Senators that are too old to serve

[KarrieTex]

I was listening to Savage last night on my way home. Even I get tried of bubble gum pop once in a while.

He brought up a good point. What do we do when we have Senators who are too old to serve? He was playing some clips from some of our oldest Senators and I can seriously say that I have concerns that they are not afflicted with dementia or other diseases that hit our eldery. I do understand that they are some wise and sharp older men and women serving but that doesn't negate the fact we have some older Senators that have made the slide into the world of losing their mental capacity.

 

[Billnew]

We elect our senators.
It is up to their opponents to show these problems,
or up to their party to tell them they might not be the best choice
anymore.

I do support limited term limits(must sit one term out every 2), but as far as age, the voters must decide.

 

[heapshake]

I think a bigger issue is judges. The voters can get rid of a senator who's losing his mind if they want too, it's near impossible to get rid of a federal judge who's lost his marbles.

 

[KarrieTex]

I don't agree with that anymore. I am seeing more and more of our eldery dealing with dementia and Alzthimer's (sorry for spelling here). When that stat is increasing at alarming rates we need to make checks and balances in our LAW MAKERS.

They have duties that the American people do now know of.

 

[heapshake]

We have the check of being able to vote them out.

 

[KarrieTex]

That's not working is it? I am sorry I don't agree with that. Have you dealt with an elderly dealing with dementia? It's not an easy thing nor is it constant. My grandma had it and it took us 2 years to TRICK her into a home because of how combative they are.

Can you imagine someone working during that 2 year transtion period of mild to severe dementia on our policies? Sometimes it is not seen right away.

If there is a age limit to when you can start serving, I don't see an issue with limiting how long and how old they can be to be in office.

 

[jayem]

Term limits on US Senators and Congressman might require amending the Constitution. Not an easy task. It definitely would be required to limit the terms of federal judges. It took the other members of the Supreme Court to convince 90 year old Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes that he needed to step down.

 

[heapshake]

I have no idea if it's working because I have no idea who has dementia. What senator's have dementia?

 

[KarrieTex]

And there is the point...we don't know until they do something that is recorded.

The older gentleman who was crying about Kennedy had mannerisms and speach patterns of those who do suffer from it and are in the first stages.

Since my grandma died of Alzthimer's (which I still can't spell), I researched it and jumped into all the info out there so I could be a help. It bothers me to see the signs in our older Senators.

 

[heapshake]

So how do you know the check of voting them out isn't working?

I think its a bad idea to limit who voters can choose based on age just because they might develop dementia. Dementia can strike people in their 60's. How many Senators would we get rid of if they couldn't serve past 65?

You also have to take into account that maybe the voters don't care if their Senator has dementia. Their are a lot of Senators with fully functioning minds that I don't want working on policies, but I have no say in whether or not they are elected. If West Virginia voters want some old guy who might be losing his mind representing them then so be it.

 

[SOAD]

Is there any transcript for the Savage comments?

 

[MichaelFJF]

Robert Byrd should have been retired for 20 years.

 

[SOAD]

Wasn't there a few times when they actually thought Thurmond died in Congress only to find it was nap time?

 

[KarrieTex]

So how do you know the check of voting them out isn't working?

I think its a bad idea to limit who voters can choose based on age just because they might develop dementia. Dementia can strike people in their 60's. How many Senators would we get rid of if they couldn't serve past 65?

You also have to take into account that maybe the voters don't care if their Senator has dementia. Their are a lot of Senators with fully functioning minds that I don't want working on policies, but I have no say in whether or not they are elected. If West Virginia voters want some old guy who might be losing his mind representing them then so be it.

Bunk! WV's senator just doesn't represent that state but makes policies that affect me. I don't think so.

What voter doesn't care that their politician is losing their mind???

 

[KarrieTex]

I am not sure about transcripts on Savage. I rarely listen to him but I decided to last night. I am sure there is something on his site.

