Senate senility

[mystery-ak]

 Posted on June 4, 2021 by Paul Mirengoff in Senate
Senate senility

The Washington Post reports that the current U.S. Senate is the oldest in American history. Dianne Feinstein turns 88 this month. Charles Grassley turns 88 in September.

Richard Shelby is 87. James Inhofe is 86. Patrick Leahy is 81. Twenty-three senators are in their 70s. The average age of senators at the beginning of this year was 64.3 years.

It may be that being 88 now is like being, say, 78 a few decades ago. So despite being the oldest, this might not be the most age-impaired Senate in our history. Robert Caro’s book about the Lyndon Johnson-dominated Senate makes it clear that more than a few solons of the 1950s were rendered largely useless by age and/or drink.

Dianne Feinstein and some of the other Senators cited in the Post’s article insist they are still as sharp as a tack. But there must be a few who are losing it. A local pharmacist said in 2017 that he routinely sends Alzheimer’s medication to Capitol Hill.

In reality, it’s likely that most, if not all, of the Senators in their 80s and late 70s aren’t nearly as sharp as they used to be. To me, the interesting question is whether they realize this.

more
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/06/senate-senility.php

[Sled Dog]

I recall on one critical senate vote running late into the evening, Strom Thurmond, who was like 123 at the time, was tired and a Rodent senator volunteered to "pair" with him so the net result of the vote would not be changed, so Thurmond could go home and rest.

The Klansman Senator, the hate-filled racist Democrat Byrd, refused permission for that pairing and Thurmond was forced to remain....solely to feed the spite of the Rodents.

I'd be perfectly comfortable with a Constitutional Amendment that prevented anyone who would reach their 75th birthday during the term of office from being on the ballot, for House, Senate, White House or what should be term-limited Federal judge appointments.

If nothing else, that generation is fading and will no longer serve the interests of the majority of the American people.  Certainly the Klan Byrd served was out of date.

Pilots are grounded when they reach 60.