All this talk about how the Democratic party lacks young leadership potential

[BainsBane]

I have to wonder if it's really true or the result of so many who remained focused on a few high-profile older politicians, like Sanders, Clinton, and Warren. There are some younger Democrats who we ought to allow space for. I've been impressed by how Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell have comported themselves on the House Intelligence Committee. Some speak highly of Gavin Newsom, and the Castro brothers are acquiring good experience. I'm sure there are others on the horizon as well. Rather than looking backward, perhaps voters should commit to helping the party to move forward in terms of both ideas and leadership?

[wishstar]

1. The hearings and resulting media interviews are giving good exposure to younger Dem leaders

Just about the only good thing about what is going on now is that new generation of Dems are getting to shine, showing their intelligence, energy and strength in speaking out on national stage.

[BainsBane]

2. Yeah, that's true

I hadn't though of it that way, but you're right.

[randome]

3. I think you answered your own question: the high-profile older politicians kind of use up the air.

I really think they need to share the spotlight more by stepping aside from time to time and letting someone else be the center of attention. Don't they have proteges they want to promote?
[hr][font color="blue"][center]TECT in the name of the Representative approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]

[BainsBane]

4. I believe it is up to us as Democratic voters

to make space for the younger generation. They can only use up all the air if we allow it.

[randome]

5. Agree, it's up to us but we still need the cooperation of the "old-timers", too.

I'm not sure how to get that message across to them. Maybe press each of them to choose a protege to groom.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]TECT in the name of the Representative approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]

[Demsrule86]

6. Joe kennedy III

[BainsBane]

11. Yes, but I can't help thinking about

the Kennedy curse.

[Me.]

7. While Yes To Bringing Young Leadership Forward

Lately, there has been a push against our seasoned politicians and after all the news lately about Russian propaganda, the Russian influenced Bernie Bros, the so-called Justice democrats and the regular Con slime machine etc., pushing against our reps, I have to wonder where this emphasis is actually coming from and if we are being played. And why?

[BainsBane]

8. Are you opposed to all information related to Russian interference being investigated?

Or is it just the information that deals with the Democratic Primary and busters suppressed? I don't suppose it would occur to you that the truth actually matters, and that Americans need to know about interference in their election?

Where the information came from is the FBI investigation and the testimony before the Senate yesterday.

=

[Me.]

14. First Of All

I am not opposed to anything being investigated. And I don't know how you got that from my reply. In fact, I think it all needs to be investigated and sources revealed, which in fact is what I am suggesting because we don't know, anymore, who is pushing the levers.

In addition...I have noticed a lot of threads in the last month adamantly suggesting our experienced leaders are way too old and need to go and, I would like to know why.

[BainsBane]

18. Your post

Lately, there has been a push against our seasoned politicians and after all the news lately about Russian propaganda, the Russian influenced Bernie Bros, the so-called Justice democrats and the regular Con slime machine etc., pushing against our reps, I have to wonder where this emphasis is actually coming from and if we are being played. And why?

That is where I got "that" from your reply.

I can't speak for other posters, but I believe the presidency is an enormously stressful job and that at a certain point people become to old to execute that job, particularly if one hopes its occupant will be able to seek reelection. So consider me part of your grand conspiracy.

I also believe the single greatest problem facing the country now is an electorate that dismisses any information they find inconvenient as illegitimate or part of a conspiracy. It is that cultural phenomenon that enabled Trump to become president, and it is that which is enabling him to continue in office. I consider that no less destructive when the person happens to be a Democrat than a Republican.

[Me.]

21. Obviously There Is A Disconnect Between Us

Those groups I mentioned are doing the DEms harm and I want them outed so I still don't get your reply. As for conspiracies, they actually do exist...like the one involving Russia and as been reported today the Bernie Bros. among others. It has been evident here on DU and other sites as well. And lately there has been a negative barrage against our pols in Congress like those saying Nancy Pelosi is too old and ineffective. Now perhaps you agree with that description of her, I don't. Further, I didn't even mention the presidency so I don't know how you read into that either. In fact the oldest presidents in recent history have been Cons and not a DEm problem. That said, I don't think HRC's age would've been an impediment to her effectiveness as president. As I said I think bringing in younger candidates is a plus but at the same time I'm not going to dismiss a DEM based on age only. Their voting history is more important to me.

[BainsBane]

22. Perhaps you could answer the question you posed to me?

Where do you think "this emphasis is actually coming from"?

Pelosi is a different story because House minority leader or Speaker is a two year position, not four or eight. It's also not nearly as stressful or demanding a job as the presidency. If the Dem caucus believes she is unable to perform at capacity, they can vote her out. I have always believed those House and Senate leadership positions are best left to members of those bodies because they require skills that voters don't observe, e.g. like how they are able to generate support for legislation behind the scenes. I think it's mistaken for people to view them in ideological terms, as it also was for the DNC chair.

