Richard Blumenthal

A Need For An Age Limit In Congress!

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The news that Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley at age 88 has announced for an eighth term which would take him to age 95 is a sign of the craziness of members of Congress, having no concept of retirement!

Senator Diane Feinstein of California is also 88, and will serve until past age 91. It has been noted that her short term memory is faltering, and that rumors have it that she yells at staff because she is not fully aware of what she is doing, or what she has been told about regarding her ability to do her job.

Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe just won a new term at age 86, and will serve what he calls his last term to 2026, when he will be 92!

Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy plans to run again in 2022 when he will be 82, meaning he would be in office until age 88 in 2028.

The other Vermont Senator, Bernie Sanders is now 80, and likely would run for reelection in 2024, meaning he would reach age 89 in 2030.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky would be 80 by February 2022, and will be in office until at least 84 plus in 2026.

Idaho Senator Jim Risch, just reelected in 2020, will be past age 83 at the end of 2026.

Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, reelected in 2018, will be 81 by 2024.

Independent Senator Angus King of Maine will be 80 by the end of his present term in 2024.

Only Alabama Senator Richard Shelby is retiring in 2022, at age 88 plus, the only Senator deciding it is time to leave.

Additionally, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin will be 82 at the end of his present Senate term in 2026.

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, expected to run for another term in 2022, would be nearing age 83 in 2028.

And there are six other Senators who would be 80 or past 80 by 2026, so a theoretical total of 17 Senators will be octogenarians (with two over 90) by that year!

Additionally, there are close to 50 House members who will be past 80 by 2026, and among the ten oldest are the three Democratic House leaders–Steny Hoyer of Maryland, Nancy Pelosi of California, and James Clyburn of South Carolina, all over 80 at this stage!

There needs to be some kind of age limit with a range of 80-85 at the most, but the problem is that Congress would have to enact such legislation or have a constitutional amendment, but it is highly unlikely that will ever occur!

The Future Of The Democratic Party: Younger Liberals In The US Senate

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When one sees that Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski, California Senator Barbara Boxer, and Nevada Senator Harry Reid are retiring in 2016, and know that other older Senate Democrats have limited time left in the Senate, it makes it clear that it is time to examine who among the “younger” generation of liberal Senate Democrats may be perceived as the future of the Democrats beyond Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and even Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

Even if Hillary Clinton becomes President, where is the hope for liberal Democrats in the future, as there are very few Democratic governors. The “youth” movement in the Democratic Party is therefore in the hands of the following younger liberal Senate Democrats:

Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy (41)
Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz (42)
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker (45)
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (48)
Colorado Senator Michael Bennet (50)
Delaware Senator Christopher Coons (51)
Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin (53)
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar (54)
Michigan Senator Gary Peters (56)
Virginia Senator Tim Kaine (57)
Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley (58)
Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (59)

These are the present Democratic hopes for the future, to make an impact on the level of Mikulski, Boxer, Reid, along with Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, California Senator Diane Feinstein, Florida Senator Bill Nelson, Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, New Mexico Senator Tom Udall, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed, Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, Washington Senator Patty Murray, New York Senator Chuck Schumer, Minnesota Senator Al Franken, and Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, as well as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

Of course, more liberal Senate Democrats yet unknown could be elected in 2016, including Kamala Harris in California and Patrick Murphy in Florida, and hopefully, the Democrats will take back control of the United States Senate, and some new Democratic governors might be elected, assuming a coattail effect of the candidacy of the Democratic nominee in the Electoral College, still highly likely!

The Jewish Members Of The 113th Congress

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In the 113th Congress, due to meet on January 3, there will be a total of 34 people of Jewish heritage serving over the two years of that Congress.

There will be 12 Senators and 22 House members, with the only Republican being House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia.

The 12 Senators include newly appointed Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii, just appointed and sworn in yesterday for a two year term, before Schatz has to run for the remaining two years of the term of former Senator Daniel Inouye.

