Moscow Mitch McConnell

[keen23]

Controversial opinion, but I think there needs to be an upper age limit on politicians. The House and Senate are just getting older every term and do not represent their constituents or the best interest of their constituents. Both sides are guilty of it.

[47of74]

2 minutes ago, keen23 said:

Controversial opinion, but I think there needs to be an upper age limit on politicians. The House and Senate are just getting older every term and do not represent their constituents or the best interest of their constituents. Both sides are guilty of it.

Yes.  There should be a mandatory retirement age for elected officials.  Maybe when they turn 75.

I’m wondering though if there should be a review process every so often (like 25 years) to see if the limit should be adjusted.  Maybe it’s my imagination but it seems like people seem to be aging at a slower rate than they did when I was young.  

[keen23]

19 minutes ago, 47of74 said:

Yes.  There should be a mandatory retirement age for elected officials.  Maybe when they turn 75.

I’m wondering though if there should be a review process every so often (like 25 years) to see if the limit should be adjusted.  Maybe it’s my imagination but it seems like people seem to be aging at a slower rate than they did when I was young.  

Like for driver's licenses. Require independent cognitive tests and health exams to be completed. 

[fraurosena]

1 hour ago, keen23 said:

Require independent cognitive tests and health exams to be completed. 

This should be mandatory for anyone, of any age who wants to run for office.

[GreyhoundFan]

14 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

This should be mandatory for anyone, of any age who wants to run for office.

Along with a civics class. 

[Alisamer]

1 hour ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Along with a civics class. 

And the ability to qualify for security clearance for the office they are running for. 

I think that politicians should be required to pass the nationalization exam that people becoming citizens have to take. And anyone in national office (congress, president, supreme court justices, etc.) should have a yearly lecture, review, and occasional pop quizzes on what the constitution actually says. 

[keen23]

4 minutes ago, Alisamer said:

And the ability to qualify for security clearance for the office they are running for. 

I think that politicians should be required to pass the nationalization exam that people becoming citizens have to take. And anyone in national office (congress, president, supreme court justices, etc.) should have a yearly lecture, review, and occasional pop quizzes on what the constitution actually says. 

OH that would disqualify some people immediately. I'm not sure Lauren Boebert has ever even read the Constitution. Like their bible, they pick and choose the parts of the Constitution that they like and discard what doesn't support their worldview.

[Dandruff]

4 hours ago, 47of74 said:

There should be a mandatory retirement age for elected officials.  Maybe when they turn 75.

This would have the incidental benefit of removing any long-term bought/corrupted officials from power.  The officials would have the excuse of mandatory retirement if they were tired of having their strings pulled.  The string-pullers would have to work a little harder at maintaining influence.

[keen23]

I am pretty sure that the framers of our Constitution did not intend for lifelong career politicians. You serve your term or two and then go back to your farm, having done your civic duty and not enriching yourself with lobbyist dollars.

[front hugs > duggs]

On 7/27/2023 at 5:48 PM, keen23 said:

I am pretty sure that the framers of our Constitution did not intend for lifelong career politicians. You serve your term or two and then go back to your farm, having done your civic duty and not enriching yourself with lobbyist dollars.

It wasn’t glamorous back then, so nobody even wanted to do it that long. The long travel between states and the capital, little pay, etc. all meant they usually quit before their term was up. 

[Alisamer]

On 7/27/2023 at 5:48 PM, keen23 said:

I am pretty sure that the framers of our Constitution did not intend for lifelong career politicians. You serve your term or two and then go back to your farm, having done your civic duty and not enriching yourself with lobbyist dollars.

Not only this, but those writing the constitution likely just took it as a matter of fact that future politicians would continue to be those who were well educated, at a minimum, and likely forward thinkers. They couldn't have foreseen the current trend of anti-education, anti-intelligence, and anti-progress seen on the right side of the aisle. 

