With the Democratic Party desperate to reclaim power, the age debate will only ramp up
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/ PAULFROGGATT
Iwill never forget the image of Senator Strom Thurmond (R–SC) being wheeled into the Capitol when he was 100 years old to cast critical votes. Many people, including myself, wondered why he was still there. I am reminded of that image by the nearly nonstop coverage of Joe Biden’s age and diminishing mental acuity during his presidency. Adding to this was the sad announcement that the former president has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.
A week after this announcement, Congressman Jerry Connolly died in office at the age of 75.
This is the third Democratic member of Congress to die in office this year. Rep. Sylvester Turner died at 70 and Rep. Raul Grijalva died at 77. Congressional Quarterly did a study analyzing the 118th Congress and found that the average age of its members is 58. But what’s interesting is that the Democratic Party skews older. The average age of a House Democrat is 62, and that of a Democratic senator is 65.
Democrats have had this age debate numerous times before. Few can forget the party’s push to remove an aging Senator Dianne Feinstein from office. She ended up dying in office at the age of 90.
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