Mitch McConnell apparently plans on playing hardball in his last two years in the Senate while also mentoring Sen. John Thune of South Dakota to be the majority leader tasked with getting Donald Trump’s cabinet nominations finalized. Everyone understands the dynamic with Mitch – much of what’s wrong is due to him – no one is redeeming him, but it has been fun watching him handle his least favorite Republican president. Mitch just called his shot with respect to his vote on Robert Kennedy Jr. – in effect, saying “No” – unless something changes with respect to Kennedy and the polio vaccine. The nomination is in trouble and this has to infuriate Trump.
McConnell would be wary of Robert R. Kennedy Jr. because Kennedy supports universal healthcare – at least, to the extent that Kennedy believes in modern medical science, he wants people to have universal access to it. But we do need to check what Kennedy believes goes into “healthcare” because you would think that vaccinations for childhood diseases would be way up on the list and yet RFK Jr. wants to “review” the polio vaccine and perhaps pull it from the shelves. McConnell says taking such a position might well cost Kennedy the job because McConnell just sent a major shot over toward Trump and Kennedy over this: As Rawstory reports:
“For decades, I have been proud to work with devoted advocates — from Rotary International to the Gates Foundation — and use my platform in public life to champion the pursuit of cures for further generations. I have never flinched from confronting specious disinformation that threatens the advance of lifesaving medical progress, and I will not today.”
“The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives and held out the promise of eradicating a terrible disease. Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed — they’re dangerous. Anyone seeking the Senate’s consent to serve in the incoming Administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts.”
I don’t know of anyone my age who had polio and I think that says it all when it comes to the vaccine’s success. Indeed, as I wrote yesterday, these vaccines are criticized only from the safety of herd immunity. If the polio virus were still infecting kids regularly, one wouldn’t hear complaints about unproven links to possible spectrum disorders. There are an entire platter of childhood diseases that now just “don’t happen” anymore – polio being one, and it is because of the vaccines.
Mitch’s statement isn’t just “correct” as in the right position but it can be read as a big, powerful promise in which McConnell is saying that RFK Jr.’s vote is in jeopardy if he doesn’t get this polio thing fixed. It might be easy for Kennedy to give McConnell his personal assurances that he won’t intervene on the polio vaccine but he would have to be trusted – no guarantee. Furthermore, this is Kennedy’s thing, the anti-vax conspiracy-theorist is right up there with seed oils in changes that Kennedy wants to make. He may not be willing to make McConnell that promise and might have to force McConnell to vote against him.
And that would be very interesting. We are not even in January yet and there are major problems with Peter Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard. Now, though – McConnell is saying that there are big time problems with the guy who campaigned with Trump, the guy that most people expected to be named. It is hard to believe that Kennedy could be denied the post given that he practically ran for the position. But if there is a Republican senator with enough power to do it – McConnell is likely the guy who can do it. Will he vote no? And if he does, how does Kennedy get confirmed – because McConnell’s “NO” would be followed by a few others, one would think… especially if Mitch asked.
Watch closely, this may not be a done deal.
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In the third grade my whole class went single file to the nurse’s office to have our polio vaccination. There was no parent permission slip involved for any of us. We had all heard of the kids that couldn’t walk or had died from polio and were happy to roll-up our sleeve. No parent objected to their child receiving the life saving vaccine. That was in 1953. Why are we going backwards in things that we thought were settled such as vaccines, racial equality, women’s rights, and so much more? I’ll steal Trump’s “fight, fight, fight” . We can’t let them steal our children’s future!
Because people have short attention spans and shorter memories.
In the 1970’s, living in Mobile, AL, I had a friend who had survived polio. He was a delightful individual, very positive…but to see his twisted body, only able to walk with crutches and much difficulty, it proved (at least to me) the value of a vaccine that could prevent such things.
My very sweet and lovely aunt had polio as a kid. Crippled her left shoulder and arm. You wouldn’t wish that devastation on anyone, even trumpie and rfkjhr. While lots of their BS is distraction (i.e., daylight savings), this one is not. A bit of science-denial is not a distraction and anti-vaxxers are literally a plague on society.
We had a President who suffered from polio (at least, that was the original diagnosis; about 2 decades ago, some medical professionals considered it might have been Guillain-Barre Syndrome) and that President, who led the creation of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (known today as the March of Dimes) is remembered every time you hold a dime in your hands. And, it was largely his condition that led to the development of the polio vaccine.
RFK Jr needs to consider that when he keeps spreading misinformation about vaccines.
The Press needs to realize that writing about RFK Jr “beliefs” the way they are covering it only fuels ignorance. The science has long proven effectiveness; his “beliefs” have not. In fact he has a very long history of poor judgment and horrific conduct. Reporters need to do better
“It might be easy for Kennedy to give McConnell his personal assurances that he won’t intervene on the polio vaccine … ”
No, even if Kennedy is so inclined, I don’t think it will be easy at all, because McConnell’s statement was far broader than that. What he said was:
‘I have never flinched from confronting specious disinformation that threatens the4 advance of lifesaving medical progress, and I will not today.”
I don’t tend to trust McConnell, but i will trust him on this, because he was actually a victim of polio in his childhood, and although he was lucky enough to get effective treatment, he still suffers effects of it. And his commitment to basic public health measures (although not the ACA, which he and his cronies tried to repeal) was demonstrated in 2020 by his leadership in passing the COVID rescue package.
https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-ap-top-news-mitch-mcconnell-politics-ky-state-wire-f696c0bff070b46f9c62e03be50bd187
The only reason Mitch will fight this battle is that he himself suffered from polio, which means he was directly impacted. This is such a typical Republican attitude: Unless something directly affects them adversely, they don’t care.
That’s true. But he is also directly impacted by every effort of Trump to diminish the power of the senate. I con’t think he is scared of Trump. The reason he was so pro-Trump in the past is that Trump was largely pushing McConnell’s agenda. Now with his insane cabinet picks, for example, I think Trump is pushing his own agenda, not McConnell’s (except for continuing the tax break), so things may get more interesting.
I was born in 1954 and I seem to remember them giving us the polio vaccine on a sugar cube. I don’t think I knew anyone my age who had it but I do remember from an early age a young woman (at that time), probably in her 20s or 30s who had had it. She went to our church and walked with a leg brace; I don’t know if she had any other damage from it or not but I remember my parents telling me that she had had it. I remember seeing pictures of an iron lung and thinking what a terrifying disease this is and thanking God for a vaccine for it. I’ve been a believer in science since a very early age.
My BFF had polio, and is now struggling mightily with post-polio syndrome; completely bed-bound, and able to sit up for only an hour at a time for meals. Before the post-polio, she used crutches to get around — vibrant and active, ran a household, raised two kids, worked outside the home. Polio is a terrible disease that, even when you think you’ve conquered it, is waiting its chance to bring you down again.
In a sad twist, she was part of the vaccine study — obviously got the placebo. Every time I hear reports that Kennedy insists we need double-blind studies to determine the vaccine’s effectiveness, I feel flames shooting out the top of my head. Those were DONE, dammit, as per protocol, and some people paid the price. Doing it again would condemn more people to life as a cripple, or in an updated iron lung, or death.
I just… I can’t grasp the perversion that has absolutely no concern for the life and health of anyone but their immediate family members. It’s obscene.