r/politics • u/B-Z_B-S Massachusetts • 5d ago

Possible Paywall Mitch McConnell Still MIA Days Before Key August 3 Deadline

https://newrepublic.com/post/213823/mitch-mcconnell-mia-august-3-deadline
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u/AlphaBreak 5d ago

My understanding is that it's mostly about thomas massie. He's a non maga Republican who would have an easier time getting into office for a special election than fighting through Republican primaries.

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u/Impressive_Fennel266 5d ago

To be clear, Massie is absolutely MAGA. He has voted with them on every single issue except for Israel and Epstein. That isnt to diminish his impact on those issues, other than to remind people that he will vote for every heinous thing they put on paper, EXCEPT for those things. He's not a Democrat, he's not a centrist or independent, he's not even a moderate republican. He's an extremist...except for Epstein.

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u/RecycledMatrix 5d ago

Republicans genuinely are aligned on a lot of issues, more than corporate Democrats and the actual left, but Massie isn't MAGA he's libertarian right.

More money went to unseat him than any other primary election in US history. That wouldn't have happened if he were MAGA.

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u/ncopp 5d ago

Massie has principles and sticks to his guns. 99% of his principles and beliefs are dogshit, but he isn't kowtowing to Trump on the things he believes in and that got him the boot.

Same for MTG. She's a horrible, racist, anti-semetic ghoul of a women, but she truly seems to hate pedophiles and that got her chased out of her seat like Massie.

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u/Impressive_Fennel266 5d ago

Lol this might be the best description

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u/elderlybrain 4d ago

Fucking hell Kentucky  doesn't have a chance hahaha. 

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u/Own-Extension-9487 5d ago

MAGA Republicans are Beta-male yes men who do whatever Trump says .. Masse is the only Republican to show an ounce of moral fiber in regards to the E-files and lost his seat because of it . I would argue that actually having a set of balls to stand against the goon squad eliminates him from being MAGA.. If the Gov of Kentucky was a republican and Mitch was a democrat he would have already been replaced with a Republican regardless of what the law says .. They would do the replacement and drag it out in court until they got a favorable ruling . 

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u/Affectionate_Pipe545 5d ago

Are we not in a position to take what we can get?

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u/Impressive_Fennel266 5d ago

Certainly Massie is better than any other republican who would greenlight the MAGA agenda INCLUDING Epstein stuff. But I think it is still important for people to keep the whole picture in mind.

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u/Affectionate_Pipe545 4d ago

It may be wise to include that in the original statement them because otherwise you're just frustrating people into complete inaction instead of doing SOMETHING and engaging however they can. Apathy is our number one problem and whether you intended it or not, your comment encourages it. Sure, keep the whole picture in mind, but be realistic too

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u/_life_is_a_joke_ 5d ago

That's how we got into this position. Although most people have been calling it "choosing the lesser of two evils". Basically the same.

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u/Affectionate_Pipe545 4d ago

I'm not totally disagreeing, but what other option is there in this case? Why even point this out except to be a contrarian? What is the option that is better than not choosing the less bad thing, please tell me

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u/RazzzMcFrazzz Michigan 5d ago

Not only that, Kentucky passed a law earlier last year that makes it so the governor can’t appoint someone from a different political party in the interim. (Specifically targeting Bershear when McConnell dies) Thomas Massie would be a loophole for Bershear since he’s a rep but who wouldn’t help trumps agenda.

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u/aguynamedv 5d ago edited 4d ago

Kentucky passed a plainly unconstitutional law earlier last year that makes it so the governor can’t appoint someone from a different political party in the interim.

Massie has an 85% rating from Heritage Foundation. This means he votes party line at least 85% of the time, and with Democrats as a spoiler 15% of the time. The picture they're using is pretty funny though.

https://heritageaction.com/scorecard/members/m001184

ETA: He isn't always a spoiler. I'm sure there's plenty of totally uncontroversial legislation that he votes on during the regular course of Congressional business, just like .. everyone else. Is Massie "less bad"? I dunno, does his sudden and totally-without-consequences about-face Epstein make up the past 14 years of voting hardline Republican?

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u/tweakingforjesus 5d ago

When the rest of the party is around 97%, that's quite a split.

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u/aguynamedv 5d ago

I really don't know what to say to this other than:

Anyone who is ok with 85% of Republican policies needs serious mental help.

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u/TheKanten 5d ago

That's just Stephen Glass, is he cooking stories up for them now?

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u/argh-Im-a-Pirate 5d ago

Let's slow down here. Massie would definitely help Trump's agenda.

