The US Senate has become a legislative body made up primarily of old people with long terms of service and seniority, but now the future looks bright, as we are seeing a wave of retirements by 2014.
The following Democratic Senators are retiring in 2014, who have had long years of service, and leadership of Senate committees:
Max Baucus of Montana, 30 years
Carl Levin of Michigan, 30 years
Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, 30 years
Tom Harkin of Iowa, 24 years
Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, 24 years
Tim Johnson of South Dakota, 18 years
Lautenberg will be 90 when he leaves office: Levin will be 80; Rockefeller will be 77; Harkin will be 75; Baucus will be 73; and Johnson, who had a stroke a few years ago, will be 68!
Overall, 27 Senators range in age from 69 to 89; 34 Senators range in age from 59-68; 27 Senators range in age from 50-58; and only 12 Senators are in their 40s!
This age factor has made the US Senate an “old folks home”, as most Americans are starting to retire from full time work by the time they reach their early 60s!
There needs to be an age limit of some sort, as the nation needs Senators who are modern in their outlook, and flexible enough to be able to have an open mind on issues affecting the nation.
It will not happen, since it would have to be a constitutional amendment, but a limit of four terms (24 years) should be be adopted, and an age of retirement no later than 75, a full ten years more than nearly all Americans in the work world!
I would love to see the senate become more diverse in addition to more younger.
Yes more diverse and younger! Like Jillian Keenan. I hate to say this, but we told you so..LOL! http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/04/legalize_polygamy_marriage_equality_for_all.html
This doesn’t mean I support aging dinosaurs in the Senate. But when people promote young and diverse as something valuable per se and don’t analyze the content of their ideas, well that could be counterproductive. I say ideas are good, whether they come from young , old, or whatever.
When I say diverse, I’m talking about more people who aren’t white or Southern or Christian or straight or men.
Leai:The Senate is composed of 2 senators per state, thus there is a limit on how many Southern senators can compose the Senate. Do you propose eliminating the senate seats belonging to the “southern states”?
Are you proposing affirmative action in the Senate?
@Juan
You just don’t get it.
Actually, Princess Leia, I have to agree with Juan here, imagine that! LOL 🙂
The Senate cannot have a quota of any group, as any citizen can be elected by the people of the state to serve in the US Senate. As it is, we now have 20 women in the US Senate by popular vote, an all time high. We have also had, historically, a few African Americans, a few Hispanic Americans, a few Asian Americans, a couple of Native Americans, and a substantial number of Catholics and Jews in the Senate. And now, we even have an openly gay woman Senator!
@Leia! Actually I do, I wish there were more Senators like Tim Scott the only African-American Senator and more Hispanics like Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.
@ Ron: I agree its actually very diverse.
Yes, but I could, personally do, without Scott and Cruz. Rubio I can stomach! LOL hahaha 🙂
The issue for me is diversity of age, and not having Senators who stay in office endlessly until they are ancient, but no such change is likely as it would have to be approved by the two houses of Congress by two thirds vote, and three fourths of the states in their legislatures. Term limits and even age limits will not happen, and would probably, for age, be considered discriminatory in nature!
In the last election concerning race; Whites were 72% of voters, Blacks were 13% of voters, Asians were 3% of voters and Hispanics were 10% of voters. Concerning religion; Protestants were 53% of voters, evangelical Christians 26% of voters, Catholics 25% of voters and Jewish were 2% of voter. With regard to gender, Women were 53% of the voters while Men were 47%. Sexual orientation, Gay and lesbians were 5% of the voters. Marital Status: Unmarried 40% of voters, Married 60% of voters. (http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2012/11/10/opinion/marshpdf.html?ref=sunday-review )
I find it interesting that Republicans who won the Protestant vote (53% of voters) and Evangelical Christian which represents 26% vote by 78% are told that they should abandon this group (abandon the traditional social issues on morality and rule of law) and cater to the Hispanic vote (via amnesty thus abandoning the rule of law) which represents 10% of the voters or to the Gay and lesbian votes (by abandoning traditional family value voters) that represents 5% of all voters.
What I’m talking about is this: How about having some Arab Americans in Congress or some Native Americans in Congress or some Asian Americans in Congress or some more women or some more gay/lesbian people and so on and so forth.
Princess Leia, we have all of the above in the House, if you mean Muslim Americans by the term Arab Americans (Keith Ellison of Minnesota), and there are several declared gays and lots of women in the House of Representatives, but of course not half the number of members, as in the general population.
Juan,
When I say Arab Americans, I’m talking about people with Middle Eastern backgrounds.
That is not very likely in the climate we are in politically, with terrorism, Princess Leia!
My basic point is that white males are overrepresented in the Congress, making up 75 percent of the House, 79 percent of the Senate but only 37 percent of all Americans. And women, who make up 50.8 percent of the population only represent 17 percent of the Congress.
Shows to me that we still have a long way to go.
Here’s an interactive map showing the comparisons of Congress vs. the electorate: http://www.nationaljournal.com/thenextamerica/demographics/map-compare-the-diverse-113th-congress-with-a-diversifying-u-s-population-20130315
Leia: Have you ever considered the idea that maybe not all those “sectors” of society that you name are interested in politics in the exact same percentage with relation to each other? What is the percentage of women interested in politics , for example? Maybe you should check that data.
I’m ready for term limits. And I would like to see become law that no congressman can work for any lobbyist for at least five full years after one’s depature from either house of Congress. (I’d prefer they never do.)
As for 2014, I find enough of what’s been lately playing out to be soulless that I kind of don’t care.
Because most members of Congress are white males, the needs and interests of women and minorities are not being represented. I think the problem is with how the public votes. They must change their attitudes and become more active in politics. This, together with reforms (changes) in political campaigning, will eventually create a Congress that represents everyone.