Rural Routes/Margot Ford McMillen

Retirement for Politicians

On Aug. 8, 2022, the FBI raided Mar-A-Lago and recovered boxes and boxes of materials. Were they classified? De-classified? Top Secret? Or merely Secret? That’s the argument, well-covered by the media along with news from the J-6 inquiry and predictions about who’s gonna run. And, oh yeah, Ukraine and Afghanistan.

Here’s my prediction: Very little of the news covered today will be covered next year, and the stuff that IS important will still go unattended. If the media had courage, it would focus attention on the vitally important history-changing trends that progressive populists are already thinking about.

So what is important? Climate change. And politics in the long run—like, who’s going to take the reins of the nation when the geezers in charge today are dead and buried. Those are the things the media should focus on right now, especially with the mid-terms so close. And they should be talking to (and cultivating) the young … the next generation.

For the young to take any of the present problems seriously, they need context more than drama. And they need to believe they can be—will be—in charge pretty soon. Like in the next presidential election cycle. It is time for the War Babies and the Boomers to let go.

One error oldsters make is forgetting to retire. The seduction of power, especially when your old colleagues and adversaries are getting totter-y, strengthens its grip as we age. Yes, we seem to say, we’re getting older but we’re just as good as in our prime—and we’re wiser. And we have that all-important name recognition that brings subscribers. And so we pretend that we still deserve the status, the power.

Case in point is one of your favorites—Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in September 2020 at age 87. If she had retired in, say, 2014, the second year of the last Obama administration, the US would be a much different place right now. For one thing, Obama could have gotten an appointee through the system. Maybe it would have been Merrick Garland, a centrist that Obama later nominated when Supreme Court’s Antonin Scalia died in February 2016.

So, praises to Justice Stephen Breyer who stepped down at age 83. If RBG had stepped down when Obama had time to argue an appointee through the system, that one change would have given Democrats a slight edge on the Supreme Court, but as you remember, Mitch McConnell objected to allowing Obama to make a choice at the end of his term. So, the nomination was kicked over to the next administration and it ultimately went to the next President, Donald Trump, who chose Neil Gorsuch, got that nomination through and, well, the rest is history. Now we have a highly partisan, conservative court that will be with us for a long time.

And as for Ginsburg? If she retired, what would she have done with her final five years, still sharp as a tack? She had a lifetime interest in persuading the world that all humans should have equal rights. She stood up for same-sex marriage and for rights for women. With her last years, she could have worked on—and dare I say led to passage?—the Equal Rights Amendment, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” People from many contingencies—LBGTQ, trans, neutral, non-binary, agender, pangender, genderqueer, two-spirit, third gender (not to mention male or female)—can get behind that amendment. Why hasn’t it been added to the Constitution? It lacks a spirited, one-focus leader.

But I can’t speak for the RBG that didn’t take advantage of her opportunity to change history. If the E.R.A. didn’t appeal to her, she could have been the most-wanted speaker for graduate ceremonies, passing her wisdom to youngsters, and leave a lasting legacy in their lives rather than a footnote.

So, to return to the original points—the public needs to focus on the next potential leaders, not the ancient and doddering fellows of yesterday. The media is failing us. Every media, from the federal on down, should be looking for the emerging candidates. And, since the media is going to ignore the rising stars in the small pools—like your mayor, your state representative, your state health director—you need to bring the best ones to national attention.

Even the most optimistic predictions of the next Senate put the average age of newcomers well over age 50, giving us a potentially younger Senate than today but not by very much. Still, as the midterms approach, we all have a chance to meet candidates and ask them the questions on things we care about. There isn’t enough time for the media to discover the next generation of leaders. It’s up to us to find them.

Margot Ford McMillen farms near Fulton, Mo., and co-hosts “Farm and Fiddle” on sustainable ag issues on KOPN 89.5 FM in Columbia, Mo. She also is a co-founder of CAFOZone.com, a website for people who are affected by concentrated animal feeding operations. Her latest book is “The Golden Lane: How Missouri Women Gained the Vote and Changed History.” Email: margotmcmillen@gmail.com.

From The Progressive Populist, September 15, 2022

Populist.com