NH Democrat Pushing Older Dems to Retire

If you have been reading my reports, you know one of the key issues I have with Congress is the number of fossils we have in office.

Roughly half the members of the Senate and House would be forced to retire in any other industry, yet we have people running for office into their late 70s and early 80s.

Being in Congress is a demanding job, and it is not even fathomable that they can keep the pace, with a few rare exceptions, which is a point made by Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.), who is hoping to set the example and push members to retire to allow the next generation of Senators and Representatives.

Time to Go

When Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) all but disappeared since July, and we later found out she was moved to an elderly care facility and beginning to suffer from dementia, it rang yet another bell.

Granger has not voted on legislation since July, and she has only been seen at the Capitol once since then for her photo unveiling, so her constituents have not had representation for about six months.

While I can have empathy for her health situation, disappearing, especially without an update, is unforgivable as an elected official.

If she wanted to start her retirement, she should have stepped down in July, period.

Kuster, who is 68, decided to retire this term, and she is hoping that her stepping down at a normal retirement age will encourage other members of Congress to do the same.

To that point, she stated, “I’m trying to set a better example. I think there are colleagues — and some of whom are still very successful and very productive — but others who just stay forever.”

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), 84, recently took a fall, so she is out for some time. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), 74, who has various health ailments, was just selected over Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) as the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee.

If you are doing the job the way it is meant to be done, you have to keep a rigorous schedule, and there are only a few freaks of nature that can campaign, spend four days in DC, and then keep their office open over the weekend at these ages.

If we are not going to mandate terms or a retirement age, at the very least, we need to have cognitive testing once they hit a certain age to ensure the Granger situation does not repeat itself.

But if you ask me, once they hit 70, they should be forced to retire to ensure the people representing Americans in Congress can actually relate to the people they represent.