{"id":4885,"date":"2026-08-17T16:37:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T16:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4885"},"modified":"2026-08-17T16:37:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T16:37:01","slug":"mcconnells-ghost-to-haunt-gop-he-rigged-the-system-to-protect-his-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4885","title":{"rendered":"McConnell\u2019s ghost to haunt GOP: He ‘rigged the system to protect his power’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) may be absent from the Senate, but his ghost maintains a stranglehold over the Republican Party will last for a generation. <\/p>\n

Read more Trump in \u2018full-on scramble\u2019 to stop nightmare \u2018straight out of horror movie\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Writing for New York Magazine<\/em>, Nate Weisberg said that while McConnell remains in recovery, allies remain unclear about his condition and stability. <\/p>\n

After falling in his home on June 14 and briefly losing consciousness, the 84-year-old U.S. Senator has only released two photos from his hospital room. When McConnell moved from the hospital to his Capitol Hill home, there weren’t any photos or videos to witness the movement. <\/p>\n

Weisberg raised two possible interpretations: One is that McConnell has become an incapacitated officeholder whose staff may be exercising greater control while concealing the seriousness of his condition. <\/p>\n

The other explanation is simpler: McConnell is seriously ill, nearing retirement and feels no obligation to satisfy public demands for more information. Since he is not seeking reelection, he may believe he can focus on recovery without the pressure to justify himself to voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe could be barely able to communicate, or he could be just as articulate as ever. We got no way of knowing,\u201d former Democratic representative Mike Ward told Weisberg. \u201cMitch doesn\u2019t give a s\u2014\u2014 about letting the people know how he\u2019s looking or feeling.\u201d <\/p>\n

Keith Runyon, who spent 25 years running the Louisville Courier-Journal<\/em>\u2019s editorial page, had doubts. \u201cI\u2019ve lost the ability to believe entirely in what his office says.”<\/p>\n

“For many, McConnell is the latest exhibit in a familiar pattern: An elderly legislator \u2014 in this case, after 41 years in office \u2014 becomes hopelessly debilitated, and his staff conceals how much power has quietly passed into their hands,” said Weisberg.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, “McConnell\u2019s longtime chief of staff, Terry Carmack, earns an annual salary of $226,850, making him one of five senior staffers in the office earning more than the senator himself. Samuel Moyn, the Yale Law professor and author of Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth \u2014 and What to Do About It<\/em>, told me this is the ‘underappreciated syndrome’ of the very old remaining in office. A politician, he said, ‘can be completely incapacitated’ while the people around him have ‘every interest in hiding the medical reality of the situation,'” he added. <\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Question his sanity\u2019: Trump has a conservative doctor \u2018seriously\u2019 worried<\/a><\/p>\n

While Moyn may describe absentee lawmakers propped up by their staff, Weisberg said it isn’t even necessary in this case. <\/p>\n

“He rigged the system to protect his party\u2019s power years ago,” Weisberg wrote. <\/p>\n

After Democrat Andy Beshear won his election, McConnell ensured that the governor could no longer appoint a replacement if he died while in office. Even if McConnell were to die while in office, the legislation said that Beshear would have little power to do anything about it. <\/p>\n

The problem with that, however, is that Beshear could easily challenge the constitutionality of the laws. The Kentucky Constitution says that all statewide vacancies “shall be filled” by the governor. The legislative law change didn’t change the Constitution.<\/p>\n

McConnell’s leadership in the Senate persists as Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and John Barrasso (R-Wy.) spent many years on the leadership team with their ailing colleague. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) is seen as McConnell’s likely successor. He was a former McConnell intern, as were three of his primary opponents. <\/p>\n

“When McConnell disappeared, they were among the Republicans publicly vouching that they were still speaking with him. Even Thune\u2019s general approach to dealing with Trump seems to be learned from McConnell \u2014 don\u2019t always do what he wants, especially on Senate prerogatives like the filibuster, but never argue with him,” said Weisberg. <\/p>\n

He closed by suspecting that if there’s a close vote, McConnell could be wheeled into the Senate to vote. <\/p>\n

“It would be the most McConnell ending available: months of silence followed by one decisive exercise of power,” Weisberg quipped. <\/p>\n

Read more Nobel winner issues dark warning about Trump\u2019s mental state<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) may be absent from the Senate, but his ghost maintains a stranglehold over the Republican Party will last for a generation. 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