Sen. Mitch McConnell appears to freeze again at a Kentucky event

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared to freeze again Wednesday, this time during a gaggle with reporters in Covington, Kentucky, stopping for more than 30 seconds after he was asked if he would run for re-election.

The Kentucky Republican froze in July at a news conference on Capitol Hill, going silent for 19 seconds before being escorted away from the cameras. McConnell, 81, returned shortly afterward and continued his news conference, telling reporters, “I’m fine.”

When it became apparent that McConnell had frozen again on Wednesday, an aide came up to him and asked, “Did you hear the question, senator?” McConnell continued to be unresponsive.

chili1553,

poopt his pants

ohlaph,

twice now. Need another diaper

NatakuNox,
@NatakuNox@lemmy.world avatar

Who had two simultaneous weekend at Bernie’s situations in the US senate on their Bingo card?

yoz,

https://i.imgflip.com/55zc8v.jpg

ArtVandelay,
@ArtVandelay@lemmy.world avatar

Granny Mitch

Nougat,

Dude is having a series of small strokes right in front of the entire world. If this is happening multiple times in front of cameras, imagine how often it's happening off camera.

echoct,

I hope they’re painful. He deserves it.

citrusface,

The man feels nothing so I wouldn’t count on it

thisbenzingring,

This is probably the truth. And now he’s probably losing parts of his brain and there’s less and less chances that the ramifications of his actions ever taking place.

Sharkwellington,

A painful thought hit me earlier today. If he develops dementia then he will die in blissful ignorance of everything he’s done.

Blooper,

His obscene wealth guaranteed that outcome regardless.

Nougat, (edited )

McConnell is a partisan hack and an absolute hypocrite, whose actions in the Senate have damaged the country in far-reaching ways.

I aim to be better than him in every way, including not being happy about his physical pain or other complications due to medical issues.

Edit: Really, setting aside the mild editorializing, McConnell did not choose to experience medical problems. We can disagree fervently with the choices he does make, and criticize in the context of those choices as much as we want. It is wrong to criticize or wish ill of people when those criticisms are in the context of something not chosen.

That is rightly offensive when the context is race, gender, LGBTQ+, physical (mental should arguably be here, too) disability. It's equally offensive when the context is illness or some other medical concern.

EssentialCoffee,

This is sort of like saying a parent shouldn’t want a punishment on someone who murdered their kid because they need to forgive in order to cleanse their soul or some other religious bullshit.

Perhaps if he weren’t an evil motherfucker, people wouldn’t wish ill of him.

Nougat,

No, it would be like a parent whose child was murdered wanting a severe punishment because the perpetrator was a "fag."

If someone deserves punishment, it should be on the basis of what they choose, and not because of something they didn't choose.

Serinus,

Mitch McConnell chose to be evil.

Nougat,

He didn't choose to be sick.

Blooper,

He made tons of choices guaranteeing my absolute contempt for him. I’m not going to carry an ounce of guilt for the schadenfreude I’m experiencing now. There’s no shame in taking personal joy from bad things happening to bad people. A wild, rabid alligator could have appeared out of nowhere during the news conference and bit the man in the dick right there in front of the podium - I’d still have no sympathy to spare. He’s done meaningful and lasting damage to all corners of society during his shameful life and his suffering inevitably brings lots of people great joy.

SnowdenHeroOfOurTime,

There’s no shame in taking personal joy from bad things happening to bad people.

“There’s no shame in the best possible textbook example of shameful behavior”

Nougat,

There’s no shame in taking personal joy from bad things happening to bad people.

I would feel shame if I did that.

SnowdenHeroOfOurTime,

No not really but reading a thread of comments from parents about “what I’d do if they did this to MY kid” is VERY VERY disturbing and it makes it seem like being a parent is bad for the soul. Now go ahead and explain to me how mentally healthy it is to actual welcome the opportunity to torture another human being.

boywar3,

Welcome the opportunity to torture another human being

Nobody is torturing him (well, except maybe the people who are continuing to prop him up for political gain). It’s the greatest justice there is: nobody is doing anything and he’s still suffering.

I dont need to do a damn thing. I simply need to do nothing and watch as a person who has active contempt for those worse off than him gets a small taste of what his actions have put thousands of people through. Just as I dont feel bad Hitler blew his brains out or Stalin died of a stroke and couldn’t be saved because of his paranoid doctors, I don’t give a damn about someone who has actively caused direct harm to thousands of innocent people.

Nougat,

[R]eading a thread of comments from parents about “what I’d do if they did this to MY kid” is VERY VERY disturbing ...

Saying and reading those kinds of things gives your brain a bit of the experience of those things happening, without them actually happening, and that can be both personally cathartic and generally popular for the same reason. And it's easy to fall into the trap of coming to believe that you actually would want those things if the opportunity were presented to you, when the opportunity has not been presented to you.

There's a bit of selection bias, too. It's far less likely that someone is going to stand up and publicly say that they wouldn't want vengeance against a child murderer, because the general public has a hard time separating the notions of "not wanting to torture people" and "wanting a just and safe society." Human societies, to some degree, embrace violence. That's why prison rape is "funny." I would like to do better than that; I think that a just and safe society can be achieved without also embracing violence as a measure to accomplish it.

