Do we agree? Term & Age Limits in Congress?

[Rebound]

This week, 81 year-old Senator Mitch McConnell froze while answering questions from reporters, and 90-year old Dianne Feinstein became confused before a vote. 

[Rebound]

18 minutes ago, Contrarian said:

Yes, Biden and McConnell to retire and play chess with Bush Jr. in Texas.

They did their service and work, THEIR PART.

Of course, this change would require Constitutional Amendment. And maybe in 50 years, and 80 year-old might be just as healthy as a 30 year-old; who knows?

[Boges]

You should have term limits for SCOTUS. You can defeat a candidate if they're too senile. Once a SCOTUS justice is they can't be removed. 

[robosmith]

6 minutes ago, Boges said:

You should have term limits for SCOTUS. You can defeat a candidate if they're too senile. Once a SCOTUS justice is they can't be removed. 

How about a proficiency test? People decline at different rates and ages. Some are completely out of the loop while others at the same age are sharp as a tack.

[Rebound]

29 minutes ago, robosmith said:

How about a proficiency test? People decline at different rates and ages. Some are completely out of the loop while others at the same age are sharp as a tack.

How can you put that in the Constitution? 

[reason10]

Most of America has pushed for term limits, and goose stepping Democrats stood in the way.

Age limits? Ronald Reagan was smarter in his eighties than ANY Democrat half his age, even when he underwent Alzheimers.

But TERM LIMITS means that there is no longer a career in politics. It is what the Founding Fathers wanted: SERVICE to your country for only a limited time, then you have to get out and find a real job.

[robosmith]

24 minutes ago, Rebound said:

How can you put that in the Constitution? 

IDK, but it seems fairer than an arbitrary age limit.

[Rebound]

5 minutes ago, reason10 said:

Most of America has pushed for term limits, and goose stepping Democrats stood in the way.

Age limits? Ronald Reagan was smarter in his eighties than ANY Democrat half his age, even when he underwent Alzheimers.

But TERM LIMITS means that there is no longer a career in politics. It is what the Founding Fathers wanted: SERVICE to your country for only a limited time, then you have to get out and find a real job.

Wrong again, as always. I thought you studied law, but I guess that’s a lie.

Term and age limits for Congressmen have been ruled unconstitutional by courts, because the Constitution defines the requirements to be a Congressman.  This is why the Constitution had to be amended to establish term limits for President.  

[Rebound]

10 minutes ago, reason10 said:

Most of America has pushed for term limits, and goose stepping Democrats stood in the way.

Age limits? Ronald Reagan was smarter in his eighties than ANY Democrat half his age, even when he underwent Alzheimers.

But TERM LIMITS means that there is no longer a career in politics. It is what the Founding Fathers wanted: SERVICE to your country for only a limited time, then you have to get out and find a real job.

You have no qualifications for determining whether someone else is intelligent. 

[Rebound]

3 minutes ago, robosmith said:

IDK, but it seems fairer than an arbitrary age limit.

TBH, I don’t think age is arbitrary.  We have a very bad system right now, especially with regards to the US Senate. Once elected to the Senate, that person typically remains for life.  
 

Chuck Grassley is 89 and has been a senator for over 40 years. Considering the monumental power and the importance of the decisions these people have… surely there are plenty of other people willing and capable of doing the job. I don’t think we have a representative government when we have a ruling class like that.  

[robosmith]

1 minute ago, Rebound said:

TBH, I don’t think age is arbitrary.  We have a very bad system right now, especially with regards to the US Senate. Once elected to the Senate, that person typically remains for life.  
 

Chuck Grassley is 89 and has been a senator for over 40 years. Considering the monumental power and the importance of the decisions these people have… surely there are plenty of other people willing and capable of doing the job. I don’t think we have a representative government when we have a ruling class like that.  

So, convince his voters to not vote for him.

Maybe the problem is not age, but rather the increased POWER of seniority in the Congress.

