Beyond Joe Biden and Donald Trump: How gerontocracy is weakening US democracy

After bombshell quality of erstwhile US President Joe Biden's crab diagnosis rocked the governmental landscape, a deeper situation is confronting the Democratic Party: its longstanding reliance connected ageing lawmakers and a rigid seniority strategy that critics accidental is choking caller endowment and weakening absorption to President Donald Trump's assertive agenda.In conscionable implicit a year, six Democratic members of Congress — each successful their 70s oregon older — person died, leaving gaping holes successful the party's quality to defy Republican policies. The astir glaring illustration came past week erstwhile House Republicans passed Trump's sweeping taxation and spending measure by a azygous vote. Democrats, missing 3 important members who precocious died from cancer, could not marshal the numbers adjacent to hold it."Imagine if 1 of the older and sicker Dems had retired alternatively of dying successful bureau and what that would've meant for millions of people," governmental strategist Rebecca Katz wrote connected X.A mislaid procreation of leadershipOne of the astir high-profile losses was Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly, 75, who died conscionable a time earlier the vote. Ironically, Democrats had precocious elevated Connolly to pb the influential Oversight Committee, passing implicit younger, much dynamic figures similar Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 35."By elevating idiosyncratic who was much of a modular politician, they benignant of mislaid retired connected getting into the culture," said governmental commentator Molly Jong-Fast.

"That was a miss for Democrats."The infinitesimal has crystallised a increasing content wrong the party: that its enactment civilization is fundamentally retired of measurement with the urgency of the times, and the generational displacement among its voters.Age and power: A enactment problemThe Democratic Party isn't unsocial successful lodging ageing enactment — Senate Republicans lone precocious saw 83-year-old Mitch McConnell measurement down arsenic number leader. ...