Do You Back Politicians Based On Gender? Color? Religion? That's A Lazy Idea-- And Add Age To That

Sometimes younger is even worser

I’ve always believed in making room for younger people rising through the ranks. I’m 73 now and I still believe in that concept— and strongly so. There were several reasons I retired relatively young but one was definitely so that younger people— especially since I was in the music business— could assume more responsibility and take a greater role in the decision-making in my company. Last week Data for Progress published the results of a poll of voters under 30 which found that “As young people look at their elected representatives and the American democratic system, they feel that their interests, perspectives, and generation are underrepresented in politics.” And that's certainly rational.

There is a ton of media hype about the first Gen Z politician about to go to Congress, Maxwell Frost in Orlando, one of the worst Democratic candidates I’ve spoken with this cycle. He’s young alright… but awful and will make an absolutely wretched congressman who will lie and cheat until he’s eventually exposed and retired. He was nominated because cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, who only supports conservatives, put a million dollars into Frost’s efforts. Frost claims he knows nothing about it but as soon as he smelled Bankman-Fried’s money, he started a cryptocurrency advisory board made up up crypto-shills like Rep. Ritchie Torres, who is also very young— and both very anti-progressive and very corrupt. Meanwhile, right now, the youngest member of Congress is, arguably, the worst and least competent: Madison Cawthorn (R-NC).

Like any identity politics, this one sucks. You like to support women in politics? What about Marjorie Traitor Greene and Lauren Boebert. They’re supposedly women. You want to see more members of the LGBTQ community in Congress? More Lindsey Grahams? You support racial minorities? What about MAGA-supporting Byron Donalds (R-FL) or neo-fascist sociopath Candace Owens? How about Ye, who’s even too insane for Trump these days! Or in the Democratic camp, take a look at Jim Clyburn or Hakeem Jeffries. In fact… Jeffries (age 52), a career-long Wall Street whore, is also being widely— and cluelessly— touted as a next generation, post-Pelosi congressional leader. He’s Black and he’s (relatively) young; who needs to know anything else?

Reporting for NBC News this morning, Scott Wong reported that time is closing in on the octogenarians who control the House Democratic caucus. Conservative Democrats are especially active in screaming about “new blood.” Wong wrote that “For the past several years, a trio of ambitious young Democrats— Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, 52; Katherine Clark, 59; and Pete Aguilar, 43— have been laying the groundwork to take the reins of the Democratic Caucus in a post-Pelosi world. And other eager Democrats, sensing the rare opportunity to move up in the pecking order, have launched challenges to that unofficial leadership slate. Pelosi, 82, has led her caucus for nearly two decades and previously indicated that this election cycle would be her last, although she has dodged questions about her political future more recently.” Watch how he never mentions that Team Hakeem is the Wall Street pick, the AIPAC pick and the K Street pick.

All of the Democrats angling for leadership positions have said their top priority this fall is to preserve the party's narrow five-seat majority in the House. They've been crisscrossing the country, raising loads of cash and stumping for their vulnerable colleagues. But after the election, these leadership candidates also hope that their work pays off as they call in their political chits and lock down support.

If Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn head for the exits, the leadership matchups become pretty clear. Jeffries, a popular member of the Congressional Black Caucus who serves as Democratic Caucus chairman, has spent years forging relationships across the caucus and has positioned himself as Pelosi’s heir apparent. If he succeeds, the Brooklyn native would make history as the first Black minority leader or speaker of the House, seizing the leadership baton from another historical figure, Pelosi, the nation’s first female speaker.

But Jeffries is expected to face a challenge from Adam Schiff, 62, chair of the House Intelligence Committee; Schiff, a top Pelosi ally and fellow Californian, has reached out to colleagues to gauge support for a run at the top job. Schiff raised his national profile by leading the Democrats’ first impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. A prolific fundraiser, he is on track to appear at 150 campaign events for Democrats this election cycle and is preparing to launch a six-day campaign swing through California, New Hampshire, New York and Ohio, a source familiar with his plans said.

…In a minority, Aguilar, the highest-ranking Hispanic in Congress [and a corrupt conservative coke addict], would likely run for the number three slot, assistant leader, while Rep. Joe Neguse, 38, the son of Eritrean immigrants and a rising star in the party, has been aggressively locking down votes to succeed Jeffries as caucus chair, colleagues said. Both Neguse and Aguilar are talented communicators, and neither face any challengers at the moment, though that could change after the election if there’s a big reshuffling.

“My assumption is that nobody’s going to be unopposed. We’re the Democratic Party,” said one House Democrat who's closely tracking the races.

Yes, we're the Democratic Party, which explains why no one ever opposes the corporate whores and Wall Street shills who run for DCCC Chair... which also explains why the Democrats are likely going to lose their majority right now. Did anyone who decided not to challenge Sean Patrick Maloney for the position ever imagine that he even knows what a working class person is, let alone that he would target-- or could target-- a campaign to reach them?