Yeah, that's not a hearing issue. I've seen people with hearing issues who zone out because they can't hear / follow the conversation. But, they're not at a podium at the time. When that happens they know they can just back out of the conversation and hang out until the conversation is over, or the meal is over, or whatever.
When you're at the podium you know you're the focus of attention and need to respond. You can't just stand there with a blank look. That looked more like a stroke or a seizure than a lack of hearing.
Oh it was rough towards the end with my grandfather. He was getting near deaf so it sounded like he was screaming at you all the time and you had to explain everything loudly and slowly, he couldn't take it easy either. Was still out there running his little carpenter business so he had to communicate with people. To make matters worse, in a way, his mind was fine so he knew that he used to be capable of stuff and could see it all in his head he just couldn't explain to someone calmly and in a normal voice that he wanted a hammer.
Of course the big big difference between him and the Turtle is my grandfather wasn't a bigoted pile of self-serving crap who was utterly useless.
Yeah idk if auditory processing goes with age but you can also have delays from that.
That said if this were that you’d think he’d get hearing aids after the last one
Senators are among the most powerful politicians in the US, as well as on the planet, and they know it. They don’t stand there befuddled because they’re socially awkward. If they’re befuddled, it’s because they’re befuddled.
We are seeing the human version of the Mac’s spinning beach ball. I have a cat with the same problem. I would not nominate her for a seat in the Senate.
Mitch has had a series of bad falls over the past year, this isn't just poor hearing. Something else is going on and this is elderly abuse keeping him in office
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66320588
Nah.
Have him die as he lived, peddling lies and attacking democracy.
My sister's absence seizures turned out to be stage four brain cancer. I know he's an arsehole, but doesn't he have anyone looking out for him? At all? He needs help.
Did you see the look on that lady's face? She wasn't even worried, she was annoyed. That's the world Republicans want to create for everyone. A Russia-like society where no one gives a fuck about anyone outside their immediate family, because it makes people much easier to control.
Ugh yes. It was like her gadget had malfunctioned, AGAIN.
I kind of hope he doesn't retire and goes out in an explosion of bodily fluid on live TV. What a show that would be.
Silly, he's still young for a senator
he's set for a presidential run soon 😂😭
I'm pretty sure that time was in 1984.
I'm good with him staying on in a state where he can't fuck us over more. My worry is who then pulls the puppet strings.
Glitch McConnell.
Glitch McConnell is at it again!
That made me laugh, thanks
Timezone difference, they pushed updates to their clients over night, just standard practice.
But it's still funny that they force-reboot like Microsoft.
Looks like some developer forgot to switch time zones!
That explains drumpf's incoherent ramblings, corrupted bios after a failed flash.
I'm fully rooting for Mitchs dementia. Much the same as I am a big fan of Limbaughs cancer.
Sometimes nature rolls a nat 20.
I figure a nat 20 in this context would be a little more dramatic than simple sundowning... We could shoot for shitting himself on camera, moments of brutally honest verbal diarrhea, endless painful kidney stones...
Whatever the case, I wish McConnell all the health outcomes he so richly deserves.
I would also wish him the level of healthcare he's supported for Americans in general, but we know that he's rich enough for a proper level of care.
Interesting to see a few short moments of temporary and trite social embarrassment portrayed as a worse fate than the gradual and drawn-out ablation of everything that you are.
The dementia is already underway, these would be bonuses. That said, the verbal diarrhea would probably do the world some good - though it's not as though the modern GOP has standards for that kind of thing.
I think he's past stepping down, he can't knowingly do it. He needs family and medical intervention.
Stepping down? He's better at falling down these days.
It all seems kind of pointless doesn't it? You screw over your compatriots only to become a lukewarm wet towel yourself.
Pretty sure he died years ago.
He was replaced by three snakes in a suit and they are old enough now to have mini strokes
Tots and pears
Technically we are all dying
That is hard to watch. I hate his guts and everything he's done and stood for in politics, but it's still rough to watch a man just fade away like that.
He needs to retire and stop clinging desperately to power. The stress of it alone is probably literally killing him.
Edit: Just so we're clear, here, I'm not offering him sympathy. I have none to give for a monster like Mitch McConnell. The man has done enormous damage to the country, and people like him are why I worry about the future for my kids (both LGBTQ+).
I was only trying to express that on a gut level, it's still unpleasant to see someone basically drain away like that.
He lost all potential sympathy from me when he denied Garland and rammed in Barett during an election year before RBG was fucking cold in the ground. That decision and denial of representation has made shockwaves of regression in terms of civil rights, voting rights, women's bodily autonomy and LGBTQ rights …and that’s what we have gone backward in…so far (birth control and gay marriage being illegal again is coming) and we will feel these effects for several decades way after he’s gone.
tots and fucking pears, goddamn ghoul.
.
Umm what stress? No really I am asking. There is no realistic scenario where he will have to choose between medicine or food, face homelessness, have his career destroyed, or really any major setbacks. Also he is probably a psychopath so even if some relative of his gets killed it isn't going to impact him.
