There are more people over 75 in Congress than there are people under 40.

[soothsayer]

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, there’s not a single millennial senator

[JI7]

1. Jon Ossoff is running right now

[soothsayer]

2. Thought immediately of him

[blueinredohio]

3. I keep saying if we want change we have to get the old white men out of congress.

And I'm 63.

[Wounded Bear]

34. Their are a few old white women we should also replace...

[blueinredohio]

36. Very true but we have a lot more old white men than old white women.

[treestar]

40. We need the Republicans out of Congress

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]

41. We all know that's not going to happen until we get rid of gerrymandering.

[Buckeyeblue]

4. I think as a whole Gen Xers have been less interested in politics

Yes, Obama is a Gen Xer. But why weren't there more Xers in the presidential primary?

[soothsayer]

5. It's a good question

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

6. I wouldn't say that is true

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]

9. Right. Many of us are at different stages in our lives than boomers at our ages

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]

7. Kalama Harris and Andrew Yang are X'ers

Only Millennial was Pete and people acted like he was a baby.

[JI7]

14. Beto O'Rourke , Cory Booker, Julian CAstro, Steve Bullock, Tim Ryan

Gillibrand, Swalwell.

Tulsi Gabbard was millenial.

There were many candidates that people could have supported .

[JI7]

15. There were many Gen Xers that ran in the Primary. Beto, Booker, Castro, Gillibrand

HArris, Bullock , TIm Ryan .

[Klaralven]

8. The age distribution of our leaders increasingly resembles that of the USSR before its collapse

[NurseJackie]

11. Please.

Are you suggesting a correlation? Do you have a source? That's a fascinating claim. I'd like to read more about it.

[Klaralven]

23. At the beginning of the 27th Poliburo in 1986, Gorbachev age 54 was the youngest member

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/27th_Politburo_of_the_Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union

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]

25. Correlation is not causation.

A political system that does not continuously renew itself will ultimately do so discontinuously.

Correlation is not causation. Our nation is not on the verge of collapse because of the age distribution in Congress.

[Klaralven]

28. I think that age has a lot to do with not being able to do without a global adversary

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]

29. Lulz!

[Bradshaw3]

32. Very true

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]

35. That's a ridiculous comparison

There are a dozen members of the House who are in their 30s. There are around 80 more that are in their 40s.

[texasfiddler]

10. I want more progressives in the Senate.

The younger re-pubes are the worst of the lot.

[NurseJackie]

12. "Today, there's not a single millennial senator"

Today, there’s not a single millennial senator

She says that as if it's a bad thing. Based on everything I've seen and observed in my lifetime, I do not believe that the Senate is the place for inexperienced youth.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

16. A 40 year old is an inexperienced youth?

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]

17. Generally and in the context of being a United States Senator? Yes. Absolutely!

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

18. There has to be a first time for everything

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]

20. I think the answer to that is quite obvious. Nobody needs me to spell-it-out to them.

What's the difference if a new senator is 40 versus 60+?

I think the answer to that is quite obvious. Nobody needs me to spell-it-out to them.

A new senator is a new to the job regardless of age.

Yes, and? That doesn't account for a lifetime of political experience, and in forging alliances with others and finding common ground and mutual interests with other people in positions of power. Although it's certainly a challenging responsibility for individuals who "are caring for their children and their adult parents while working full time jobs," that's hardly qualification for being a United States Senator. The "piss and vinegar" emotional hotheads are more suited for in the House... and even then, that phase doesn't last too long.

That mentality is why we got Susan Collins in the senate again and contributes to the senate staying conservative.

That's a weak strawman argument that is irrelevant.

[George II]

33. I don't think we should elect Senators who require on the job training....

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]

19. Your statement isn't even generally true

You are thinking of 40 year olds like they are 20 year olds.

[NurseJackie]

21. Wrong.

You are thinking of 40 year olds like they are 20 year olds.

Wrong. But try to guess what I'm thinking now.

[marmar]

22. It's not a great place for old, jaded types either, based on my observations.

[NurseJackie]

24. I prefer that "jaded-experience" over "reckless-enthusiasm".

It's not a great place for old, jaded types either, based on my observations.

I prefer that "jaded-experience" over "reckless-enthusiasm". The experience is what allows Senators to have a full and working understanding of how things work and what it takes to make progress (even "incremental" progress). It's done by being willing to compromise and find common ground and areas of mutual benefit. It's done by trading favors and building alliances over time.

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]

26. Because the Old Boy's Club

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; that’s four years younger than the oldest Millennial is today. President-Elect Biden was 30 when he became a Senator.

[NurseJackie]

27. Aren't we fortunate that they had others of experience to guide them...

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]

31. That's becsuse of republicans. Do you think Tom Cotton, Cruz,Rubio are doing

anything to help since they are young ?

[Maxheader]

13. we can't, unfortunately

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]

30. Well, it generally takes some credibility-building

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]

37. Biden was the youngest Senator ever....

[George II]

38. That's what I though and what was said decades ago, but....

...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]

39. That's the choice of the voters

there's no reason for this to be a thing.