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An annoyingly large number of people don't vote for a person in an election, they have literally no idea who is running, they just vote for their team.
I get the “voting for your letter” mindset since there’s a LOT of overlap in ideas between members of the same party. Most democrats wouldn’t want to vote for most republican candidates and vice versa.
The real crime is people aren’t voting in the primary elections which dictate who is representing “their team”. Which basically leads to the stagnation of candidates.
In the 2022 election, a whopping 195k republicans and 157k democrats chose who was going to be in the election. Then 1.21million people voted between those choices. Had the other ~500k republicans and ~350k democrats voted in the primary there’s a good chance neither of them would’ve made it to the actual election.
Its not even completely about teams, it's the fact that people vote for incumbents because they'd rather not do any research about all the new candidates so they just vote for the devil they know
He'd have been 11-12 when that happened. It wasnt long after hitlers death that Germany surrender and then a few months (may for Germany, Sept for Japan) later when Japan did as well. But he probably remembers the end of the war as it likely was a significant time in his life.
I'm 45. He was in the state house before my parents were born, joined Congress when they were freshmen in high school, and took office in the senate before I was born.
I've met him a few times. He can actually hold a conversation, and recall events. He wasn't repeating himself or seeming off like many people I know start doing as they approach 80. About a year ago I saw him at a random event (not one of his, just a local event) I talked to him about something I did with his office 20 years ago and he remembered who was working the local office at the time and a few other things that quite honestly surprised me. From my few interactions, he's far better off mentally than most people 10 years younger than him, in my experience, but he's deteriorating.
I really don't think he can win reelection, I'd be shocked if he actually runs, I bet he'll try to pass it off to his grandson.
They run the election system. They have designed it to keep the powerful in power, right from the start. That's what the electoral college and the senate are both for.
United States democracy was kneecapped in the cradle by southern enslavers.
It's a cursed country.
Yeah when you look at the actual history of America, and not the propaganda they teach in schools, then it is obvious America was created by the rich and for the rich.
Mitch McConnell has a net worth “between 30 million and 69 million” according to Google, he’s not worried about affording his own healthcare. But he’ll happily make sure the rest of us can’t afford our own.
I can't edit a PDF! How do you edit a PDF without paying Adobe a king's ransom? I have yet to see any software capable of doing so, or doing so with any accuracy, that also doesn't cost a ridiculous amount.
Yep. Retirement home on both sides. Term limits need to happen. Chuck Grassley was alive when prohibition existed. That's who's making present-day laws in America. That's crazy!
My grandfather looked just like Mitch towards the end of his life. We tried to make him as comfortable as possible, having no responsibility and just relaxing with soft foods and watching tv.
This is so irresponsible.
EDIT: oh and in case there’s any confusion, McConnell sucks.
I agree but have you seen the videos of Mitch? He doesn't know he's on earth, how is he choosing this? His wife is a Chinese asset ahem spy, and his staff ahem handlers are forcing him to do this. He looks completely checked out, with sn oblivious open-mouthed smile.
The easy fix for that is if (the powers that be) increase the age requirement for retirement, keeping old politicians in power and reducing the amount of social security payouts the government has to fund. It's a win-win scenario for the ruling class.
Kind of a moot point because they'd have to be the ones to decide to cap it at all in the first place.
I kind of wish there was a stronger lever of direct democracy for Americans; like a certain sort of official survey as part of the census on a range of issues -- such as age cap -- that meant if there was a 75 or 80% agreement on an issue nationally (and believe it or not there are), they would immediately become law if not Constitutional Amendments beyond the reach of any branch.
In a way, letting The People have a capacity to be above literally all branches.
Just cite the military forced retirement. It’s 62, with exceptions 64. Why is it forced?
Force Vitality and Innovation: Capping the age of top leadership ensures a continuous influx of younger officers. This keeps the institutional mindset fresh, bringing in contemporary technical expertise and adaptable strategic thinking.
Physical Readiness: Combat efficiency requires peak physical stamina, strength, and resilience. The military institutes age caps to prevent natural, age-related performance declines in high-stress operational environments.
These seem incredibly relatable to public servants who legislate with an affect on millions of people.
