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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThere are more people over 75 in Congress than there are people under 40.
Link to tweet
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ill Filipovic
@JillFilipovic
·
Nov 29, 2020
There are more people over 75 in Congress than there are people under 40.
Reid Wilson
@PoliticsReid
The generational breakdown of the 117th Congress, beautifully visualized by @kerning
Jill Filipovic
@JillFilipovic
It makes sense that Congress would not be perfectly representative age-wise we do want people with experience. But the oldest millennials are now 40; most of us are in our 30s, which is how old Biden was when he went to the senate. Today, theres not a single millennial senator
JI7
(91,031 posts)soothsayer
(38,601 posts)blueinredohio
(6,797 posts)And I'm 63.
Wounded Bear
(60,977 posts)blueinredohio
(6,797 posts)treestar
(82,383 posts)Some of them are younger.
It has nothing to do with age. There are only 535 people in Congress; their is no point in generalizing about their outer characteristics like this.
blueinredohio
(6,797 posts)Buckeyeblue
(5,743 posts)Yes, Obama is a Gen Xer. But why weren't there more Xers in the presidential primary?
soothsayer
(38,601 posts)Zing Zing Zingbah
(6,496 posts)I think it is harder for younger people to involved with politics due to the amount of time and money it takes to run. Generations after Boomers are not as wealthy. Some Xers are still raising kids.
Buckeyeblue
(5,743 posts)I'm 50. Both of my kids are in high school. When my parents were my age, I was in my mid-20's. My dad was within a few years of retiring. That's at least another 15 years for me.
Zing Zing Zingbah
(6,496 posts)Only Millennial was Pete and people acted like he was a baby.
JI7
(91,031 posts)Gillibrand, Swalwell.
Tulsi Gabbard was millenial.
There were many candidates that people could have supported .
JI7
(91,031 posts)HArris, Bullock , TIm Ryan .
Klaralven
(7,510 posts)NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Are you suggesting a correlation? Do you have a source? That's a fascinating claim. I'd like to read more about it.
Klaralven
(7,510 posts)During the 18 year regime of Leonid Brezhnev the political system of the USSR stagnated. The brief term of Yuri Andropov and the very brief term of Konstantin Chernenko, did nothing to reform it.
A political system that does not continuously renew itself will ultimately do so discontinuously.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Klaralven
(7,510 posts)After the USSR collapsed and the Cold War ended, we embarked on the War on Terror. Since that didn't turn out well, we now are entering a new Cold War with China.
It has taken longer, but like the USSR, we are in danger of letting geopolitical goals to cause us to spend ourselves into political oblivion.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Bradshaw3
(7,962 posts)It's beyond obvious although many refuse to accept it. We have an extremely bloated defense budget, which only grows over time - not because of outside threats but because it feeds certain economic elites.
onenote
(44,863 posts)There are a dozen members of the House who are in their 30s. There are around 80 more that are in their 40s.
texasfiddler
(2,194 posts)The younger re-pubes are the worst of the lot.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Zing Zing Zingbah
(6,496 posts)I ask that as a 41 year old who has one child who is technically an adult now. I have decades of experience in my profession and people look to me for answers. I am responsible for so much when it comes to work and family. And btw, people my age are caring for their children and their adult parents while working full time jobs.. and even doing it during this pandemic where now we also have to teach our kids from home while we work. Give me a break really. Boomers never had this experience people my age are having now.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Zing Zing Zingbah
(6,496 posts)What's the difference if a new senator is 40 versus 60+? A new senator is a new to the job regardless of age. That mentality is why we got Susan Collins in the senate again and contributes to the senate staying conservative.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)George II
(67,782 posts)I don't know the breakdown, but a large number of Senators have either been Representatives or Governors and served at lower governmental jobs. They're new to being "Senator" but certainly not new to the leading or legislating.
Susan Collins wasn't elected because of her age, so what "mentality" are you referring to?
Zing Zing Zingbah
(6,496 posts)You are thinking of 40 year olds like they are 20 year olds.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)marmar
(78,151 posts)NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)The youthful philosophy of "NO COMPROMISE EVER" always results in preserving the status quo. And I just find it bizarre that many find this to be a source of great pride and boasting. When did stubbornness and a willingness to achieve NOTHING become a virtue? In the end, the "my way or the highway" crowd almost always end up on the highway themselves, with very little to show for their efforts.
BarackTheVote
(938 posts)Has done such a great job as stewards of this country as they march us toward environmental armageddon, staggering wealth inequality, social unrest, and civil war. JFK was 35 when he became a Senator; thats four years younger than the oldest Millennial is today. President-Elect Biden was 30 when he became a Senator.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Aren't we fortunate that they had others of experience to guide them, and to keep them in-touch with reality. I'm constantly amazed at how many "activists" think that the youngest members of Congress are qualified to be chosen as Speaker or Majority Leader. One thing remains certain in my mind, that experience comes from age ... and we need experience. It's wrong for anyone to suggest that age begets corruption or incompetence.
JI7
(91,031 posts)anything to help since they are young ?
Maxheader
(4,399 posts)stereotype age with wisdom and performance. Imho
It seems to boil down to who is holding the leash.
In mitch the bitches case, it is the koch's....
MineralMan
(148,151 posts)in local offices before running for Congress. That takes time. While people will often vote for candidates in their 30s for local offices, that's still just a starting point for someone who wants to be a politician.
So, suppose you want to be a Congressional Representative someday. You run for the city council, then the lower state legislative house, with maybe a stop in the state Senate. Assuming you are 25 when you run for city council. You're going to be 40 years old before you build enough credibility to run for Congress. Then, as an incumbent, you have a good chance of staying in the House for multiple terms.
It's easy to understand why the average age in the House is older than you might think.
Demsrule86
(71,036 posts)George II
(67,782 posts)...in fact there were several others younger than him.
There were even three Senators who served at 28 and 29, before they turned 30. But that was back in the very early 1800s when things weren't as structured as they are today. Who knows, maybe their states couldn't find anyone else willing to serve at the time?
But Biden is one of the youngest and only turned 30 in December, weeks before he was to take office.
treestar
(82,383 posts)there's no reason for this to be a thing.