No, Beshear shouldn’t replace Biden. But we do need politician age, term limits. | Opinion
Unlike our sister paper, the Sacramento Bee, which responded to last night’s debate disaster by pushing Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom to replace President Joe Biden, I am not going to join some social media calls for Gov. Andy Beshear to edge closer to the presidential ring.
He’s got plenty of time to pursue that after finishing his gubernatorial term.
But Thursday’s night’s demoralizing, doddering performance by President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump’s mendacious yet vivacious string of lies have unleashed a lot of calls TO DO SOMETHING.
Democrats are in full blown panic mode.
The entire New York Times Opinion front urged Biden to step aside.
It’s a total mess, opening wide the door for a second, more autocratic, more corrupt second term for Trump, who at 78 is no spring chicken himself. And Democrats have no one but themselves to blame, living as they do in an entitled gerontocracy, in which young people wait their for their turn as the old ones cling to power and resources and what’s left of their legacies.
As Republicans gloat and Democrats dither, let’s talk again about age and term limits for our very shaky political class.
Here in Kentucky, we have some up close and personal experience of how bad the gerontocracy has become.
Sen. Mitch McConnell has lasted in office well past his best years, trying to persuade people that he is the only Republican bulwark against the vagaries and vulgarities of Trump. We can see how well that’s worked out. It was as terrible watching McConnell freeze up, as he did twice last year, as it was to see Biden search for words and direction on Thursday night.
U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, now 86, is serving his 22nd term, and despite being the “Prince of Pork,” his Eastern Kentucky district still falls behind in nearly every category of well being.
Age limits and term limits could stop this kind of elder abuse we saw with politicians like Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who died in office well after he critical faculties had failed her. Of course, the power and perks of national office are addictive, but at some point it’s time to let go.
Term limits would do a lot to open the political pipeline to younger people, so would age limits for the presidency.
As Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said last year in introducing a term limit bill: “The Founding Fathers envisioned a government of citizen legislators who would serve for a few years and return home, not a government run by a small group of special interests and lifelong, permanently entrenched politicians who prey upon the brokenness of Washington to govern in a manner that is totally unaccountable to the American people.”
But worse is that people who see the same folks in office year after year assume nothing can be done, so there’s no point in doing anything to affect change. That leads to the kind of low-information electorate that can be heavily swayed by just one debate. Or lead to people who just stay home, election after election.
How could two geezers arguing about golf be even remotely inspiring to young people?
Biden could have been a hero to leave the field open to a Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer or Newsom. Instead, he’s opened the door to a second Trump term.
That’s a much worse legacy than being a one-term president.
