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The problem is not old politicians, it is incompetent politicians [1]

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Date: 2023-07-27

Yesterday, Mitch McConnell suffered what appears to be a neurological event when he just stopped talking during a press conference and had to be gently ushered back to his office. Today, Diane Feinstein (90), the oldest sitting Senator, was reportedly at a loss for what she was supposed to do during a Senate Appropriations Committee session.

This unfortunate series of events has raised questions about the increasing gerontification of politics — and provoked a debate about what people should do — if anything. Which in turn raises two points. Is concern about advanced years merely ageism? And is there a viable — or even constitutional — solution (if indeed that is the problem)?

Between January 20, 1993, and January 20, 2017, America was led by three Presidents whose average age at their inaugurations was 49 — Bill Clinton (46), George W Bush (54), and Barack Obama (47). In 2017, Trump was 70. In 2021, Biden was 78. And as it stands, those two will match off again, producing either a 78 or 82-year-old President.

I do not think this reflects a sudden desire by voters to have older Presidents — it is too small a sample to divine any profound trend. But this increase in age reflects that the Founders put no maximum age limit on federal office holders in America. Apparently, they believed people could be too young but not too old.

As bad as this is for Presidents and elected officials, it is even worse for federal judges. At least politicians have to ask the voters periodically for permission to keep going while jurists, once they get their bum on the bench, are there for life — with little constitutional remedy if the wheels fall off. The Constitution does allow for impeachment. And Congress can get rid of a member on ethical grounds. But neither of those addresses the capacity to do the job — and besides, they are rarely-used remedies.

The law also bans states from instituting stricter requirements than the Constitution permits. In 1995, the Supreme Court, in U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton , forbade Arkansas and, by extension, all states to enact term limits. So currently, absent a constitutional amendment, the conversation about politicians and age is moot.

Additionally, a reasonable person could argue that the voters alone should determine their representatives. After all, there is no proscription against convicted felons running for office.

However, for the sake of intellectual exercise, let’s ask what we should do, assuming that we could wave a magic wand to make constitutional issues disappear. Much as the 22nd Amendment restricted presidents to two terms.

First, we must remove age from the equation. It is both artificially restrictive and unneccessary. When considering large numbers of citizens, age limits maybe needed, even though these limits are always arbitrary. Take the drinking age. Many 18-year-olds are more mature drinkers than 25-year-olds — but we have to pick a number, so 21 it is.

Some federal positions have age limits. Law enforcement officers (LEOs), firefighters, and nuclear weapon couriers (NWCs) must retire at age 57. Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs) must retire at age 56.

However, there are only 535 members of Congress, one President, and one VP. So we could decide competence on a case-by-case basis. I suggest that EVERY prospective member of Congress and Presidential candidate take a civics test — the one that prospective new citizens take would be a candidate.

Nikki Haley has been particularly loud in attacking older politicians. During her campaign launch, she demanded c ompetency tests for politicians over 75.

“In the America I see, the permanent politician will finally retire. We’ll have term limits for Congress. And mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old.”

I suspect Haley doesn’t know about the Term Limits case — perhaps that should be part of her competency test. But more importantly, what does age have to do with it? Leaving politics aside, it is obvious there are several (many?) Congresspeople who are incompetent — and maybe insane — who are way younger than 75. And say what you like about Bernie Sanders (81) and Chuck Grassley (89) no one is accusing them of being mentally checked out.

Once we have established that federal politicians take a civic and competency test, regardless of age, we should add tests on economic fundamentals, climate science, fiscal/budget basics, world geography/politics, and anything else we ask our representatives to pass laws on. I would also add an exam testing politicians on their ability to spot logical fallacies.

I would also discard politicians’ academic records. MT Greene has a college degree. Lauren Boebert does not. And yet the depth of their ignorance appears equally profound. Even such putative intellects as Rep. Thomas Massie (two degrees from MIT) have plumbed the depths of dumassery. In an exchange with a visibly puzzled John Kerry, he tried to imply that the erstwhile Secretary of State was claiming to be a scientist because he has a Political Science degree. Kerry has never claimed to be a scientist.

Nobody expects their representative to be a Nobel Prize winner. But America deserves to have politicians who understand the difference between a conspiracy theory and facts, can find Japan on a map, and know that Jesus did not inspire the Constitution — regardless of how old or young they are.

Here are some sample questions for the social studies exam

How many U.S. Representatives are there?

On which date did the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor?

Who was Ronald Reagan’s VP?

Who was the first Secretary of State?

Which is the 48th state?

We could make 4 out of 5 a passing grade.

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