Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), 81, slammed 51-year-old former South Carolina Governor and GOP Presidential candidate Nikki Haley for suggesting that politicians over 75-year-old submit to competency tests. Haley sounds like hippies during the 1960s who said never trust anyone over 30, now mantra of a younger generation notorious for rebelling against authority. Haley has no clue about “competency tests” other than taking a swipe at her elders, many of whom control Congress, a place where many elected officials hang on for life without any term limits in place. Term limits have been debated for years but not specifically in the context of mental competency, only in terms to time severed in the institution. Haley, of course, tried to raise questions about the current White House occupant, 80-year-old President Joe Biden, who now seeks to reelection at at 83-years of age.
Haley didn’t specifically single Biden or anyone else out but clearly makes a statement about elected a new generation of politicians, more in their prime. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), 81, delivered the full-throated validation of Biden’s Ukraine policy, telling U.S. citizens to stop listening to social media and listen to the bipartisan group of U.S. Senators that back the Ukraine War. McConnell speaks as Senate Minority Leader, who has given Biden all the backing he needs to continue funding the bankrupt Ukraine government and war against the Kremlin. Whether lucid or not, Haley doesn’t like the fact that the elders are firmly in charge of U.S. domestic and foreign policy. Whether McCaonnell’s views are based on cognitive decline or not, he still carries plenty of clout with the U.S. press. Haley thinks her call for competency tests raises doubts about Biden and 76-year-old President Donald Trump.
Haley doesn’t get that ‘competency tests” don’t tell the whole story, but, more importantly, lack the science to determine cognitive decline. Even with age-related cognitive decline, it doesn’t mean that giving up some memory makes judgment unsound. Many younger people with intact memory can lack experience and have bad judgment. Would Haley favor tests for experience for young politicians that have good memory but bad judgment? So, when it comes to assessing good judgment, there’s no test other that looking carefully at politicians’ positions on various topics. If you knew McConnell’s position on Ukraine would lead to WW III or nuclear war, would you attribute it to age-related cognitive decline or just faulty reasoning? Haley’s statements clearly take a cheap shot at Biden and Trump’s ages. Haley looks for anything at this point to launch her lackluster campaign.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, also sensitive to age, said voters should judge politicians not on age but their positions on important topics. “Look at what they do, what they believe in,” Sanders said. “What are they fighting for? What does Donald Trump stand for? Do you believe in that? Well, I certainly don’t. What does Joe Biden stand for? What is he doing? Look at him that way, not age,” Sanders said. But voters are looking at Biden’s management of the economy and foreign policy. All you hear on foreign policy is that Biden wants more cash-and-arms for Ukraine, at a painful sacrifice for the U.S. public. What if Biden’s 80-year-old judgment results in WW III or nuclear war? Would Bernie still support Joe because he’s for Medicare and Social Security but he’s caused an international calamity with Ukraine? Bernie gets confused about supporting ideas but not questioning any age-related decline.
Bernie knows that titular leaders like Biden have many technocrats creating policies and crafting talking points on various topics. Haley’s statements pushed Bernie’s buttons but miss the real question about whether Biden, for whatever reason, is harming U.S. national security by creating a war-like state with Russia and China. Biden decided, age or not, to start a proxy war against the Kremlin, trashing decades of cooperative relations with the Kremlin. Whether that’s due to age-related cognitive decline or just bad judgment is difficult to say. But Sanders doesn’t like Haley making an issue out of age. Democrats protected Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) during his 2022 senate campaign after he suffered a life-threatening stroke. Even when Fetterman was forced to admit he can’t process ordinary hearing, requiring closed captioning to communicate, Democrats still backed him,
So whether Sanders rejects Haley’s call for “competency tests” after age 75 or not, she’s raising an issue of what happens to elected officials over time. Democrats made plenty of excuses for 89-year-old Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) even though he own staff reported age-related dementia. Whether Sanders thinks it’s important or not, the fact is that age-related cognitive decline happens to most people hanging on to jobs too long. Sanders shows no signs of throwing in the towel and heading into retirement. “I think there’s a general consensus right now that President Biden has done, not every we would like, he has done a good job,” Sanders said. “And, again, I can’t speak f or anybody else. But what I have said is, if he runs, announces that he’s going to run, I will support him,” Sanders said. How happy would Sanders be if Biden gets us into WW III, a war with Russia and China?
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
