Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear sharply criticized Senator Mitch McConnell and the Senate at large over the Kentucky Republican’s prolonged absence from Congress due to health issues.
Beshear, a Democrat, said on Friday that he still had little information about the condition of McConnell, who was hospitalized in mid-June and released from a rehabilitation center earlier this month.
“I’ve received absolutely nothing, and that’s the same that the people of Kentucky have received,” Beshear told MS Now. “This is why the Senate feels broken. These guys don’t think that they have a boss when the people of Kentucky are their boss. They don’t feel like they are accountable whatsoever.”
Beshear called on McConnell to make a video or call into a news show to update the public about his health.
He’s the executive. Doesn’t he have law enforcement capabilities of some kind? Can he launch an investigation? These democrats are humiliatingly weak.
Yeah, his strongly worded messages will be meaningless for his presidential bid. Coward.
He possess Susan Collins levels of “concern”.
Maybe?
He was “sent home” but that’s likely a DC residence.
If he said he was in Kentucky, then Kentucky authorities can (and should) dona wellness check.
If he said he was in DC, then Kentucky would have to request DC authorities do it.
A Governor only has authority in their state…
Can the Democratic mayor of DC do a wellness check?
Yep, I already said Kentucky can request it, but DC could do it unprompted and justify it due to him being a Senator.
Normally authorities would go years before getting pro-active. It’s only after a family member or employer reports they stopped hearing from them.
Republicans have the Senate, his family is in on it…
So the only avenue is Kentucky asking about their representative really.
In true mcturtle fashion, it’s exploiting a lot of grey areas and norms.
The only avenue? Or they could just, like, fucking do it
Which means he also has authority to call a special election but he was weak and didn’t do that.
He can’t call a special election unless there is or was a vacancy.
There’s a lot of accounts that are going to show up and will just keep saying Democrats are useless.
You won’t be able to use facts or logic to convince them otherwise, because they’re just trying to depress Dem turnout months before a very important midterm election
Bingo.
Hahahaha. You’re fucking kidding me. First off, check my tenure and post history here. Second off, I’m very much a “vote blue no matter who, during the general” and a very liberal person. The governor of Kentucky is rolling over and being useless when he should be standing up to what’s going on. Should people vote less? Hell no, I honestly believe voting should be mandatory and that everyone is registered automatically the moment they turn 18. But none of that precludes me from criticizing who is in office.
There is a vacancy. If that’s wrong, Mitch is welcome to prove otherwise.
Logically I agree. However legally he can’t call a special election. I agree he should be removed but there is no mechanism for that.
Well, he could have, up until the deadline the other day.
As for “legally,” guess what: stopping him would require Mitch to file a lawsuit and show up to win the case, which is exactly the fucking point anyway! So the governor should absolutely gone ahead with the appointment regardless of whether it was “legal” and dared the GOP to object to it!
Like it or not, because of fuckheads like McConnell, this is how US politics works now. You have to try every dirty trick to gain advantage, or you lose to the other assholes who do.
Literally all that was required of the situation was to call a bluff, that’s all they had to do. Apparently, decorum is more important than actual governance, according the democrats and half the piss ass apologists in this thread.
He has made the argument that federal law (17rh amendment) supercedes state law on that front and so he’s allowed even now to start a replacement. He just needs to fuckin do it and let someone call him on it though if that’s his position. Take a page out of the trump playbook.
Which mean he would if they found out he was dead or incapable.
If you don’t understand, ask questions.
But even genuine ignorance is dangerous right before a big midterm
Are you really that placated by “oh he’s alive, trust us?” with all of the subterfuge that the Republicans do? It would have been easy to call for it and then say “I look forward to be proven wrong when I talk to him in person”
Obviously not, and at this point I don’t understand how you’re not understanding this…
You’re saying if someone thinks step 1 should be done, they think he’s fine.
I have no fucking idea why anyone would think that, it’s completely irrational
Yet here we are…
It’s like if someone told you they were getting a prostate exam, and you called them an idiot for not thinking they can get cancer.
Just what the actual fuck are you even talking about?
It’s an election season, and an important one at that. The irrational actors are coming out of the woodwork to tell everyone how worthless and incapable they believe the dems are.
Here we go again…
Can the Governor of Texas unilaterally declare Jasmine Crockett as dead and appoint someone else to hold her seat?