[Perspektiv]

1 hour ago, robosmith said:

How about a proficiency test? People decline at different rates and ages. Some are completely out of the loop while others at the same age are sharp as a tack.

Biden is clearly on a sharp decline.

Trump, was sharp as a tact while a president, was heavily pressured to take a proficiency test which he easily passed. He's just highly narssisstic. Not of a low IQ.

In my humble opinion, neither should have been president, based on their age. 

This age range, is one where declines can occur quickly and sharply. 

There would just be so many loopholes if say, the declines are noticeable and during a term. 

Setting age limits prevents this, altogether.

Just like driving, many set limits of 75 years prior to routine testing must be redone in order to continue having a driver's license. 

This is a car. Your responsibility is limited. 

As a president, you're running a country. You have the end nod that could start military conflicts, along with other things.

It wouldn't protect against incompetence, but would at the very least prevent life politicians, or worse, one serving when they are in no capacity to do so.

Biden needs rest periods quite often, and this makes it nowhere in the news. He also has made so many blunders and has looked lost.

Just watch a video of Biden speaking while vice president, and today and tell me there are no differences. 

 

 

[robosmith]

1 minute ago, Perspektiv said:

Biden is clearly on a sharp decline.

Trump, was sharp as a tact while a president, was heavily pressured to take a proficiency test which he easily passed. He's just highly narssisstic. Not of a low IQ.

In my humble opinion, neither should have been president, based on their age. 

This age range, is one where declines can occur quickly and sharply. 

There would just be so many loopholes if say, the declines are noticeable and during a term. 

Setting age limits prevents this, altogether.

Just like driving, many set limits of 75 years prior to routine testing must be redone in order to continue having a driver's license. 

This is a car. Your responsibility is limited. 

As a president, you're running a country. You have the end nod that could start military conflicts, along with other things.

It wouldn't protect against incompetence, but would at the very least prevent life politicians, or worse, one serving when they are in no capacity to do so.

Biden needs rest periods quite often, and this makes it nowhere in the news. He also has made so many blunders and has looked lost.

Just watch a video of Biden speaking while vice president, and today and tell me there are no differences. 

 

 

Just watch a video of Biden speaking as a child with his speech impediment. He's mostly learned how to mitigate that.

Driving your car means you're responsible for the safety of MANY. One slip up can kill many people without the checks of being POTUS.

Reagan had Alzheimer's in his last years, but there are still Republicans who deny that, because Nancy covered it up.

I have no problem with a proficiency test beginning at 75 or 80.

Not the one which Trump took, which was a joke that was only for total dementia. He was so proud to pass that ridiculous test, and that fact should have failed him.

 

[Perspektiv]

2 hours ago, robosmith said:

his speech impediment.

Am not eluding to the impediment. Am eluding to how sharp he was. Impediment and all.

2 hours ago, robosmith said:

Driving your car means you're responsible for the safety of MANY.

Correct. Much lesser responsibility than being responsible for millions of people and an entire economy.

2 hours ago, robosmith said:

Reagan had Alzheimer's in his last years, but there are still Republicans who deny that

Just like Biden showing signs of early dementia. Many are denying his mental acuity, but know he would flunk any test at this given moment.

2 hours ago, robosmith said:

I have no problem with a proficiency test beginning at 75 or 80.

Beginning at 80 would be ridiculous. 75 should be the latest.

2 hours ago, robosmith said:

that fact should have failed him.

He's a narssissist. Of course he will brag about it. You have to keep in mind, that he is so in love with himself, I wouldn't be surprised if he considered being with Mania as having an affair.

Hate to say it, but one must be slightly narssisstic to efficiently run a country without it affecting you.

[robosmith]

8 minutes ago, Perspektiv said:

Correct. Much lesser responsibility than being responsible for millions of people and an entire economy.

Except when you're POTUS, you have a huge staff with lots of checks. No one helps you drive a car.

8 minutes ago, Perspektiv said:

Just like Biden showing signs of early dementia. Many are denying his mental acuity, but know he would flunk any test at this given moment.

