Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly died Wednesday at age 75, weeks after stepping down from a top Democratic role and announcing he would not seek re-election after the return of esophageal cancer.
Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly, who edged out New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) for a top Democratic post in December before stepping down, died from esophageal cancer on Wednesday, becoming the third Democrat to die in office this term.
The late congressman made headlines in December when, with support from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, he defeated AOC to lead the House Oversight Committee, despite reportedly violating stock trading laws, according to Raw Story. AOC would have been the youngest Democrat to chair a House committee at 35 years old.
Yeah, age isn't so much the issue when we have decent older people like Bernie Sanders and younger douchebags like Josh Gottheimer running around, the problem is that newly elected Democratic party members have all been told that they need to vote for the people who have been in DC the longest and one day eventually it will be their turn
That would be bad enough on its own, but coupled with the destruction of any kind of campaign finance regulations making it a lot easier for moderate Democratic party members to secretly work work with rich donors and Republicans to make sure progressives don't stay in DC for long, we've ended up with a senior group of Democratic lawmakers who have shitty policies their voters hate and only know how to solve their problems through hippie punching
The problem isn't that they're old. The problem is that seniority trumps everything else. He was worse for the position, but he got it because he had seniority.
He wasn't bad because he was old, he was just worse and got it because he was old.
Or did Democrats just shit themselves in the for again and that seat will now remain empty like they did with that cryptkeeper lady from California who wasn't even different enough to go to Congress and do her job
Stay classy, telling a reporter to “kill yourself” for factually reporting on Connolly publicly announcing his cancer diagnosis.
Why does the party value fealty and seniority so implicitly? There’s a place for the ‘elder statesman’ voice to share institutional wisdom and tribal knowledge, but this man cannot seriously have had more vigor and energy to pour into leadership than someone under half his age…
They’re literally unable to do anything else except remain in their protected little cocoons arguing with each other while people fawn over them and pay them for their favor.
They’re like the minor peerage of old. All trying to hang on to their name and title to keep their ego afloat.
It's the addiction of power. Once someone has acquired it, they can't give it up. Only exceptional people have the strength to resist and step down. Take Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who had been teetering on the line between this world and the next for years, if she had retired while Obama was president, the SCOTUS wouldn't be so out of balance now. But she just couldn't do it.
These assholes are so scared of losing power and corporate money they're willing to drop fucking dead on the floor of Congress rather than let the new generation take over.
This will be the legacy of the boomers. They lucked into massive wealth, closed the door behind them, and made sure we had to pry the reigns of societal control from their cold, dead hands. I feel for all the boomers that never escaped poverty and will still be dragged through history with the greediest generation on record to date.
The Democrats are like ancient kings who killed their children for fear of usurping their rule. Now the enemy is at the gates and they have no generals, the few champions they do have were cowed long ago.
Schumer, pelosi, Ginsburg, and all the other fossils who refuse to retire until they fucking die are just as responsible as the orange piece of shit is for the current state of amerikkka
No, they are not. False equivalence just takes the focus off the people who really are responsible. Trump, his enablers, and his supporters created this disaster.
A lot of useless Democrats failed to stand up and try to stop it. They have much to answer for, but they are in a different category.
It was a system of checks and balances, but the Democrats went along with consolidating power. So while yes, they aren't the direct cause, they were the adults in the room and they failed in that responsibility.
These ancient centrist fucks are the reason we're in this mess. We don't want their proteges in power. We need new blood that will fight instead of trying to maintain the status quo.
True, look at Pelosi's choice to succeed her, Hakeem Jeffries. I thought he seemed good at first but he's turned out to be just another hand-wringing wimp. So it's not simply a matter of being too old, it's a matter of clinging to the old ways.
edit: IOW, getting younger people in is necessary but not sufficient.
Before the Dems can take on the MAGA Nazis, and win, they have to take back their own party from the Republican Lites. Time to make those DINOs extinct.