Age Limits For Political Office - Part 2

[DonTheCon2024]

2nd time in a month or so that Mitch has a stroke while answering Q&A..

Is it time to enact age maximums, the same way we require age minimums? I think it’s time. 70 and 80 year olds, including Biden and Trump, have obvious and severe mental issues and are a threat to this country.

Last time this topic was posted - I did recall all the 80 year old dinosaurs here being vehemently against it (they are the smart 80 year olds, duh, and not like the rest) while the relatively younger crowd agreed with me.

 

@Reagan @LumRaiderFan - what do y’all think? Should we ban your classmates from running for office?

[thetragichippy]

I'm not sure I believe in age discrimination...... 

He is a representative and put in office by the people.....maybe shorter terms, but the people put him in office

 

 

[DonTheCon2024]

32 minutes ago, thetragichippy said:

I'm not sure I believe in age discrimination...... 

He is a representative and put in office by the people.....maybe shorter terms, but the people put him in office

 

 

What do you think on the age minimum then (for president, at least)?

Age 45-62 is the sweet spot in my opinion, but fine with 35 for a minimum. Old enough to have real experience, and young enough that your brain is still functioning properly 

[5GallonBucket]

4 hours ago, thetragichippy said:

I'm not sure I believe in age discrimination...... 

He is a representative and put in office by the people.....maybe shorter terms, but the people put him in office

 

 

Though I agree, but when an elected official falls prone to such things (stroke, mental impairment,etc) after being elected…..something needs to happen…..not sure what, but for sure their name should not be on the ballot the next go around.

 

[TxHoops]

7 hours ago, DonTheCon2024 said:

2nd time in a month or so that Mitch has a stroke while answering Q&A..

Is it time to enact age maximums, the same way we require age minimums? I think it’s time. 70 and 80 year olds, including Biden and Trump, have obvious and severe mental issues and are a threat to this country.

Last time this topic was posted - I did recall all the 80 year old dinosaurs here being vehemently against it (they are the smart 80 year olds, duh, and not like the rest) while the relatively younger crowd agreed with me.

 

@Reagan @LumRaiderFan - what do y’all think? Should we ban your classmates from running for office?

We have age limits on district judges in this state.  You can’t run again once you turn 75.  So I guess you could be in office until you are 78 and 365 days.  I think we all agree the presidency is a little more important.  I think not being able to run once you turn 70 (for president and congress/senate) makes sense.  Just my personal opinion.  Same for scotus (retire them at 70).   

[baddog]

Some politicians have been stupid all their lives. Their policies suck and they have done nothing of merit all their born days. What would help more than age discrimination would be to require voters to pass an aptitude test, you know, tests that ask difficult questions like which ocean is on the east coast of the U.S. This would definitely weed out the college graduates.

[tvc184]

Mitch McConell freezes up. A stroke? Is it a seizer?

My mother had similar symptoms and completely froze up to the point of one time being on the floor for several hours alone before being discovered. She was admitted to the hospital twice under emergency conditions, once being completely unconscious. After rounds of tests that showed no stroke, another neurologist was called in and diagnosed it in about 30 seconds. He put her on anti-seizure meds and she lived 5 more years without another incident. This was when she was 79 years old and once on a daily med, she was fully cognizant and functional, living 5 more years alone and taking care of herself for the rest of her life  

So while all the internet and sidewalk doctors are diagnosing online, no one knows what his issue is. I am but suggesting that he has the same condition as my mother but a neurologists and another doctor did not diagnose her correctly when speaking with her directly and looking at her charts. McConell is 81 so it must be a stroke.

Maybe a stroke or some other serious medical issue should be an automatic limiting factor. If so, should John Fetterman’s stroke remove him from the Senate also? He doesn’t appear to be as cognizant as McConnell.

All while realizing that the question (as posed in the OP) “is it time”,  is all likely a moot point. It is an interesting topic but we don’t get a vote according to the Constitution. For there to be term limits there would almost certainly have to be a constitutional amendment. So the politicians of both parties would have to vote on an amendment to limit their own careers and then put it to the states.

Good luck…

[mat]

Age shouldn’t matter. Competence does. I have to wonder about the people that keep re-electing them. 

[baddog]

17 minutes ago, tvc184 said:

Mitch McConell freezes up. A stroke? Is it a seizer?

My mother had similar symptoms and completely froze up to the point of one time being on the floor for several hours alone before being discovered. She was admitted to the hospital twice under emergency conditions, once being completely unconscious. After rounds of tests that showed no stroke, another neurologist was called in and diagnosed it in about 30 seconds. He put her on anti-seizure meds and she lived 5 more years without another incident. This was when she was 79 years old and once on a daily med, she was fully cognizant and functional, living 5 more years alone and taking care of herself for the rest of her life  

So while all the internet and sidewalk doctors are diagnosing online, no one knows what his issue is. I am but suggesting that he has the same condition as my mother but a neurologists and another doctor did not diagnose her correctly when speaking with her directly and looking at her charts. McConell is 81 so it must be a stroke.

Maybe a stroke or some other serious medical issue should be an automatic limiting factor. If so, should John Fetterman’s stroke remove him from the Senate also? He doesn’t appear to be as cognizant as McConnell.

All while realizing that the question (as posed in the OP) “is it time”,  is all likely a moot point. It is an interesting topic but we don’t get a vote according to the Constitution. For there to be term limits there would almost certainly have to be a constitutional amendment. So the politicians of both parties would have to vote on an amendment to limit their own careers and then put it to the states.

