This reminds me of RBG staying on the Court until she could be replaced by a Trump appointee. These people need to be reminded that the cause they supposedly serve is a lot more important than their unfounded belief that they are so unique and awesome that no one else can do their job so well.
And the moment you think retiring from your elected position is “suicide” then that’s a sign you’ve held the job too long. Democrats are starting to look like the Soviet Politburo of the early ‘80s.
I was good at my job. I could probably be there still if I wanted to, however, how effective would I still be 10 years down the road? I retired a few years early because dying at my desk was not negotiable. Congressional Dems need to realize they can still have their cake and eat it too. Take your perk filled pension and get another gig.
This is why term limits are needed. I mean I get that it takes some time for newcomers to understand all the machinations of our government and how to make deals and get votes for their bills but it can be done with younger candidates. Have those older mentor the freshmen but for god sakes let’s have some new blood.
I used to oppose term limits but these people are making me rethink that. A healthy party would be building a bench, and cycling people out so institutional knowledge is preserved, new perspectives are introduced and nothing is too dependent on long-timers.
That is the best argument for term limits. Most use the argument that we need to get rid of the bad Congress Critters, but that only works if better ones are elected. Replacing aging good people with younger good people is a great idea.
For sure. That way, Dems get the younger, fresher perspective we desperately need, and with an older, seasoned mentor, like Pelosi with Jeffries, we get the best of both worlds.
Thank you, Stephen, for once again knocking it out of the park. This is yet another excellent, well-researched analysis that takes a cold, hard look at a topic many Dems turn away from but which needs addressing, urgently.
Signed, always your fan, MzNicky/MzJanet if you know me
The seniority system is dumb. We are rewarding people for hanging around the longest by making them committee chairs. Voters (and donors) are not blind to this reality -- congresspeople get more powerful the longer they occupy a seat.
There is a lot to be said for institutional knowledge and I am not an advocate for term limits, but let's get rid of this artificial incentive to keep people in office way past their "best by" dates.
I'm really sad that Gerry Connolly died. He deserved better than this. A lot of people did. And hell I guess Turner didn't foresee dying either.
But that's how it is when Democrats are the only ones with accountability. Even in death, they are to blame.
At least we know the Hogg Principle going forward, Don't be Old, Don't get Sick. So I say let the kid drive. After all for some reason this doesn't seem to affect Republicans at all.
Republicans got rid of seniority and their system is brutal enough that they just leave after a while -- often under threat of being primaried. It's just far more Darwinian.
Even then I think there's a lot of perverse incentive in their system because their goal is to destroy and that's the easiest kind of thing to do legislatively. Even young people like Paul Ryan got turfed out because in the end it's all about how much can you hurt America (and at least the vulnerable minorities in it). I think it's actually easier to find crueler, nastier people who want to sit around when they're not actively making life nasty, short and brutish.
My whole thing with Democrats is that they are always changing things based on Internet-farmed anger. But they should really just be open about this. Democrats themselves made the choice of Biden for example, in 2020 knowing full well he was old then. This continues to piss me off. I think Democrats really should be open about these rules going forward.
Don't Be Old. Don't Get Sick. Democrats need to be loud and proud about this if they want to lay all political problems at the feet of old people (again deliberately ignoring that Biden, an OLD, shepherded through significant, life-changing legislation that we all threw away). The ONLY thing Republicans can agree on is hurting minorities and giving tax breaks to billionaires and millionaires.
And the problem still is nobody knows what their own health future is. All kinds of misadventures can befall people.
Sure, a 30 year old House Rep could die in a car crash, but running for re-election when you have cancer just seems incredibly reckless and yes selfish. You are not serving the interests of your constituents.
