Whatabout Strom Thurmond?! Senator from S.C. Served until he was 100. It's said that
his racist, Senate colleagues had him mummified and propped up for votes.
From Wikipedia:
Toward the end of Thurmond's Senate career, critics suggested his mental abilities had declined. His supporters argued that, while he lacked physical stamina due to his age, mentally he remained aware and attentive, and maintained a very active work schedule, showing up for every floor vote. He stepped down as Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee at the beginning of 1999, as he had pledged to do in late 1997.[284] Retrospectively, a Senate aide stated that "for his last ten years, Thurmond didn’t know if he was on foot or on horseback", while a 2020 New Yorker article stated that he was "widely known" by the end of his career to be "non-compos mentis."[285]
In August 1999, Thurmond underwent surgery for an enlarged prostate. In September, Thurmond was admitted to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center for tests.[286] In October 2000, Thurmond collapsed while lunching with a staff member and an acquaintance at a restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia and was admitted to Walter Reed; his spokeswoman Genevieve Erny stated that the collapse was found to have been unrelated to previous illnesses.[287] On the morning of October 2, 2001, Thurmond was admitted to Walter Reed after fainting at his Senate desk. He was accompanied in the ambulance by fellow Republican and retired heart transplant surgeon Bill Frist.[288][289]
= new reply since forum marked as read
that to work. A slow, deliberative body with lots of redundance built-in.
Before the GOP went rabid, reciprocal courtesy to accommodate those who wanted to keep working was far more normal than not.
That said, Strom Thurmond’s case was outstanding. 
But his kept electing him. That’s why when this subject comes up his name always does too.