Clinton's age wasn't an issue in the past election because everyone she was running against was older. She also isn't typical for her age. None of the most popular Democrats are. They are all exceptional in their energy and mental capacity.

I thought you were policing my post for signs of heresy against Bernie. I'll take him as an example because I don't believe Clinton would run or, if she did, wouldn't stand a chance of being the nominee again. He would be 79 for the election. That would make him 83 when he was to run for reelection and 87 or 88 by the end of a second term. In my opinion, that's just too old. I think most voters would likely agree.

[Me.]

23. What I Think

I was a Clinton supporter and if there was 'heresy' (from any number of quarters) it was against her. As for Bernie....never my cup of tea and I had issues with a number of his supporters..still do when they show up in news or on media. I don't believe she will run again either....I think she will do something important but I wish her the best in whatever she chooses to do, even if it's nothing.

Where do I think the emphasis is coming from....to my mind it's a concerted push to divide Dems and weaken our leadership positions from a number of sources. It comes from the right with organizations run by the Mercers and Kochs, Wikileaks/Assange, groups of Dems who have gone rogue like certain sites on social media, Fox, Breitbart, the Russians and so on and so forth. It does sound like seeing a conspiracy around every corner but those I've mentioned are real and not deterred from causing harm to effect their agenda. And for some the agenda is no less than 'deconstructing' our gov. or drowning it in a bathtub. And to do that they need to take over the gov. in much the way it seems to have happened. Though I will say these groups tec. are turning out to be their own worst enemy.

All that said, the advice here, where I live, is 'if you see something, say something' and that applies to lies, fake info and political crime as much as anything else.

[BainsBane]

25. The age thing with Pelosi

was that they wanted that other guy (I forget his name) to be the speaker. They insisted he was more progressive, even though his record didn't support those claims. They said she was old news, hence her age, but Bernie's age is never a concern. Could be the Russians and RWers are still agitating, but even during the election, none of the propaganda operation would have been successful if people weren't disposed to believe it. The Russians identified and took advantage of existing divisions. As a result, it can be difficult to discern the difference between ongoing divisions and external agitation. Ultimately, it all plays to a couple of tendencies in our political culture: 1) that people are eager to accept information that validates their views while rejecting what they find inconvenient; and 2) that too many people are self-centered, more concerned about getting their way that the well-being of the population at large. Both of those are tendencies that cut across the political spectrum.

[Me.]

38. It Is True

That "Could be the Russians and RWers are still agitating, but even during the election, none of the propaganda operation would have been successful if people weren't disposed to believe it"

Oh they are still on it, agitating. Reports out today regarding the Russians and Bernie Bros. confirm that and the RWers never stop. What is beginning to help is the media using the word LIE, over and over. And then there is the never-ending crisis' in the WH. Yet, his people are still with him, scapegoating Paul Ryan instead of him and he is doing the same to the Freedom Caucus. There is a fracture happening within the Con party because that 35% cannot hold the country's interests hostage to theirs forever.

I am amazed at the Cons who are shocked by what their party will do for power and they are learning that when that is the sole goal, it can corrupt. Those like Ryan and the others who would take medical care from the ill and food from children are black rotten to their core and at some point, their immorality will prove to be their destruction.

I never thought I would see a magazine cover as disrespectful of a president as the one the New Yorker has just put out. But there is a push back happening, a battle if you will for the direction of this country. A common sense is beginning to take place in a lot of different quarters, one step at a time. Like Immelt saying, yesterday. he didn't agree with 45 about climate change. That is a powerful position for the head of GE to take. Or Gerson writing about the soulless, immoral person 45 is.

My hope is in the arc of the universe being long but bending towards justice. Everyone, especially those chosen to represent us must do their share to restore this country.

[BainsBane]

39. Well said

I agree that everyone has to do their part.

[Me.]

43. Agreed

[Hortensis]

9. Agree. Also, we have a lot of youngish people

coming along across the nation who we do not know about, but the party leadership and movers and shakers are carefully monitoring and assisting.

Just look at our "new" discovery of Adam Schiff. He's been in California and then national politics for 20 years, after starting out as an assistant U.S. attorney. I was smiling as I wrote that, but sadly Schiff is typical of many good people some want to throw out on the ignorant assumption that "they" are all corrupt.

Don't want the days of party operatives choosing candidates in "smoky back rooms" by any means, but experienced insiders are critical to the process. Those days not only never produced a Rump, they also weeded out the kind of hard-core, destructive ideologues who've taken over the Republican Party.

