Dem
47
GOP
53
About a week and a half ago, a single picture, one that many people found unpersuasive, was all the "proof of life" provided to show that Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is still alive and functional. Though it was a little thin, it was remarkably effective at pushing the story off the front pages.
Well, it worked for a while, at least. Over the past few days, the "Mitch is dead" chatter got going again, and so the Senator, or someone in his orbit, issued another statement yesterday. It has a couple of paragraphs written under McConnell's name, and a paragraph written under the name of the Office of the Attending Physician (of Congress). According to the statement, McConnell is now in a rehab facility and is undergoing rigorous physical therapy. The statement includes a photo, which does not include a current newspaper this time, but does look to be taken in a non-hospital facility:
It remains a bit odd that McConnell has not done a TV or phone interview, since that would do more to put the rumors to rest than a couple of photos.
Among the folks who are not satisfied is Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY). Beshear isn't necessarily buying into any conspiracies, but he does think that McConnell needs to clarify if he'll ever be able to resume his seat and, if so, when. The Governor sent a letter to the Senator yesterday, demanding transparency. This demand is not likely to be heeded.
In the next week, we will reach a critical juncture, conspiracy-wise. The general belief, among the conspiratorially minded, is that the truth about McConnell is being hidden until either August 3 or 4. Depending on how you do the math, one of those dates would theoretically be the last date on which Beshear could call a special election to fill the seat. Thereafter, there would be no special election, and the appointed replacement would serve until the start of the next term.
The ostensible reason that the Republicans do not want a special election is that (depending on which conspiracy theory you believe), they are nervous that election might be won by: (1) Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) or (2) a Democrat. This would turn a reliable Republican vote (or, for now, a reliable "not present" vote) into either an unreliable Republican vote or a Democratic vote.
The conspiracy theories don't make a lot of sense to us, but what do we know? In any event, if McConnell resigns or takes a "sudden" turn for the worse and dies, on or around August 5, then that would suggest that maybe the conspiracists were on to something. On the other hand, if he keeps issuing statements and/or photos after that date, it would suggest they weren't. T-minus-roughly 7 days until we find out. (Z)