I mean that’s fair enough, even as cancer can go into remission (this happened with Raskin). But I accept the new reality now; it doesn’t matter what your skills or ability are, just don’t be old, don’t be sick. My thing is, I want Democrats to be open about it. If we’re going with this direction then be loud about it. “I don’t want old or sick people in office as Democrats. IF you are old and sick you should immediately retire.” Yes, people die in office all the time, but there’s no addressing of the fact that this isn’t even something that’d usually be notable unless it continues to be the fact that margins are always tight (and then there’s gerrymandering too that gets us situations where margins are tight).
When you’re living with terminal, late-stage cancer, as Connolly was, you’re not yourself. Your focus is on yourself and your rapidly declining health, as it should be. But you’re also most likely on some pretty heavy-duty painkillers, like oxycodone for one, that can alter your perceptions, make you paranoid as fuck, and simply render you incapable of thinking clearly. (I know this personally, from the death of my husband from cancer 10 years ago.) The last place someone in that situation needs to be is in a position of US Congressional authority. This was my main concern about Connolly assuming that responsibility: Not that he was old, but that he was dying, and he knew it, and he accepted the position anyway.
thanks, Stephen. seeing how the DNC batted down David Hogg's insurgency to rout the olds and ring in the youngs was depressing as hell. I've been a Democrat my entire voting life, going back to 1976, and have never felt as alienated from the party as I do now. we get reminded almost daily from the language they use (Chuck Schumer's "strongly worded letter") that all their protests that they totally get how dire things are, they still think it's sane and productive to act as they did when both parties believes in the rule of law.
your scenario where we win the House but Johnson ends up as Speaker once again bc our old Reps. keep dying is all too plausible. how to break through the smugness, the complacency of Schumer and the rest and force them to give up their beloved jobs for the republic?
Members of Congress have access to excellent, free healthcare, fancy, fully staffed office spaces in DC and their home districts, free meals, generous travel reimbursement, opportunities to travel the world free of charge, access to insider trading information, and power few of us can imagine. Once they serve for two terms, they are eligible for lavish, lifetime pensions, and healthcare. Tax payers fund all these benefits. Most of them gain vast wealth while in office, and perform almost no actual work. Why wouldn't they just hang around until they drop dead?
The NYT just published an interview with Fetterman complaining about how he is being unfairly called out for his failure to show up for committee meetings, or for votes. He claims this is part of a persecution effort against him because he has a history of clinical depression. He is very aggrieved that what he considered to be his glide path to the presidency in 2028 might be impacted by these unfair personal attacks.
With few exceptions, members of Congress are completely out of touch with their constituents, and seem to have no insight, or ability to regulate their emotions. They deal exclusively with lobbyists, and other wealthy benefactors, so willingly vote for legislation that actively harms their voters. As long as voters just ignore issues that affect them, and fail to educate themselves about the risks of electing a non-representative, self-serving gerontocracy we will just continue the slide into fascism.
Well, Dem voters are reelecting them every few years. David Hogg is completely right – a lot of them need to be primaried. While Bernie Sanders is a vibrant fighter in his elder years, too many others have come to see this as an easy job, making easy money. They get reelected on name recognition, and do little in their jobs. TBH, they're not even reading the news, and don't see Trump for the tru threat that he is. They should be a lot more active and fighting for the people.
You already know this, but why would they quit? The perks are enormously generous and satisfying. A fully paid-for full-time staff to fulfill the real grunt work and satisfy your every whim. Great health care and generous pension and travel opportunities. Many, many, many opportunities for legal enrichment, and as many illegal opportunities as you care to risk. If you are an attention whore (and many are) you get to stand in front of a camera whenever you want to opine and spin. And you can even do some good for your constituents from time to time to generate the praise and self-satisfaction you crave.
This reminds me of RBG staying on the Court until she could be replaced by a Trump appointee. These people need to be reminded that the cause they supposedly serve is a lot more important than their unfounded belief that they are so unique and awesome that no one else can do their job so well.
And the moment you think retiring from your elected position is “suicide” then that’s a sign you’ve held the job too long. Democrats are starting to look like the Soviet Politburo of the early ‘80s.
