Quick Takes (v76): Old Guard v. Newcomers

Why are people like me so sick and tired of 'politics as usual,' you ask? There are so many reasons, including the one illustrated below.

Connecticut Democrats are being asked, by a millionaire septuagenarian, to vote him through the party primary and let him fight it out in the general election for a 15th term in Congress. 

Why? Because he's been around long enough to be a committee chairman if the Dems manage to not snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in November, and actually win the House in the midterms.

Calls for generational change in Connecticut
Connecticut Democrat John B. Larson has been in the House of Representatives for 14 terms. He would like at least two more years, but the race to replace him has become the latest test of the left’s desire for generational change.

Larson faces three challengers today — former Hartford mayor Luke Bronin, Hartford school board member Ruth Fortune and state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest — but Bronin is seen as the candidate with the best chance to upset Larson, who turned 78 last month.

Larson is staking his reelection campaign on his seniority, arguing that it would be foolish for voters to throw away the power that comes with age in the nation’s seniority-driven political system. “If you’re coming to Congress for the first time, you start at the bottom and work your way up,” Larson said this month. “But if you have the opportunity to send someone who’s going to be a chairman, that means your voice in your district is amplified.”

Just imagine how different things could be if people didn't just assume that because they've 'been there, done that' for a long time, they're the better choice to represent their constituents.

Just imagine how different things could be if bright newcomers with ideas that are supported by thousands in their district and millions in their party weren't forced to 'wait their turn' to get the opportunity to make a difference. 

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a perfect example of this; she lost a vote to become the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee to an eight-term gentleman from Virginia, Rep. Gerry Connolly, "who has got experience, who is seasoned, who can be trusted, who has a record of productivity," he said after the vote.

Would AOC have been the perfect choice for ranking member? Maybe not. Would giving her the chance have been a mistake? I doubt it. But how long will she or others have to wait to get the experience, become seasoned and trusted, before they get a chance to prove themselves? 

Just imagine how different things could be if everyone who was chosen to serve placed their constituents first, rather than party leadership (or worse, the head of another coequal branch of government), and fought for the things that their district needs, whether it's health insurance, clean water, a chip factory, replacement of aging infrastructure, or brand new infrastructure like rural hospitals and elder care facilities, a modernized airport, data center or yes, even an ICE detention facility, if that's what the people want.

Everyone young or new is not automatically better; everyone old is not automatically worse - this is not about age. Rather, it's about how things change outside the halls and walls of where our elected officials spend their time - on our dime - and how hard it is to get those changes recognized inside those halls and walls. 

There has to be a better way; term limits are a start, of course, but it runs deeper than that, doesn't it? Chime in!

The Audacity of....

Back in December of 2000 I was one of a couple hundred people who, after reading with dismay that then President-elect George W. Bush had done away with the inaugural poem, entered a contest on Slate.com to write one for him. Alas, I did not win, but was cited for special mention in the subsequent article announcing the winner– truly a proud moment. If you’re interested in a little stroll down memory lane to the days of the Bush campaign, the article is here. (August 2021 note: the folks at Slate are currently searching for a copy of my poem, but offering no promises; I can't find it anywhere.)

I’m not really feeling poetic about Obama– that might have been a one-shot deal prompted by the peculiarly fascinating words and wisdom of “W”. This year, as we approach the inauguration I simply offer the following:

• The audacity of… Norm Coleman to continue chasing his failed dream to be re-elected as US Senator from Minnesota. Realizing that it’s tough to lose a contest to a professional comedian, there comes a point at which all politicians have to let go of their egos and think about the greater good. In this case, someone needs to be representing the Land of 10,000 Lakes. To date, all signs point to Al Franken. So be it, and let’s move on.

• The audacity of… any politician to question whether Hillary can be fair and balanced in representing the interests of the United States simply because of who contributes to her husband’s foundation. I may be naïve, but pretty much every senator is beholden to some special interest or favored constituency - or other member(s) of the Senate - because of contributions, back room deals and handshakes and the innumerable quid pro quos that are the currency of politics in our country. Question her foreign policy experience, her bullet-dodging visits to other countries if you like – and you should – but leave WJC out of it. Get over him, already!

• The audacity of… our Congress to blithely hand over hundreds of billions to their friends in the financial industry apparently without any rules on how the money was to be spent, without oversight, accountability, or concessions. At the same time as our elected officials were demanding wage reductions, car-pooling and commercial flights from auto industry officials, six- and seven-figure bonuses were being handed out in the banking and insurance business. Exorbitant bonuses, zero accountability, and zero oversight for the fat cat financial experts – who, by the way were the ones we would have relied on in the old days to prevent exactly the kind of meltdown we’re in now. Get them back in and put some kind of framework in place, with real consequences for lack of action.

• And finally, the audacity of… the New York Mets and especially the hated New York Yankees, for continuing to belly up to the bar for money and deals for their new stadiums, and for any elected official in any jurisdiction in New York who approved the funds. I typically struggle with tax breaks and government handouts, but in terms of baseball, I prefer the Kevin Costner approach – “if you build it, they will come.” Certainly in New York, with our multi-billion dollar deficit, there must be something else we can do with the $2.1 billion that’s been handed over to these two profitable corporations to build their new ballparks. According to published reports, the Mets have asked for (and gotten) just shy of $700M for their $800M Queens stadium, and the Pinstripe Pansies are at $1.3B for their (you guessed it) $1.3B Bronx playground.

Here’s hoping that Change We Can Believe In truly starts now – at all levels.