simply the only qualified candidate
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It’s been pretty funny watching both parties struggle with the gerontocracy, but somehow the republicans came out on top in that discussion. Like, republicans being out of touch old white men used to be a punchline on Bill Maher back in 2004 with Strom Thurmond voting on stem-cell research (he was against it, as it was too close to abortion, an issue he definitely gave a shit about).
Dear god, someone keep her safe. Ken has tweeted about her so it’s just a matter of time…
Do boomers just think retiring is “dishonorable” or something? Like why cling to power if you’re too old to even materially benefit? At this point you just want your job so others can’t have it.
I think there may be an element of “retirement is a concession that you’re in the final phase of your life.”
If they retire they won’t have power anymore or be waited on as much as they were in office.
Plus not like they have to work now and have travel experiences.
But for non boomers in power it’s just they built their lives too much around their job to leave it, or never had a chance to actually plan for retirement (ie never thought about it)
Do boomers just think retiring is “dishonorable” or something?
If my parents are any guide, yes. Neither one of them can think of anything else to do other than work
Strange. I’d love to retire already lmao
Fucking older than Israel, at that point you just gotta retire.
so is trump and he’s a decade younger lmao
If youre too old to be able to run literally then don’t run for office. If not being able to run isn’t just cause youre really old this doesn’t apply to be clear.
Can’t speak for US but here in the UK I’ve noticed there’s an abundance of oldies in my council and local politics mostly because when they got older and their partners died or some shit happened they ended up with nothing else. They actually do the politics as their way of getting out and about and exposed to other people. If they weren’t doing it most of them would rot because they have literally nothing else in their lives and basically nothing exists for over 60s to get social activity together except for bingo halls or church (which they won’t do because they grew up without it).
If the revolution never happens, then congress is just going to end up a bunch of life support pods with living cadavers running the country. I’m mean they are living cadavers now, but without any cool sci-fi stuff
Please, comrade slippery bathroom floor.
Why? The Grim Reaper shadows your every step. The actuarial tables laugh at the idea of you surviving to the end of your term. Is your goal really to be remembered as being too stubborn to step aside and let a spring chicken born after WWII take over your seat? Is there a special backdoor to Valhalla located in the congressional building? What compels these people to stay until the bitter end?
On top of everything which is said already I just want to add: my personal experience with old people is that they become very stuborn. (Anyone trying to tell an older relative that it’s time to move to an assisted living situation can probably confirm that.) So I guess that once those those politicians cross a certain age-treshold, you can never, ever convince them anymore that they’re no longer the right person for the job, especially not if you’re trying to argue that their age is the problem.
Valhalla involves a lot of fighting, pretty sure that’s partially why those who wanted to go there wanted to get there good and young so they wouldn’t suck at the eternal war
Maybe there’s a handicap system
It’s just bizarre to me. Even the least wealthy politicians at that level have more than enough to afford to retire (see Bernie and Jane Sanders owning multiple homes despite his being one of, if not the, least wealthy senators) so why stick around? There are very few jobs I can imagine wanting to do until the day I die. Do they actually believe they’re achieving something unique? Because that’s just… Weird. They’re so nakedly acting in their own class interest, and anyone (of that class) could be doing that. Why not retire and let someone else ensure those interests? It’s not like there’s no one to take over.
Their job is to sit in meetings and have people speak at them, before they do whatever they want with zero mechanic for accountability. Like, if you’re even the least bit sentient, why the fuck would you not stick around in that job for as long as humanly (or inhumanly) possible? It’s not like the Democratic Party is trying to actually effect change, so why shouldn’t the party just be a mechanism for self-righteous fossils to feel important.
It’s so baffling, why accumulate all that wealth if you’re not going to bother enjoying it? Seems like dragons get more mileage out of their treasure and all they do is sleep on it.
so why stick around? There are very few jobs I can imagine wanting to do until the day I die.
My guess is that it’s the sweetest gig imaginable where everything is done by your army of staffers and interns and people immediately surrounding you do nothing but kiss your ass. You just have to occasionally sign a bunch of tl;dr document and appear in the public every once in a while. And they’re still getting paid even when Congress is not in session.
I have to hypotheses:
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Boomers in the west think retiring is “dishonorable” and should never retire under any circumstances.
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The whole point is so no one else can have it, they can do fuck all in office but the point is playing keep away from others.
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Born in 1937, chair of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1977, representing DC in the house since 1991. She seems overall like an okay lady, or at least was at one point. Having a black woman in Congress who was an ADULT during Jim Crow is incredible. But an 88 year old congressperson should recognize when it’s time to step aside
That’s older than my oldest grandparent by 2 years. I only have one grandparent left and she’s six years younger. She was in school when my oldest living relative was born
Currently in her 18th term in the House.
And hasn’t cast a single vote in all that time!
She’s not a voting member of congress, she’s a congressional delegate for Washington DC. That said, the bills she has sponsored or supported have imo either been not been particularly meaningful or bad, like DACA back in 2014.
it’s her turn until she says it isn’t!
