Meet 88-year-old Eleanor Holmes Norton, a congress critter representing The Swamp. Like many other should-be retired politicians, she opts to remain in some sort of power.
Norton was first elected to represent DC in 1991. She has been in office for over 34 years. She is running for re-election because, “my seniority is what is very important.” From the NY Post:
“The oldest member of the House, 88-year-old Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton, brushed aside growing concerns about her age, saying that she will “of course” be running for re-election.
“I say that my seniority is what is very important, and I am not going to step aside,” Norton, a non-voting delegate representing the District of Columbia, told Axios.
Norton, who was born in 1937 and has served as a of the House since 1991, has sparked concern among friends and colleagues who feel she has experienced a notable mental decline in recent years, the New York Times reported earlier this year.”
Read the whole story here.
Along with her wrong assessment of the National Guard being in DC, she is obviously declining in her mental faculties as we see she has problems even reading from a script.
It’s also been observed that she cannot fully function at public events . Ealier this year, Mother Jones noted that at a town hall telephone meeting Norton “read some opening remarks, but when participants directed questions at her, union reps or a democracy activist provided most of the answers. “Congresswoman, I’d be happy to jump in” was a typical intervention during her many unexplained silences.”
Mother Jones also reported, “Norton’s uncertain performance did not escape notice. “It turns out Rep. Norton defers all responses to her constituents’ questions, to someone else,” a YouTube commenter complained. “Not what I expected.”
Alas, she will probably win re-election. As seen in many blue-run cities, districts and states, voting habits enable democrats to hold on to their “seniority.”
DCG
Term limits…one of the most egregious things overlooked by our founders, will NEVER be enacted by those who benefit from its absence. Our founders envisioned a “citizen government” where run-of the mill citizens would serve….and after the informal example of George Washington…go home to their private business/families/communities after 2 terms. So, this limit was never put into our Constitution until FDR was elected for 4 terms…..Only then did it become part of the Constitution, but only for the Presidency…not for any other elected terms of the Congress/Senate. NO WAY are you ever going to get those guys (think Pelosi) to vote for their own term limits. THIS WILL TAKE a State Referendum…which, I think requires 2/3 of the states to vote “yes.” Maybe we are getting close to this possibility…but it would still take front-loading and effort.