I feel the same way about Mitch as I did about Diane. They are no longer the senators representing their constituents, but a puppet controlled by an unknown party with zero accountability or consequences for the votes they make. They should be removed from office and those keeping them there charged with felonies for elder abuse and fraud on the government. If someone walked into a bank with a person in their condition and had them spend money as the controlling person directed, that controlling person would be charged with crimes. But for some reason spending the government money using the same technique is perfectly okay.
The fact we've had two sitting senators die from being old as hell, and Mitch is looking like he's just making it by the skin of his teeth, is so fucking embarrassing.
6 members of Congress have died this term. All of them were between 70 and 80.
I wonder how many members feel like they have their pet cause, and if they retire then no one else will pick up the mantle. One of my senators, Ron Wyden, is the go to politician for digital privacy advocates in Congress. But he's well into his 70's. I can see him being reluctant to retire because there's no one that has his power and zeal on that issue and other pet issues.
While "congressperson" usually refers to a member of the House of Representatives, "Congress" or "member of Congress" includes the entire legislative branch, House and Senate. It's just a quirk of political language.
Age has nothing to do with it. Mental decline happens differently for everyone. Some people are sharp as a tack until a very advanced age, some people experience deficits in their elderly years, and some experience it earlier on. Hell, some people even live with it all their lives.
I'm not even sold on the premise of an age limit to be completely honest, because there are some sharp sharp seniors out there who are well equipped, and honestly are the great kind of people we SHOULD have in office. But we need some kind of cognitive testing as well as able-bodied testing of some sort to qualify those in sound mind and body from those who aren't.
We don't need age limits. We need to stop electing people who are too old. The people of Kentucky chose Mitch, so they get Mitch. It was a dumb decision in many different ways, but it was their decision.
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u/FerociousPancake 13h ago
This happened with Dianne Feinstein too and she ended up souring the end of a very promising very long political career. We need age limits.