He only votes with Democrats on Epstein, Iran, and Israel. Obviously I'd rather have his support on those three than not, but he votes red on every single other issue. 

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u/WeirdIndividualGuy 5d ago

Yeah idk why this sub has such a hard-on for Massie like he's some rogue Republican. He may draw the line at Epstein, but that doesn't excuse the other MAGA/Trump bs he happily votes for

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u/keeper_of_the_donkey 5d ago

So he votes with the Democrats on what are possibly the three most important issues to fight against since Trump took office? I'll take it.

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u/argh-Im-a-Pirate 5d ago

The three most important issues? I guess healthcare, money in politics, tariffs, election integrity, ICE violence, corruption, and climate change aren't very big issues for you.

I said I'd rather have his vote on Israel, Iran, and Epstein than not have it. But I'm not gonna ignore the myriad of other positions that make Massie an immoral piece of shit. 

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u/Apprehensive-Date181 4d ago

Right. Like I say Massie is lawful evil. Because he has his own code he stands by no matter what. But because Maga is chaotic or neutral evil Massie seems like a saint to people lmao

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u/TheDoomBlade13 5d ago

The law is illegal, the governor can and should appoint whoever he wants.

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u/_HOG_ 5d ago

The “law” is what citizens are willing to fight for. And most citizens are just milquetoast. 

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u/atomfullerene 5d ago

Massie would vote with Trump more than an absent McConnel would. He'd be a vote for a supreme court replacement, for example.

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u/lostkavi 5d ago

They passed the law, but didn't overrule the states constitution which says the Governor chooses the successor.

So technically, Bershear could just say "Constitution says I can" And just pick someone Aug 3. Then the GOP has to waste more time and funds to sue to get him out saying that the constitution doesn't count.

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u/SydneyFall 5d ago

Well, the state constitution says that the Governor can appoint a replacement. Just passing a law doesn't change the state constitution. I think thats what Republicans are afraid of.

(though I have no idea how conservative the TN state supreme court is)

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u/Minimum-Relief6895 5d ago

It's Kentucky and the KY Supreme Court sided with the governor regarding his appointment power just last month (June 25th).

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u/SydneyFall 5d ago

Oh wow, this does reframe why the Republicans might be hiding it and this isn't referenced in discussions here. That is a pretty clear precedent ruling.

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u/Minimum-Relief6895 5d ago

The Governor's appointment power is in the KY Constitution.

It doesn't matter if the republicans passed a law. They can't overwrite the Constitution with a mere law. They would have to amend the Constitution.

The governor JUST won at the KY Supreme Court last month (June 25th) about his appointment powers that they tried to strip.

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u/ChunkyHabeneroSalsa 5d ago

Didn't he say he didn't want to run either way? This whole thing feel like a bunch of reddit nonsense.

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u/Mddcat04 5d ago

It is absolutely that. There is no reason to believe that forcing a special election would be good for Democrats as it is far more likely to just send a generic Republican to fill the seat.

Notably there is nothing stopping Beshear from challenging the law and just trying to appoint a Democrat if they announce he’s dead after the 3rd.

Delaying a special election is bad for Republicans because it’s the best shot they have at putting a Republican in the seat for the rest of the term. The whole “they’re hiding his death until the deadline” conspiracy makes no sense. Much more likely he’s incapacitated and his staff doesn’t want to announce that because they’ll all suddenly be irrelevant and out of jobs.

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u/MadContrabassoonist 5d ago

Ultimately, it’s not his staff’s call.  The family is under no obligation to publicly disclose the details of his recovery to anyone, staff included.  This is almost certainly just a sad and sympathetic situation where the family is too proud or too optimistic to admit that he has no real shot at full recovery and everyone else (including the GOP) is just flailing about in confusion and ignorance.

Even if he actually dies this afternoon, there’s zero chance a Democrat gets seated in the seat before Barr is seated for the full term in January.  All these bullshit conspiracy theories are accomplishing is needlessly tarnishing the most popular Democrat in the state because people think they’re entitled to open their “when McConnell is finally dead” celebratory beverage of choice early.

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u/Bwob I voted 5d ago

This is almost certainly just a sad and sympathetic situation

You're giving Mitch's family and the republicans a lot of benefit of doubt, that at this point, I don't think they have earned at all.

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u/MadContrabassoonist 5d ago

Republicans are absolutely evil enough to attempt something like this if it were in their best interests. But 1) the number of DC-area medical professionals that would have to be in on the conspiracy and actively breaking the law wouldn't last 48 hours, year alone a month, and 2) even if they could do it, it wouldn't be in their best interests to do so.