I am a regular middle class family man. It would take nearly nothing to destroy everything I have. One dark spot on an x-ray, one bad car accident, me and my wife both losing our jobs at once, a kitchen fire. The Turtle's wealth, pension, power, and lack of emotional attachments means he is shielded from everything. How can someone who can't lose anything be worried about anything?
The very worst thing that could happen to him is his party doesn't have as much power. Which isn't even really a thing on him, it is on the vile ideas that he has.
Um do you say the same thing about artists and celebrities who experience depression or commit suicide from the stress? I don't disagree with Moscow Mitch being a motherfucker or being undeserving of sympathy, but your comment is equally as brain dead. Constant moving around, traveling, talking to people who (rightfully) are trying to attack you, etc. produces stress on the body.
Not all stress is created equally. Consider Maslow's hierarchy of needs
I feel the same. Terrible human being. But taking joy in the suffering of others is not something I will do.
Don't worry, I will take enough joy for us both. There is no hell, he is going to the same dirt we all are. If I want to feel a bit glad that one less terrible human is around causing problems I won't feel bad about about feeling bad. Humanity as a whole will be better off the faster he dies. My feelings won't change when that event happens and express an honest evaluation of the situation.
Every single teenager girl in America trying to abort her incest fetus with a metal hanger is because of that fucker.
“Your account has been suspended for posting violent content. The suspension —-“
Just kidding, this isn’t Reddit
Don't worry I'll have your share, get fucked Mitch.
I know McConnell is just a lightning rod for hate for the GOP and as soon as he's gone some other amoral, sociopathic mercenary will take his place, but damn if he's not just the worst.
Convince me that's a human being.
Whether he clings to power and dies from stress is kind of his decision.
I don't enjoy seeing a person, even him, suffering illness. Even as much as I despise that horrible piece of shit.
My initial response is to feel empathy and compassion when I see this, it's awful. Then I remind myself how many people have been hurt by him and how many people continue to be hurt by him and my compassion is tempered. I don't delight in his ailing, but I can't say I feel the same about this as I would if it were someone else.
He lost “human” status a long time ago. I actually like reptiles and lizards, so I have a better one:
Ghoul.
Exactly this ^
The insane vitriol of some people on here, wishing death to this man, rejoicing in very obvious cognitive decline, it's harrowing.
The policy this man has supported and even pioneered is horrific, and frankly he should never have been allowed to push that shit nor would I ever support it, but you can bet your fucking ass I'm not going to be sat here laughing about an old man in clear mental distress or wishing death on him, because I'm not a piece of shit and I actually have some form of morality.
Don't worry, though, if the tables were turned Mitch himself would gladly cackle to himself knowing that some policy he enacted resulted in your suffering, so long as it earned him a buck in the process.
Fuck him. Right in the ear. With a pineapple. On a drill.
Honestly fuck the dude above acting like it's some superior morals to coddle a scumbag. That's how you reinforce their behavior and teach generations that being a corrupt piece of shit has no downsides, as everyone has to be nice to them anyway. It's a lie that keeps masses from revolting against corrupt politicians/rulers/governments etc. Fuck that shit let's remind those at the top its us at the bottom who support their little lavish lifestyles and can take it away in a damn instance.
I want him to stop hurting people. If that means voluntary retirement that’s cool. If it means dropping dead or becoming too disabled to continue that’s still preferable to him continuing to hurt people. I wish him a long retirement, specifically I hope it’s the rest of his life long.
Na I hope he has a very painful and suffering filled decline full of mockery so shitstains like him understand they will reap what they sow. Treat them like anything other than that and you create a system that is ripe for abuse as we see today. Enough following the bullshit rules of power that allow corrupt greedy narcissists to remain in power because we should treat them kindly even though they are not treating others the same. That just rewards corruption and abuses of power, and I do not fuck with fascists.
Utilitarian moral theory is an entire field of ethical philosophy, even if you don't agree with it. Someone who believes strongly in this could argue that we should have actually killed Mitch decades ago to prevent all of the pain, suffering, and death that he has wrought on this world.
I think what you meant to say is that you have some form of feeling morally superior.
The same utilitarian ends could have been reached, and should have been reached, in any one of thousands of different ways, years ago, that wouldn't require this.
Fuck the ghoul and all he's done. But just think of the level of political degeneration required to get to the point where a malicious actor gradually being paralyzed by illness in public is your most feasible option for resolving a political problem. I can understand why you would cheer for this, but the reminder that your country is even in such a situation that cheering for it makes any sense at all is itself something that I find horrifying.
Besides, the entire point of utilitarianism is to evaluate possibilities dispassionately, and choose what results in the most useful outcome and end state. Like the other commenter said, "There is nothing utilitarian about taking ghoulish delight in the suffering of an evil old man"— The entire concept of evil is a more deontological or virtue-based construct— He's on his way out, great, so celebrate the fact that he's no longer causing harm, but once he's gone, he actually doesn't matter anymore— Contain the damage, tunc damnatio memoriae.
