Mitch McConnell spent decades shaping this country in ways that hurt millions of people.

This is the same man who repeatedly blocked funding for healthcare for 9/11 first responders. He obstructed voting rights legislation, refused to hold a hearing for one Supreme Court nominee only to rush another through under completely different circumstances, and helped reshape the federal judiciary for generations.

So before people start policing how others react to his hospitalization, understand that public figures don’t exist in a vacuum. The policies they champion leave real people with real consequences.

That being said, I also think the American people deserve transparency.

If a sitting U.S. Senator has been hospitalized for weeks and is unable to perform the duties of the office, the people he represents deserve to know what’s going on.

I’ve seen people online claiming he’s on life support or that he’s already gone. As of now, those claims haven’t been verified.

I am interested in asking why the public is expected to just… not know whether one of the most powerful elected officials in the country is capable of doing the job.

You don’t have to like Mitch McConnell to believe in transparency.

And you don’t have to pretend his political legacy was harmless just because he’s ill.