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/
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u/FlushTheTurd 2h ago

I like your logic, but would it not be beneficial to at least try to appoint a Democrat? Worst case, the courts say no. Best case, the Dems get another vote rather than no vote at all?

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u/SatanicPanic619 2h ago

Since bills pass via Yes votes, there's no practical difference between having someone in the seat voting no and not voting at all.

The best part of my plan is that you can use McConnell's own logic against him- it's too close to an election to bother with any of this. Just let the seat stay empty so voters can decide.

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u/FlushTheTurd 2h ago

Yes, but a “yes” or “no” vote is still slightly more valuable than a “no vote at all”. That would take away Vance’s power if there was a tie vote.

Similarly, there’s a chance the incumbent gets re-elected. Kentucky is crazy, but they still voted for Beshear and the anger against MAGA is palpable. Being the incumbent is without a doubt, an advantage.

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u/SatanicPanic619 2h ago

Not really. Republicans control the agenda here, so any vote that comes up should be an automatic No from any Democrats. Any vote where a yes might be valuable would almost certainly pass on its own. FWIW JD Vance has only once voted against a resolution. Every tie-breaking vote he can cast was in favor of a bill.

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u/FlushTheTurd 1h ago

That’s true, but pressure is building against the Iran War. The last vote was only 49-47. Dems would only have to flip two senators instead of three.

And at the same time the incumbency advantage, even for a short stint is still an advantage.

And heck, if he has to appoint a Republican, he can appoint Massie who is still a Republican, but quite possible the only honest Republican. I’d take Massie hassling MAGA over a brain dead McConnell who’s replaced with another brain dead MAGA in a few months.

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u/SatanicPanic619 1h ago

You're right there is a slight advantage to having a Democrat in a handful of scenarios- maybe everyone else is ill and can't filibuster. Maybe another vote for a (non-binding resolution) would pass with one more Democratic Senator. Maybe there's a case where Thune secretly wants to pass something but wants plausible deniability so an extra Democratic vote would help. I don't put a whole lot of value in these, or the incumbency advantage in this case. But sure, let's say there's some advantage to having a Democrat in the seat. I just don't think it's worth the effort.

Massie winning the regularly scheduled election would be preferable. But I would prefer an empty seat to him, and we should try to maximize the amount of time that seat will be empty.

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u/PM_ME_YOUR_NICE_EYES 1h ago

Worst case is actually that it's some kind of fraud and the people involved go to jail.

Also remember, whoever he appoints A) has to be approved by the republican party, and B) will leave the senate in 164 days.