Idk. I feel for y'all, I guess. In a well-functioning democracy, this should have probably been resolved almost an entire generation ago, and you should barely even have any reason to know his name anymore. Everything about this situation is horrifying, from what he's done to what's happening to him now to the fact that he even still matters at all in the first place.
There is nothing utilitarian about taking ghoulish delight in the suffering of an evil old man.
He's falling apart and you're enjoying it because you hate him. At least be honest with yourself.
I don't believe in utilitarian morality. They have no means to calculate, never solved the utility monster problem, it is a single value virtue system, and it ignores how humans work. Especially the last point, if morality doesn't help humans live a better life it serves no purpose.
Not to mention that the first example that people always go to when trying to explain utilitarianism is always to use it to justify setting a precedent of murder, as long as doing so might feasibly produce benefits for somebody else in the future.
Plus the future is never certain, while the present is arguably more real in any moment. Consequentialist frameworks in general are basically betting away guaranteed morality in the present in exchange for possible/imagined gains in the future.
Personally I've also found that because everything is just so complicated, depending on what axioms you start with in a consequentialist perspective, you can also not only justify but make it compulsory to do literally any awful and disastrous things both to yourself and to other people.
(Plus you necessarily end up having to introduce some sort of a concept of a "causal event horizon"— How far forwards into the future you are willing and able to try to predict events in order to evaluate the consequences of actions— If you actually try to apply and use utilitarianism or any consequentialist framework— Which means that your ethics change depending on your computing power, plus you're in constant and actually agonising pain because having to always try as hard as you can to feel the consequences of future outcomes as far in advance as possible is fucking excruciating. .. or maybe that was a specific situation (but still, what use is ethics if it just mutilates you as soon as difficult questions need to be asked?))
Utilitarianism: The preferred ethical system for edgy youth, sheltered academics, idealistic extremists, and B-movie villains since the 19th century! ....I say this having previously positioned myself somewhere between those categories.
I do tend to think deontology is just delusion, and virtue is just ego, though— .... Human "philosophy", and academics: Maybe some dead old dudes being paid by Kings and Churches to sit around doing nothing but think weren't actually the best qualified to empathise with how people actually live, and understand what is the right and wrong way to do it— The incentives for sounding good in a clean and neat published paper can hardly be expected to align with the incentives of actually being applicable to the messiness of reality, can they?
Just don't hurt people, Ffs— (And define "hurt" rigorously in terms of game theory and preserved options for autonomous constructive personal growth and equitable power dynamics, epistemology and the preservation of knowledge and feeling plus metaphysics and the preservation of identity and self, and thermodynamics and the avoidance of unconsensual entropification, if you need to)— just don't hurt people; it shouldn't be that complicated..
Must be nice on that high horse.
For fucks sake, it's not some superior morals to allow a corrupt abuser to die or suffer for the agony they caused. It's a lie to keep a power systems masses docile and in check. It's even worse morals to know what this guy does and hope for the best for him instead of him dropping dead. Fuck that, and fuck all this shit that allows corruption to remain unfettered because oh we need to be kind to the fascist narcissistic egotists or what we have to deal with them like we always have. You should be aware of how they act and be ready to address that shit from day one when it's called out. We know we need chemo to kill a tumor why the fuck are we acting like we should be feeding it and nurturing these shit stains who are actively cannibalizing the human races ability to survive over greed. Cut the tumor out or fucking irradiate it to death. Any fucking fascist peice of shit should be getting the same treatment. You don't want to be mocked and laughed at as you die in old age? Well than start by giving a fuck about others first and maybe we will return the favor. I treat others based on how they treat others, fuck around like a shit stain get laughed at and paraded around like the shit stain you are.
No fair he’s looked like that for 20 years
That's the look you get on your face when you're standing at the podium and look out to see a skeleton wearing a robe and holding a scythe pointing at you from the back row.
Someone made basically exactly that comic last time this happened: https://files.catbox.moe/dow37c.webp
Awesome!
This one sparks joy.
After reading all the comments about wanting his life to be over and the counters about feeling bad for him etc. I think ive come to a conclusion on how to ethically handle him.
I'm going to laugh. I'm going to laugh at how foolish he looks having a stroke on stage. How despite all of the terrible things he has done to this country on a socio-economic level trying to line his pockets and stay in power, he is standing up there, feeble and barely coherent, looking like he simultaneously shat himself and forgot his name, I'm going to laugh.
Because if he wants any semblance of dignity, any ounce of respect, he needs to admit that he is done and bow out.
"But he is still human, have some empathy" No, why should I? This man has engineered tearing the country apart so he can put his grubby hands all over it and smear it in his own grease. And he is still trying to keep doing it!
What I see up there is an old man trying to walk across the freeway, with a dozen people telling him not to. And he is not only ignoring them but lifting his nose high and walking out into the road anyway. So when I see that mack truck hit him like it did on that stage, I laugh.
"The grace of God knows no bounds. But my mercy has some practical limitations."
Can't help but enjoy this, given what a despicable human being he is.
illustrates the love his party members have, keeping him working even after he's had a stroke on tv twice.