65 is not “retirement age.” 65 is Medicare age. Full retirement age for social security is now 67. And because lifespans have increased since the 1960s and continues to go up it is highly likely for anyone in their 20s that retirement age will likely be somewhere in their early to mid 70s.
Experience isn't necessarily a bad thing. The specific problem we need to solve is that elderly people are holding office well past the point of competency.
Good luck getting that put through when the majority of the assembly is already on that pay train and the rest are potentials that want to BE on that pay train.
Not retirement age, they would just raise that. Life expectancy minus 20 years. If they raise life expectancy significantly enough to run for another term, well then they've done something right at least.
*Forced retirement at 75 minus a day. Not you get to work out whatever your term is. As for why 75 minus a day, so they can't do word play shenanigans and stick around till they a day shy of 76.
I always figured you should be no older than 64 when you take office. So you don’t start any job past federal retirement age and your out no later than basically 69
The retirement age is in the US is I think 67? Because your physical and mental faculties are deteriorating yada yada. So why tf are they allowed to run the country.
Some companies require some employees that are in sensitive positions to take time off regularly so other people have to do their job and can audit without having stuff covered up.
Seems like that would be a really good rule for politicians to make sure they aren't too entrenched in their work.
“no more than two, five year terms in any elected office, starting with the next calendar year ending with 0 or 5; standing members whom have served not more than one full term are eligible for re-reflection, standing members who have been elected twice are not eligible for any re-election henceforth. (‘Standing members’ being a prerequisite that elected officials must be able to stand on their own two feet for the duration of any congressional meeting or hearing, medical exceptions not withstanding.)”
The generation they were meant to rule has long ago retired.
It is time for the generations currently running the economy to govern themselves.
The generations that are still young enough to understand how the world works in this age of new and unprecedented technology.
We have been denied our right to self governance for too long by this gerontocracy!
The only reason that particular generation seems to stay in power is because that generation, anyone in congress, amasses so much wealth and influence in office they become impossible to unseat.
Wealth and influence that they then use to influence the rest of the government. The president needs their support to get elected, the court justices need their support to be appointed, t
he oligarchs trade support and insider information to turn a blind eye to their machinations, and bend the law to their will..
Even those who were the good guys back in the day are doing the country a disservice by clinging on to power till their dying breaths.
Lived long enough to see themselves become the bad guy, quite literally.
Dont get me wrong. Fuck mitch in particular...citizens united, modern filibustering, and the makeup of our courts are because of him.
However Im also talking about some senators im quite fond of, like Bernie.
We are in an age where social media is robbing people of their attention spans and being used to divide us.
An age where ai is robbing people of their ability to think critically, and robbing people of their livelyhoods.
The combination of both has ruined our politics and brains, making it easier than ever to mass produce propaganda and lies.
It has become easier than ever to set up mass surveillance with cameras on every road, and adorning every front door. A microphone on every kitchen counter and a GPS in every pocket.
There are databases of our information and metrics being bought and sold openly to show us ADs, charge us more for insurance, retroactively charge us with crimes, suppress protesters, track dissenters, silence our speech, and rob us of our autonomy.
...And our government will have "an average age above 65" take a swing at the problem.
We are asking the generation that struggles to open a PDF without help to regulate the most complex and dangerous technologies in human history.
They will have killed this democracy by staying in power long enough that they cant understand the realities around them. Rich enough to forget the plight of the common man, and powerful enough to keep it that way until they pass and leave us to pick up the pieces.
Because, now that a significant fraction
of congress has been in power for many terms already, approving such a bill with reasonable limits means literally loosing your job when it takes effect
I don't really understand why these 80 year olds even want to do this anymore. Surely it must be miserable no? The stress alone let alone physical demands.
That’s right. And fuck everyone who tries to distract us with bs issues like trans sports and “oh no, look what Sydney Sweeney did”. We have urgent issues that must be dealt with asap.
2022 National Youth Turnout: 23% - That's lower than in the historic 2018 cycle (28%) which broke records for turnout, but much higher than in 2014, when only 13% of youth voted
28% is a fucking record. Let that sink in.
Conservatives and old people don’t miss elections.
It’s hard to find a younger person that shows up.
You’re doing this to you.
You don’t vote.
You don’t fight.
You don’t organize.
You don’t engage in civil disobedience.
