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A spate of articles on gerontocracy have emerged over the last few months, spawned by recent events like Trump’s particularly unhinged campaign trail comments, 81-year-old Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell freezing mid-speech multiple times, and the 90-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a key member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, being hospitalized and publicly exhibiting confusion and a "rapidly deteriorating” memory. Feinstein’s extended absence earlier this year delayed numerous judicial confirmations—she missed over fifty votes during her ten-week vacancy. A Pentagon-funded study released in April this year identified dementia among high-level US officials as a national security threat.

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The post Those Old Gerontocracy Doldrums appeared first on CounterPunch.org.


This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Scott Remer.

Citations

[1]https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/19/us-congress-presidency-gerontocracy[2] What Is a Gerontocracy? A Government Ruled by the Elderly | Teen Vogue ➤ https://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-is-a-gerontocracy[3]https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/18/trump-biden-age-election-2024[4] bars ➤ https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/30/us/politics/mitch-mcconnell-freeze-kentucky.html[5]https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/dianne-feinstein-went-hospital-minor-fall-home-spokesperson-says-rcna98992[6] Feinstein gets confused in Senate Appropriations hearing and has to be prodded to vote | CNN Politics ➤ https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/27/politics/dianne-feinstein-senate-committee-vote/index.html[7] Report: California Senator Dianne Feinstein's Memory is “Rapidly Deteriorating” | Vanity Fair ➤ https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/report-dianne-feinstein-memory-rapidly-deteriorating[8] Why Sen. Feinstein's absence is a big problem for Democrats | AP News ➤ https://apnews.com/article/feinstein-resign-senate-judiciary-committee-judges-shingles-c888eaa95acc390b8a4f50864e411ca7[9] Feinstein returns to Senate after monthslong absence | PBS News ➤ https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/feinstein-returns-to-senate-after-monthslong-absence[10] Study: Dementia Among U.S. Officials Threatens National Security ➤ https://theintercept.com/2023/09/12/national-security-dementia-mcconnell-feinstein/[11]http://www.counterpunch.org/my-account/[12]https://www.counterpunch.org/subscribe/[13]https://www.counterpunch.org/my-account/members-area/[14]https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/09/23/those-old-gerontocracy-doldrums/[15]https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/09/23/those-old-gerontocracy-doldrums/[16]https://www.counterpunch.org/