Mastodawn

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

https://lemmy.world/post/4149758

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

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.

SheeEttin Aug 30, 2023

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

correcthorsedickbatterystaple Aug 30, 2023

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

jeffw Aug 30, 2023

Absence seizures are pretty benign. I knew a classmate who used to get them back in high school. She was totally competent. Looks exactly like what happens to Mitch

Pipoca Aug 31, 2023

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.

Endorkend Aug 30, 2023

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 Aug 30, 2023

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 Aug 30, 2023

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

mosiacmango Aug 31, 2023

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 Aug 31, 2023

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 Aug 30, 2023

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 Aug 31, 2023

When did the long time democrat originally take the seat?

Near the end of the Civil War?

squiblet Aug 30, 2023

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

Riyria Aug 31, 2023

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.

mr_sparkle Aug 30, 2023

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

NegativeInf Aug 30, 2023

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

Maruki_Hurakami Aug 30, 2023

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

rtxn Aug 30, 2023

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 Aug 30, 2023

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

eran_morad Aug 30, 2023

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 Aug 30, 2023

I always thought he would look like this when eating

PinkPanther Aug 30, 2023

You’re confusing him with a democrat. /s

Arn_Thor Aug 30, 2023

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 Aug 30, 2023

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.

BOMBS Aug 30, 2023

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 Aug 31, 2023

Well said.

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

ThatWeirdGuy1001 Aug 30, 2023

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

AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet Aug 30, 2023

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

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

chemicalprophet Aug 30, 2023

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

Maruki_Hurakami Aug 30, 2023

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 Sep 1, 2023

*Glitch

AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet Aug 30, 2023

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

PetDinosaurs Aug 30, 2023

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 Aug 30, 2023

Only signs of significant cognitive decline

PetDinosaurs Aug 30, 2023

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 80 yo’s don’t have signs of decline. It’s that trump has a much worse and more obvious issue).

30mag Aug 31, 2023

How can you tell?

NegativeLookBehind Aug 30, 2023

Will somebody please reboot Mitch again?

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

meco03211 Aug 30, 2023

Will somebody please reboot Mitch again?

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

Blooper Aug 31, 2023

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.

chemical_cutthroat Aug 30, 2023

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.

Nougat Aug 30, 2023

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 Aug 30, 2023

I hope they’re painful. He deserves it.

citrusface Aug 31, 2023

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

thisbenzingring Aug 31, 2023

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 Aug 31, 2023

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

Blooper Aug 31, 2023

His obscene wealth guaranteed that outcome regardless.

Nougat Aug 31, 2023

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.

EssentialCoffee Aug 31, 2023

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 Aug 31, 2023

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 Aug 31, 2023

Mitch McConnell chose to be evil.

Nougat Aug 31, 2023

He didn't choose to be sick.

Blooper Aug 31, 2023

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 Aug 31, 2023

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 Aug 31, 2023

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

I would feel shame if I did that.

SnowdenHeroOfOurTime Aug 31, 2023

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 Aug 31, 2023

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 Aug 31, 2023

[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.

SnowdenHeroOfOurTime Aug 31, 2023

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 Aug 31, 2023

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 Aug 31, 2023

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 Aug 31, 2023

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?”