John McCain has stopped his treatment for cancer. Though tragic it begs the question. Why is he still in the Senate?

John McCain. Chicago Tribune/AP

I love my husband with all of my heart. God bless everyone who has cared for my husband along this journey. pic.twitter.com/v27sEbboii

— Cindy McCain (@cindymccain) August 24, 2018

As you are probably aware Senator John McCain has stopped his treatment for his brain cancer, indicating that he is likely to die soon. Though I have been a harsh critic of John McCain's recent actions, I wouldn't wish brain cancer on anyone. I hope that his suffering is at a minimum and that he spends the rest of his life with his family.

That being said, I don't know if I agree with the fact that McCain is still in the senate. It is very clear that McCain is no longer in any condition to serve as a senator. Indeed, he hasn't been in quite some time. McCain hasn't been in congress since last December but he is still the senator from Arizona. In that time he has missed several very important votes.

I think that McCain is doing this out of spite as well. The Donald Trump/John McCain feud is obvious and still ongoing and I think McCain realized that if he did retire he would have been replaced by someone who would be more pro-Trump. I can't think of any other reason for him to not retire.

All that being said I think there should be some kind of measure to keep our politicians from doing this. The President has the 25th amendment if he is not capable of fulfilling his duty to medical reasons, but as far as I am aware that is not the case for members of the Senate.

I think that is a bad thing and not just because of partisan political concerns. I would obviously love if McCain was replaced by a pro-Trump republican until the election in 2020, but even if that wasn't the case, I do think the people of Arizona deserve to have two senators. Of course Arizona's other Senator, Jeff Flake, is a lame duck senator but at least he is doing things. Only having one Senator though means that Arizona has less of a say in national politics than any other state.

I do think that whatever happens with John McCain, we should take more steps to make sure something like this doesn't happen again. Whatever you think of McCain, I do think that it's too much to ask that if a senator is dying he or she shouldn't be allowed to fulfill the rest of their term...