If we’re judging Mitch McConnell’s health purely by the two proof-of-life photos his office has posted, then McConnell is in surprisingly “good health.” His cheeks are rosy, his hair is washed, he’s managed to shave regularly, and he appears to be well enough for some good-quality cosmetic work, work which makes him look like a spry 63-year-old rather than a decrepit 84-year-old turtle with a deathly pallor. So what gives? What is the real story? Kentucky’s Democratic governor Andy Beshear is trying to get to the bottom of it. Gov. Beshear sent out this message on Tuesday, less than a day after McConnell’s second proof-of-life photo.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) is demanding that Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) prove his “capacity to serve” or resign his seat, ramping up pressure on the former Senate majority leader as his absence stretches into a seventh week. McConnell, 84, was hospitalized June 14 after falling at home, according to his office, and has not been publicly seen since.

In a letter to McConnell’s office dated Monday, Beshear noted it had been 43 days since news of McConnell’s hospitalization and that he has not cast votes or engaged in official activities in the time since. A copy of the letter was also sent to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota).

Aside from two photos and brief statements released by McConnell’s office, the senator has “made no effort to communicate with your Kentucky constituents or the nation,” Beshear wrote.
In the more recent photo, which McConnell’s office said was taken Sunday, the senator is smiling next to his wife, former transportation secretary Elaine Chao. Some Republicans have said they have had phone conversations with McConnell since his hospitalization, but his office has not released audio or video of the senator speaking.

“As Governor of the state he serves, I am calling on him to directly and verbally address the people of Kentucky and provide proof of his capacity to serve, or resign,” Beshear wrote. If McConnell does not do that, Beshear added, the governor will insist Thune “fully investigate” the senator’s condition and begin the process of vacating McConnell’s seat if warranted.

“All of this speculation and even this letter could have been avoided with a minimal amount of transparency. … Kentuckians are just asking Senator McConnell to be honest,” Beshear wrote.

Representatives for McConnell and Thune did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. In a statement from his office Monday, McConnell said that he will miss a political event in Kentucky this weekend and that he was “keeping up with intense physical therapy.” In an accompanying statement Monday, Congress’s Office of the Attending Physician said McConnell was “not yet medically cleared to leave the rehab facility and return to the office.” The office noted that its physicians visit McConnell daily and that the senator’s childhood polio “continues to be a significant factor in his mobility.”

In his letter Monday, Beshear called out the attending physician’s written statement, saying it did “not discuss [McConnell’s] actual condition, including whether he can speak, reason, or carry out his duties as a senator.”

[From WaPo]

“I am calling on him to directly and verbally address the people of Kentucky and provide proof of his capacity to serve, or resign.” Exactly. And think about how easy this would be if McConnell is truly in the state his office claims – they’ve spent over two weeks trying to say that he fell and and he had the flu, and that those two things equal a six-week hospitalization and intensive physical therapy which makes him incapable of appearing in a live video feed. He wouldn’t even have to stand, if that’s a concern. Like, if he’s alive, we all know that he has mobility issues. He can remain seated or come out in a wheelchair, but he absolutely needs to appear on-camera immediately. This is insane.

Photos courtesy of McConnell’s office and Cover Images.