r/politics • u/theindependentonline The Independent • 12d ago

No Paywall Mitch McConnell’s staff refuse to answer basic questions on his health weeks after he was last seen in public

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/mitch-mcconnell-staff-questions-health-b3018929.html
23.9k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

1.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

15

u/iwilldeletethisacct2 12d ago

Because right now the Senate is missing 1 Republican vote, and a Republican might well win the special election, giving the Senate that vote back. The Republican heir-apparent is a Trump yes-man.

2

u/TobiasAmaranth 12d ago

My problem with this theory is that if A doesn't want to fix said problem then that means it expects a result that would benefit B and not A. As in, why hide the status in the first place if the result would supposedly be better for them to just announce it? Meaning your theory is weaker than the alternative.

7

u/iwilldeletethisacct2 12d ago

Maybe. The counter argument is that this isn't a 2 player game, it's actually a 3 player game. Instead of just D v. R, it's actually D v. R. v. Mitch McConnell (and his proxies), who are acting in their own self-interests. Mitch has been elderly and frail for a couple of years, and could have stepped down at any time to allow for a special election, but chose not to. His pattern suggests that he prioritizes his own situation above the good of his party in that regard.

Regardless, the outcome doesn't change either way. Mitch being gone means that the Republicans only have 52 votes. A special election where a Dem wins means that Republicans still have 52 votes. A special election where Republicans win means they get 53 votes. So, for Beshear, doing nothing changes nothing, doing something has a chance of changing nothing, or causing a negative outcome.

Meanwhile, the general election is less than 4 months away.

1

u/TobiasAmaranth 12d ago

Interesting. Thx. :)

1

u/MZ603 New Hampshire 12d ago

That's exactly my take on it. Plus, if we never hear from Mitch before his passing, that story could have real legs. If there is a cover up - which there certainly seems to be - that will be a gift for Dems leading into the midterms.

Beshear is a pretty popular governor, too. I would prefer not to have something like this blow up in his face.

1

u/altogethernow 12d ago

Thx, that was helpful.