Young state legislator speaks about "A New Generation to Govern"

I have posted numerous times about the transgressions of the "You Darn Kids Get Off My Lawn" generation. You know, my g-g-g-g-g-g-generation. Won't get fooled again!

I was born in 1950. I have been fooled again over and over again.

However, the old folks now running Congress and most state legislators think all of us are fools. They really have a low regard for their children and grandchildren.

According to the Congressional Research Service (2/24/11), the Average age of U.S. House members is 56.7 years and, for Senators, 62.2 years.

So, at 60, I'd be among my generational cohorts if I dropped out of the sky into the Congressional chambers. There are several World War II vets in Congress -- thank you, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI). Aaron Schock (R-IL) is the youngest House member at 29 and Mike Lee (R-UT) is the youngest Senator at 39. The Repubs that came into Congress on the Tea Party wave tend to be younger than average. Their politics, however, belongs to the Stone Age. Scratch that. Their loyalties belong to the corporate interests that brung 'em to the dance. So their interests are aligned with those veteran Republicans that they joined in the House and Senate.

They are the ones that forced the recent Debt Ceiling Battle. Their actions show that they are no more interested in the future than John McCain or Mitch McConnell. They dwell in an imagined past in order to reap riches in the very real present. Shame on all of them.

How did our politics get as calcified as those in Libya and Syria? It's not just age.

C. Cryn Johannsen at All Education Matters is one of those young people making a difference. She's challenging status quo in this country's student loan edifice. She's in D.C, right now meeting with like-minded folks, including Rep. Hensen Clarke, Dem of Michigan. On her blog, I found out about SparkAction and a very fine column by Rep. Diane Russell of Maine. She's a young person. She's pissed off and writes well about it.

Quotes from Rep. Diane Russell:

Currently, there are only 9 members of the U.S. House of Representatives age 35 or under. In the Senate, there are two people age 40; no one younger. According to the National Conference of State Legislators, only 3.8 percent of state legislators are between the ages of 20 to 34. This leaves a lot of room to build a strong base of Progressive leaders in the House and Senate.

We have “thrown the bums out” in three separate election cycles and still things continue to get worse for the middle class, and particularly young people. The economic crisis has turned into long-term unemployment. Student debt is crashing down on a generation of college graduates who worked hard and held up their end of the bargain only to discover the promise of good jobs was a pipe dream they can’t even afford to smoke. Corporations rake in record quarters while rewarding the hardworking people who earned those profits with pink slips.

Young people have a unique opportunity right now to challenge the status quo and break up this generation of elected officials who can’t seem to see past their next fundraiser.

If young people in other countries can topple tyrannical governments, certainly Gen-Ys and Millennials can take back our democracy from the corporations who have bought shares in it at our expense.

Currently, there are only 9 members of the U.S. House of Representatives age 35 or under. In the Senate, there are two people age 40; no one younger. According to the National Conference of State Legislators, only 3.8 percent of state legislators are between the ages of 20 to 34. This leaves a lot of room to build a strong base of Progressive leaders at the state and national level.

Sometimes, there are major changes needed in the body politic. This is one of those times.

Read A New Generation to Govern from SparkAction

And damn you kids, get off my cloud!