Bernie Sanders is Too Old to Run Again

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

Yesterday, Sen. Bernie Sanders became the second-to-last senator to announce his election plans this November (the last is Bob Menendez, who is under federal indictment and likely using his reelection as a way to pay his legal bills, so Sanders was the last retirement announcement that mattered), and Sanders announced that he would run again.  I will be honest-I kind of expected this.  Though Vermont is a very blue state, Sanders is a candidate who has held office for so long that I expected him to want to hand-push his successor (he has been a longtime champion of Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, State Auditor Doug Hoffer has worked for him, Rep. Becca Balint seems to share his political philosophies...any of these might've made sense for him).  Given the closeness to the election, that would've been a challenge for Sanders to get in front of, particularly since we also don't know who will be running for governor this year (Gov. Phil Scott also hasn't announced).

Sanders is well-known to most Americans due to his two runs for political office, and whether you like or respect his politics (I agree with him personally on a lot of issues, I don't like how he conducted his presidential campaigns, as he definitely tried to capitalize on some of the sexism that was levied against Hillary Clinton & Elizabeth Warren in those campaigns even if he didn't instigate it), it's easy to see that he's still very much "with it."  His conversations about foreign policy and economic inequality are continually shaping opinions in the left wing of the party, and he's sharp as ever.  At 82, you could argue at this point he's a more consistent public speaker than politicians 25 years younger than him, and part of the reason that I don't see him next to Joe Biden very often is that Sanders is honestly a stronger force at the podium at this point.

But I don't believe that Bernie Sanders has any business running for reelection, and I think it's time we have this conversation in American politics.  Bernie Sanders is too old to run for reelection to the US Senate.  By the end of his next term, he will be 89-years-old.  To put that into perspective, the average American is 38-years-old, and the average American retires at the age of 64.  Sanders will be serving as a representative of the people 25 years past the age most Americans have stopped working, and a half century longer than the average American's age.  Even if he's still sharp in his late 80's, that still seems incredibly inappropriate, and like a time when you need to admit that you should no longer be shaping the public policy for future generations.  And there's a good chance that Sanders will not, in fact, be in good health by 89.  Despite showing no signs of mental decline, anyone who has had a relative in their 80's will know that things can go quickly in that time frame.  It doesn't take a medical degree to tell you that there are intense risks with putting someone who has been on Medicare for decades into a position as powerful as that of a US Senator.

We have seen in recent years longtime US Senators who have basically become national punchlines as a result of staying too long.  Dianne Feinstein, Robert Byrd, & Strom Thurmond all looked like invalids by the time they were done in public office, and that has shaped their legacies in the time that followed (and not for the better).  Ruth Bader Ginsburg stayed on the Supreme Court too long, and as a result her name incites arguments (and is basically a swearword to some progressives) where it once was universally-beloved.  Everyone gets old, but getting old in the public eye, when the public still has expectations of you, means that that becomes your legacy.  Sanders, who took a gadfly career as an Independent & Socialist, and has transformed that into a national movement, putting him in the same company as people like Eugene V. Debs & Eugene McCarthy, could've retired this year a hero of the left.  But he's not-he's going to try to extend his lease on his seat, and with that, potentially risk his legacy.

Sanders is hardly alone in this regard.  Senators like Angus King & Mazie Hirono have also filed for reelection in their respective states despite the fact that they will end their next terms into their 80's, and members of the House like Harold Rogers, Steny Hoyer, & Maxine Waters are all running for another term despite being north of 83.  This is a problem, because incumbency gives such powers that it's basically impossible to beat these candidates-they need to do it on their own.  None of these candidates are irreplaceable, either in reality (when truly no one is-we all get replaced eventually) or pragmatically (all of these are solidly safe for the incumbent party).  It's one thing when Sherrod Brown, already north of 70, runs for another term since he's the only Democrat who can win Ohio, or when Joe Biden (just a year younger than Bernie Sanders) runs for a second term because presidential incumbency is too powerful to waste.  Sanders seat is safe, very safe.  Had he planned ahead, he could've hand-picked his successor (his endorsement is valuable), and gone off into the sunset confident he will be well-remembered.

That he hasn't begs the question-what do we do about this?  I don't support the concept of term limits because I think it takes away a lot of institutional knowledge and infringes on Americans' freedom to choose their leaders, so I won't cosponsor that.  I think the concept of age limits (similar to what we have for judicial seats in some cases) is interesting but awfully messy.  I don't think politicians will ever choose to give up their seats of their own volition-we all think we're more-than-capable, including past when we are, and they're too powerful to have a lot of people to say "no" to them.  I honestly think the best answer might to make "talking about age" in a primary socially acceptable.  Adam Schiff was just chosen in California despite being the same age as the average American at retirement by the time he'll face voters this November, even though he was running against a qualified colleague 14 years his junior.  There's a decent chance Maryland picks Rep. David Trone (who will be 69 in November, even older than Schiff) next week despite having a strong (better) candidate 16 years his junior running against him.  I think we need to make it so that, while age isn't the only factor we consider in primaries, it's a factor we do consider, including against incumbents; if you're over 70, I think there's a decent question of if you should be running for office again, and if you're going to be in your 70's during your next term, you shouldn't be running to be a freshman Senator or Congressman.  Because, let's face it: a man who will be nearly 90-year-old at the end of his next term simply is too old to run for another term in a safe seat.