There is another problem. Napping when they are making decisions that will have an effect on us? No that is a problem.

 

[heapshake]

Bunk! WV's senator just doesn't represent that state but makes policies that affect me. I don't think so.

It's not bunk, Byrd does represent West Virginia and its up to voters there to determine if he is competent or not. Apparently they think he is.

What voter doesn't care that their politician is losing their mind???

You have yet to show me which Senators are losing their mind so it's tough to answer. Here in Missouri we elected a dead man to the senate so it's not hard to imagine a voter that doesn't care if the person they vote for is in his right mind.

 

[KarrieTex]

All that tells me is that the voters in Missouri are relatively ignorant and foolish when it comes to voting.

And I have already pointed out one and YOU KNEW who I was speaking of even though I didn't remember his name.

AGAIN, what voters in Missouri who vote in a dead man and West Virgina do in voting in a man who is losing his mental capacity does EFFECT me and everyone else in the country.

Which begs another question, what does that say about our country on a whole in their intelligence if they are willing to vote in a dead man?

 

[heapshake]

All that tells me is that the voters in Missouri are relatively ignorant and foolish when it comes to voting.

I figure Missouri voters are like most other voters in the country.

And I have already pointed out one and YOU KNEW who I was speaking of even though I didn't remember his name.

So "The older gentleman who was crying about Kennedy had mannerisms and speach patterns of those who do suffer from it and are in the first stages." is referring to Byrd? I didn't know that was what you were talking about. I misread this as you saying some guy was crying that Kennedy had mannerisms of dementia. I picked Byrd because he is the first person that pops into my head when I think of an old Senator. I haven't seen Byrd crying about Teddy.

AGAIN, what voters in Missouri who vote in a dead man and West Virgina do in voting in a man who is losing his mental capacity does EFFECT me and everyone else in the country.

Yes it does, but so does people voting in racists, people who believe in ufo's, and people who think Hugo Chavez is just misunderstood. You can't control who people in other states vote into office. If voters think someone with dementia is a horrible thing it shouldn't be too hard to beat the guy. If Byrd does show signs of dementia then the people of West Virginia must think he's better then the alternative. Is that a sad commentary on society - Yes. But that is what can happen when you have a representative republic. At least we haven't had any horses elected to the senate yet.

Which begs another question, what does that say about our country on a whole in their intelligence if they are willing to vote in a dead man?

How would you like to be the guy who lost to a dead guy? I think Ashcroft got did in by shenanigans in St Louis, and it probably would have been a bigger deal if it weren't for hanging chads in Florida.

 

[Autumnleaf]

You can't infringe on other people's right to be stupid. Even if they are voters or elected Senators.

 

[SallyNow]

And there is the point...we don't know until they do something that is recorded.

The older gentleman who was crying about Kennedy had mannerisms and speach patterns of those who do suffer from it and are in the first stages.

Since my grandma died of Alzthimer's (which I still can't spell), I researched it and jumped into all the info out there so I could be a help. It bothers me to see the signs in our older Senators.

Of course, there are also many mannerisms and speech patterns that mimic Alzheimer's but are not. This is why someone has to be diagnoised by a specialist and not just a regular GP.

What may appear to be signs of the illness in older Senators could just be, well, old age, or problems they've always had but that have only come under scrutiny as they get older.

One's ability to speak clearly does not indicate one's mental health directly. There are many brilliant people who can't string a speech together.

Putting an upper limit on the age of Senators would be limiting. It would leave a lot of qualified individuals out of the running.

Who would replace them? The USA might end up with upstart politicians who are just in it for less-then-noble reasons.

And if the USA starts putting upper age limits on Senators because of the small possibility they might end up with Alzheimer's, what's next? Senators with heart defects, diabetes, joint pain?

If something isn't working in the American election system the actual cause has to be addressed. Using the elderly as scapegoats won't solve a thing, if there is indeed something wrong.