Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) vowed Wednesday to keep his job as Senate Republican leader at least through 2024 and to finish his seventh Senate term, which runs through 2026, despite recent health problems.
“I have no announcements to make on that subject,” McConnell, who is 81, told reporters when asked about calls from fellow conservatives to step down as Senate Republican leader.
“I’m going to finish my term as leader and I’m going to finish my Senate term,” McConnell declared.
I don’t know what’s going through these ancient politicians’ heads but don’t they reach a point where they’ve accomplished everything in life they can and they just want to relax? Being an 80+ year old senator and dying in office sounds horrible to me.
It’s not about being accomplished for most of them anymore. It’s about not letting go of their power. They won’t admit to themselves that they’re old or the world has changed. They grip desperately to their seat and their power because they “can still do it”, and they “know what’s best”.
People who have had a senile friend or family member have seen similar stuff plenty of times. Older adults who can’t even close their hands all the way or remember that they dont have shoes on will argue and fight, sometimes violently, that they can still do something. For example, still cook with an open flame despite catching their house on fire three separate times. Or that they can still drive despite not seeing past their fingertips and not knowing what city they’re in.
There is a thing called aging gracefully that involves accepting the difficulties of getting older and passing the torch, and clearly a large number of politicians are having a serious problem with it.