You may have read the San Francisco Chronicle story or the derivative NY Times story about Feinstein having lost her marbles. She's been out of it for years and no one wants to talk about it because... she's one of them and they hope to stay in DC for so long that one day they'll be senile there too. (Remember how furious Pelosi became when someone asked her about Feinstein's condition?)
Anyway, the point of both stories was that the nearly 89 year old Feinstein isn't able to function optimally for her constituents any longer but refuses to retire. Everyone knows it's time to say goodbye but no one wants to tell her so. These careerist politicians are incorrigible when it comes to retirement. They all think it's all about them, never about their constituents. And Feinstein isn't the only one.
Look at David Scott in Georgia. He'll be 77 next month and he's as out of it as Feinstein. At least Schumer had date decency to remove Feinstein as head of the Judiciary Committee. Pelosi would never take a chairmanship away from a senile member-- in fact her rules encourage senile chairs. And Scott is the completely dysfunctional chair of the House Agriculture Committee, something members have been quietly complaining about for months. In April a committee member called me to tell me Scott was incapable of doing the duties of a chairman and that Pelosi is covering up for him. I did a post about it but the same member of the committee called me yesterday and told me Pelosi will never remove him.
Again, there's been quiet discussion and speculation about Scott's physical and mental decline over the last several years. The discussion reached a fever pitch a few months ago when Politico published an article including accounts even from those close to Scott detailing how he has noticeably slowed in the last few years, citing his increasingly halting speech and trouble at times focusing on a topic." More than two dozen Congress members, aides, and federal staffers raised concerns to Politico. Recent video shows Scott's slurring speech has gotten worse. Other Congress members "pointed to instances of inability to finish his thoughts or remember previous conversations."
While his physical frailty is a problem, many observers are more concerned with Scott's mental decline. When Scott took questions from the media last year, wrote Meredith Lee, after he "made several other mistakes before an aide stepped in and ended the event." That appears to be the last time Scott has taken questions from reporters. It's obvious that Scott's staff is running his Congressional office. The problem with that is no one elected his staff to office. It is also obvious Scott is not able to fulfill the duties of his office.
One U.S. department of Agriculture staff person said Scott's inability to run the business of the Agriculture Committee he chairs "is alarming." Scott has been unable to keep control of the committee's meeting allowing Republicans to "run roughshod over Democrats on key priorities" including the Build Back Better legislation.
When one combines Scott's inability to fulfill his job duties and his designation by CREW as one of the most corrupt members of Congress, it is clear that his district, Congress, and the country would be better off if this tired ole Blue Dog was to lose his primary election on May 24. Blue America has endorsed state Sen. Vincent Fort and you can contribute to his campaign here.
Too bad no one can get Scott to take one of those cognitive tests Trump is always boasting about "ace-ing" but this clip shows Scott's serious physical decline. It's time for him, like Feinstein, to give it a rest and let someone else take over. Alcee Hastings was completely incapacitated for over 6 months-- not taking part in Congress at all-- before dying (age 84) but refused to resign. These politicians all seem to think they're the critical man and that the whole world will fall apart without them. Either that or they fear that once that nice title goes away, it isn't just the perks and the prestige that disappear... what many of them fear most is that their entire identity collapses. For that they need a psychiatrist or a spiritual counsellor, not another sad campaign, pleading with voters for another term. By the way, this is a solid Democratic district. After redistricting, it went from D+44 to D+52.
pelo$i runs the caucus anyway. I'm sure $he has her people on his staff doing only what $he tells them to do. and nazis running roughshod over ag only prolly helps the democraps. it's not like they were going to do anything for family farmers anyway.