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:

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.

Welcome to Outside Agitator

Welcome all to Outside Agitator! This is a blog from the heart of the West Virginian mountains (and they are mountains!) for forward thinkers from all around. The name Outside Agitator is a reference to the labor movement in the 20th Century and most often in the coal mines of Appalachia. Local politicians and coal-mine owners would often label union organizers as "outsiders" sent to threaten the stability of their community, their jobs, but most importantly, their profits. Soon the criticism was leveled at anyone who would criticize laissez-faire capitalism and demand the dignity of laborers and workers. The argument against these "agitators" was an appeal to the us vs. them mentality, seeking to undermine support from the middle-class and the solidarity of workers. In short, these days it refers to anyone who questions the constructs of this "free and open" society. But we "outside agitators" are far from outsiders bent on destroying the social fabric of our communities. We are firsthand witnesses to the destructivness of corporatism and elite conservatism that undermines the democratic society we all seek. Our country was founded upon some good ideas,it was also incomplete and its potential to create an equal society with equal opportunity is far from being realized. If you think America has this potential and see the artificial limits and weak societal constructs propped up by our media, our politicians, our intellectual leaders, and our business leaders, then you my friend are an outside agitator, of the worst kind.

I'm your host Amos Noble, entrepeneur in ideas, agitator, and meanwhile adventurer. I welcome your views, perspectives, and ultimately comments in this experiment. I hope you find the content provocative and useful in challenging every convential thought you may have ever possessed. If you survive, you'll be stronger for it.