The other eleven Jewish Senators include:

Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein of California
Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut
Michael Bennet of Colorado
Ben Cardin of Maryland
Carl Levin of Michigan
Al Franken of Minnesota
Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey
Charles Schumer of New York
Ron Wyden of Oregon
Bernie Sanders of Vermont

Among the House members are:

Henry Waxman of California
Ted Deutch, Lois Frankel, Alan Grayson and Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida
Jan Schakowsky of Illinois
Sander Levin of Michigan
Eliot Engel, Steve Israel, Nita Lowey and Jerrold Nadler of New York

Jewish members of the two houses of Congress come from:

California
Connecticut
Colorado
Florida
Illinois
Kentucky
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
New Jersey
New York
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Tennessee
Virginia
Vermont

Exaggeration And Fabrication: The Cases Of Richard Blumenthal And Mark Kirk

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What is it with politicians that they cannot run for office based on truth and honesty, on their real record of accomplishments or talents? 🙁

We have the cases of Democrat Richard Blumenthal, running for the Senate in Connecticut, and Republican Mark Kirk, running for the Senate in Illinois!

Blumenthal has been the distinguished Attorney General of Connecticut for 22 years, and is attempting to succeed Democrat Christopher Dodd in the Senate. He is heavily favored, but the NY TIMES has uncovered the fact that he has lied about military service in Vietnam in the late 1960s, when he never did such service!

Mark Kirk has been a GOP Congressman for ten years, and is considered a moderate Republican with a good chance of defeating his Democratic opponent, in a race to succeed the appointed Democrat to Barack Obama’s Senate seat, Roland Burris. But he has fabricated his teaching experience, which was very minimal to none, for no reason that makes any sense!

It seems to me that Blumenthal claiming military experience in Vietnam is much more egregious an offense than Kirk claiming teaching experience, but the question is WHY it is necessary to fabricate, exaggerate and lie about one’s background! 🙁

How could either candidate really believe that they would get away with lying over time, if not immediately caught in the story making? It boggles the mind why such behavior seems more commonly used, therefore causing further disillusionment toward politicians by the American people! 🙁

The Problem Of Trust : A Crisis In American Politics! :(

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As Americans in four states vote today in party primaries and to replace Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania, it is obvious that there is widespread alienation of the average citizen toward their government, and it is not just one party or the other, or in fact, just the national government, but also state and local governments!

There are constant revelations of sex and financial scandals, and of lying about one’s background and credentials! This happens on a regular basis in many states across the country, including in South Florida as recently as the past 24 hours! 🙁

Within the last day, we have discovered that Connecticut Democratic Senate nominee Richard Blumenthal, the state Attorney General for 22 years, lied about his Vietnam service, a stunning revelation for a person who has been the chief law enforcement officer of his state for a generation! This will make it impossible for him to have a clear shot at winning what was thought to be an easy election to succeed Christopher Dodd!

But also just occurring is the revelation of an affair of Republican Representative Mark Souder of Indiana, and his announcement that he will resign from the House of Representatives!

Can the American people ever again believe in their office holders in governments at all levels, when there has been an epidemic of scandals and lies that seems never to stop? 🙁

When again will we be able to imagine that those who represent us can be believed and respected and trusted to govern us? 🙁

This is the question of 2010, but really of any year, and is troubling for those who have children and want them to believe in the reliability and truthfulness of adults, not only politicians, but also entertainers and sports figures, who constantly set a bad example for the future generation! 🙁

Connecticut Still A Blue State Despite Christopher Dodd’s Decision To Retire

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Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd has come under fire in the past two years for bad decisions as head of the Banking Committee, and his activism for health care reform, as well as his attempt to run for President in 2008.

Despite that, Dodd overall has an admirable record in his 30 years in the Senate and six years in the House of Representatives.

But the time has come for change, and the death of his good friend Ted Kennedy made him reconsider whether at age 65, he needed to go through a tough reelection race. He also had his own battle with prostate cancer, and lost a sister to cancer this past summer.

Fortunately, his state will remain “blue”, as long time Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who has wanted to go for a Senate seat but was stymied by the long service of Dodd and Joe Lieberman, has already announced for the Senate, and has sky high ratings. He is considered one of the very best state Attorney Generals in the nation, so the seat will remain Democratic.

The loss of Byron Dorgan and Christopher Dodd is a loss, as both contributed much to the history of the nation and the Senate. We should wish them both well!