I'm also willing to bet that a significant portion of the people who are doing the “what I’d do if they did this to MY kid” thing are not parents. A different significant portion are doing it as a kind of virtue signalling.

Edit: Finally, imagine a scenario where Someone On The Internet says "I'd cut his dick off and shove it in his mouth." Okay, the court determines that the appropriate punishment is for the person to have his dick cut off and shoved in his mouth by that Someone On The Internet. Go ahead now, actually do it. I think the number of Someones On The Internet who would actually follow through with that is vanishingly small.

SnowdenHeroOfOurTime,

I appreciate your thoughts out response, but I still think the descriptions I have read and heard aloud come from a place of bloodlust. And no not all of us have that.

Nougat,

Surely some of them do, and I didn't intend to cast aspersions on your position. It is correct to take note and be wary of expressions of bloodlust, with disregard to why that bloodlust is being expressed. I personally think that there are elements of human psychology and cultural momentum also at play, and I tend towards being a very skeptical and "I'm gonna call your bluff" kind of person. That may well backfire on me someday.

SnowdenHeroOfOurTime,

I understand. Thanks for this response as well.

This reminds me of conversations I have had with someone specific in my past. When a seemingly crazy person on the street tells me they want to stab me, I don’t care if they probably are just saying stuff. I hustle out of there and maybe call the cops. Someone I once knew did the opposite. Always assume they won’t do anything and pity them. I can still pity them, but I’m not taking any chances there.

I’m not saying you’re like that person, I’m only saying that if someone tries to express ill will, I’m likely to take them at their word, out of caution if nothing else.

30mag,

It is much more like opposing the death penalty for murder because you believe killing people is wrong. Ever hear “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind?”

EssentialCoffee,

That’s not apples to apples at all. You’re talking about what consequences should happen for an overall system of punishment in a society where you’re detached as a whole.

What an individual feels about someone who has directly harmed them is completely different. Arguing that you should forgive the people who hurt you because it’s the moral thing to do is what abusers do.

30mag,

You’re talking about what consequences should happen for an overall system of punishment in a society where you’re detached as a whole.

There is fundamentally no difference between believing the death penalty should not be used by society in general because killing is an immoral act, and believing that the death penalty should not be used in a specific case that impacted you directly because you believe that killing is an immoral act.

Arguing that you should forgive the people who hurt you because it’s the moral thing to do is what abusers do.

You’re the only person that is talking about forgiveness. I did not mention forgiveness. @Nougat did not mention forgiveness. No one said they forgave McConnell. No one said that he should be forgiven.

Nougat said that they believe it is wrong to take pleasure in the suffering of others when that suffering is not a result of their own choices. I’m inclined to agree with them. I don’t believe in karma and I do not believe random misfortune is a substitute for justice. I’m not forgiving McConnell or letting him off the hook for what he has done because his health is failing.

Treczoks,

He will probably one of the first politicians who croaks on a life press conference. If only the voters would see this as an actual “Act of God” and get the message.

BonesOfTheMoon,

I think he’s having focal seizures actually. Which usually late in life is caused by a brain tumour or something.

Nougat,

I think you're right about the seizures part. I've read some about how it might be Parkinson's. He had a fall and a concussion at some point (and concussions are no joke).

BonesOfTheMoon,

Sure, it could be post TBI seizures, or maybe even a brain tumour or he’s had a stroke… I imagine he’s has CT and/or MRI since his first event though, but he really needs an EEG.

chemical_cutthroat,
@chemical_cutthroat@lemmy.world avatar

That’s just the real Mitch McConnell trying to escape. He’s been locked in there since '45. I think Stephen King wrote a book about it.

NegativeLookBehind,
@NegativeLookBehind@kbin.social avatar

Will somebody please reboot Mitch again?

All that Russian malware in him is really fucking things up.

meco03211,

Will somebody please reboot Mitch again?

What if we didn’t? Just let this thing run its course?

Blooper,

Yeah I’m curious what would happen if nobody intervened. Would the guy just slowly curl into a ball on the floor and die? A silent room full of cameras recording him as he sheds his mortal flesh and unceremoniously exhausts the very last drop of what used to be his vast reserves of evil. To never again utter a self-serving Fox News talking point or to fellate an oil executive on a private jet.

chemicalprophet,

I mean, why not have a dying sociopath representing us?..

Maruki_Hurakami,

Par for the course at this point. Won’t be surprised if Mitch represents us in effigy when he dies. “this is what Mitch would have wanted”

1847953620,

*Glitch

Anticorp,

We had an Alzheimer’s patient as president, so this is just the status quo.

PetDinosaurs,

I assume you’re talking about Regan, but while I think he and Biden and Trump are/were too old to be president, the latter two don’t have obvious signs of Alzheimer’s.

1847953620,

Only signs of significant cognitive decline

PetDinosaurs,

They’re not so bad compared to McConnell or Feinstein.