I don't know that. I say it depends on the test.

8 minutes ago, Perspektiv said:

He's a narssissist. Of course he will brag about it. 

Bragging about passing a simple test is ldiotic.

8 minutes ago, Perspektiv said:

Hate to say it, but one must be slightly narssisstic to efficiently run a country without it affecting you.

Trump is far more than "slightly." He's so narcissistic he actually seems to believe he can define reality to suit his preferences. I'm not sure he even knows the difference, but that may just be his acting skills, since he SOUND very sincere while lying his ass off.

[SpankyMcFarland]

75 seems a reasonable age limit and 25 years more than enough time in any parliament. America has so many constitutional problems that are coming home to roost. Incumbents in the US have a huge advantage and there seems to be no appetite to primary people who are clearly too old for the job. Fortunately, the political parties in many other democracies carry a healthy dose of ageism. Any 70+ candidate for the Lib or Con leadership in Canada would stand no chance now and rightly so. People of that age, even when mentally sound, have difficulty understanding the nuances of contemporary life.  

 

[Perspektiv]

19 minutes ago, robosmith said:

No one helps you drive a car.

Sensors, backup cameras, blind spot detection, lane departure alerts. Many of these features are standard. Are we talking new cars, or old?

You've essentially proven my point. The bulk of the driving, should be the responsibility of that driver.

A president can have the checks that he wants, but they should still be competent enough to be the leader at the helm.

You shouldn't need your backup camera. You have mirrors for a reason.

Just like a president shouldn't need handlers just to be able to get through basic tasks.

23 minutes ago, robosmith said:

Bragging about passing a simple test is ldiotic.

Refusing to take one when clearly unfit, is scary. I would prefer the appearance of a low IQ, than the test being taken, and proving a highly inappropriate level of mental acuity.

24 minutes ago, robosmith said:

Trump is far more than "slightly."

Hence my "he's narssisstic" commment, pointing to his level is at the mental disorder level.

25 minutes ago, robosmith said:

He's so narcissistic he actually seems to believe he can define reality to suit his preferences. 

I was married to a narssissist. This is what they do.

They manipulate, and are insanely good at mirroring others. Gaslighting is their gift.

They use your perceived weaknesses against you, masterfully. If you like peace, this means they would eat you alive.

There is a reason few challenge him within his own party.

He builds negative advocates skillfully, then piles them against you. In politics, this could destroy you.

I divorced my ex for a reason. Its insanely toxic.

Many conservatives despise Trump. Few would have the balls to tell him.

33 minutes ago, robosmith said:

SOUND very sincere while lying his ass off

Do yourself a favor. Read a book called Its all your Fault by Bill Eddy.

It was a life saver for me, in dealing with a highly narssisstic ex wife.

Putin guaranteed, was able to masterfully use Trump's nature against him. 

You are essentially fish food to a guy like that, if you get upset or triggered. He feats on this. 

Key with people like this, is keeping cool, sticking to the point, and giving him less ammo. Not more. 

He loves chaos. Its where he thrives.

Biden would be fish food to Trump right now, and democrats know it.

 

 

[WestCanMan]

I love that leftists are talking about mental health issues all of a sudden after trying to pretend that Biden and Fetterman were mentally competent enough to run for office in the last couple elections.

Is it international hypocrisy day or something?

Am I supposed to pretend that I'd never vote for someone just because they were crass enough to get banned from a dive bar now? 

[WestCanMan]

42 minutes ago, Perspektiv said:

Just like a president shouldn't need handlers just to be able to get through basic tasks.

Part of Biden's appeal was the fact that he wasn't able to articulate exactly what he was thinking. His stuttering and his infrequent/brief appearances didn't give him enough time to prove what a hateful, useless scumbag he is. 

All of the other Demonrat's other presidential candidates were eager to talk about the hot topics of the day, they were revved up to say the kinds of things that appeal to their low-IQ, credulous base, so at some point all of them said things out loud that left moderates and undecided voters in the cold, making themselves unelectable.