Not only that, but to ask him about his reelection plans.
Get this man into a nursing home.
No matter what, he'll be sure to recover enough to start posting on Twitter, like Herman.
Americans stop voting old white dudes and ruining the rest of the world please.
Last comment was deleted, so I guess I'll repost it with edits.
Couldn't happen to a nicer piece of shit.
Lot of folks trying to take the high road here out of compassion.
This guy single-handedly fucked democracy sideways for at least a generation. The reverberations of his Supreme Court shenanigans are going to be responsible for the deaths of thousands.
I hope he spends the rest of his days confused and shitting himself.
I love how republicans will say Biden is too old and make fun of him while also down playing this BS...
I approve this comment.
"I never killed anybody, but I have done just the same thing. I have had a great deal of satisfaction over many obituary notices that I have read. I never got into the habit of killing. I could mention the names of many that it would please me if I could read their obituaries in the paper in the morning,"
Clarence Darrow
*Hamburger time
The mummy's curse will never release him
Satan keeps sending him back. He doesn't want him either. Also he feels he has done his part by taking Pat Robertson a few months ago.
Tough noogies. If Satan doesn't like the gig then he knows what he's got to do about that touchy asshole boss of his. Tell him to take the necrotizing turkey neck or else.
But, but he is the mummy.
That's why it is his curse!
If he weren't such an evil fuck, I'd feel bad for him. But he is an evil fuck, so oh well.
Put these fucking geriatrics out to pasture already. That includes Feinstein as well. Shameful that this dude is being paraded around in front of media when he's barely coherent. It's shit like this that makes it very evident how long the Silent Generation and the Baby Boomers have clung desperately onto power long past the age that they should have handed over the reins to the people who will actually have to live with the consequences of their decisions.
Where are all the Republicans deriding "Sleepy" Joe Biden? What are your thoughts on Mitch McConnell the stroke victim? Would you vote him back into office again if he or whoever was puppeteering his desiccated corpse decided to run again?
It's honestly not much different than what he does at his job already, especially when he was majority leader. It's all about standing there and doing nothing, then occasionally saying how the democrats can't do shit while in office.
I wish that were true.
After the shit he's pulled, especially over the supreme court...I don't feel bad for him at all.
Oh I dont feel bad for him. That shit stain should have been removed from power years ago.
Not American, what did he do?
Could anything be more symbolic of America's political situation right now?
America has been one long seizure since 1492
It says something that he's still the minority leader. Feinstein has similar issues and is still around, but she's just a random senator. This is the Republican senate leader.
I imagine many knives are being sharpened behind the scenes. I wonder if he's actively keeping himself in power, or if other people with power are "managing" (puppeting) him until they can grab power for themselves.
In Feinsteins case, she's on the narrowly held judiciary committee. If she were to retire (and she should for her own sake, though she may not be capable of deciding at this point), no more judges get confirmed till after the next election (to my understanding).
So not just any senator.
If she resigned the California governor would appoint somebody to fill her spot, still giving democrats control of the senate they would be able to appoint somebody else to that committee, or am I way off base?
For Diane Feinstein to resign from the Judiciary Committee and for appointing someone else to the committee right now requires unanimous consent, and the Democrats are not going to get that from the Republicans right now. Regardless, the act of replacing someone on a committee is subject to debate and can be filibustered. If Diane Feinstein were to retire or die, that's it, a 10-10 split in the Judiciary Committee until the next Congress, so long as the Republicans refuse to play ball.
Pardon my ignorance, which rule would apply requiring unanimous consent? And which one allows for debate when filling a vacancy? I can't seem to find it.
I misspoke, unanimous consent isn't required, but it makes the process much smoother, and is considered the "normal" means of ratifying committee assignments.
Isn't there also some drama about how the governor and the democratic establishment want different people in her seat? The establishment wants to wait for the election to get the more moderate Schiff, who's a safer bet against lesser known progressives. But if the governor can appoint his progressive pick, as an incumbent they'll have a better shot at sticking.
I don't care for Mitch's politics, but I doubt I'll like who comes after any better.
But, odds are they won't be as effective at it. As awful as he has been, he's also been very effective. It's rare for a senate leader from either party to obstruct things as well as he's obstructed them, or to shovel through things as effectively as he has.
His voice has lost any strength and authority it had, he sounds like my strong, loud grandpa after he got bad dementia, he sounded weak and scared. I think he's beyond controlling anything, he's being used now. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
I guess the GOP is running out of children's souls to feed him.
he didnt pay the troll toll
I think he still got into the boy s ol.
whatever is happening to him, I hope it's causing him extreme discomfort. it's the very least he deserves after all the shitty, life ruining ideas and policies he's endorsed
Last comment was deleted so it bears repeating: Taking the "high road" gets no one anywhere. And I for one am happy he is publicly losing his dignity, when he has gleefully played a major role in robbing others of theirs.
Reboot into recovery and factory reset
FFR that MF
Factory reset restores them to infant mode, so in several months he will be delighted to discover that he has hands, even if he can’t really control them yet.
