After 92 days out of sight, and months of talk that he was already dead, Sen. Mitch McConnell came back to the Senate this week.He is 84. He arrived in a wheelchair. On Wednesday he sat at the Senate Agriculture Committee table to vote on the farm bill.When the clerk called his name, McConnell looked lost. He started to give the wrong vote. Sen. John Hoeven leaned over and told him what to do. A staffer jumped in. Committee Chairman John Boozman had to tell him “aye” was the right call.The clerk called his name a second time. McConnell said “aye” in a quiet voice, then a little louder. That one vote broke a 12 to 11 deadlock. The farm bill moved out of committee on a party-line vote.He is not dead. He also does not look like a man who is all the way with it.McConnell last cast a Senate floor vote on June 11. Three days later he fell at his Washington home, lost consciousness, and went to the hospital. He was treated for pneumonia. From mid-June until this week, Kentuckians did not see their senior senator.His office put out photos and statements. That did not stop the rumors. People asked if he was gone.Then he rolled in this week to break a tie on a bill that sets farm and food policy for the whole country. Republicans could not move this bill in August because McConnell was missing. They needed his vote. They got it. They also got a scene that looked like someone else was doing the thinking for him.A senator takes an oath to the Constitution. He does not take an oath to the colleague sitting at his elbow. If he cannot hear the question and cannot give the answer without being coached, he should not be in that chair.We watched Democrats pretend Joe Biden was sharp. Republicans do not get a pass because the last name is McConnell.Showing up after three months and needing a reminder on a yes or no vote is not service. It is a warning.Should an 84-year-old senator who needs to be told how to vote keep that seat until January?
In Album: Judy Gilford's Timeline Photos
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