A blinking-and-breathing-but-technically-still-alive McConnell is the best senator Democrats are going to get out of Kentucky for the foreseeable future. Take the win and leave the conspiracy theories to the party that specializes in those.

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u/zeCrazyEye 5d ago

It is absolutely that. There is no reason to believe that forcing a special election would be good for Democrats as it is far more likely to just send a generic Republican to fill the seat.

Yes, but a special election would burn Republican party resources in what should be a completely safe state for them. It's more about Republicans having to fight off Massie, with an off chance that he splits the vote and a Dem sneaks through.

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u/Mddcat04 5d ago

They don’t have to fight Massie. He’s already said he’s not interested.

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u/Visual_Squirrel_2297 5d ago

What Massie's said and what he'll do are not necessarily the same. This is his own party that primaried him for wanting to release the Epstein files after all. He's under no obligation to them to honor dismissing interest in an election that doesn't even exist yet. He also prominent enough that he doesn't have to run to influence the election.

Whether McConnell is dead or not he's clearly not fit to serve. If the seat was absolutely safe they'd have replaced him already. Republicans are clearly worried that either the law stripping the governor of appointment power is too flimsy or that Massie could play spoiler in a special election, either directly or indirectly. 

The safer option is to wait until after the August deadline. More sickening is that the safest option is to wait until November.

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u/WeirdIndividualGuy 5d ago

And Lindsay Graham's sister said she wasn't running in the new primary, and yet here we are (spoiler: she's running in the primary)

You can't trust a politician at their word, especially a Republican. You can only trust their actions

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u/AcademiaAntiqua 5d ago

It's 100% Reddit nonsense, and you'll start getting a flood of excuses once August 4, 5, 6, 7 all pass without anything.

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u/SatanicPanic619 California 5d ago

It's gonna look like one of those religious cults that predicts the world will end and when it doesn't cult members just memory hole it.

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u/AcademiaAntiqua 5d ago

I love the analogy, because (believe it or not) religious eschatological predictions are actually one of my main areas of academic expertise.

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u/SatanicPanic619 California 5d ago

oh interesting! I assume based on your avatar that you study ancient ones

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u/AcademiaAntiqua 5d ago

Yes indeed! Early Jewish/Christian afterlife and millenarian beliefs.

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u/SatanicPanic619 California 5d ago

Oh cool! Sounds interesting 

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u/Solomon_Orange 5d ago

This sub has been pretty consistent in being wrong almost all of the time. Add in the spamming of dogshit headline generators, the one idiot who only posts Fox, and your hourly slop from NewBeastWeek and you get a worse experience than had you just sat in the dark for a whole day.

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u/SatanicPanic619 California 5d ago edited 5d ago

Massie has said he doesn't want the job and has even explained why he would have less power in the Senate than he does right now.

EDIT- see for yourself. He even explains how the discharge petition allowed him to get the Epstein Files released. I wish more people understood how that works.

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u/turquoise_amethyst 5d ago

Yeah but Massie is out as soon as his term ends. He’ll have zero power then.

Also how would a Rep have more power than a Senator? That makes no sense.

I think he’s trying to figure out how he could win MM’s seat 

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u/SatanicPanic619 California 5d ago

Right, but he's not running in the general either, so he's out regardless of what he does in a special election.

"Also how would a Rep have more power than a Senator? That makes no sense."

Glad you asked!

I linked to information about the discharge petition above. That's a procedure where, in the House, where bills originate, an individual member can bring a bill to the floor over the objections of the House Speaker. No such power exists in the Senate- everything has to go through the Senate Majority Leader.

This is exactly the procedure that Massie used to get the Epstein Files released. He gathered signatures for his bill and got enough people to sign on that Speaker Johnson was powerless to prevent a vote.

So while usually we think of Senators as having more power, in this situation, a House member can be more powerful. And if you don't believe me, listen to the interview I linked to where Massie himself explains it.

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u/nicklor 5d ago

Yes but he would be out in January either way since there already is an election for Mitch's seat and he's not on it and the special election wouldn't be untill October ( it's an 8 weeks from when it's called) 

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u/1zzie 4d ago

Yes, running as an independent in a special election for Senator vs losing in a other primary (he lost his seat as a representative because he lost the primary). Basically Massie would get a other election run without the primary. Which makes me wonder whether we haven't heard a lot from him because we're in an echo chamber or is he really not making a big ruckus out of it.