Rebel Media Video: Sen. Sullivan takes offense to questions about his treatment

Rebel Media Video: Sen. Sullivan takes offense to questions about his treatment

7 months, 4 weeks ago by Bob Gough

Senator John Sullivan took the opportunity on Tuesday morning to respond to some questions about the timing of his cancer surgery. It's in the video above.

Sean Secrease, Bryan Nichols and I discussed a topic that many people were wondering about on August 20. Here's the segment. Judge for yourself.

Before the exchange we (and other local media) captured on video, Sullivan and I had a cordial conversation inside the Kroc Center. He joked about whether he should get his clothes altered or he should just enjoy putting the weight back on. I recommended milkshakes and he said he has a thing for ice cream.

And I did have a question I didn't get to. I'll post the response when I get it.

I just sent this to the Sullivan campaign and to the State Senate Democratic office:

I have a follow-up question for Senator Sullivan because I didn't want to hog all the questions this morning.

Why did Senator Sullivan choose to conceal his medical condition from the public when it was first discovered four years ago?

From the story from the news conference where the senator disclosed his health issue:

Sullivan said the cancer was discovered about six months ago, but the surgery will be this week at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.

"Four years ago, I had a small growth removed from my lower abdomen through an outpatient procedure. Since then, I’ve been getting regular check-ups. Recently, my doctor observed a local recurrence. They have advised me that the best treatment is to have it removed in its entirety...Obviously this is a very personal issue. However, I’ve worked hard throughout my tenure in office to be upfront with my constituents, and in that spirit wanted the public to know about this situation."

Except, apparently, that wasn't the case four years ago.

UPDATE: The Sullivan campaign said he did address the issue.

Senator Sullivan did address this in his initial news conference.

He explained that while this is a personal health issue, he felt the need to talk about it publicly a month ago because it would take him away from the office and that his constituents should know why.

Four years ago, it was an outpatient procedure and there was no extended absence.

So let's review...playing to the cameras when he had the opportunity to discuss the questioning of the timing of his surgery in private...disclosing his medical condition during an election year and concealing it when he didn't have an opponent four years ago.

And don't forget the spoonfeeding he provided to the paper of record on his disclosure. That happened before the discourse on the Morning Meeting.

No playing politics at all here. Nothing to see. Move along.

Today's Morning Meeting podcast.