So last week Mitch McConnell provided a proof of life photo, complete with newspaper, to answer the questions about his shuffling off this mortal coil. This did nothing to dampen the demands from some Democrats that Kentucky governor Andy Beshear violate state law and appoint a Democrat to the seat, because there are people in the party who would rather burn things down than build a viable path to wining the presidency in 2028.

Here’s why the seat should remain empty:

McConnell is coming back. It’s the most obvious and sensible reason. He’s very much alive and so the seat is his.

Beshear said he would challenge the state law that won’t let him appoint a Democrat, but he can’t appoint anyone now because McConnell is still alive. And he is very likely to lose in court because it would go to SCOTUS.

And in any case, the current law says there would have to be a special election and that election would be won by a Republican who would not be unable to vote since he or she would not be confined to the hospital.

If Beshear mounted a challenge and lost, since he almost certainly would lose, that would be a drag on his possible 2028 candidacy. And the same people yelling that he needs to fight or else they won’t support Democrats would then start yelling that Democrats don’t know how to pick the right fights and so they won’t vote for Democrats. Because you can’t win with those people and it’s time to stop trying.

And most importantly, there is no way Thune would seat a Democrat in this situation.

All of this would be a waste of time and resources which would make no significant difference.

I’ll leave you with this: