Summary
Younger House Democrats, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Angie Craig, are challenging senior members for powerful committee roles, signaling a shift from the party’s tradition of prioritizing seniority.
High-profile contests, such as for the Oversight Committee’s top Democrat, reflect tensions following Democrats’ 2024 election losses and frustration with long-standing leadership practices.
Critics argue fresh leadership is needed to counter Donald Trump’s return, while others stress the value of experience and institutional knowledge.
The debate highlights a generational shift and growing demands for change within the Democratic Party.
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Fucking good. This attitude of waiting your turn and rewarding loyalty over ability is how we wound up with an incompetent gerontocracy. Imagine if the party hadn’t tried to anoint Hillary Clinton, didn’t coordinate around Biden in 2020, forced Biden to face a real primary in 2024…and that’s just the Presidential races. Remember when Dianne Feinstein was so confused that someone had to tell her how to vote during an Appropriations Committee Meeting? We can’t keep giving Democrats power because it’s, “their turn.”
I thought you were going to mention the time Feinstein had to be told that they were announcing she wouldn’t be running again at that press conference. Should have resigned that day.
Oh man, I missed that one. I considered mentioning the time she hugged Lindsey Graham at the Amy Coney Barrett hearing because she apparently thought Barrett was a Democrat, or the time she left the Senate for 3 months because of shingles and, when a reporter questioned her on it, claimed she’d never left. In the end, I just picked the simplest example in the interest of brevity. Also, Jerry Nadler is only just now being forced out of the Judiciary Committee, and he shit himself on live TV a few years ago.
It is kind of insane that most of the examples are of 60 year olds challenging the 75 year olds.
One of the young ones is in their 50s, and one example is of an early 70s challenging a later 70s.
Only one in the whole lot I would think of as “young” (35).
Since you have to be 25/30 to be a rep/senator, I think it’s fair to consider 40 and under young. US politicians are stupidly old though.
This is what happens in a one party system, old those who have been there longest have the power. Which is why we keep getting old white guys for president
That and half the country is too biggoted to vote for a woman of color.
That’s not why she lost. The sexist vote is going to go Republican, regardless of what Democrat is running. Whatever votes she might have lost because of her gender would be made up for with enthusiasm for the first woman president, if only she was someone who could inspire enthusiasm.
Too bad the Democrats didn’t make the election a referendum on the healthcare system. It suddenly seems like that’s what the “moderate” voters she was going for actually care about. Someone should have suggested that.
We spent the whole 2020 primary talking about it for it to be promptly forgotten about and now with what appears to be an across the board anger about health insurance the only message we get from anyone in power is that it’s important people in suits don’t get murdered.
The ACA made the Health insurance industry into one of the biggest profit generating machines in the country. That brought in the Wall Street greed machine and tons of lobbying cash. Now it’s entrenched and the Democrats are afraid to touch it.
The ACA brought in some much needed reforms, but the cost we paid might mean the collapse of the whole system. It was another massive cash transfer to the wealthy at a time when wealth inequality was already out of control. Once that cash starts flowing, shutting off the taps takes backbone, and most Democrats don’t have those. Wall Street now feels entitled to those earnings forever.
Good and about time and I hope these old neo liberals GTFO.
I want to retire. Not now, but eventually.
I want my legislators to share that view, to understand that view, to support that view. Which means they won’t be participating in professional politics after the age of 65.
This wouldn’t be nearly as much of a problem if appointments weren’t based on how long someone has been in their position. There’s a strategic disadvantage to voting in newer candidates versus incumbents.
Yeah. Younger people are less likely to capitulate and call it compromise.
I was commenting more on the fact that seniority grants higher level positions on committees.
There’s a strategic disadvantage to voting in newer candidates versus incumbents.
Not if you want to retire. Not if you want your representatives to understand and share the viewpoint that retirement is good, and working yourself into the grave is bad. If they understand that, they won’t be around to remain incumbents. If those representatives are still around, it is advantageous to vote in newer candidates over the workaholic incumbents.
Tbh seniority stops being a good idea at, like, 30. The older you are the more likely you’ve let yourself stop thinking or get out of touch.
You can’t even be a senator until 30 though, what should happen is anything more than 2 terms is equally senior.
Or have already accomplished any real leadership you could have on an issue. At some point you’ve either given up or everything is how you’d like it.
Yeah, Dems really need to embrace people under 60 to make a difference here. I get that they’ve only been following the money for a while. For them to be a viable party, it’s time for change.
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AOC=Almost Our Chance
But I heard she sold out.
How so?