I wish he gets exactly what he deserves, and there is no way that's better than anything I can imagine for him.
Go ahead, I hope every politician on earth fucking dies including this gigantic piece of shit
You might enjoy reading Robert Sheckley's "A Ticket to Tranai". They have some good ideas about holding politicians in check there on Tranai.
strangled with the entrails of the [insert all the various religious leader titles]
This man's having seizures or strokes live on camera and no one's doing anything about this.
Mandatory retirement age for political office when?
Oh lad, Israel wouldn't like this power move from his host country.
They're seriously going to let this man stroke his brain to swiss cheese, for what? To save what little is left of the GOP?
And these are just the ones he's having in public.
I'm convinced Glitch McConnel is to GOP what Tito was to Yugoslavia. After he's gone, what he once held together will tear itself apart from the inside.
Glitch McConnell has me wheezing
That's an interesting hypothesis, and I'm inclined to agree. Senator Turtle maybe be evil, but he's not a moron. He knows how to throw his weight around to get what he wants, and he knows when to shut up.
The latest batch of Republicans are evil and catastrophically stupid. I don't think they'll be able to hold it together.
Don't compare this guy to glitches. Glitches have the potential to be beautiful anomalies, and bring the possibility for creativity, personality, and humour in life to otherwise rigid and unyielding systems.
This guy is the rigid and unyielding system. And though I'm not American, it seems his works are anything but beautiful.
Chewing up things and spitting them out is kind of the gops thing. The only ppl shocked are the GOP ppl it happens to.
Not Mitch, though. He's jelly between the ears now.
This is why we shouldn't have old people rule a country, not only do they make decisions that only benefit them in the short term they're also incapable of just talking in public
There are old people capable of talking to the public. Bernie for example
Then fucking vote.
I do. Every election. Even the small ones.
Wish I could but I don't live in the us
I mean, I agree that old people shouldn't be running the country. But there are plenty who can speak in public without issue.
Everyone in elected office over the age of 65 should be forced to retire. At best, they've done their duty and deserve to rest and enjoy the fruits of their labor. At worst, they're nonfunctional skeletons that don't even have skin in the game when it comes to government.
The most impactful reason for there being an upper limit on age for representatives is that they literally don’t have a personal stake in the future. Even if they have kids or whatever other platitudes they may try to push, obviously there are people making decisions now that are going to have mortal fallout for the next generation that they don’t give a shit about if they’re making money.
There's a lot of perfectly competent over-65s. There shouldn't be forced retirement, but forced screenings and physicals to ensure that serving politicians are still mentally fit to serve.
That is true, but then my second reason comes into play. Even if they are perfectly functional, they are at retirement age. Their stake in what government policies are formed goes down immensely. They have like 10-15 years left on average. Leave it to the people whose policies will actually affect them.
I'm sorry but your "stake" point is dumb.
"A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit."
It's entirely possible for someone to be old and still thoroughly invested in future generations. You think grandparents can't care about their grandchildren's future just because they're old?
In my scenario I would look forward to these old men planting literal trees during their retirement then. Taking a page from Carter's book. Or if they do still want to be involved in politics, they can be aides, advisers, and lobbyists.
Dude, it's not necessarily referencing literal trees. Think a little harder. The "tree in whose shade they shall never sit" might be a better student loan plan, or free Healthcare, or a myriad of other things that a person couldn't accomplish if they were forced to retire.
I know what the saying means, that's why I put the end part about politics and said literal when it came to trees.
Any "trees" these guys wanted to build that they'll never see the shade of can be long before 65 and can be done in other none elected roles afterwards.
EDIT: More clarification
How would that be democratic? The vote is the way to retire someone and if you think he can't do the job, don't vote for him.
How is it democratic that you have to be 35 and a natural born citizen to be elected president? It may take a Constitutional amendment just like that, but I think it is a good idea regardless.
I don't. Should be any age or person as well. Few people would have the experience by that age so likely would make no difference lowering the age but regardless it should be 18 or just removed entirely.
Dumb take.
Dumb reply.
I bet you can't think of a single counter point.
Everyone should watch the video. McConnell needs to retire.
Do we need to watch if we’ve thought that since he began his crusade on democracy
nah, i don't need to cringe, i wanted him out way before this
I see a lot of hate towards him and it looks like he deserves it. But why is he still in the Senate? Do people vote for him?
I'm not an American, just trying to understand how it works.
All elections are local here. President/VP is the only office that the entire country votes on, and even that is really a weighted combination of the results of 50 different State elections (and DC). So the first part is that Mitch only has to answer to voters in his home state of Kentucky.
But then Mitch's leadership position isn't even due to that, but due to how long he has been there and how many favors he has done for Republicans there. He was elected as the Senate Republican leader strictly by Senate Republicans. But that position puts him in a much better position to shape legislation the way he wants to, and every politician wants to direct Federal money back home.
So there is added incentive for Kentucky to keep sending him well past his "Best Before" date, because they lose all that influence if they send someone else instead.