Biden was given the kiddie table topics to talk about, and even then he was only lobbed a few softball questions from carefully-selected interviewers. He couldn't go wrong if he tried. His handlers wouldn't allow it.

Now the Dems have a completely malleable figurehead drooling into the camera while God only knows who is actually running the show from behind the scenes. 

The power behind the throne absolutely LOVE this type of "president". While Dr Jill is wiping pablum off of his chin, other people are calling all the shots. 

Voters want less of these guys, permanent Washington wants this to be the prototype. 

[robosmith]

6 hours ago, Perspektiv said:

Sensors, backup cameras, blind spot detection, lane departure alerts. Many of these features are standard. Are we talking new cars, or old?

You've essentially proven my point. The bulk of the driving, should be the responsibility of that driver.

The WHOLE responsibility of driving is with the driver. 

6 hours ago, Perspektiv said:

A president can have the checks that he wants, but they should still be competent enough to be the leader at the helm.

You shouldn't need your backup camera. You have mirrors for a reason.

Just like a president shouldn't need handlers just to be able to get through basic tasks.

But every POTUS does need a lot of help. It's a huge job. The KEY which Trump failed was vetting the people he hired.

6 hours ago, Perspektiv said:

Refusing to take one when clearly unfit, is scary. I would prefer the appearance of a low IQ, than the test being taken, and proving a highly inappropriate level of mental acuity

The test Trump took had nothing to do with IQ which is why it was so embarrassing that he was bragging about his passing it. All it proved was he could remember simple things for 2 minutes. I took that same test a few months ago, and there were much more difficult segments that followed the one he bragged about passing.

6 hours ago, Perspektiv said:

Hence my "he's narssisstic" commment, pointing to his level is at the mental disorder level.

I was married to a narssissist. This is what they do.

They manipulate, and are insanely good at mirroring others. Gaslighting is their gift.

They use your perceived weaknesses against you, masterfully. If you like peace, this means they would eat you alive.

There is a reason few challenge him within his own party.

Yes, they are running for VP. Except for Hutchinson and Christie.

6 hours ago, Perspektiv said:

He builds negative advocates skillfully, then piles them against you. In politics, this could destroy you.

I divorced my ex for a reason. Its insanely toxic.

Many conservatives despise Trump. Few would have the balls to tell him.

Only the pols who depend on the MAGA CULT vote.

6 hours ago, Perspektiv said:

Do yourself a favor. Read a book called Its all your Fault by Bill Eddy.

It was a life saver for me, in dealing with a highly narssisstic ex wife.

Putin guaranteed, was able to masterfully use Trump's nature against him. 

You are essentially fish food to a guy like that, if you get upset or triggered. He feats on this. 

Key with people like this, is keeping cool, sticking to the point, and giving him less ammo. Not more. 

He loves chaos. Its where he thrives.

Biden would be fish food to Trump right now, and democrats know it.

Biden beat Trump so ^this premise is highly suspect.

[Perspektiv]

5 hours ago, robosmith said:

The WHOLE responsibility of driving is with the driver

You're responsible for your car only. You can't control others. You can only learn defensive attitudes that minimize your risk behind the wheel.

What am saying, is technology has made it so, many drivers use their reverse cameras, and forget to use their mirrors which give you better depth perception, angles etc.

Lane changes. Blind spot alerts have made it that some don't do their shoulder checks. Lane departure assists, make it that you get a warning vibration or brakes applied automatically if you cross over a solid line with no signal.

I could go on. Driving is all about the driver, but the parallel am pointing to, is now certain mistakes will be covered by the vehicle's software.

You telling me Biden has handlers, is you telling me that the person in that office doesn't need to look behind or check their mirrors, because that's what their backup camera is for. That's what sensors are for.

No they are not. They are there as insurance. You said it yourself. Biking recklessly because you have a helmet would be silly.

The person running the show, should be competent enough, or at the very least have all of their faculties there to do so, fully.

