.@SenJohnThune: "I had the opportunity, as a number of my colleagues have had, to speak with Senator McConnell. He is in good spirits, doing well and anxious to get back here and we're anxious to have him back." pic.twitter.com/scc0M0maYP
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 22, 2023
Chairman Mao remains healthier than ever!… I *would* think this, being a Godless Democrat, but it does not seem to me that #LeaderMcConnell has ever done much to endear himself to his younger colleagues. He’s got the support of born second-rankers like Thune for as long as they can prop up his corpus, but he seems to rules his GOP caucus through a combination of threats and a grinding determination to ‘pwn the libs’. Once he’s no longer there in person to bully the ranks, will envy of the media focus on their equally talentless House peers distract them from holding the tortoise formation solid in 2024?
From the Washington Post, paper of record in the company town whose monopoly industry is national politics, “McConnell phones Senate Republicans, who say he’s ‘eager’ to be back”:
Nearly two weeks after a fall that left him with a concussion and a broken rib, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) spoke on the phone with at least three of his Republican colleagues on Tuesday, expressing a desire to get back to the Capitol but not sharing an exact timeline for his return.
The conversations mark the first time McConnell has spoken directly with anyone on his leadership team — apart from exchanging text messages — since his fall. McConnell had also not spoken directly with President Biden and Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who both called shortly after the accident.
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), McConnell’s top deputy, said he spoke to him for about five minutes on Tuesday…
The 81-year-old senator was hospitalized for five days and treated for a concussion after he tripped while attending a private dinner at a Washington hotel on March 8. Last week, McConnell checked into an inpatient rehabilitation center, his spokesman said, where he’ll receive physical therapy before going home.
Given that timeline, it’s unlikely McConnell will return before the Senate begins a long Easter recess on March 30 that will keep the chamber closed for legislative business until April 17.
“I told him not to be in a big hurry, because we’re not doing anything here,” said Cornyn, who added that McConnell didn’t provide a timetable for his return.
McConnell, who recently became the longest-serving Senate leader, has not been directly leading his deputies from afar. But his staff and other members of the leadership team have been “stepping up” in his absence, Thune said…
Republican senators downplayed his absence’s effect on the workings of the Senate. Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said he had noticed no change in how Senate Republicans operate while McConnell had been absent…
To phrase this diplomatically, it’s considered a good day when Sen. Grassley notices enough to match his shoes and put them on the right feet, so: conspicuously low bar to cite.
McConnell supposedly fell and got a concussion like two weeks ago and hasn't been heard from since. You'd think this would be the kind of thing reporters would be looking into and not just taking the word of someone who claims to have spoken with him. https://t.co/Rvh83yRjAQ
— scary lawyerguy (@scarylawyerguy) March 22, 2023
No idea how ‘credible’ Conservative Brief might be considered, but this is being widely circulated on twitter — “McConnell Facing Early Retirement After Severe Concussion From Fall”:
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell may be on the verge of early retirement following a fall this month that left him with a severe concussion and potential serious brain damage, according to a Tuesday report.
“The Republican bigshot, 81, banged his brain in a terrible March 9 tumble at Washington D.C.’s Waldorf Astoria hotel — nearly four years after another serious fall forced him to have shoulder surgery,” RadarOnline reported.
After the recent fall, McConnell was admitted to the hospital where he spent six days receiving treatment. Following his discharge, he was transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation facility to receive care for a brain injury. One medical expert told the outlet that can cause “loss of consciousness, convulsions, seizures, loss of coordination, slurred speech, agitation, and confusion.”…
A D.C. insider told the outlet: “Mitch has been a lion of the Senate so long that it’s hard to imagine him not being there. But he’s 81 years old, and this isn’t the first time that he’s fallen. The talk is he may consider stepping down long before his current six-year term expires in 2027!”
Earlier this month, people close to McConnell warned he would not be returning to his legislative duties as soon as some believed he would after falling and having to be hospitalized…
Not sure how much is scare-mongering and how much is wishcasting, but if they get all riled up and start another Night of the Long Sporks, more power to them.
Open Thread: Inherit the Wind
TS
Sounds normal, GOP politicians being paid for doing nothing
NotMax
I’d say “Chin up,” but….
//
Mike in Pasadena
I laughed when I read that the 81 year old might retire early. They meant before his current term is up.
ColoradoGuy
Spoke by phone, not in person. And it’s not like it’s hard to get a taxi, or call an Uber in DC. He’s minutes away from the Senate building and not seeing anyone in person.
And he’s not a touchy-feely person like Biden … famously not so.
Between Putin and McConnell, we got some Kremlin-level guesswork here.
Yutsano
Yertle? Retire early?