And Senate elections are also for six year terms. A lot can happen to an elderly person in six years. He didn't show these symptoms when he won his last election.
yes. incumbents have a lot of staying power in elections just because they are the incumbent. there's also a giant coordinated rightwing media propaganda machine that has been driving hatred into the hearts of vulnerable Americans for the past 60 years telling them to vote R no matter what. even if it hurts them.
Also specifically for Kentucky, Kentucky outside of Louisville and Lexington has had little to no growth and instead has been in decline*. Republicans and centrist Democrats(in the case of who ran against McConnell, Amy McGrath) are the only ones who claim to bring jobs back. A lot of rural Kentuckians felt especially alienated by what many saw as a condescending response from who they saw as the Democratic establishment telling them to "Learn to Code". A lot of Kentucky voting is really about jobs rather than ideological issues, you saw the same with the election of Governor Andy Beshear(a Democrat) where he promised to fund the teacher pension where his incumbent opponent Matt Bevin didn't really promise much in terms of economic opportunity. Back to McConnell, McGrath could've had a chance against him but I think also people saw the notoriety and power McConnell has in the party as him being uniquely positioned to negotiate more for the benefit of Kentucky.
This is a very good appraisal of the situation, however (not that you're wrong), I wish I could ask these people how long they plan to keep reelecting the same person before they stop hoping he will fix their problems and start realizing he's a big part of the reason they're still problems.
Like...c'mon Kentucky. At what point do you go from, "We've had enough of this. Let's vote in Republicans to bring us prosperity!" and eventually get to, "Damn, we've been reelecting these people for how long now? It's been long enough. These problems haven't gone anywhere, so either these people are incapable of solving them or are actively perpetuating them. Either way, time for someone new."
That requires critical thinking, something conservatives are critical of. 😂
I totally forgot about the "learn to code" meme.
Kentucky voters have historically LOVED him. Until recently that state has voted consistently for Republicans for a while, and McConnell is the most powerful Republican in the US. He is vastly responsible for the horrible shape our government is in right now.
Political version of Weekend at Bernie's. Too bad it's not just a shitty movie.
feel that Mitch? that's the Devil's hands on your ass, boy.. oh yes it is..
Yup the devil is about to get all up in those cheeks buddy boy.
The reaper must have been in the crowd again. You can't run from the reaper, mcturtle.
Nothing to see here folks, just another little Mitch Glitch.
Someone get Fix It Felix on the horn, stat!!!
I think his batteries are getting low
I want him to drop dead in front of a live camera feed during his next press event.
Give the American people what they want for once in the nearly 40 years that you've been in Congress, Mitch.
I want them to rush his dying body to a Vet hospital and it takes three hours to admit him due to paperwork. I also want the EMTs to be paid minimum wage so they are all 16 year olds with no training.
I first read that as veterinary hospital, and I still like my version better.
Well he does look like a turtle. Ok I change my answer, I hope he dies going to a federally funded zoo announcing he is cutting funding and one of those giant turtles gets randy on him and no one stops it
I will sweeten it. If this happens I will seriously reconsider my atheism. Oh Lord give me a sign!
Big deal. I don't like to talk when I shit either.
Lmao that made me laugh way too much
Heyooo.
Hello, republican department, have you tried turning him off and on again?
I actually think these strokes could make him a better at his job.
McConnell not taking action? Business as usual.
Error 404: Coherent Thought Not Found. Buffer Overflow in Verbal Output Stream. Senator.exe has encountered an unexpected filibuster in cognitive process.
Initiating System Reboot... Please Stand By.
Estimated time to resume 'functionality': 30 seconds.
Who had two simultaneous weekend at Bernie's situations in the US senate on their Bingo card?
2 is probably on the lower end. McConnell and Feinstein are relatively high profile. I'm sure there are congressmen shitting their depends on the reg that we just happen to pay less attention to
And neither of them are Bernie.
He's stuck in line after Kissinger. Is there a strike happening at Reaper Inc.?
Ohhhhh how I do enjoy seeing this!!! It does bring a smile to my face :) This horrifying creature doesn't deserve any semblance of caring or empathy because it's very simple: he's not a human being. He's some kind of monstrosity birthed from some demon world and accidentally wound up here on earth.
Term limits, please.
Age limits, absolutely. I have very mixed feelings on term limits.
I live in Michigan, which has term limits in place for state government. The original limits were kind of silly. We recently approved a reform that changed the term limits for state legislators from three 2-year terms (6 years) in the state House and two 4-year terms (8 years) in the state Senate to 12 combined years in the Legislature, and requires a lot more disclosures.
The original limits resulted in many freshmen each election cycle. This seemed to open the door even wider to have special interests legislate by proxy since a lot of newcomers didn't always come in with very well formed agendas or know how to get anything done.
That aside, it seems like term limits make it harder for Jane/Joe Public to assume public office. It's true that being a politician isn't a certain career path, but what motive would I have to run if it meant quitting my current job knowing I would have to find a new job in 12 years assuming I managed to constantly win relection? Yeah, sessions only happen three days a week / ~115 days a year for our state Senate but it's not like I could easily work another job. Salarys are $72k a year, which will be attractive to some but will put off a lot lot of folks the private sector. The salary won't put off those who already have a high net worth though. Looking at the federal level the salary does go up to $174k, but the cap on the time you're allowed to serve would likely result in a lot of self-selection.
