NOTE: This commentary was written on Monday, 11 September 2023, before the Libertarian Party filed for the conservatorship of Uncle Joe and Cousin Mitch. It is still worth reading and pondering. And acting on.

Years ago, Americans and Europeans used to make sport of the Soviet gerontocracy: the aged and often seemingly feeble rulers of the Soviet Russian Empire.

Today, the shoe is on the other foot.

We have recently seen the “freeze” by Senate Minority Leader Republican Mitch McConnell while making public remarks. He was asked a question by a constituent and silent, froze in front of the crowd for thirty seconds with no ability to talk. A staffer told the audience “we’re gonna’ need a minute”. Meanwhile, McConnell remained at the microphone staring blankly, unable to speak. This had happened in July: McConnell in the Capitol surrounded by the rest of the Senate leadership. Finally, McConnell was led away by Senator John Barrasso (R, Wyoming) after McConnell stared blankly for about twenty seconds. A few months back McConnell took a fall, suffered a concussion and was hospitalized and unable to return to work for about a month. He is 81 years old.

On the other side of the aisle, we have Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, 90 years old and apparently barely aware of her own existence. During a recent hearing, Senator Patty Murray (D, Washington) had to tell Feinstein to “just say, ‘Aye’” on a vote: Feinstein began to read an irrelevant statement instead of voting.

Consider poor Senator John Fetterman (D, Pennsylvania). He’s not “old-old”, but he suffered a severe stroke before the 2022 election. Yet, he continued campaigning against the advice of doctors. Today? We have a US Senator who cannot read and cannot speak coherently. His brain has difficulty processing normal sensory inputs. Supposedly he relies on electronic devices to communicate. His wife (a dedicated Marxist) runs his office.

And of course, we have Uncle Joe, 80 years old. Senile, often tempermental and angry with staff and reporters, often unable to speak coherently and relies on plug-and-play stories that he has repeated for fifty years (and which have been shown to be mostly lies) to get through his public appearances.

So, we have three US senators, including the Minority Leader: mentally impaired and cannot perform their duties and POTUS, ditto. And that is not looking at Nancy Pelosi, former Speaker of the House, now again running for reelection.

It’s not about age. Consider: Bernie Sanders, 82 years old, and is feisty, coherent, and energetic in his public appearances.

Henry Kissinger, 100 years old, still writes books and more. The Donald is 77 or 78.

(I know, only the good die young, right? Not really: I’ve known preachers of the Gospel and elders, and honest and productive business people in their 90s who were/are fully cognizant and able. My wife’s uncle died at 99 when he was hit by a car as he was getting out of his own. He was delivering “meals on wheels” to an “elderly shut-in” who was 85.

So what is going on? Some think the problem is honesty. I think it is more.

Why don’t the families of these disabled politicians ask them to retire?

Why don’t the politicians themselves exit politics gracefully?

Why do the media lie about this? And cover-up these conditions?

Why do these people keep getting voted back into office?

Have we created a political climate so toxic, so hyper-partisan that these people are irreplaceable as long as they have a heartbeat?

We call them “meat puppets” – a term used to describe poor Senator Tim Johnson (D, South Dakota) years ago. He had brain cancer, but his staff dragged him from appearance to appearance, meeting to meeting, pushing him around in his wheelchair and whispering words that he repeated bIt appears that the old parties would rather have a warm body in a seat than ask their incoherent members to step aside in favor of a younger and more able nominee.

These people sadly represent the modern state of American politics. Definitely over the hill.

It is time to change.