Pull the other one. It has bells on it.
gVOR08
I thought he controlled his colleagues largely by dispensing a huge PAC. Gawd knows who has control of that if he’s impaired.
Aussie Sheila
@gVOR08: Indeed. That is exactly the question .
And since the Dems have a lot of Senators facing re-election in 2024, control of that Republican Senate election fund seems to me to be pretty important.
Ask Mitch why he isn’t Majority Leader right now. I think trump has a way to before he is finished with the Republican Party.
NotMax
@Yutsano
“Drizzle, drazzle, druzzle, drome, time for this one to come home.”
:)
patrick II
I did not remember his fall from four years ago. If you are 81 and a polio survivor with some weakness in a leg and have already suffered a serious fall, using a cane might be advisable. But that would be a show of weakness, so there was no chance of that.
trollhattan
Feeling ambivalent about McConnell possibly retiring. What will the state that continues to give us Rand Paul, replace him with?
Bonnie Raitt concert tonight–still has it, she’s a pro’s pro. As the kids say: queen.
eclare
This rehab makes no sense to me for a mild concussion. My mom was in and out of rehab for six months before she passed on, all for far more injuries and longer stays than for a mild concussion.
eclare
@patrick II: My rep from the TN Fightin’ Ninth uses a cane, polio as a child.
Citizen Alan
@trollhattan: I wonder if Andy basheat would run for it and could it get it if he did. If possible, i’m sure he would enjoy being a u s senator more than being a democratic governor facing a republican super majority.
sdhays
@Aussie Sheila: I hope Rick Scott takes over McConnell’s fund. I approve of his performance handling the NRSC last cycle. If the fall didn’t kill McConnell, that would.
NotMax
@patrick II
Canes and the Senate do not share a happy history.
sdhays
@Citizen Alan: My understanding is that he is well-positioned to hold the governorship, but I wouldn’t want to place any bets on any Democrat winning the Senate seat.
Kentucky voters know that Republicans tend to be bad governors, so they’re willing to tolerate a Democrat named Beshear in that job, otherwise they don’t see the point.
eclare
@sdhays: I heartily approve of Rick’s new boat, mansion, etc courtesy of the Republican senate campaign funds.
rikyrah
They are completely lying about the extent of his injuries. It’s so obvious😒😒
Ruckus
@Yutsano:
Not to be crass but I’d guess he doesn’t want to go unless he’s carried out. I know people with polio and while not everyone reacts the same over time, it is a debilitating disease and while the middle years can be normal, the beginning and ending years are nowhere near close to normal. I’m rather skeptical that he’ll be back. He broke a rib and had a concussion. At 81 years old. Sure he may be fine. But I’m not seeing it. But I’ll bet he’ll never, ever admit having a problem, even though he looks like he’s deteriorating – a lot.
Ruckus
@patrick II:
I have a friend my age with polio and has one leg that is an ornament at best and can not even stand up and she lives in a wheelchair. He’s 7 yrs older and he’s had 2 major falls and at least one concussion.
He should retire, even if he physically seems to recover, because his life isn’t going to get better, not after those 2 major falls and at least one concussion, not at his age and physical history/condition.
Lacuna Synecdoche
So which godawful succeeds him as Senate Minority Leader if Testudinate Moscow Mitch doesn’t return?
Assuming there’s no obvious successor, who’s in the running? Thunes, Barr-Ass-O, Ernst, Moore, or, FSM forbid, Daines? Someone else, not in leadership?
opiejeanne
@Yutsano: Hey you! Will you be in Seattle on the 4th of April for the next Jackal get-together? Dan B. is helping us figure out the place and time.
The invitation is open to any and all jackals (including lurkers) who happen to be in the area; we’ll let you know where and when soon.
opiejeanne
@Lacuna Synecdoche: Is it possible that we could witness a similarly embarrassing power struggle in the Senate like the one the House went through? I don’t know whether to dread that or wish for it.
Anne Laurie
Some people (MAGAt Republicans) are saying McConnell ‘fell’ because he had a stroke, which is *actually* why he’s now in rehab (hiding).
Rather harder for an 81-year-old man w/post-polio syndrome to recover from an ischemic incident than a 51-year-old like Sen. Fetterman, but of course that would be why the rumor got started.
Then again, the first thought through other peoples’ minds was Where exactly was Rick Scott when McConnell ‘tripped’?
(Not that I believe a man like Rick Scott would stoop so low — having all those stolen Medicare millions means that Rick Scott would hire minions to do his dirty work, and be sure to have his own alibi prepared in advance!)
Aussie Sheila
@sdhays: Heh!
