Israel prepares for a possible ground invasion of the southern end of Gaza. The failure of a border control measures shows the waning power of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. The Kansas City Chiefs are poised to win their second consecutive NFL championship.
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By Burnett Munthali
The 81-year-old appeared to freeze before being asked if he had heard the question. Aides said the senator had felt light-headed before the event.
Senior Republican freezes again during questions
Senior Republican struggles with questions
The US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell appeared to freeze for more than 30 seconds during a public appearance, weeks after a similar incident sparked concern for his health.
When asked if he would run for re-election on Wednesday, the 81-year-old Kentucky Republican stopped and stared, before being asked: “Did you hear the question, senator?”
Mr McConnell continued to be unresponsive before coming round and briefly responding to another question.
It comes after the senator froze mid-sentence and stared vacantly for about 20 seconds during a press conference in July.
After refocusing, Mr McConnell brushed off a question he was asked about former President Donald Trump – another that had to be repeated to him – and left the conference.
A spokesperson for the senator said that he had “felt momentarily light-headed” before the conference in Kentucky, and he will be consulting a doctor prior to the next public event.
Repeated demonstrations of Mitch McConnell’s apparent ill-health have increased calls for him to resign – even from members of his own party.
Normally, if a senator steps down or dies, a state’s governor chooses a successor until their term ends or a special election can take place.
That would open the door to Kentucky’s governor, Andy Beshear, appointing a democrat like himself.
But the Republican legislature there have made it illegal for McConnell to be replaced by a non-Republican.
Senate Bill 228 states that the governor of Kentucky must choose someone of the same political party as the outgoing senator when temporarily filling their vacant seat.
Mr Beshear tried to veto the bill back in 2021 but his veto was overruled.
This means that if Mr McConnell were to resign, the number of Republican senators would not change – they would just have to elect a new minority leader.
Last month, Mr McConnell froze after approaching the podium for his weekly press conference and speaking about the annual defence funding bill, he appeared to lose his train of thought and trailing off with a drawn-out “uh”.
Questions were being asked about the state of Mr McConnell’s health after his speech has become more halting and his walk slower than usual.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, seemed to freeze at the microphones as he arrived for a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 26, 2023. McConnell went to his office for a few minutes and returned to speak with reporters. A similar incident occurred in July. He has been seen using a wheelchair on his commutes to and from Kentucky
In March, Mr McConnell did not return to the Senate for six weeks after suffering from concussion and a broken rib after falling and hitting his head at an event.
He also needed surgery after a separate incident when he fell in his home and fractured his shoulder.
As a child, Mr McConnell had polio, and he has long acknowledged some difficulty as an adult in climbing stairs.
First elected to the Senate in 1984, and as Republican leader since 2007, Mr McConnell’s current term runs until 2026.
Doug Jones has won the Alabama special election, according to multiple news outlets, the first Democrat in the state elected to the US Senate in more than 20 years. He delivers the Democrats a coveted Senate seat, shaving the GOP majority to 51.
Jones defeated controversial Republican candidate Roy Moore. Moore, a former chief justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, has courted controversy throughout his career, but retained a loyal base of conservative and evangelical followers that seemed likely to carry him safely to a Senate victory in deep-red Alabama.
But with a month left in the campaign, the Washington Post reported on the stories of four women who accused Moore of preying on them as teenagers, including one woman who said she was 14 at the time, when Moore was a prosecutor in his 30s. Additional allegations followed, upending the race.
Jones, a former US attorney who prosecuted two Ku Klux Klan members for the bombing of a Birmingham Baptist church in 1963 that killed four black girls, ran a low-key, centrist campaign that focused on the “kitchen table” issues of health care and economy. He campaigned hard against Moore but largely avoided the national spotlight.
And national Democrats, skittish about appearing too involved in the race, mostly stayed away from the state, with the exception of last-minute stumping by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and a robocall from former President Barack Obama.
Jones’s unlikely victory in Alabama counts as another positive signal for Democrats heading into 2018. They never banked on winning this Alabama seat — but desperately needed it. The electoral map favors Republicans in the midterms, who are defending eight seats to the Democrats’ 26. Jones will not face reelection until 2020, meaning Democrats require just two more seats to flip the Senate.
Even before 2018 arrives, Jones strengthens the Democratic position in the Senate, where Republicans can barely afford to lose any votes. Defecting Republicans defeated legislation repealing Obamacare. The Senate’s version of the GOP tax plan passed, but it was close
Jones’s triumph is also a lesson to Democrats in the post-Trump era: They can’t afford to phone in any campaign. The party should look to be competitive even in an uphill race. In this case, putting up a viable candidate paid off.
Of course, Democrats didn’t win a typical election. This is Alabama; the conditions had to be just so to get Jones across the finish line. The misconduct allegations weighed down the race, especially with Congress and the entire country in the middle of a painful reckoning with sexual harassment and abuse. And Moore’s extreme views likely turned off a lot of moderate Republicans and independents even before the revelations about his past.
More detailed polling data will reveal whether dissatisfaction with Moore depressed turnout or prompted enough people to cast write-in ballots, or if enthusiasm for Jones helped to determine the final outcome.
Alabama voters have grabbed a Senate seat from the Republicans, but they also solved a big problem for the party. The GOP will now avoid a lengthy Senate ethics investigation into Moore, or possible expulsion proceedings that could have further divided the party and distracted from its legislative agenda.
Moore’s defeat deals a blow to Steve Bannon and his war on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the establishment. Bannon and his faction won’t disappear, but the Alabama election might have proved, once again, that Trumpism has its limits.
Originally Posted: VOX
