{"id":49454,"date":"2026-07-29T12:57:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T19:57:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=49454"},"modified":"2026-07-29T12:57:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T19:57:20","slug":"after-43-days-of-silence-kentuckys-dem-governor-calls-on-mcconnell-to-prove-he-can-serve-or-resign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/07\/29\/after-43-days-of-silence-kentuckys-dem-governor-calls-on-mcconnell-to-prove-he-can-serve-or-resign\/","title":{"rendered":"After 43 Days of Silence, Kentucky\u2019s Dem Governor Calls on McConnell to Prove He Can Serve or Resign"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Mitch<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) makes his way to a vote in the US Capitol on April 30, 2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Photo by Tom Williams\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKentuckians are just asking you to be honest,\u201d said Gov. Andy Beshear.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stephen Prager<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jul 28, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After weeks of sitting on his hands, Kentucky\u2019s Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear issued an ultimatum to the state\u2019s absentee Sen. Mitch McConnell<\/a> on Tuesday: Prove you\u2019re alive and can do the job or step down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since he was hospitalized on June 14, McConnell\u2019s 4.6 million constituents have been left with virtually no answers about the 84-year-old Republican\u2019s condition, leading to rampant speculation of a cover-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some even pondered<\/a> whether the former Senate Republican leader may have shuffled off this mortal coil altogether, but that his staff was keeping mum until the presumptive August 3 deadline to avoid a special election that could lead to suboptimal results for the GOP<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beshear, who has the power to call a special election to fill vacant Senate seats, had chastized McConnell and his staff for weeks for the lack of transparency about his condition. But he continued to balk about taking action, even as members of his party begged him<\/a> to \u201cdo something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is, until Monday, when McConnell\u2019s office released<\/a> an update from his physician, which stated that the senator was undergoing \u201ca strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation\u201d but was \u201cnot yet medically cleared to leave the rehab facility and return to the office.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beshear finally sent McConnell a letter demanding proof of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

X post: https:\/\/x.com\/PollTracker2024\/status\/2082124565774233638?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2082124565774233638%7Ctwgr%5E2cdd4384654dcefeb7f86eb883864a8b18a94328%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fbeshear-mcconnell-proof-of-life<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has now been 43 days since news of your hospitalization,\u201d Beshear wrote. \u201cDuring that time you have cast zero votes, engaged in no official activities, and aside from two photos and corresponding statements, have made no effort to communicate with your Kentucky constituents or the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The governor noted that the physician\u2019s statement still provided no details about the seven-term senator\u2019s actual condition, \u201cincluding whether you can speak, reason, or carry out your duties as a senator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs governor of the state you serve,\u201d Beshear continued, \u201cI am calling on you to directly and verbally address the people of Kentucky and provide proof of your capacity to serve, or resign.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beshear said he\u2019d sent the same letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), who took over McConnell\u2019s longtime role in 2025 before he announced his plans not to run for reelection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beshear said if McConnell still proved \u201cunwilling\u201d to demonstrate his capacity to serve, he\u2019d insist Thune\u2014one of the few people who claim to have spoken to McConnell since he vanished from public view\u2014fully investigate his condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll of this speculation and even this letter could have been avoided with a minimal amount of transparency,\u201d Beshear concluded. \u201cKentuckians are just asking you to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Beshear: "There's an argument out there that August 3 is a date where I could not later call a special election. Those that are really pushing this I think are under the impression that a Democrat in Kentucky might be able to win that election. It's been since 1992 that we had a\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/HLcd4HkiVo<\/a><\/p>— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 28, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>