TriassicSands
Alternatively, he should retire because he’s an utterly corrupt, horrible human being who has done an amazing amount of work to destroy the Senate and wreck this country. Of course, those are highly desirable assets in the GOP
No, his life isn’t going to get better, but he can still do a lot to make the lives of most Americans much worse. Although he may not be the absolute worst Republican senator, it is doubtful that any of the others will be as effective as he has been.
Yutsano
@opiejeanne: I unfortunately will not be. I am sorry to be missing what sounds like it will be one helluva meet-up but I haven’t moved to the Seattle area just yet. Soon! But not yet. Please to hug CaseyL for me! Also: tweet the deets to MikeJ. He might just come crash!
opiejeanne
@Yutsano: I haven’t seen Mike J on the twitter machine in a couple of months, but I’ll try. sorry to miss you
David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch
They released a photo of McConnel – yikes! He’s in really bad shape (link).
oatler
Mitch isn’t Scrooge. He isn’t going to get ghost visits and repent. When he arrives in Hell he’s going to reorganize it to his gain. In Hell.
Jay C
Not sure how accurate it is, but I recall reading something online a little while back that said that the Kentucky law regarding US Senate replacements mandates that the Governor must fill the vacancy with a nominee of the same party as the former incumbent. And that they must select said nominee from a list (?4?) provided by the state Party. So bad as old McTurtle might be, it’s scarcely a great prospect (except for the seniority issue) to imagine what sort of deplorable hack the KY GOP might replace him with.
PS: for myself, I don’t think McConnell is going to retire voluntarily.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Mention of Chairman Mao always brings to mind the Doonesbury story line where Mao had a stroke and Duke’s translator Honey was the only person in the world who claimed to understand what he was saying. So basically she was running China.
Is Thune setting himself up for that role?
Mai Naem mobile
@Lacuna Synecdoche: i would think Cornyn or Barrasso. They seem to have been McConnell’s deputies forever. I would think Cornyn would be the better fundraiser being that he’s from Texas. He also should have influence with the folks he brought in when he was the NRSC chair during the successful 2014 cycle . Daines is the current NRSC chair.
eclare
@Mai Naem mobile: At least Cornyn supports our involvement in Ukraine. Not sure of the others.
oatler
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
“I’m turning you in, Sir.”
Frankensteinbeck
McConnell is a consummate liar. There is no guessing what the truth is.
@gVOR08:
In political circles he is notorious as the best fund-raiser they’ve got. He’s the money man.
@trollhattan:
Someone who isn’t the Republican Senate and party leader.
@Lacuna Synecdoche:
An incompetent. Someone who isn’t The Gravedigger Of American Democracy. Nobody has been more damaging to America than MConnell. Trump is a piker next to him. It is harder than people think to see norms and be the first person to break them. At that, McConnell is a genius.
I wish no one ill and think no one ‘deserves’ it, but fervently wish McConnell in a position where he can’t hurt people anymore.
May God bless and keep the Tsar
far away from us.
NeenerNeener
I initially read this as “the longest self-serving Senate leader”.
satby
@Anne Laurie: I tweeted that it sounded like the fall and concussion followed a TIA (mini-stroke) too. The rehab thing seems pretty extended for just those injuries.
NorthLeft
Update from Senate GOP: “The training of Senator McConnell’s body double is proceeding very well, thank you. His handlers, er programmers, er therapists are working on his drawl and cruelty right now, planning on getting to bullying next week.
Meanwhile the real Senator McConnell is entering phase three of the cryogenic storage process.”
Baud
@NorthLeft:
Interestingly, that process requires raising McConnell’s body temperature.
Searcher
Given that Republicans only get worse and McConnell is among the last of the old guard of cynical money grubbers, who’s going to replace him as Senate Republican leader? Someone Trumpy, or a religious fundamentalist?
bjacques
You’ll know when Kentucky Public Radio starts playing gloomy classical music.
Geminid
@Citizen Alan: At age 45, Andy Beshear is fairly young. Assuming he wins reelection as Governor (he is favored to win), I look for him to run for Rand Paul’s Senate seat in 2028. From what I can tell, Beshear likes being Governor of the Bluegrass State and will want to serve out a second term.
Princess
@rikyrah: I agree. He’s a LOT worse than we’re being told. And the media who hounded Fetterman are giving this a complete pass. Just stenographers for the GOP
Elizabelle
“Night of the Long Sporks.” Well done, Anne Laurie.
Frankensteinbeck
@Searcher:
Like I said: An incompetent. That’s all that matters.
@Searcher:
No one is more Trumpy than the religious fundamentalists. As a Kentuckian, I can promise you that.