I was good at my job. I could probably be there still if I wanted to, however, how effective would I still be 10 years down the road? I retired a few years early because dying at my desk was not negotiable. Congressional Dems need to realize they can still have their cake and eat it too. Take your perk filled pension and get another gig.
Well the pay and benefits are good and apparently there is not much actual work for most of them.
(There are, of course, notable and dedicated exceptions.)
"desired 1990s job as Jane Seymour’s personal masseuse"- this was also my goal haha!
Aside from that funny- great points about leaving the job way before a timely death.
This is why term limits are needed. I mean I get that it takes some time for newcomers to understand all the machinations of our government and how to make deals and get votes for their bills but it can be done with younger candidates. Have those older mentor the freshmen but for god sakes let’s have some new blood.
I used to oppose term limits but these people are making me rethink that. A healthy party would be building a bench, and cycling people out so institutional knowledge is preserved, new perspectives are introduced and nothing is too dependent on long-timers.
Term limits are likely unconstitutional. But something like the GOP idea on committee chair limits would be excellent.
That is the best argument for term limits. Most use the argument that we need to get rid of the bad Congress Critters, but that only works if better ones are elected. Replacing aging good people with younger good people is a great idea.
For sure. That way, Dems get the younger, fresher perspective we desperately need, and with an older, seasoned mentor, like Pelosi with Jeffries, we get the best of both worlds.
Thank you, Stephen, for once again knocking it out of the park. This is yet another excellent, well-researched analysis that takes a cold, hard look at a topic many Dems turn away from but which needs addressing, urgently.
Signed, always your fan, MzNicky/MzJanet if you know me
(sorry I just had to throw that last bit in)
Thanks so much!
The seniority system is dumb. We are rewarding people for hanging around the longest by making them committee chairs. Voters (and donors) are not blind to this reality -- congresspeople get more powerful the longer they occupy a seat.
There is a lot to be said for institutional knowledge and I am not an advocate for term limits, but let's get rid of this artificial incentive to keep people in office way past their "best by" dates.
I'm really sad that Gerry Connolly died. He deserved better than this. A lot of people did. And hell I guess Turner didn't foresee dying either.
But that's how it is when Democrats are the only ones with accountability. Even in death, they are to blame.
At least we know the Hogg Principle going forward, Don't be Old, Don't get Sick. So I say let the kid drive. After all for some reason this doesn't seem to affect Republicans at all.
Republicans got rid of seniority and their system is brutal enough that they just leave after a while -- often under threat of being primaried. It's just far more Darwinian.
Even then I think there's a lot of perverse incentive in their system because their goal is to destroy and that's the easiest kind of thing to do legislatively. Even young people like Paul Ryan got turfed out because in the end it's all about how much can you hurt America (and at least the vulnerable minorities in it). I think it's actually easier to find crueler, nastier people who want to sit around when they're not actively making life nasty, short and brutish.
My whole thing with Democrats is that they are always changing things based on Internet-farmed anger. But they should really just be open about this. Democrats themselves made the choice of Biden for example, in 2020 knowing full well he was old then. This continues to piss me off. I think Democrats really should be open about these rules going forward.
Don't Be Old. Don't Get Sick. Democrats need to be loud and proud about this if they want to lay all political problems at the feet of old people (again deliberately ignoring that Biden, an OLD, shepherded through significant, life-changing legislation that we all threw away). The ONLY thing Republicans can agree on is hurting minorities and giving tax breaks to billionaires and millionaires.
And the problem still is nobody knows what their own health future is. All kinds of misadventures can befall people.
Sure, a 30 year old House Rep could die in a car crash, but running for re-election when you have cancer just seems incredibly reckless and yes selfish. You are not serving the interests of your constituents.
I mean that’s fair enough, even as cancer can go into remission (this happened with Raskin). But I accept the new reality now; it doesn’t matter what your skills or ability are, just don’t be old, don’t be sick. My thing is, I want Democrats to be open about it. If we’re going with this direction then be loud about it. “I don’t want old or sick people in office as Democrats. IF you are old and sick you should immediately retire.” Yes, people die in office all the time, but there’s no addressing of the fact that this isn’t even something that’d usually be notable unless it continues to be the fact that margins are always tight (and then there’s gerrymandering too that gets us situations where margins are tight).