There would be all kinds of abuses if Governors could do as you suggest.
Is Jasmine Crocket actually dead? Because Mitch is actually dead.
It’s irrelevant if she’s actually dead. If the Governor of Texas declares her dead, he can replace her. Because apparently governors can now unilaterally declare people dead.
Declaring the seat vacant due to someone being dead isn’t the same as declaring someone dead. Literally anyone in that situation has the ability to resolve everything by showing up and saying “I am inarguably alive.” Is asking someone in a position of power and governance to have some demonstrable level of not being dead when they are obviously fucking dead just too much for democratic decorum to handle?
You’re an idiot that’s not how it works. If somebody isn’t seen in public isn’t talked to and can’t appear in public then they can then be declared dead.
What crime do you think would apply here?
Edit: Don’t just throw out stuff you heard on law and order; provide the applicable legal code for the state law.
Unless the point was to encourage the governor to abuse his power like Trump does.
Fraud. Theft.
At my job we call this “no call no show” and it’s definitely a terminating offense
Yeah but unfortunately, isn’t McConnell an elected official and doesn’t that grant immunity to a higher up basically firing somebody at will? Protection against tyranny/pro democracy protection or something
Yes, but McConnell doesn’t have a job like yours. If I’m remembering correctly, he’s not even running again, so there really is very little consequence for him not doing his job.
So because he isn’t running again, he can do whatever he wants, like hide his incapacitating stroke until it’s too late for a special election and they appoint a senator of their choosing against the will of the people? That’s the system we have? Where they are like kings and we can’t do shit about it? Abolish the senate? The DSA was right after all? Socialism must win? Is that what you mean?
I’m not sure about the last few sentences but generally, yes, this is how it works. The only real leverage against a representative is not getting reelected.
I’m not happy about it.
Side note that there is a difference between “Democratic Socialist” and “Socialist”. As far as I am aware, the DSA isn’t advocating to end capitalism and implement socialism. I’m not clear how you even got to that topic, as a socialist economy could still have the same issues with how the government works (or doesn’t).
To your side note, the DSA does advocate for an end to capitalism.
https://www.dsausa.org/about-us/what-is-democratic-socialism/
Edit: Just to mention, the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC) is what formed the DSA, and the DSOC was a split from the Socialist Party of America (SPA) due to the the SPA being “obsessively anticommunist” (in quotes but the exact quote may be a little different, I’d have to look it up to check).
Huh. TIL. I stand corrected. Thanks for taking the time to set me straight.
Concealment of a body?
For one thing, collecting paid medical leave after a person is deceased is fraud, and when it’s coming from the taxpayers there are likely more types of fraud at play too.
For another thing, withholding a special election by hiding the death of a senator has got to violate some statutes somewhere. Probably another type of fraud, at least.
As far as state legal code goes. No. I’m not a lawyer. But this is clearly an example of many kinds of fraud.
He’s probably alive but has suffered much worse brain damage than Fetterman and obviously can’t do his job in his current condition.
That was already the case, wasn’t it? It’s been so for years at this point…
“Clearly” an example of fraud but you can’t point to a law, and you need to assume he’s dead.
I will grant you that it feels wrong that he can just soft quit his job without consequences. That doesn’t make it illegal.
The reason I can’t point to a law is because I’m not a lawyer. I’ve never read a legal code. And I’m not from Kentucky. It’s not because a legal code can’t be found. It’s because I’m refusing to jump through your hoops just to gain your validation.
And I didn’t assume he’s dead. The issue here is about his apparent refusal to provide proof of life. It seems you’re the one assuming he’s not dead.
Some time earlier:
The “laws” you made up require him to be dead the to violate them. That is to say, you are assuming he is dead.
It seems disengenuous to make claims about the law and then hide behind “I’m not a lawyer, bro” when confronted about it. Maybe, if you don’t know anything about the law, you shouldn’t discuss the law.
The issue here is about whether or not he’s dead and it’s being covered up. You asked what law would apply, and I’m telling you that if his death is being hidden, then it’s an example of fraud. Not to mention conspiracy.
I didn’t “make up” laws. Fraud is a law.
And no, I didn’t “assume” that he’s dead. Fuck, it’s like you have no idea about the context of this entire fucking story. Or you’re just arguing in bad faith, which is the more likely explanation.