I see your point, but I'd make the opposite argument. Serving in Congress or a state legislature should never be confused with a career. Keeping salaries low, makes it easier to move on. Still enough to live while you serve.
Also, I personally couldn't even imagine being in the same job for 12 years. Having to find a new job in 12 years or less is something most people have to do and do willingly and even joyfully.
valid points raised, but I have to say if someone manages to stay elected for 12 years you would think they are somewhat competant and able to find a job post-politics without too much trouble
He's been a Senator since 1985. 38 years. 6 terms and counting.
Senators should probably be capped at 2 terms, 12 years total. That's plenty. Equivalent to 6 Congressional terms or 3 Presidential terms.
The problem is, to do this right requires a constitutional amendment.
I mean as a career goes, that's about right for a lifetime career though. The problem is that he got into that position when he was almost 50. Additionally, if you take in his whole political career he is WAY over the limit. The age is the biggest problem here though, the man was born when Hitler was still a threat. He came into office before the Berlin wall fell. He's well past his expiration date as far as that goes.
Yeah, I'm not sure how I'd phrase it for a term limit, but you probably shouldn't be able to serve in more than 2 consecutive decades.
Sworn in in the 80s? Congrats, you're done in the 90s.
The idea that someone could serve in the 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s and 20s is absurd.
Because they rigged the system. The Midwest is gerrymandered all to fucking hell.
Because old people are more likely to vote.
Because of the movie 'A country for old men' /s
I know people are quick to jump on this as a sign of cognitive impairment, but could this be a form of aphasia resulting from his fall a few months ago?
I just ask because it's possible it's a motor issue (knows what he wants to say but can't physically say it) rather than a cognitive issue (can't think of something to say).
As much as I'd love for McConnell to GTFO, and certainly support age/term limits in Congress, if it is a motor issue it'd be similar to what Fetterman has dealt with since his stroke (auditory issue vs. cognitive issue).
This geriatric fuck needs to hit a nursing home
It looks like he's having a mini stroke.
C’mon, THAT is a poster board cutout of McConnell. Absolutely hilarious if it’s not!
That dude looks expired 😐
Oh Kentucky, you poor poor fools rode this piece of garbage all the way to the bitter end.
Not weighing in on opinions about the fella as I’m British and ‘not my politician’ but, just showed this to my wife who is a specialist in geriatrics for the NHS and she said she’d refer him for a scan querying either a vascular event or vascular dementia.
Margaret Thatcher with a penis, a Bible, and has been in office many times longer. That is close enough analogy to work with.
Thanks for the horrifying mental image.
If it makes you feel better remember that Thatcher is still dead and every day that passes brings you one day further from her being alive.
So aphasia or focal seizures? I favour the latter. I think maybe he has a brain tumour.
Every second he’s frozen is a second he’s not making the world a worse place so… let’s go glitches
Hopefully it's his grey matter retiring.
Nah, I hope he lives. Moreover, I hope he stays in the Senate. However, I also hope that his condition prevents him from actually performing his duties as a Senator. Hell, give him another six-year term and let him serve it in a bedridden and/or catatonic state, missing every single vote.
AGAIN?
again?? Or is this just old fucking news???
This is again I believe
Two separate incidences, videos of both are in the article.
No repost, it'S a genuine repeat performance. Well, or lack of performance, actually.
again.
that's a stroke
You need to parboil turtle meat before it freezes. Especially if you want to get rid of the rank bitterness. Also, to purge the filth out of its flesh properly, you really should put the turtle in a tub or plastic trash barrel (while still alive) for about a week, with some fresh water to swim in.
Well, he can't talk or think and he has tons of power! This is excellent and surely not a symptom of a fundamentally broken system that will doom us all!
Can we agree to a compromise? You boot McConnell and we boot Feinstein?
Lol, we want Feinstein gone, they don't want Mitch gone.
Once they got some sort of response out of him: "any other questions? And please speak up!"
As if that was the issue!
Retire you old rat
asshole.exe has stopped working
Have you tried to turn him off and on again?
Wow twice now. That's...well maybe throw in the towel buddy.
Twice on camera. I can't help but wonder how frequent this is when he isn't holding a presser
This is just sad. He's clearly not fit for any kind of work.
Answer the question Mitch! Are you running for re-election? Damnit!
It was just a glitch. He temporarily ran out of CPU cycles.
If anyone has spent plenty of time around elderly dying folks, you know that dude has a few weeks maybe even days to live.
Don’t threaten us with good time
What’s happening to him?
I see he was resurrected by alien machine dogs. The black hands, the pauses. Has anyone checked him for a pulse?
Thoughts and prayers
Maybe he just went to a Death Grips concert!
In all seriousness, the loudest concert I went to was seeing the Local Natives at Coachella. Everything was fine, but they kept asking the sound technician to turn their instruments up. It was deafening. Wear earplugs when going to concerts, especially if you're close to the front.
