Is the Country Ready for a Changing of the Guard

Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for, and the desire to bring in some fresh blood at every level of government may not be working out as hoped. Because we do not have term limits except in a few Governor situations, we have a House and Senate that often looks like a gathering of the Blue-Plate Special at 4 pm rather than the most powerful governing body on the planet.

We have 25 members in their 70s (being 72 myself, I still think this is young), and 23 in their 80s. It is nice that these people want to serve, but don’t they have a retirement to enjoy, or is power and money their true enjoyment? We actually have one Senator in his 90s! Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has been in Washington since 1975. He spent 6 years in the House and the last 45 years in the Senate. He will be, God willing, 96 when his current term ends. He has been in Washington so long that he needs directions to get back home to Iowa.

On the one hand, it is admirable that we have people who want to spend their careers serving their state and country, but on the other hand, shouldn’t we be looking to get some fresh ideas in Washington, or is that a dangerous thought? Is it better to have a Graham Platner in the upper chamber, or Chuck Grassley? Sorry, Graham, but Washington is not ready for you and for so many reasons.

Many members of the age groups I earmarked will retire and not return to Washington in 2027, while some are running for other offices. These are the totals:

Senate: 11 incumbents (4 Democrats, 7 Republicans)

House: 58 incumbents (22 Democrats, 36 Republicans)

Some of the notables are: Joni Ernst (IA), Thom Tillis (NC), Mitch McConnell (KY), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL, for governor), Dick Durbin (IL), and Jeanne Shaheen (NH) in the Senate.

In the House, some of those not returning are: Frederica Wilson (FL-24), Steve Cohen (TN-9), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Steny Hoyer (MD-5), Nancy Pelosi (CA-11), Jared Golden (ME-2), Daniel Webster (FL-11), Sam Graves (MO-6), Darrell Issa (CA-48), Burgess Owens (UT-4), Ryan Zinke (MT-1), Mark Amodei (NV-2), Barry Loudermilk (GA-11), Vern Buchanan (FL-16), Neal Dunn (FL-2), Elise Stefanik (NY-2).

The plus side is that we are guaranteed to have new faces in 69 seats. The flip side, and not a good option, is that we are not attracting quality people to serve, and this has been the case for the last 20-30 years. You have to look at Sandy Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Shri Thanedar, Al Green, and Eric Swalwell to see what I am talking about. These people, in some cases, are corrupt, or they are not native born Americans and actually hate and denounce the country they have sworn to protect. Then look at newcomers on the front lines, this year: Graham Platner is in no way suitable, with the many accusations of his character deficiencies, to serve in a body consisting of 100 of the finest political minds. James Talarico would bring radical views like there are 6 genders and God is non-binary to the House, and we thought the Squad was an issue. There is a good chance that both of these individuals will be elected in November.

So we have the conundrum of an aging governing class and a lack of young, quality alternatives. I don’t profess to have the solutions, but our future relies on quality people who love this country and adhere to the ideals set forth by our forefathers, some of whom were just simple men, but who shared a vision. We need to get our collective eyes headed on the right path for our future.

Author’s note: images created by Grok AI