[JustAnotherGen]

10. I love this idea!

It's not meant to offend Clinton, Warren, Biden, etc. etc. But - it's time for a shift/change. I think we have a really good pool of Generation Xers elected to office today that we should be looking to in the future.

[BainsBane]

12. No disrespect at all

Looking to encourage younger generations isn't in anyway discounting the contributions of the older generation.

[loyalsister]

34. Unfortunately, republicans have a much larger Gen X pool

This is an insightful and maybe even predictive article from 1999.

The culture and attitudes that have been brewing among Gen Xers since the 90s sound a lot like the tea party and explains why many were receptive to a candidate who masqueraded as being more independent than the other candidates.

Even those young adults who are actively engaged in national politics see partisan boundaries blurring into irrelevance. Gary Ruskin, an Xer who directs the Congressional Accountability Project, a public-policy group in Washington, D.C., puts it this way: "Republicans and Democrats have become one and the same—they are both corrupt at the core and behave like children who are more interested in fighting with each other than in getting anything accomplished."

And Xers exhibit a more materialistic and individualistic streak than did their parents at a similar age. Moreover, there is a general decline in social trust among the young, whether that is trust in their fellow citizens, in established institutions, or in elected officials. These tendencies are, of course, related: heightened individualism and materialism, as Alexis de Tocqueville pointed out, tend to isolate people from one another, weakening the communal bonds that give meaning and force to notions of national identity and the common good.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/08/a-politics-for-generation-x/306666/

[sharedvalues]

35. Lies. GOP loves to push "D and R are the same!!!" because it normalizes their craziness.

[loyalsister]

40. They impeach we impeach

They have criminals, cheaters, shirkers and just all around jerks and so do we. They all take money from lobbyists and they all try to raise as much as possible because they have to.
These are things that all politicians have in common and they are also what these "they're all the same" folks are looking at.

The way politics is designed, competetors have to adopt the same tactics. Even when Democrats can claim the high ground on policy, some folks are focused on other things. It's not a lie and pretending it is is an insult to voters.

[sharedvalues]

36. I'm an Xer and there's lots of us that hate how the GOP has harmed America

[loyalsister]

41. I'm an xer too

I always notice that when I go to fund raisers and other events, there are very few people my age. Lately the old guard and millennials seem to make up the majority.

[sharedvalues]

45. Good point

I have seen similar things.

Part might be that our generation often now has young children - older have kids out of the house, younger have no kids yet.

[loyalsister]

46. Possibly

But a lot of Xers are in their late 40s. I talk to many who have the additude described in the article. This is also the generation who wound up getting burned after funding their education with student loans.

[sharedvalues]

49. Student loans a problem, wait until Medicare and SS are gone

[loyalsister]

50. If all goes as planned for the GOP

and SS, Medicare, and medicaid are cut down to the bone, Xers will instantly be in quite a predicament.
Do they invite their parents to live with them or pay for their nursing home care out of pocket? Or, are they so cold blooded that they'll just ignore their needs?

[a kennedy]

13. and that good looking young intelligent Kennedy.

[Vinca]

15. I think the current investigation is bringing out the best and brightest of the young leadership

in this party. It's time to pass the torch. They're doing a great job.

[loyalsister]

47. I agree

I'm happy to see them step up. Maybe this will be a big challenge to apathy.
Not all, but many in this generation spent our youth knowing​ the US was in a cold war which was maintained with potential mutually assured complete destruction.

That Russia was on the other side, leading the USSR is hopefully not lost on those of us who grew up in the 70s and 80s.

[PatsFan87]

16. We have some great young people in the House. However, we are

desperately in need of some youth in the Senate.

[hedda_foil]

17. Perhaps their increased recognition by more voters will encourage some of them to run for Senate.

[wildeyed]

19. There is a lot of opportunity for young Democrats

to make their bones out of this mess. I'm sick of old politicians too. This is an amazing opportunity to see who has fresh ideas and who can step up to lead in a crisis. In politics, doors open and close quickly. The door is open for talented and brave Democrats right now. Let's see who steps through.

[Warren DeMontague]

20. I think there's tremendous potential. The problem is that our leadership bench has been thin at the

National level. But I expect that will change.

Also Kamala Harris. And I was super impressed with Pete Buttigeig.

[sharedvalues]

37. And Ossoff and Jason Kander

[NurseJackie]

24. I completely agree with you. I'm very much looking forward to the day when it will no longer...

... be "in fashion" (or even allowed) to continually attack and smear the Democratic Party or any of our great Democrats. As you correctly note, if people continue to look backward, there can never be progress forward. If people obsess on attacking and dividing the party, we'll become weaker.

[Warren DeMontague]

26. We have great up and coming leaders, like Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom and Senator Jeff Merkley.

Lt. Governor Newsom has led the way on everything from marriage equality to cannabis legalization.

