this post was submitted on 09 Nov 2023
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When it comes to age on the ballot, Texas didn’t wait until 2024 to weigh in.

Asked to let judges stay on the bench until they’re 79 years old — a year younger than President Joe Biden — Texas voters soundly rejected the proposal in Tuesday’s elections, a defeat that drew new attention to issues of age and fitness for office in the U.S.

“Age is front of mind for American voters in a way that it has not traditionally been and they are nervous about it,” said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University.

Others cautioned against broader takeaways. At least four other states have rejected similar proposals over the last decade, according to the National Center for State Courts. And states that have passed the measures have mostly done so in close votes.

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[–] Heresy_generator@kbin.social 91 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

The media cracks me up.

"None of these really good election results have anything to do with Joe Biden in 2024. Except the results that we can spin into being bad for him, those matter."

I wouldn’t say the media under covered the Democratic wins. I also think there’s still real reason to worry about how Biden fares next year, because he is underperforming compared to the average dem. I’m worried young voters abandon him precisely because of his age. Without the unprecedented surge in youth voting in 2020, Trump wins.

“Age is front of mind for American voters in a way that it has not traditionally been and they are nervous about it,” said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University.

Um, yeah, because never was normal to have so many 75+ year olds in power. They need to retire. And yes, that includes Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The Silent Generation and Boomers ran this country into the ground and never gave up that power.

[–] Joe-Blow240@kbin.social 40 points 1 year ago (4 children)

It's long past time to get the generation of lead-induced dementia patients out of office. Slow Biden, Glitch McConnell, and all of their geriatric ilk need to go.

[–] 0110010001100010@lemmy.world 30 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Glitch McConnell

lol I haven't heard that one before, that's a good one.

[–] Witchfire@lemmy.world 24 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm quite a fan of Lich McConnell since he definitely has a philactery

[–] Zombiepirate@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago

Sounds like something antibiotics could clear up.

Maybe that's why he hates healthcare so much?

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

An age limit on elderly judges is critical where they get appointed for life.

At least these other geriatric ilk have to get re-elected periodically. In previous years I would have said to trust the voters to eventually come to the right conclusion, but elections are really crazy these days

[–] fireweed@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

Judicial elections are barely even elections. Independent voting guides never mention them and news media rarely profile or interview them (or if they do it's not prominently compared to other local races). Plus at least in my experience incumbent judges usually run unopposed. I also think they have very strong restrictions on what they can/can't say while campaigning so voters can't even do their own research properly (especially for new judges, who don't have much of a track record). Basically it's near impossible to be an educated voter when it comes to judges, so maybe they're better off being appointed.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)

But Trump is young and spry, right?

[–] Joe-Blow240@kbin.social 31 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not in the slightest. Trump is a prime example of what happened to the brains of kids who ate lead paint chips.

[–] EatYouWell@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

To be fair, he's also a speed addict.

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

Healthwise, Trump appears to be older than Biden

[–] OldWoodFrame@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] ikidd@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] OldWoodFrame@lemm.ee -2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I mean I know lead is bad for you but the body does process it over time and leaded gas has been banned since the 70s. You can't just disqualify everyone who was alive in the 70s because there was potential for lead exposure.

One would hope that such a bold and specific claim as "the President and Senate Minority Leader have lead-induced dementia" would have...a single shred of specific evidence.

[–] Joe-Blow240@kbin.social 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Lead poisoning causes permanent irreversible brain damage that manifests in the form of learning disability and behavioral disorders.

[–] OldWoodFrame@lemm.ee -1 points 1 year ago

Ok so the claim is that the president and Senate minority leader got permanent irreversible brain damage in the 70s?

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Don’t forget leaded paint. It was also banned in those decades but any house/building from before then is potentially contaminated with lead paint. While interior paint has gotten a lot of attention, “encapsulating” it is not perfect nor permanent and the building is still surrounded by contaminated soil from exterior paint.

And prop planes … leaded fuel not banned yet

The Wikipedia article is pretty scary, especially

According to a study, half of the US population has been exposed to substantially detrimental lead levels in early childhood – mainly from car exhaust whose lead pollution peaked in the 1970s and caused widespread loss in cognitive ability.

[–] OldWoodFrame@lemm.ee 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Do you think Texas would be on board for this as a rule for the Supreme Court, where the two oldest justices are Thomas and Alito?

[–] girlfreddy@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Imo age is a shitty metric to go by because it misses outward indications of maturity or debilitation. Just because someone is 70 doesn't mean they have dementia (or dementia could have started when they were 50), and just because someone is 17 doesn't mean they're not knowledgable enough to vote for a gov't.

[–] EatYouWell@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The problem isn't dementia, the problem is that they won't live to see the consequences of their actions.

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The huge plus for using age as a metric is that it’s objective and straightforward. Birth certificates are public record, so ages are generally well known, and there can be a clear cutoff, without leaving room for potentially biased judgement calls, nor room for lengthy appeals.

[–] Son_of_dad@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Why do all these articles make it a point to say Biden is 80, but fail to mention Trump is 77?

[–] fireweed@lemmy.world 24 points 1 year ago

Biden is now 80 and former President Donald Trump is 77.

Literally in the article.

[–] charonn0@startrek.website 9 points 1 year ago

FTA: "Biden is now 80 and former President Donald Trump is 77."

[–] SoupBrick@yiffit.net 7 points 1 year ago

Because Biden shows it more publicly and doesn't coat himself in more makeup than a mime. But your point is still valid.