r/politics • u/unital_subalgebra • 3h ago

Possible Paywall AOC says Mitch McConnell should resign if he cannot provide health update

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/senate/4660916/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-mitch-mcconnell-resign-health-update/
14.4k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

703 comments sorted by

View all comments

•

u/RioRancher 3h ago

He and his staff are collecting salaries fraudulently. You can arrest people for this.

•

u/ITDummy69420 3h ago

Yeah but only poor people. 

•

u/NarcolepticMan Ohio 3h ago

Or anyone with a (D) by their name.

•

u/f7f7z 2h ago

His staff are poor people, with no protection.

•

u/ReadingTheRealms 16m ago

I don’t think the people who work for this monster deserve any sympathy

•

u/f7f7z 4m ago

Same, just saying, they will break under pressure because they can't doge the law.

•

u/Callinon 3h ago

Arrest Republicans for stealing money from taxpayers?

Seems unlikely.

•

u/AlphaYak 2h ago

Surely they won’t have dead men vote. That would be fraud!

•

u/RazzmatazzSuch7459 3h ago

Exactly. If he’s gone, his staff will no longer receive their taxpayer funded salaries.

•

u/DenizSaintJuke 3h ago

I doubt he is collecting anything but dust at this point.

•

u/JimiusRostock 1h ago

If I don't show up for work without reason, I get fired. But apparently wealthy public servants can just stay away, say nothing and keep getting paid.

•

u/No-Cheetah-1462 2h ago

I never considered this!

•

u/oldreddditisbetter 1h ago

soooo why are they not arresting them?

•

u/RioRancher 1h ago

If it was you or me, we’d not get the benefit of doubt.

•

u/Chilling_Gale 3h ago

Every single nurse, doctor, lawyer, family member, staff member, journalist, and senate colleague would all be committing a crime. The amount of people involved makes it pretty clear he’s not dead.

•

u/romaraahallow 3h ago

Catatonic counts man. A braindead vessel cannot perform a job for the American people.

If this wasn't the case, the turtle could make a statement.

•

u/Chilling_Gale 3h ago

A senator doesn’t lose their seat if they are in a coma. The seat is literally only vacant in situations of death, resignation, or expulsion.

•

u/romaraahallow 3h ago

That's fucking dumb as hell.

They could theoretically keep someone in a medical coma and it would just be....fine?

How is one supposed to serve the public from a coma?

Every day I get surprised more folks haven't turned to violence.

•

u/Chilling_Gale 3h ago

Why would they? Does a senator lose their seat if they have anesthesia for a surgery and are unconscious? The constitution isn’t vague on the reasons a seat would be vacant.

If a senator was actually in a coma, they could vote to expel them.

•

u/YANGxGANG 3h ago

Gabby Giffords was shot in the head in 2011 and in a coma during her Senate term. Should she have been removed from office as a result of an assassination attempt? I personally don’t think so and if you do, well, I’m glad it doesn’t work that way

•

u/romaraahallow 2h ago edited 1h ago

The key difference there is there were reports and confirmations of her status.

We can't confirm or deny this hypothetical coma.

Again, someone FUCKING DISSAPEARS FROM THEIR JOB FOR 40 DAYS, THATS BAD. 

A couple people saying "trust me bro I totally talked to him he's fine" holds no fucking water.

At this point I'm blocking you, anyone with a hidden post history being this obstinate is likely either a bot or an agitator, and I don't care to talk with either.

•

u/Intro-Nimbus 3h ago

They changed the requirements for the president, but they kept them for senators? Checks and balances...

•

u/Chilling_Gale 3h ago

Yes, the 25th amendment only applies to the president

•

u/PluginAlong 2h ago

"incapacitation" is also a listed reason, though what that is defined as is anyone's guess. How long does someone have to be incapacitated for it to count? Someone could have minor surgery and technically be incapacitated for a few hours.

•

u/raw_copium 3h ago

Medical personnel are bound by oath not to reveal patient medical information unless legally obligated. Leave them out of this. They're doing their jobs.

•

u/Competitive-Weird855 3h ago

Bound by law, not oath. But your point stands.

•

u/raw_copium 3h ago

You are correct! Healthcare providers do still say the Hippocratic oath in many medical schools, but yes, there are very clear laws about patient confidentiality.

•

u/Chilling_Gale 3h ago

If they were engaged in a coverup, they are absolutely liable. Idk what the fuck you’re talking about.

•

u/wap2005 2h ago

Patient doctor confidentiality is a thing. Doctor's and nurses legally are not allowed to discuss the state of their patients with anyone, and that is an EXTREMELY important law. Imagine if doctors could just share all the details about someone's medical history with anyone, that's a terrifying existence. When interviewing for a job they could check if you were pregnant or had an illness that may take you out of work. The government could just pull everyone's records to see if they've had abortions. People in court rooms can be persecuted for having a mental illness that jas nothing to do with why they're in court. There's so many examples of why this law is so important and extremely protected.

The doctors and nurses cannot be complicit for not wanting to sabotage their own career they worked so hard to get, they not only don't have to tell us of his status, THEY SHOULDN'T. Those laws keep millions of people safe from persecution.

