Category: Dianne Feinstein
The Memo: McConnell and Feinstein’s stumbles raise awkward questions on age
Two high-profile incidents in quick succession involving Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) have put the issue of aging politicians front and center.
But the questions raised around mental capacity and fitness for office have no easy answers.
Proposals that might begin to address the issue, such as term limits or cognitive tests beyond a certain age, confront an instant Catch-22. In order to be enacted, they need the support of politicians who might be negatively impacted by them.
Meanwhile, the people around those politicians have generally no incentive to nudge them to change their minds.
“I think some of what drives these people to stay on forever is a personal power thing that they can’t let go of," progressive strategist Jonathan Tasini said. “The second thing that drives this, though, is the staff. I think what really gets ignored is how the staff cover for people who clearly can’t function, because they themselves don’t want to lose their power.”
This week’s incidents involved two of five current senators who are 80 or older.
First, McConnell appeared to freeze up, for unexplained reasons, while delivering remarks to reporters Wednesday.
The following day, Feinstein seemed confused during a committee roll-call vote. Feinstein started giving general remarks, when all that was required was that she cast her vote. “Just say ‘Aye,’” her colleague, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), could be heard telling Feinstein.
Feinstein, 90, is the oldest sitting senator. McConnell is 81.
There are specific concerns about both senators, separate and apart from the broader issue of elected officials seeking to remain in office in their ninth decade.
McConnell suffered a concussion earlier this year in a fall at a Washington hotel — an incident in which he also suffered a broken rib. The accident kept McConnell away from the Senate of almost six weeks while he recuperated.
In the wake of Wednesday’s incident, it has also been reported by multiple outlets that McConnell suffered two other falls this year — one in Helsinki, and one at Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport.
Medical professionals have speculated as to whether what happened Wednesday may have been a seizure or mini-stroke.
The majority leader himself has professed to be “fine.” His staff have said of the incident that he felt “lightheaded.”
The Feinstein incident was, in some ways, more worrisome, given that concerns have been raised about her cognitive abilities for some time.
In late 2020, she asked the same question twice in succession, apparently unaware she was repeating herself, in a hearing with then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
Last year, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that four senators, including three Democrats, had told its reporters about their worries regarding Feinstein. One congressional Democrat representing California anonymously described a meeting at which he or she had to reintroduce themselves to Feinstein repeatedly.
Feinstein, who is retiring at the next election, has defended her own capabilities. Her staff has said she was “preoccupied” during Thursday’s roll call vote.
Other allies have suggested there is an element of sexism in the apparent desire to push Feinstein out. They note examples of past male senators, including Sens. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) and Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), whose capacities were widely believed to be diminished late in life but who did not face the same public pressure to step down.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), 83, was one of Feinstein’s most vigorous defenders in that regard. Pelosi announced she was stepping down as the leader of House Democrats last year, having spent 20 years atop her conference.
But the McConnell and Feinstein episodes are also important because of the way in which they illuminate a larger picture.
President Biden is 80 and prone to slips-ups, as when he recently twice referred to the war in "Iraq” when he clearly meant “Ukraine.”
Former President Trump is 77 and, while rarely hesitant in the Biden fashion, he often launches into bizarre asides during his long campaign speeches.
It’s not as if the issue of aging politicians is off-limits. GOP presidential contender Nikki Haley has proposed mandatory cognitive tests for office-holders 75 and older.
Her proposal was seen more as a shot across the bow of Biden and Trump specifically rather than an idea that had any real chance of being enacted. Haley, 51, talks often on the campaign trail about the need for “new generational leaders.”
Talk also bubbles up intermittently about term limits for senators and House members.
Term limits face the philosophical question of whether voters should be denied the chance to reelect who they wish for as long as they wish — presidency excepted. There is also the practical difficulty that politicians are not eager to vote to, in effect, abbreviate their own careers.
“The fact is, politicians — like pretty much everyone else — are living to older ages, and some people stay physically and mentally sharp and other people deteriorate somewhat,” said Tobe Berkovitz, a Boston University professor emeritus who specialized in political communications.
“The question is, should it be up to the voters or up to the doctors to decide when someone should be out of office.”
There is also the question of how any restriction on age or mental abilities would be codified or enforced. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is 81, and even his most staunch ideological opponents don’t seriously question his mental capacity.