This is a five alarm fire. Building fully engaged. You have very few hoses.
Giving one of those few you have to someone more likely to die rather than point it is a huge fuckup.
When you’re living with terminal, late-stage cancer, as Connolly was, you’re not yourself. Your focus is on yourself and your rapidly declining health, as it should be. But you’re also most likely on some pretty heavy-duty painkillers, like oxycodone for one, that can alter your perceptions, make you paranoid as fuck, and simply render you incapable of thinking clearly. (I know this personally, from the death of my husband from cancer 10 years ago.) The last place someone in that situation needs to be is in a position of US Congressional authority. This was my main concern about Connolly assuming that responsibility: Not that he was old, but that he was dying, and he knew it, and he accepted the position anyway.
thanks, Stephen. seeing how the DNC batted down David Hogg's insurgency to rout the olds and ring in the youngs was depressing as hell. I've been a Democrat my entire voting life, going back to 1976, and have never felt as alienated from the party as I do now. we get reminded almost daily from the language they use (Chuck Schumer's "strongly worded letter") that all their protests that they totally get how dire things are, they still think it's sane and productive to act as they did when both parties believes in the rule of law.
your scenario where we win the House but Johnson ends up as Speaker once again bc our old Reps. keep dying is all too plausible. how to break through the smugness, the complacency of Schumer and the rest and force them to give up their beloved jobs for the republic?
Perhaps they’ve learned their lesson? 🫤
Members of Congress have access to excellent, free healthcare, fancy, fully staffed office spaces in DC and their home districts, free meals, generous travel reimbursement, opportunities to travel the world free of charge, access to insider trading information, and power few of us can imagine. Once they serve for two terms, they are eligible for lavish, lifetime pensions, and healthcare. Tax payers fund all these benefits. Most of them gain vast wealth while in office, and perform almost no actual work. Why wouldn't they just hang around until they drop dead?
The NYT just published an interview with Fetterman complaining about how he is being unfairly called out for his failure to show up for committee meetings, or for votes. He claims this is part of a persecution effort against him because he has a history of clinical depression. He is very aggrieved that what he considered to be his glide path to the presidency in 2028 might be impacted by these unfair personal attacks.
With few exceptions, members of Congress are completely out of touch with their constituents, and seem to have no insight, or ability to regulate their emotions. They deal exclusively with lobbyists, and other wealthy benefactors, so willingly vote for legislation that actively harms their voters. As long as voters just ignore issues that affect them, and fail to educate themselves about the risks of electing a non-representative, self-serving gerontocracy we will just continue the slide into fascism.
Well, Dem voters are reelecting them every few years. David Hogg is completely right – a lot of them need to be primaried. While Bernie Sanders is a vibrant fighter in his elder years, too many others have come to see this as an easy job, making easy money. They get reelected on name recognition, and do little in their jobs. TBH, they're not even reading the news, and don't see Trump for the tru threat that he is. They should be a lot more active and fighting for the people.
We vote for them because that’s the candidate that they’ve selected to offer to us.
Lloyd Doggett is younger than his age. He is a real one.
Some great points here. @David Hogg has a key role to play in transforming the Democratic Party.
You already know this, but why would they quit? The perks are enormously generous and satisfying. A fully paid-for full-time staff to fulfill the real grunt work and satisfy your every whim. Great health care and generous pension and travel opportunities. Many, many, many opportunities for legal enrichment, and as many illegal opportunities as you care to risk. If you are an attention whore (and many are) you get to stand in front of a camera whenever you want to opine and spin. And you can even do some good for your constituents from time to time to generate the praise and self-satisfaction you crave.
Honestly I’m starting to think we need an age limit set at 70 for all these elected offices.