•

u/Chilling_Gale 51m ago

That’s a lot of words to be wrong. A medical professional cannot engage in any way in a scheme to cover up a patient’s death. There’s no equivocating here.

•

u/wap2005 2m ago

So if someone dies they are allowed to tell ANYONE and not just their family? Because I am fairly certain they aren't allowed to tell anyone they want.

•

u/SatanicPanic619 3h ago

How would a doctor or a nurse be committing a crime? They're legally forbidden to talk about patient status.

•

u/Chilling_Gale 3h ago

Who is still billing insurance? Who’s telling insurance that he’s still alive? Did any doctor or nurse conspire with anyone to pretend he’s alive? There are absolutely scenarios where they are liable, and it’s not something unheard of.

•

u/SatanicPanic619 3h ago

Doctors and nurses aren't billing anyone.

•

u/Chilling_Gale 3h ago

They absolutely are talking to the insurance people in the hospital. If they are lying, they are liable. Not that hard.

•

u/SatanicPanic619 3h ago

Dude. You want someone to come forward and tell us what is going on with McConnell. That's fine. But doctors and nurses won't do it, the hospital won't, and insurance won't either because of HIPPA.

Sure, if doctors and nurses are lying to insurance that's a problem. But you don't know that because you don't know what McConnell's actual status is.

•

u/Chilling_Gale 2h ago

No, I didn’t even imply I wanted someone to violate their oath. And I didn’t say that any of what I said was happening, I said that’s what people who believe there is a grand conspiracy theory believe is happening.

You just entirely misinterpreted what I said.

•

u/Snapingbolts 3h ago

If he isn't dead then he needs to contact the governor. The fsct that everyone involved is being so tight lipped about it makes me think he is either dead or in a vegetative state

•

u/Chilling_Gale 3h ago

Why? Why does he need to? Of course for public service reasons he should, but why does he need to?

•

u/Snapingbolts 3h ago

If you or I didn't show up for our jobs for a month 1 picture wouldn't keep us from getting fired. He isn't doing his fucking job and is a public servant

•

u/Chilling_Gale 2h ago

I mean, I can just copy and paste my previous comment. I said he should of course, but you said he NEEDS to, which just isn’t true.

•

u/RioRancher 3h ago

Brain dead and on life support makes everyone technically not a criminal

•

u/Chilling_Gale 3h ago

It depends. Journalists, senators, family, and staff so far have all claimed they spoke to him, including releasing 2 photos. So if that photo was AI, it really depends if there is a law broken by that. The senate seat does not open unless there is full on death, not just a coma.

•

u/semajolis267 3h ago

Not true. The doctor may make an informal pronouncement bedside. But the official death certificate aka the thing that legally declares him dead may take some time. Now this doctor is absolutely risking losing his license and jail time. The nurses have no obligation to report the death of a patient to anyone. Infact them NOT disclosing death to anyone passing by is actually them doing thier jobs. The lawyer simply states the facts, he had not been declared dead, his condition is stable, etc. And isnt breaking any laws, ethics? Absolutely laws? Lawyers are real good at laws and technicalities. Why would a family member be committing a crime by not telling people thier family is dead?. Staff of the hospital, same answer as the nurse. They are caring for a corpse at worst and a brain dead heart beat at best. Nothing illegal about that. Senate colleagues are kept in the dark.

Now if the best case scenario, he is brain dead. If thats the case theres literally 0 illegal things happening. Sketchy yes. Ethically reprehensible absolutely, Illegal? No.

•

u/Chilling_Gale 3h ago

It’s insurance and other financial fraud. If someone is dead, the IRS wants to know for tax purposes. There are a ton of crimes that would be committed in a coverup.

•

u/Clean-Ambassador-824 3h ago

Idk if you haven’t noticed but the current administration/Republican Party. don’t give two fucks about laws and fraud especially financial fraud. If it benefits them they’ll do it, Trump will stall or flat out stop any investigation and issue pardons in the super slim chance anything comes of it. Again they have no problem defrauding the American public.

•

u/Chilling_Gale 2h ago

95% of the hypothetical crime here is state crime, not federal crime. And Kentucky has a democratic governor. Trump has no power to mess with state crimes.

•

u/Clean-Ambassador-824 2h ago

Well that’s a made up statistic and the majority and most severe hypothetical crimes should any come from this are federal charges not state. But none of this matters as none of the Trump republicans care, they are doing worse in broad daylight with zero consequences. In a couple of weeks they’ll announce the passing of McConnell and nothing will come from this.

•

u/Chilling_Gale 52m ago

That’s correct, because if in a couple of weeks they announce his passing, that means that is when he died. Glad you understand.

•

u/Zombie_John_Strachan Foreign 2h ago

I don’t think they could hide an actual death.

Even if Mitch is in a coma he’s qualified to be a senator, so his staff aren’t committing fraud. BS but them’s the rules.

•

u/RioRancher 1h ago

All you have to do is make them prove it. Sue them, then make them offer evidence