JML
The power vacuum for when Moscow Mitch finally goes will likely set off an epic knife fight amongst the GOP Senate, and I am here for it. Maybe, maybe it doesn’t turn into a total shit show if Cornyn, Barasso, and Thune get it settled between them quickly and go in united and have a couple of key players locked down early…but I doubt it. There are so many self-aggrandizing shitbags in the GOP senate that will see this as their time to suck all the air out of the room. Both Floriduh Men will get in on stuff, Traitor Hawley won’t be able to help himself, Rand Paul will spout off, and there’s no one that has enough influence, brains, viciousness, and evil to keep that crew locked together like Moscow Mitch did.
Susan Collins, of course, will be concerned.
randy khan
There is something about a news report that puts an exclamation point on a sentence that normally wouldn’t have one that makes me wonder about its credibility.
Shalimar
@JML: If Tim Scott were serious, this is the job he would go for. He has a better chance of convincing 5 of his fellow senators to vote for him than he does of getting 1% of the base in his quixotic presidential campaign.
Butch
“A lion of the senate?” Barf. I worked on the Hill for a while; I couldn’t stand DC or the DC political culture and left. Thanks for reminding me why.
NotMax
@JML
When it comes to Thunes, give me Fred or Dave any day of the week.
;)
artem1s
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
so he’s pulling an Edith Wilson then?
As long as the crazy part of the Senate GOP doesn’t take over, I’m fine w/Turtle taking all the time he needs. I do want him back when it comes time for the budget stand off. McQuarthy will fold to the MAGAt faction of the house and push us to the bring of default otherwise.
Paul in KY
@trollhattan: He will be replaced by a POS. You can count on that, unfortunately.
Paul in KY
@sdhays: I think he is looking as good as can be expected for the Gov race. The Senate race would be much tougher, IMO.
Paul in KY
@oatler: Like when Kim Philby went to the USSR, he immediately was revealed as a KGB General, when Mitch gets to Hell, he’ll be revealed to be an Arch-Demon of some rank.
WaterGirl
@eclare: From up top:
Paul in KY
@bjacques: Would be gloomy bluegrass or ‘mountain style’ hymns, like ‘Rock of Ages’ and stuff like that.
Skepticat
@TriassicSands: SPOT ON
NotMax
@Paul in KY
The name of the precise sect escapes me right now who banned the hymn Old Hundredth as being too sprightly.
DFH
Night of the Long Sporks… you are a treasure.
olivia
My first thought was something I learned when an older family member went into hospice. He isn’t dying from the fall, he fell because he is dying.
Butch
@olivia: I just lost my brother in law, who was in hospice, and one of the issues was repeated and severe falls. I never looked at it that way.
olivia
@Butch: I’m so sorry for your loss.
Butch
@olivia: We miss him, but he was at the point where there was no quality of life left. Thank you.
evodevo
@Frankensteinbeck:
No doubt a list including Comer and Massie…and I wish I were kidding…
Paul in KY
@NotMax: They have Old Regular Baptists here and Freewill Baptists and various Pentecostal sects. Some of them allow singing, but no musical instruments.
Paul in KY
@olivia: My dad has just entered hospice and he can barely walk with a cane or a walker. Has fallen recently, though no bones broken. His body is just giving out.
Death Panel Truck
Cole said on the Electric Bird Thingie a week or so ago he’d heard a rumor that McConnell had cancer. Not a good way to go, but he’s got better health care than most of us do, and we’re paying for it.
Jinchi
He could troll them by nominating TFG then watching the chaos if any tried to argue that the Florida resident was ineligible, followed by the implosion of the party as he declared himself defacto Republican Senate leader.
Tom Q.
@Citizen Alan: Consult the 2020 Montana Senate race for how that’d probably shake out.
Despite Republican voters being perceived as utter sheep by the political media, they seem to have a keen awareness of the difference between a governors’ race and a Senate seat. For the former, they’re happy to choose a local Democrat, who’ll provide some goodies for them. But, with the latter, they know it’s all about giving one party or another control of the chamber, and they stick with their ancestral choice. (See Kansas and, until recently, Tennessee, for other examples.)
Shorter: Beshear, no matter how popular as governor, would get creamed in a Senate race.
karen marie
@ColoradoGuy: After the screaming about Fetterman, you’d think McConnell being incommunicado for weeks would be a big deal. Oh, that’s right, “journalists” only write a negative story about a politician if they get it written up and delivered to their inbox from a Republican.
And fuck that “concussion” bullshit, we all know he had a stroke.
Motherfuckers.
azlib
I have friend who fell and hit her head. She ended up in intensive care and will be in the hospital for 5-6 days. Her speech is impaired, but is improving. What McConnell was diagnosed with is unclear, but I suspect it is more than just a mild concussion.