If 30's the new 20, then 90 is the new 60?
While I am obviously looking forward to Senator Byrd chairing the Appropriations Committee again, I came upon this article and I got to thinking about the problems of age in politics... But first read this:
1. They're really friggin' old. That can be A) a very good thing and sagacious wisdom comes down from on high and America benefits from these older Congressman. or B) Old age means the changing world requires new ideas and these guys simply won't have them or they stubborn to change with the times.
2. This, for me, represents a lot of things wrong with Congress. Dominated by an elite class that never goes away and change never occurs. Elitism of American politics has never been more obvious.
This raises the question, how long do we need these guys running things anyway? In the House we see the "safe seats" dominate the ideology of caucus which becomes so rigid and inflexible that it breaks at the first signs of crisis in reality. And of course with the elitism, we have the theoretical policies that say we were greeted as liberators.
Eighty-nine-year-old Robert Byrd of West Virginia, the once and future head of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has been in office longer than the life span of eight of his fellow senators.
Eighty-year-old Michigan Rep. John Dingell, the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, first began hanging around Capitol Hill in the 1930s, when he worked as a House page. He recently had hip surgery — not because his hip wore out, but because his replacement hip needed a tuneup after more than 20 years in use...
...But Thurber said that when senior legislators do not budge, it can create a bottleneck that keeps younger members from moving up and "cuts off new ideas."
With older legislators, he said, sometimes "it's hard to have change. It's hard to react and it's hard to have knowledge and expertise in emerging policy areas." The smartest committee chairmen, he said, will delegate responsibility in some of those areas to younger subcommittee leaders.
Thurber cautioned that there could be some "pushback" by younger members next year if older legislators who remember the old days try to return to a time when committees were run like fiefdoms managed by barons exercising absolute power. That changed after Republicans took charge in 1994; they centralized power and reduced the clout of committee leaders.
1. They're really friggin' old. That can be A) a very good thing and sagacious wisdom comes down from on high and America benefits from these older Congressman. or B) Old age means the changing world requires new ideas and these guys simply won't have them or they stubborn to change with the times.
2. This, for me, represents a lot of things wrong with Congress. Dominated by an elite class that never goes away and change never occurs. Elitism of American politics has never been more obvious.
This raises the question, how long do we need these guys running things anyway? In the House we see the "safe seats" dominate the ideology of caucus which becomes so rigid and inflexible that it breaks at the first signs of crisis in reality. And of course with the elitism, we have the theoretical policies that say we were greeted as liberators.
posted by Amos at 2:08 PM
1 Comments:
Yes, real question is, though, how do the lawmakers who have no credit to themselves except their ability to have won a few races, becoming powerful incumbents and so remaining in office for the duration of decades stay in office? A systematic problem allows these people to remain in office long past-due for their retirements, and we see what have in America in Washington- a political elite aristocracy. This elite more often then not, refuse the changes that would not be of benefit to themselves.
Another criticism, is of course the legacy is passed on those who have never earned it, much like a certain president. It is a problem we now face in the form of Clinton. This argument is not new and we saw it an election, like with John Quincy Adams or even now with Tom Daschle simply being too Washington DC in '04...
Post a Comment
<< Home