Plus 75 was about the maximum age most people could expect to reach, at the time. Average lifespan for a male was 38, though that skews low due to infant and child mortality rates.

[apple1]

I don't even like Mitch McConnell (I am not a Kentuckian so it's not mine to vote about) - but seeing him have this episode is really sad.

[Alisamer]

34 minutes ago, apple1 said:

I don't even like Mitch McConnell (I am not a Kentuckian so it's not mine to vote about) - but seeing him have this episode is really sad.

To me, stuff like this (and Dianne Feinstein, and others who are hanging on to their offices long past when they should have) is not only sad, but kind of... selfish, I guess? On the part of whoever is causing it, whether that's the person themselves (like I suspect for Mitch McConnell) or their handlers/family/staff (like I suspect for Feinstein). 

Also, I think it's pathetic. Like, I know some people are the sort who if they stop "working" they will decline, but that doesn't mean "hang on to power with all your might." Don't these people want to enjoy all they've worked for? Spend more time with their families, enjoy hobbies, volunteer, travel, etc. Do they really want to die clinging on to power and influence, leaving their voters in the lurch having to figure out what to do when they suddenly die? Especially if that means they have a very public decline in their health and capabilities?

I think if these older politicians would really stop and think, and plan, and figure out what's actually best for their constituents, they wouldn't be hanging on until they were no longer truly capable of doing the work they were elected to do (no matter the fact that Mitch there has managed to make a career of obstruction in order to avoid most actual work). They'd be planning for their retirements ahead of time, while they are still able, and if they wanted to still be involved or make a difference they could do so by mentoring up-and-coming politicians, doing volunteer work, supporting or creating charities, etc. 

[Xan]

I started out feeling sorry for him but now -- not so much.  Mitch is the man who packed our Supreme Court with rightwingers.  He's done enormous damage to our country.  And he's still desperately trying to hang on so he can maybe get a few more Republicans elected.  If he wants to stand at the podium and look confused, I'm here for it.  He can be a pathetic mess.  It matches his shriveled little soul.

[danvillebelle]

On 7/31/2023 at 3:44 PM, Xan said:

I started out feeling sorry for him but now -- not so much.  Mitch is the man who packed our Supreme Court with rightwingers.  He's done enormous damage to our country.  And he's still desperately trying to hang on so he can maybe get a few more Republicans elected.  If he wants to stand at the podium and look confused, I'm here for it.  He can be a pathetic mess.  It matches his shriveled little soul.

This. TikTok is currently full of "Mitch Glitch" memes that are seriously funny, and I am SO here for it.  

[fraurosena]

In his home state, no less.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

Mitch needs to step down.

 

[fraurosena]

14 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Mitch needs to step down.

 

This is just appalling. The woman is clearly a nurse or carer of some kind, and quite obviously used to him freezing up. Mitch is not well at all. He looks terrible and frail-- and overwhelmed. His mind is nowhere near what it's supposed to be. Just before he froze, he couldn't even register what was asked of him, and his mumbled response of "Of course, how silly of me" shows this is a reflective answer that he uses more often. 

If someone is not in control of their mental capacities, they should not step down. They should be removed from office, as they are evidently not capable of fulfilling the duties of the job. 

Instead, he's being trotted out to a q&a with reporters, who of all things ask him if he's planning to run for re-election...

[Alisamer]

37 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

This is just appalling. The woman is clearly a nurse or carer of some kind, and quite obviously used to him freezing up. Mitch is not well at all. He looks terrible and frail-- and overwhelmed. His mind is nowhere near what it's supposed to be. Just before he froze, he couldn't even register what was asked of him, and his mumbled response of "Of course, how silly of me" shows this is a reflective answer that he uses more often. 

If someone is not in control of their mental capacities, they should not step down. They should be removed from office, as they are evidently not capable of fulfilling the duties of the job. 

Instead, he's being trotted out to a q&a with reporters, who of all things ask him if he's planning to run for re-election...

