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| image from DWT, this link, the focus of this post |
Quoting DWT opening thoughts - with Crabgrass adding - don't call Congress a fossil bed, because that is too cruel:
This morning's Democratic retirement story at Politico by Ally Mutnick and Sarah Ferris doesn't mention senility or even that of the 62 members of the House over 70, 47 are Democrats. Nor that because Pelosi has enforced an absurd, outdated and dysfunctional seniority system, Democratic leadership has proven to be incapable of effective 21st Century leadership. Of the 12 members 80 or above, all but 2 are Democrats-- and that includes the Democrats' 3 top leaders, Hoyer (82), Pelosi (81) and Clyburn (81 next month). Their Politico piece refers to a different Democratic Party retirement problem-- but that is their-- and our-- retirement problem. [...]
When Alcee Hastings-- who had been functionally dead all year-- finally kicked the bucket in April (age 84), Republican Governor Ron DeSantis was able to manipulate the system to prevent the heavily black/heavily Democratic district from replacing him, thus making the Democratic majority in the House more precarious. One younger Democrat running for his seat told Caputo that "The older generation does not want to pass the baton. You don’t have to die in your seat. Pass the baton on... I want to make sure that I’m not stepping into ageism, but we have a bench problem. We have so many good young elected officials, but they’re on the bench."
From there, DWT quotes extensively from the above linked Politico item, in part:
The issue has taken on an increased urgency given the party’s tenuous hold on Congress. The loss of just one Democrat would tip the balance of power in the Senate, which has heightened scrutiny of its oldest member, California Democrat Dianne Feinstein, who has faced recent questions about her fitness for office. She turned 88 on Tuesday. Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy-- now 81 and running for reelection to his ninth term-- had a brief hospital scare in January that alarmed activists.“It was one of the few wake-up calls: Holy shit, we are one stroke or car wreck or Me Too scandal from not having a Senate majority,” said Julian Brave NoiseCat, vice president of policy and strategy for the liberal think tank Data for Progress. “It is the thinnest majority you can have.”Democrats have a slightly larger margin in the House, but that advantage has been whittled down in recent months by Hastings’ death and other departures.That’s led to mounting frustration with the old guard, as well as a feeling of dread that the party is just a heartbeat away from losing control of at least one chamber of Congress.Progressive activists like NoiseCat are increasingly concerned that issues important to Generation Z and millennial voters-- such as climate change, voting rights and criminal justice reform-- are stalled in the hidebound Senate, where the lack of action could depress turnout next year and flip control of one or both chambers of Congress.“There’s a generation of young progressives energized by politics, and a big question in front of the Democratic Party in terms of its ability to channel that energy is whether or not they can deliver on issues that matter to young people,” NoiseCat said....In 2018, then-state Sen. Kevin de León, 54, unsuccessfully challenged [Dianne Feinstein, disturbingly senile] from the left in California, saying it was time for a change. But the powerful senator still managed to hold on to win a fifth term.“There is always going to be an expiration date on the value of seniority,” de León, now a Los Angeles City Council member, told Politico. “Instead of holding power hostage to our very last days, let’s use every ounce of it to help the next generation cut a path to strong leadership both within our party, and in the halls of power.”
Old people often have old ways, which they treasure, as valid or best. Why Feinstein stays, and why voters chose her in a primary contest with a younger Dem option are questions which confound many. A bonus image:
Vigor and youth gets there before the building's burned down.