Good luck…

Believe it or not, I have never seen anyone freeze up like that. 

[tvc184]

33 minutes ago, baddog said:

Believe it or not, I have never seen anyone freeze up like that. 

I believe it. I have. 

[LumRaiderFan]

No upper age limits should be applied, youth doesn’t automatically make you any sharper and old doesn’t automatically make you any less clear minded, it comes down to the person.

Like TVC has pointed out, this makes for fun conversation but at the end of the day, that’s all it is.

To include Trump in the original post as far as being senile is laughable.

By the way, biden was a threat to this country long before he lost his wits, there are lots of threats more dangerous than old men and women.

[DonTheCon2024]

4 hours ago, mat said:

Age shouldn’t matter. Competence does. I have to wonder about the people that keep re-electing them. 

It reminds of me that poll a while back - congress had like.. 10-15% approval. Something stupidly low.

Yet nearly everyone got Re-elected anyways. Sort of a “I dislike congress, but MY guy is different” attitude 

[DonTheCon2024]

1 hour ago, LumRaiderFan said:

No upper age limits should be applied, youth doesn’t automatically make you any sharper and old doesn’t automatically make you any less clear minded, it comes down to the person.

Like TVC has pointed out, this makes for fun conversation but at the end of the day, that’s all it is.

To include Trump in the original post as far as being senile is laughable.

By the way, biden was a threat to this country long before he lost his wits, there are lots of threats more dangerous than old men and women.

Don’t take it personal dude you act like these dinosaurs are your daddy 

[LumRaiderFan]

1 minute ago, DonTheCon2024 said:

Don’t take it personal dude you act like these dinosaurs are your daddy 

Believe me, I don't take anything personal, especially from the likes of you, lol.

[DonTheCon2024]

8 minutes ago, LumRaiderFan said:

Believe me, I don't take anything personal, especially from the likes of you, lol.

Yet you’ve dedicated your life to defending a certain politician lol 🤡 

 

Makes sense if you’re on payroll (like unwoke), but.. you’re not 

 

[LumRaiderFan]

5 minutes ago, DonTheCon2024 said:

Yet you’ve dedicated your life to defending a certain politician lol 🤡 

 

Makes sense if you’re on payroll (like unwoke), but.. you’re not 

lol

[bullets13]

yup, would love to see it.  Would also love to see driving tests implemented every 3-5 years once drivers hit a certain age.  

[LumRaiderFan]

What do you do with Fetterman?  

Remember, he's in the "sweet spot" at 54.

It's about the capabilities of the person, not about age.

Anyway, doesn't matter, will never happen.

 

[Big girl]

23 hours ago, thetragichippy said:

I'm not sure I believe in age discrimination...... 

He is a representative and put in office by the people.....maybe shorter terms, but the people put him in office

 

 

I agree that it is ageism 

[UT alum]

23 hours ago, DonTheCon2024 said:

2nd time in a month or so that Mitch has a stroke while answering Q&A..

Is it time to enact age maximums, the same way we require age minimums? I think it’s time. 70 and 80 year olds, including Biden and Trump, have obvious and severe mental issues and are a threat to this country.

Last time this topic was posted - I did recall all the 80 year old dinosaurs here being vehemently against it (they are the smart 80 year olds, duh, and not like the rest) while the relatively younger crowd agreed with me.

 

@Reagan @LumRaiderFan - what do y’all think? Should we ban your classmates from running for office?

My personal opinion is that the voter should be the sole determinant of term lengths, the exception being the Chief Executive.

[thetragichippy]

18 hours ago, bullets13 said:

yup, would love to see it.  Would also love to see driving tests implemented every 3-5 years once drivers hit a certain age.  

When Dad hit 84 or 85, we were trying to get him to stop driving.  Around that same time his drivers license was up for renewal. We (his kids)  kind of celebrated in our head because we knew there was NO WAY he would pass the vision test, plus he was starting to struggle just simply walking.....but he was determined........

I'm not sure how he did it, but he passed and got his license renewed......to this day I think he memorized the eye chart or something.......

I agree with you but the test should be a actual driving test......

[Reagan]

On 8/30/2023 at 3:08 PM, DonTheCon2024 said:

2nd time in a month or so that Mitch has a stroke while answering Q&A..

Is it time to enact age maximums, the same way we require age minimums? I think it’s time. 70 and 80 year olds, including Biden and Trump, have obvious and severe mental issues and are a threat to this country.

Last time this topic was posted - I did recall all the 80 year old dinosaurs here being vehemently against it (they are the smart 80 year olds, duh, and not like the rest) while the relatively younger crowd agreed with me.

 

@Reagan @LumRaiderFan - what do y’all think? Should we ban your classmates from running for office?

You bring up a good point.  I think there are two different ways of looking at this.  As been discussed, the two are age and competence.   What if a 100 year old individual has all of their mental faculties and is spry as a 50 year old do we automatically exclude them from serving?   But, age and competence isn't always consistent.  Fedderman for example.  Has the "right" age, but...  I always fall back on letting the people vote for who they want.  But, you are right, a lot of times Congress' ratings are low but people like their Congressman. 

I also think it falls on the individuals and their family and advisors to say, OK, it's time to retire.  But, it hasn't always been the case.  Their egos and the power they hold doesn't allow them to do the right thing.  Example: "Fienstein in California:  Why is she holding on?!