i also need to call for generational renewal in the democratic party. like, now. i know people have been making this argument, and it's easy to get agitated and accuse people of agism, but this is the time to do it, and i'll tell you why.

these are the democratic decision makers over the age of 70, some nearing the age of 80:

president:

- biden

cabinet:

- kerry

- yellen

- vilsack

congressional leaders:

- schumer

- pelosi

senate committee leaders:

- sanders

- stabenow

- leahy

- warren

- reed

- manchin (is that better or worse than murkowski?)

- carper

- wyden

- murray

- feinstein

- cardin

...& our favourite, merrick garland, is 68. as is sherrod brown.

this is no longer an abstraction; this is a gerontocracy, and the reason it needs to be addressed is that the republicans have been shut out of government. it might take 2 years, it might take 4, but when they inevitably come back with a younger slate of candidates (none of their older representatives are going to run.), the democrats seriously run the risk of badly caving support amongst new and young voters, as the republicans end up as the party of renewal, and the democrats end up as the party of crusty old conservatives.

and, they are. deal with it.

it's not clear what the republican party will look like in four years (i'm going to designate sarah palin as the early frontrunner; not in seriousness, but because i think she's the kind of candidate that comes next. palin. bachmann. that's your model - that's what the next candidate looks like. they'd run tomi lahren if she'd do it.), but it is actually true that the democrats are a party of crusty old conservatives....and mostly white ones, at that.

this can't fester further. it needs to be addressed, or the democrats run the potential of getting savaged in the midterms.

so, there needs to be a kind of process of directed retirement over the next two-four years - or this could be two one-term presidencies in a row.