One answer is alienation. Pre 1940 politicians would personally apprentice ideological successors. Later, party machines would ensure transfers of power to popular candidates with similar views that could continue the older member’s political projects, while the older member retired and became an elder statesperson controlling party strategy and acting as an advisor.

But the Democrats and republicans have elided all political cohesion away, and candidates get in either through party stacking or via personal rhetoric.

So there are no political projects or institutional ideological continuity, there’s only the institution, blowing whichever way the loudest faction of capital says.

Thus ossification and gerontocracy as senior party members need to stay on because their machine will collapse if they don’t.

You see this in a lot of other organisations as well. We all know of the Trot org with 4 80 year olds at the top, a bunch of students who will bail after uni at the bottom, and no long term junior cadre.

It’s truly bizarre. I have to believe that they are true believers in their version of liberalism, it just doesn’t make sense otherwise. Like, if they were just cynical grifters they would check out early, but there are so many examples currently that it must be a deeper sickness

My speculative theory is that it’s selection bias. Plenty of senators cash out and spend the rest of their lives with a cushy job on a board of directors at some oil company, it’s just the absolute sickos like McConnell who stay in it just for the power itself. We don’t notice all the corrupt politicians who just take the money and run.

It’s not like he’s working an assembly line, all his actual work is done by staffers, who also take care of all his personal and medical needs: driving him around, making all his meals, and literally wiping his ass. He’s basically in free hospice care, probably a much better life than retiring would be.