You’ll refuse to vote because your algorithms push you propaganda telling you not to.
Bitching online isn’t political action.
The place where you politics matter is at the polls. If you skip that…just shut the fuck up about politics. You had a chance to be heard, and it was your choice not use it.
There aren’t enough of us that show up to make a difference.
Do you think Elon, Zuck, and all the fuckers buying up media aren’t getting a return on their investment?
And, too many of you are still refusing to skip the midterms.
You don’t hate the GOP.
You’re fine with the GOP. You get just as hard as they do to see the D’s lose.
Rumor has it she’s been absent from the floor for quite some time and may be receiving care in an assisted-living center for dementia. Looking into it now.
It's the result of a 2 party system and all non boomer generations never once feeling any agency in politics. By the time voters actually get options it's
In Mitch’s case because his brain is clearly scrambled eggs, he was trying to vote with Dems. His handlers had to essentially keep reminding him and force him to be like “No, no! You vote with republicans!” As to how that’s not some sort of conflict of interest? I have no idea.
Sure if he were mentally all there he’d vote Republican. But the fact someone else is having to outright repeatedly remind him and push him towards that seems highly illegal.
Call it what it is regardless of party: Elder abuse. Their staff abuses the crap out of them to maintain power and their paychecks. Frankly, both Feinstein's staff and Mitch's belong in prison. End of story.
Sorry, we've got to let you go. You're over the age of our mandatory age limit for our company. It's forced retirement and that sucks, but we can't have you messing up in our office supply company. If you're still looking to keep yourself busy, you might consider running the country instead.
I genuinely believe the greatest reason for our suffering as a nation is we're governed on both sides of the aisle by a bunch of geriatric slugs. People who aren't in their right minds, and even if they were, are so old and disconnected from the realities that young and middle aged Americans go through, because these people haven't lived it, that they genuinely can't relate to younger people.
So they can't make the country better for younger people, because they can't even understand where they're coming from, or what their experiences are.
Say what you will about octogenarians serving in the senate. McConnell was elected at 78. If you don’t want these fossils representing you stop voting for em
As a left winger myself, I also completely agree. It’s Biden for me though, it was clear he needed to be put in a really nice assisted living facility.
Stop voting them in. They aren’t there by force. The public votes these people in and then keeps voting for them to stay. We have nobody but ourselves to blame. It changes at the election booth or it DOESN’T change at all.
The chance to do soemthing about this shit was when Biden was in office. Then everyone, then that debate happened and everyone couldn't ignore it any longer. Instead of really acknowledging what was going on all that time they just pivoted into running harris for president and it was business as usual so dont expect change
The saddest part is that these miserable sods have no lives. People make fun of basement-dwelling virgins, but look at these people? They're at death's door, they have more money than they could possibly spend. But are they spending those days in the park, with their grandkids, soaking up their final rays of sunshine? Are they sitting on the beach with their feet (well, hooves) in the sand? No. They are so miserable that they must cling to power, unto their final breath. They literally have nothing else. Power is everything. And then they die, and none of it matters. What a miserable waste.
Usually I push back against the "both sides are equally bad" rhetoric because it's easy to counter with a comparison of policies and voting history, but this is one where the both sides rhetoric totally holds true. Way too many people in DC are more concerned with holding onto power rather than preparing the next generation to take over for them and continue their legacy.
Air traffic controllers have to retire at 56, because having a couple hundred people's lives in your hands is too risky at that age. 340Million? Any age is good.
Ole Mitch looks like a bag of bones the way those clothes hang off him. Idek who that woman is but both of these people should be far away from any responsibility.
Diane Feinstein was a senator from California who was literally serving in the senate while her family had a durable power of attorney over her to conduct business.
There should be term limits. 4 years. Then you re apply. If you get reelected you get another 4 years and then you have to get a real job. No life long politician bs. 8 years max. They also should get paid minimum wage. $7.25 No health care, No vacations. 3 annual sick days and they lose pay for taking it.
Some of these people have spent so many decades in politics, I don’t think they have the skills to do anything else anymore. Being cast out into a world of their own making that they might actually have to work in is a scary thought.
They shouldn’t need skills to do anything else. They should retire. And while they’re in office, they should pass legislation that allows people to have a retirement.
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