This is what I don't get about USA. So called freedom country granting lifelong held positions to people. Supreme court, senate whatever it's there that are giving people lifelong until their deaths positions and talk about free elections and stuff. I might be wrong so please correct me but why do you have so many people like him holding their places until they die or retir because of old age? How is it a democracy when there is a monarchy in place by election?
😳
This does not sound good. I wonder who the cons will end up replacing him with? He is not and was never great; but given their trend, they are bound to find someone even worse.
Quick reminder about the rules around wishing death and destruction on people.
Don't make me tap the sign.
That being said, yes, McConnell is one of the key architects of how dysfunctional our system of government has become. From using the filibuster more times during the Obama administration than all prior administrations COMBINED, to blocking a legitimately named Supreme Court Justice, not by allowing him a fair vote, but by denying him a hearing AT ALL.
BUT...
Now hear me out... BUT...
He does have three daughters, Porter, is actually an activist:
https://www.thelist.com/257172/the-truth-about-mitch-mcconnells-daughter-porter/
You can make fun of the guy, you can hate the guy, but before you wish death on the guy, take just a moment to consider his family and how they must feel watching him break down like this live on camera, not once, but twice.
I'm sick of all this be the better person shit.
When he dies the world will be a better place. If he had died 10 years ago our world would be indistinguishable.
Fuck Mitch McConnell AND his family.
When a person’s actions causes death to groups, don’t judge those groups for wishing death in return.
Well that is a fucking ice cold take and a half. Takes a lot to willfully look at the record of Mitch McConnell, who has had a significant part in setting socioeconomic progress in this country back 50 years, and say that his decline and public embarrassment is somehow something I should at all feel sad about.
I'm not asking you to feel sad, I'm asking you to recognize that as awful he is, he's still a human being and has other human beings who, in theory, care about him.
He doesn't think I'm a human being, so I will give him the same respect in turn.
Fuck that rule.
As a human being, I feel great empathy for the man and his family. I wish him nothing but the best in health and family life and am saddened to see his decline. But was someone 100% opposed to his politics I will fight endlessly to destroy both his works and his legacy even as he has worked to destroy democracy as we've come to know it.
Everything he did might as well be codified at this point. There is no fighting and reversing his damage. That fight is over.
Mitch is the reason for; Trump, Kavanaugh, and Comey. He's stonewalled every and any bipartisan suggestions for years, simply because D.
Rescind your empathy. This coward has activity taken everything from you and your family.
He deserves to lose it all to the void.
No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
Look at this Jannie cuck. Lmao!!!?? Clean it Jannie!
That'll be 600 Gorillion dollars for Israel, + tips. Thanks
I understand people don't like him, but after watching my mom die of dementia it's a little hard to stomach just how cruel people are here about this.
Yeah but unlike your mom he fully deserves it as he’s an evil piece of shit
well, people have suffered due to lack of access to medical care and died of poverty under his rule, so he probably has more cruelty than them since you know,he caused those problems, wheras people are just laughing at him getting his just desserts from fate or god.
As was mentioned somewhere in the comments, he may not be fully lucid and he would never see any of this. So making these jokes just highlights the cruelty and amoral attitude of people just to search for a laugh.
Two wrongs make a right, check.
Uhhh... Okay.
People just tend to get a sadistic, vengeful sense of humor in politics. Nothing you can do about it aside from just trying to ignore it.
I see a similar thing with how people describe Zuckerberg, who to me at least, displays signs that have a striking similarity to ASD. Having a nephew just starting grade school and brother who both lie within the spectrum makes seeing all of those heavy-handed insults feel like they may as well be directed at them.
The dehumanizing attitude of the comments here sucks. Don't be like them.
Fuck that and fuck him. He deserves no sympathy.
Naw. He can go. He's done enough harm to the world.
Be worse. It's the only way to defeat these fascists. People like you need to go research the paradox of intolerance and get a clue.
Fuck Mitch, some people are truly evil and have zero redeemable qualities.
His situation is sad and he deserves all of it.
He's surrounded by people that, not for a single second, care about him or his health and will happily Weekend at Bernies him (assuming they aren't already).
On a human level, it's awful. And then I remember all the suffering he had personally caused and all my sympathy shifts to everyone he's harmed in his long, horrible life.
So it is wrong to dehumanize a person that has dehumanized millions of Americans for the most part of his career? Some kind of backwards logic if you ask me.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared to freeze for about 30 seconds on Wednesday while speaking with reporters after a speech in Covington, Kentucky.
The incident is similar to an episode McConnell experienced at the US Capitol late last month and is likely to raise additional questions about the fitness of the 81-year-old to lead the Senate Republican caucus.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
The original article contains 67 words, the summary contains 67 words. Saved 0%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
And yet this summary contains a certain ineffable quality lacking in the original.
Remarkable bot!
Why’s this bot getting worse? This is literally the OP text, the actual article is slightly different, but it didn’t even try to find it.
It's ChatGPT powered.