It’s not disingenuous at all. This is a web forum, not a court room. It’s where people discuss things in a conversational way. If you want to litigate this before a judge, then go to a Kentucky circuit court. I’m not going to spend hours poring over kentucky legal codes just to prove a point to you.
You could say this about any field, and you’d be equally wrong. People don’t need to be doctors to talk about covid, people don’t need to be historians to talk about ancient Greece, and people don’t need to be engineers to talk about technology.
You asked a question in a forum and got an answer, and the bone you want to pick is that the person responding isn’t a lawyer? That’s pathetic. You’re not a lawyer either.
Oh, by the way, the governor of kentucky has the state’s attorneys general as a resource, whose entire jobs it is to know kentucky state law. Go ask them your questions if you want an expert fucking opinion. You’re on lemmy.
The governor can’t “do something” without there being a crime. Unless you’re advocating for abuses of executive power. Hence why I asked what crimes would exist to justify it.
There’s a lot that a governor can do without there being any crimes involved. Where did you even get that idea that he can’t? He’s not the state prosecutor, he’s the governor.
It’s entirely within the fair and just use of executive power to demand proof of life from a senator who has been no-contact and supposedly on medical leave for nearly two months now. He was elected by his constituents and the taxpayers are funding his salary. He should be accountable to the people, and if he can no longer perform his duties then he needs to step down.
The governor demanding a response is not overstepping his authority. And if it turns out that Mitch has been dead for a few weeks, and that there’s been a massive cover-up by co-conspirators trying to defraud the state of Kentucky in order to maintain their own grip on power by preventing a special election, or that his family has been collecting his salary and medical benefits that should have ended on the day he died, then that is fraud and should be prosecuted as such.
Your last point goes both ways, bro
https://lawandcrime.com/crime/man-lived-with-wifes-corpse-for-7-to-10-days-texted-her-family-from-her-phone-to-conceal-her-death-police/
I’m assuming this is a joke about McConnell being dead, but, as a sidebar, holy hell $500k bond for a non violent crime?
It’s not a joke, there’s a very plausible chance he’s dead, or seriously injured and not getting proper medical care.
If he’s dead, and the people around him are hiding it, then that is a very serious crime. If he’s seriously injured and not getting proper care, that’s elder abuse.
So when there’s a plausible chance, law enforcement can do a welfare check. They show up at the residence, and investigate.
Like, it’s a normal thing…
The reason I found a specific case in Kentucky like that, is to show that even just not reporting was a serious felony. The amount of bond is likely because that dude most likely killed his wife and that’s why he didn’t report her death, also that it involved him sending messages pretending to be her. With McConnell releasing public messages to his constituents, if those aren’t him it’s even more serious.
I invite you to really think of the implications of your suggestion.
Start at “send law enforcement to search a residence to see if a corpse is in the house being abused”.
Edit:
Weird that he wasn’t charged with that.
Have you thought of googling something you didn’t know about instead of trying to walk down the entire path of why it’s a law?
https://thelawdictionary.org/article/what-is-a-police-welfare-check/
Again, it’s completely normal to charge and hold someone for a lesser charge that’s provable when they’re suspected of a more serious charge, that is honestly the norm in the American legal system…
You seem to be completely ignorant of how this all works. If you start asking questions you’ll learn more, most people will just give up because you’re trying to argue when you don’t know what you’re talking about
What does someone else gain by helping you understand something?
From your link:
Internet conspiracies aren’t “reasonable grounds”.
I invite you again to consider the implications of your suggestion.
It is a miscarriage of justice to hold someone against their will for a crime they haven’t even been charged with by charging them with a lesser crime and then setting a bond that doesn’t reflect the crime they’re being charged with. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, it was outrage that KY is still allowing it.
Sorry bud, I gave you more than enough chances
Gotta keep those prisons and jails filled.
Who needs a crime? He could call for a wellness check.
I know this is difficult for people to read, but online conspiracies aren’t evidence.
He’s supposed to represent the people of Kentucky and hasn’t done so or even been seen in public in months. That’s not a conspiracy and a wellness check is perfectly reasonable.
Can Beshear do anything about it either way? It kind of seems like the answer is no.
Taxation without representation
Go dump some bourbon in a lake?
Fraud, conspiracy, treason
Removed by mod
To be clear, I’m suggesting it’s unwise to complain that a representative (the governor) isn’t abusing their power.