Refusing to retire in an act of cosmic hubris, 87-year-old Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) showed why term-or-age-limits are absolutely necessary in Congress. Feinstein’s too oblivious of her own cognitive impairments, namely, short-term memory lapses, to admit it’s time to call it quits. Like so many of her predecessors, they indulge themselves at the expense of their constituents and colleagues, sticking around until they’re too impaired to do their jobs. When you consider that memory issues come slowly, you’d think that someone close to Feinstein would tell her it’s time to retire. But no, so often is the case, that no one’s willing to offend the venerable lawmaker, letting them know it’s not OK to represent their state or district with dementia. Feinstein’s been losing it for some time, carefully masqueraded by limited exposure to public debates and especially impromptu press conferences.
Reports of Feinstein upset with her staff for not informing her about certain topics, when the 87-year-old just forgot she was briefed. Feinstein’s problems with short-term memory are far more serious than it sounds, advancing to diagnosable dementia. With so much abuse bandied around about “narcissism” and “senility,” especially as it applies to 74-year-ol lame-duck President Donald Trump, it discounts real cognitive impairment when they present themselves. Listening to Trump’s critics, especially organized groups of mental health professionals led by 50-year-old Yale University psychiatrist Dr. Bandy X. Lee, saying Trump’s unfit for duty, lets real problems like Feinstein slip through the cracks. If Lee or her colleagues had any integrity, they would have called out Feinstein for her dementia, putting pressure on her to retire from the Senate.
Only recently has 70-year-old Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) asked Feinstein to resign as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. What’s most ironic is that Schumer asked Feinstein to resign because she didn’t condemn more forcefully 48-year-old Associate Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Because Feinstein didn’t target Barrett, Schumer asked Feinstein to resign from the Judiciary Committee but not because of her well-known memory impairments. One of Feinstein’s staff referred to meetings as “Kabuki”-like theatre, trying explain things that don’t compute with the 87-year-old California senator. When interviewing Google’s CEO Jack Dorsey Nov. 18 about potential censorship, Feinstein asked the same question twice, forgetting she just asked the question. No one on her staff seems willing to confront Diane’s memory impairments.
When Schumer asked Feinstein to step down as ranking member of the Judiciary Committee Dec. 9, he apparently had to ask her twice because she forgot. Progressives wanted Feinstein out because she didn’t do what she did to Trump’s second Supreme Court pick 55-year-old Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh when Feinstein Sept. 4, 2018 blindsided Kavanaugh with Christine Blasey Ford who accused Brett of attempted rape while he was in high school. Progressives liked Feinstein’s then but thought she went too easy on Barrett. Feinstein once told Barrett in 2017 “dogma lived within her” at her Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Senate confirmation hearing. Why Feinstein’s Judiciary Committee colleagues didn’t ask her to get medically evaluated for dementia is anyone’s guess. There’s simply too much responsibility, too much at stake for a senator to have serious cognitive impairments.
What’s abundantly clear for anyone outside the Beltway is that when elected officials stick around too long, it does the country a disservice. Whether Feinstein loves her job or not, there must be mechanisms in place that help elected officials retire at appropriate times. In Feinstein’s case, the Senate’s medical officer is going to have to give the bad news to Feinstein before another mishap takes place. While it all seems so innocent, it’s not harmless when an elected official of Feinstein’s stature doesn’t know when it’s time to call it quits. When you consider that President-elect Joe Biden is 78-years-of-age, it’s doubtful voters would voter for a second term at 82, let along run this time around. Today’s Covid-19 crisis crated exceptions to just about everything, especially who’s eligible for president. Who would have every thought it’s possible to run for president at 78.
No American, no matter how much they hate the opposing party, should be pushing someone to run for president near 80-year-of-age. Senators and Congressman don’t get the same scrutiny as president because of their access to nuclear codes and awesome responsibility as commander-in-chief, steward of the U.S. economy and the nation’s chief diplomat. Approaching 80 years-of-age is too old for someone responsible for so many lives. No matter how many Cabinet members compensate for a president’s lack of expertise, letting someone govern at they approach their 80th year makes zero sense. Watching Feinstein deteriorate over the years should remind elected officials that there’s an appropriate time to bow out gracefully. There’s nothing graceful about having your staff make excuses why their boss can’t remember from one minute to the next. Congress must deal with age-and-term limits.