[Mike Nelson]

27. I think the "Media" started this...

...thing about Dems being "too old" due to the success of Hillary, Bernie, Elizabeth and the speculation about Joe Biden. But there have always been younger Dems, too... I like the older ones and I like the younger ones!

[loyalsister]

48. Or maybe it's just a practical consideration?

Our bodies and brains naturally lose strength with age. To take on an extremely stressful job as they are losing energy and basic function doesn't seem practical in the eyes of many of us.
I will never forgive Ike Skelton for not retiring and mentoring a replacement rather than dying in office, leaving his seat vulnerable to Rs who picked it up right away.

[Squinch]

28. I'm a big fan of Tammy Duckworth since I saw her - with her two titanium legs - eviscerate a guy

who was scamming money from the VA.

[guillaumeb]

29. Youth is no assurance of anything.

There are many young Republicans who are just as insane as their elders.

[BainsBane]

31. The only thing it ensures

Is that the party won't die in ten years.

[Tarheel_Dem]

30. I had high hopes for Kamala Harris, but maybe she's just getting her footing. I never see her on...

the talking head shows. If she's keeping a low profile for a reason, I wonder what it could be? I'm assuming she's not on any of the relevant committees, and therefore doesn't get the spotlight. But you're right, there are some budding stars in our ranks, and I want to encourage it. I much prefer having younger Democrats out there speaking on behalf of the Democratic coalition than some others. The ones you mention by name have impressed me enormously.

[BainsBane]

32. It was years before Al Franken did TV appearances

Serious legislators focus on their jobs, especially when they are new. Members of the intelligence committee have been giving interviews because of the importance of that committees work at the moment.

My impression is that except for occasional interviews and particularly newsworthy events, the pols that spend a lot of time in the media don't tend to be the ones who get legislation passed. They tend to be very popular with the public but less so on the hill.

[Tarheel_Dem]

33. "pols that spend a lot of time in the media don't tend to be the ones who get legislation passed".

[JI7]

42. Adam Schiff has been in Congress for a long time but only now getting more attention

because he happens to be in a position dealing with a major news story. but we see how good he is at his job .

i think Harris may be kind of similar. she is a jr freshman senator from a huge state and in the minority party . i think she is learning and taking everything in but it will make her more effective later on.

[tblue37]

44. Don't forget Martin O'Malley, the Castro brothers, Kamala Harris, Wendy Davis. . . .

The problem is that unlike the GOP, our party doesn't systematically, aggressively groom and support the next generation of leaders and footsoldiers, getting them into the pipeline at the local and state level, funding their campaigns, providing opportunities for them to build a national profile, etc.

Partly that is because we don't have a bunch of deep-pocket donors like the Kochs and Mercers, Sheldon Adelson, Richard Melon Scaife, the Prince family (Erik Prince and Betsy DeVos are siblings, following in their parents' political influence footsteps), etc., who are completely obsessed with pouring billions into reshaping our entire society and political culture according to their own financial interests or their own wackadoodle theories and obsessions.

The sort of grooming and funding the GOP does costs a lot of money, and it requires a long-term commitment and willingness not to see a return on the investment for some time.

These wealthy fools also help fund the RW think tanks and the purchase of media outlets to provide not just ubiquitous outlets for their pervasive propaganda, but also well funded "academic" or "expert" mouthpieces to write studies, whitepapers, and books; to hold impressive seeming conferences; and to go on those media outlets in droves to be interviewed or to provide "expert" analysis of every damned thing.

This is effective propaganda, training even those citizens who TRY to become well-informed to accept that these RW supported pundits and policy analysts are the real experts.

The Democrats just don't have anything like the all-encompassing grooming and support system the RW has been building and expanding ever since FDR managed to engineer the New Deal. And of course their desire to reverse the New Deal was precisely the motivation that fueled their commitment to funding this long-term project to take over the government, the media, and our entire social and political culture.

[WePurrsevere]

51. I think Sen Kirsten Gillibrand is one to watch too...

She vote 'no' on all but one of Trump's nominees and that was Nikki Halley as UN Ambassador. She's one of my (NY) senators (she replaced Hillary) and although she started off her career in politics as a moderate (understandable considering the congressional district she had first) and has shifted left of many other Dems.

If you'd like more info on her...
https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/newsroom/voting_record/
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/kirsten_gillibrand/412223

I've been very pleased with her taking a stand against almost all of Trump's nominees and wouldn't be surprised if she's considering a run for president in 2020. She seems to have the 'fire' needed to do so.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/25/kirsten-gillibrand-has-voted-against-almost-all-of-donald-trumps-nominees-2020-anyone/?utm_term=.54d216bf6764

[BainsBane]

52. I like her

and appreciate her stand on rape in the military.