For the moment, it seems most likely that the issue of aging politicians will remain a conundrum without an obvious solution.
“It’s not that you reach 75 and you should be gone,” said Tasini.
The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage.
Feinstein: ‘I haven’t been gone. I’ve been working’
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), 89, told reporters Tuesday that she hadn't been away from Washington while recovering from an illness for more than two months, despite her being hospitalized and not being at the Capitol during that time.
“No, I haven’t been gone,” Feinstein said when a reporter asked her about the well-wishes her Senate colleagues have given her since she returned to the Capitol last week. “You should — I haven’t been gone. I’ve been working.”
The Los Angeles Times and Slate both reported on the exchange, in which Feinstein said that she is “feeling fine” after her lengthy bout with shingles.
When a reporter asked if she was referring to working from home, Feinstein reiterated that she's been in Washington.
“No, I’ve been here. I’ve been voting,” Feinstein said. “Please. You either know or don’t know.”
A Feinstein spokesperson declined to immediately comment on the reports.
Feinstein was hospitalized and stayed away from the Capitol for weeks because of complications from shingles.
Her absence led four House Democrats, including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), to call for her resignation as Democrats struggled to move judicial nominations through the Senate. Critics have argued she can no longer serve America’s most populous state effectively, given her health.
Feinstein and her office have pushed back at some suggestions, and the pressure to resign has not come from Democratic colleagues in the Senate, key allies in the House, the White House or California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).
The exchange with the reporters, however, is likely to raise more scrutiny about Feinstein’s acuity — and her ability to effectively serve her state.
Feinstein has been told by doctors to maintain a lighter workload since she returned to the Capitol last week for the first time since February.
The longtime California Democrat, a political legend in the state, announced earlier this year she would not seek another term in the Senate.
Feinstein helped Senate Democrats last week advance three judicial nominees that had been unable to move toward full Senate confirmation votes in her absence. She also took part in some Senate floor votes Wednesday and Thursday.
Schiff Introduces Bill To Create Coronavirus Commission
Representative Adam Schiff has submitted a bill that would create a Senate commission to investigate the country’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Schiff: “Comprehensive and Authoritative Review Required”
Schiff had announced the creation of the commission at the start of the month, claiming that the country needed a 9/11 and Pearl Harbor style commission to “review our response and how we can better prepare for the next pandemic.”
On Friday, Schiff said that he had created a bill with Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris to establish such a commission.
“Though we are still in the midst of the Coronavirus crisis, over 16,000 Americans have died,” Schiff tweeted. “It’s clear we’ll need a bipartisan commission to ensure we’re better prepared for the next pandemic.”
Though we are still in the midst of the Coronavirus crisis, over 16,000 Americans have died.
It’s clear we’ll need a bipartisan commission to ensure we’re better prepared for the next pandemic.
I introduced a bill with @SenFeinstein & @SenKamalaHarris to establish one: pic.twitter.com/pYlyKcnIAd
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) April 10, 2020
“After Pearl Harbor, September 11, and other momentous events in American history, independent, bipartisan commissions have been established to provide a complete accounting of what happened, what we did right and wrong, and what we can do to better protect the country in the future,” Schiff said in a statement. “And though we are still early in this crisis, over sixteen thousand Americans have died so far. It is clear that a comprehensive and authoritative review will be required, not as a political exercise to cast blame, but to learn from our mistakes to prevent history from tragically repeating itself.”
The commission would be composed of 10 individuals, 5 Democrats and 5 Republicans, none of whom would be current federal officials, would possess subpoena power, and would proceed to make a full report on the outbreak and the nation’s response.
Impeachment 2.0!
This follows an announcement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about the creation of a Congressional committee to investigate the coronavirus. They will investigate the management of the bailout package to help coronavirus victims (which amounts to over $2 trillion of government spending), and the general response from the White House, President Trump and his administration to the pandemic.
We can all see what this is: it’s nothing more than “Impeachment 2.0.” Schiff and the other Democrats are still salty from the fact that President Trump is still in office, and want to batter him over the head with this deadly pandemic that has claimed over 18,000 American lives so far.
Schiff said the commission will be “bipartisan,” so why haven’t any Republican congressmen supported his bill? Surely a bipartisan commission, if necessary, would gain the support of legislators from across the aisle?
The fact that it hasn’t should be huge red flag.
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