Relying on your checks and balances, means you have no business running a country.

5 hours ago, robosmith said:

But every POTUS does need a lot of help.

They assemble a team of hopefully experts, to help them run the show. They should still be competent enough to lead the pack.

5 hours ago, robosmith said:

The test Trump took had nothing to do with IQ

Correct. People accused him of not being fit to lead. So he took it, proving he was. Where he fails, is a matter of personality (or disorder). Not competence or mental acuity.

One could say his narssissism is a glaring weakness in his ability to lead, which would be correct, but I will call out any politician for their shortcomings. 

Biden, Trump, it doesn't matter.

All politicians should he held to account for what they bring to the table. It is a grave disservice to hold these people to any less.

5 hours ago, robosmith said:

Biden beat Trump

The first rodeo was his disastrous covid response. He didn't lose in a massive landslide like he should have.

Many right now, are reeling, and looking for someone else at the helm. 

You may be right, that it won't be Trump,  but I don't think people will vote for Biden again just because he isn't Trump. 

If picking between serious constipation and endless diarrhea, you would be closer to how any voter with common sense would feel about the options that they had.

Biden didn't beat Trump.

Voters voted Trump out of the white house. Biden just happened to not be the person that had failed during covid. 

Bragging about winning when you didn't do it by an unprecedented landslide, speaks volumes and will bite Biden in the butt.

[I am Groot]

17 hours ago, Perspektiv said:

Biden is clearly on a sharp decline.

Trump, was sharp as a tact while a president, was heavily pressured to take a proficiency test which he easily passed. He's just highly narssisstic. Not of a low IQ.

Trump, if you look at old videos, used to be a pretty sharp operator. But that was long ago. Now he's a drooling, demented old man bewildered by the world around him and given to rambling semi-coherently at the drop of a hat. He has no understanding or knowledge of any of the requirements of a President, and no interest in learning them. Yes, Biden is definitely suffering signs of his age, but for you to pretend that Trump was "sharp as a tac' is so laugh-out-loud ridiculous it causes me to question your own possible dementia. 

And no, he never took a test for dementia. Nor does he need to. You can see it just by watching him for five minutes.

Edited July 29, 2023 by I am Groot

[I am Groot]

14 hours ago, robosmith said:

Except when you're POTUS, you have a huge staff with lots of checks. No one helps you drive a car.

Trump ignored his staff and fired them whenever they disagreed with him. The only reason the country didn't fall apart is because he spent most of his time as president watching TV and engaging in twitter wars with celebrities. He was uninterested in briefing notes, uninterested in meetings, and uninterested in any of the day to day decision making that a president normally takes part in. Pence ran the country. Trump was more of a figurehead who gave speeches and met with foreign leaders. The problem was he was a figurehead who could actually give orders whenever he saw something on TV or whenever some foreigner or lobbyist or grifter got a word in his ear.

All this according to his own staff. Virtually no one has a good word for his abilities as president. They either write books about what an incompetent, dishonest Ahole he was or keep silent entirely.

13 hours ago, Perspektiv said:

Sensors, backup cameras, blind spot detection, lane departure alerts. Many of these features are standard. Are we talking new cars, or old?

If Trump was driving and saw a big truck in his backup camera he'd say "My gut tells me there's nothing there" and just floor it. Trump doesn't pay any attention to evidence or advice. He goes by his 'gut'. 

[I am Groot]

12 hours ago, WestCanMan said:

I love that leftists are talking about mental health issues all of a sudden after trying to pretend that Biden and Fetterman were mentally competent enough to run for office in the last couple elections.

Biden definitely has issues. But from what I've seen he's a better president on his worst day than Trump ever was on his best.

Edited July 29, 2023 by I am Groot

[OftenWrong]

15 minutes ago, I am Groot said:

Biden definitely has issues. But from what I've seen he's a better president on his worst day than Trump ever was on his best.

So your saying, you approve of Biden promoting CRT but not Trump when he ditched it for federal workers.

"Because Trunp"  ?