I agree. No matter how terrible a person the individual has been, or how much damage they've done, trotting them out and propping them up when they are clearly struggling and no longer capable is horrible and frankly would likely be considered elder abuse if the average Joe was doing something like that. 

If the person hasn't had the grace and sense to step down at a reasonable point, and get past the point of being capable of doing the job they were elected to do, they must be removed, this is just common sense. 

How much worse is this going to have to get, before people stop using ailing, confused old politicians as puppets to further their causes and keep making them money? At this point I could see someone trying to hide someone's passing. Probably not "Weekend at Bernie's" style, but I wouldn't put it past some people. 

I hope they get McConnell out of office and into appropriate care before he literally dies in front of live TV.

[Dandruff]

2 hours ago, Alisamer said:

How much worse is this going to have to get, before people stop using ailing, confused old politicians as puppets to further their causes and keep making them money? At this point I could see someone trying to hide someone's passing. Probably not "Weekend at Bernie's" style, but I wouldn't put it past some people. 

I hope they get McConnell out of office and into appropriate care before he literally dies in front of live TV.

I'm sure the strings are still pulling but the connections have frayed on this puppet.

While I can't help having some pity for the man I have none for the political operative.  Much suffering has been created.

I hope he's removed from office but won't be surprised if he goes on TV.

[WatchingTheTireFireBurn]

It was gross that they didn't immediately walk him away.

There should be term limits in congress.

Why the founding fathers didn't do it I can't imagine. They well knew that it could be/would be a problem-- they studied the Greeks and Romans. The Greeks ostracized politicians who became too powerful for the good of the state overall and the Romans had a very important hero type figure in Cincinnatus who was revered for assuming power only long enough to solve the crisis and then renouncing his power and going back to his farm. The horror of Julius Caesar is that he declared himself a lifetime position in contravention of centuries of tradition and law. The senate murdered him in the hope of returning to older values but it was too late.

  It's not a new problem.

[Dandruff]

7 hours ago, WatchingTheTireFireBurn said:

It was gross that they didn't immediately walk him away.

There should be term limits in congress.

Why the founding fathers didn't do it I can't imagine. They well knew that it could be/would be a problem-- they studied the Greeks and Romans. The Greeks ostracized politicians who became too powerful for the good of the state overall and the Romans had a very important hero type figure in Cincinnatus who was revered for assuming power only long enough to solve the crisis and then renouncing his power and going back to his farm. The horror of Julius Caesar is that he declared himself a lifetime position in contravention of centuries of tradition and law. The senate murdered him in the hope of returning to older values but it was too late.

  It's not a new problem.

I don't know why the founding fathers didn't put in term limits, but they likely weren't envisioning the loss of decency and contact with reality that's now well-accepted within a good chunk of the R party.

Also, folks weren't living as long as they do now.  There would have been fewer instances of "old age"-type maladies, and limited means to keep a person functional once they occurred.

Still - it would have been nice if the founding fathers could have extrapolated a bit better re. the power-hungry or just been more generally pessimistic.  I certainly agree there should be term limits in congress.

[WatchingTheTireFireBurn]

In congress and the supreme court for that matter. 

I hate being dragged into the dark ages 

[front hugs > duggs]

I wish all of the Senate could come together to honorably discharge both Mitch McConnell and Diane Feinstein. I personally think both are past the point of sensibly working, leaving the people of both Kentucky and California without adequate representation. Since there's 1 person from each party, you'd think they may be able to work out a bi-partisan solution here.

Sharon McMahon (SharonSaysSo on Instagram) was saying in her stories yesterday how there should be some solution going forward to prevent this, and it may not just be term limits. Her thought process was that if someone is in their first term, but lands in a coma, a potential solution should be able to address that as well. An honorable discharge that could not be weaponized against the opposing party would be in the best interest of Americans anywhere.

[GreyhoundFan]

MoscowMitch is not sounding well.