In any case, Trump has a serious mental illness that is understated because of ethics rules. It’s just not solely cognitive decline. (It’s not that the 80 yo’s don’t have signs of decline. It’s that trump has a much worse and more obvious issue).

30mag,

How can you tell?

Arn_Thor,

Give it some lettuce.

But seriously that man should be at home spending time with his family for the rest of his life. He’s done as much damage to the US as any other politician in the past 30 years but one still feels some compassion for and old man losing the plot.

chaogomu,

Sadly there's some competition for the title of "most damage done to the US in the last 30 years" because Newt Gingrich exists as well.

BackOnMyBS,
@BackOnMyBS@lemmy.world avatar

one still feels some compassion for and old man losing the plot

You have more compassion than I do. All the damage that guy has done to the people of the US is too much for me to give a rat’s ass about his well-being and comfort. Just on stealing Supreme Court Justices alone, who knows how many women will die because of the impact on Roe v. Wade. I rather spend my compassion on those women than this psychopath.

hydrospanner,

Well said.

If anything, this is one small, token bit of karmic justice that we’re witnessing.

ThatWeirdGuy1001,
@ThatWeirdGuy1001@sh.itjust.works avatar

He’s a terrible person and when he dies may he rot in piss.

I’d care about him going senile if him being sane wasn’t as detrimental as it was.

Empathy is a good thing but let’s save it for the people who actually deserve it and not old ass racist pieces of shit like him

Anticorp,

but one still feels some compassion for and old man losing the plot

Maybe one does, but that’s probably about the limit.

mr_sparkle,

The children’s blood he drinks is probably deficient in iron and magnesium.

NegativeInf,

The vaccines depleted the adrenochrome supply. Hardest of /s.

Maruki_Hurakami,

Someone was talking about adrenochrome at my work last night. Thought my head was going to explode.

rtxn,

I have no idea what that is, but it sounds like something an insane energy drink company CEO would use in their advertisements.

mr_sparkle,

You mean to tell me no one wanted an energy drink for Asian homosexuals?

eran_morad,

Mark my words: there will be a discovery of a pizza joint somewhere in DC where republicans rape and torture kids in the basement.

Kbobabob,

I always thought he would look like this when eating

PinkPanther,

You’re confusing him with a democrat. /s

Endorkend,
@Endorkend@kbin.social avatar

Question, if the good people of Kentucky finally get rid of this horrible man, what's the prospect for the future?

Are they so deep red there's no chance of electing someone more sensible, or is that state ripe for some competition?

mosiacmango,

McConnell is effective because of his tenure. A new Kentucky senator is still likely to be a fuck stick, but they probably wont be so brutal.

On a positive note, Kentucky does have a democrat Governor, so it does occasionally fall in the “Montana/Wisconsin split statewide seats” vote. A dem senator is slightly possible.

ziggurism,
@ziggurism@lemmy.world avatar

They’ve been planning for this eventuality. The state legislature passed a law requiring the governor to appoint someone of the same party.

mosiacmango,

Of course they did, which will give that person an “incumbent” boost before their actual election.

Anything to tip the scales. I guarantee they would repeal that law if they had a dem governor and a dem senator.

ziggurism,
@ziggurism@lemmy.world avatar

I guess a guy who would block a POTUS’s constitutional task to appoint a SCOTUS justice would not be above doing the same thing to a dem Kentucky governor over a senate seat.

ButtholeAnnihilator,

Mitch actually won the seat over a long time democrat. At the time he was considered an insane longshot but he had aid from Rodger Ailes. McConnell ended up winning in an upset.

hydrospanner,

When did the long time democrat originally take the seat?

Near the end of the Civil War?

squiblet,
@squiblet@kbin.social avatar

Pretty much a matter of people actually voting and republicans being less successful at voter suppression.

Riyria,

Kentucky is very weird. They are not afraid to elect a democrat to governor if it’s necessary, but for any other position it’s GOP or bust. Most people I know in Kentucky HATE Mitch McConnell but vote for him anyway. Rand Paul on the other hand, they worship the ground he walks on.

Also the Democratic Party in Kentucky sucks. They are not effective at organizing outside of Jefferson County and are totally out of touch with what to do in the rest of the State. The last two elections against McConnell they ran women against him. I worked on one of them in 2014, and I had so many people tell me “I don’t like Mitch, but I won’t vote for a woman.” Other people experienced the same thing, and for some reason they decided to do it AGAIN in 2020 thinking the state had changed just because they elected a dem governor. Kentucky is not ready for women in politics even in 2023, but the Kentucky Dems refuse to see that. They will either have to run an old white guy or not even bother. Sucks to say, but that’s the state.

SheeEttin,

If that behavior is typical, he belongs in a home, certainly not Congress.

correcthorsedickbatterystaple,

unfortunately that behavior is more and more typical... in congress

Pipoca,

That really depends on what his particular diagnosis is - are these mini strokes, seizures, or something else?

If he’s having seizures, that doesn’t mean he needs to be in a home.

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