It’s a touchy point with me, the matter of Sen. John McCain’s age. Media just can’t talk about it enough—the latest is an Associated Press story that (again) explores how voters feel about the matter. Seems like only yesterday the Democratic Party as well as media maintained an obsession with equal rights for all including those who don’t belong to Gen X. The AP story says Democrats have “broached the age issue indirectly…”
Democrats don’t have to broach the issue. Progressive mainstream media does it for them.
I’ve written about this before, but every time I see this (and I have seen it a lot), I get really angry. Here’s why—media’s preoccupation with age only began with John McCain. If we’re going to explore age, let’s be fair and take a look at select Democratic seniors, older than McCain, who exert serious control over our government. Some might call the situation a "chokehold."
Take Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV). He was born in 1917. He chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, one of the most influential because that committee doles out our hard-earned tax dollars. Next time you want enlightenment, hop over to YouTube and watch a few videos of the senator. Watching those videos is like watching a train wreck. McCain could run rings around this 91-year-old senator, and for good reason. When Byrd was born, McCain wasn’t even a spark in his own daddy’s eye.
Or maybe consider Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) He’s 76 and his lifestyle hasn’t done his health any favors. But he’s still manipulating American politics. He serves on 4 committees, among them (not surprisingly, given his family’s history) Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. He checked himself out of the hospital recently after a dire diagnosis and went sailing.
How about Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY)? She’ll turn 79 in August. She’s still feisty enough to want to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine and she doesn’t appear to have any plans to retire soon. I don’t know if that’s a current photo on her website, but Slaughter looks to be in pretty good shape considering she’s 8 years older than Sen. McCain.
Just for fun, consider Ruth Bader Ginsburg, associate justice of the US Supreme Court. She’s 75, and her ideological buddy John Paul Stevens is 88. Take a gander at the story the Associated Press ran on these two and tell me media isn’t biased. Just compare the narrative in the Supreme Court seniors story with the narrative in the story about McCain.
You see any stories of concern in major media about the age of any of these public figures?
Somebody in the GOP (Hello? Anybody home?) campaign needs to address this head-on. If you want to talk geriatrics, the Democrats have put politicians older than McCain (some way older) in key positions. We need to stop making jokes and get out the facts.
Let me tell you a story. My father’s family has these amazing genes. All his brothers and sisters lived to be 90+ years old, except my dad who basically did himself in, but that is another story I’ll spare you. My favorite of his sisters was my Aunt Cornelia. She was smashingly beautiful, a true Southern lady and a heck of a lot of fun. When she died she was in her mid-nineties. I called my cousin to express my sympathy. “How did she die?” I asked.
My cousin said, “Happy. She was smoking a Camel, drinking a glass of Chardonnay and playing bridge with her girlfriends.”
It’s all about the genes. “My friends,” as Sen. McCain likes to say, next time you read about or know a person who died prematurely, bear in mind that youth is no guarantee of longevity. How long each of us lives is, in my opinion, in hands far superior to our own.
Accept It
Rod_Patrick July 14th, 2008 at 4:47 p.m. CDT (link)
Better think of defense instead of whining. Let's Get It Right!
There are plenty of them, just look around your thoughts.
Cheers!
Perhaps an EEOC complaint should be filed:-)nt
Kate_Shanahan July 14th, 2008 at 5 p.m. CDT (link)
.
Kate
“It is the American vice, the democratic disease which expresses its tyranny by reducing everything unique to the level of the herd.” Henry Miller
Not whining, Rod.
KBDay July 14th, 2008 at 5:23 p.m. CDT (link)
I'm hollerin'. That's what we do down here in the South when we get mad!
Kate, funny. best, Kay
Oh, silly me!
Rod_Patrick July 14th, 2008 at 5:35 p.m. CDT (link)
Hate to see the ladies crying, and can't think of ladies hollerin'. My momma would spank me for this.
If only I could call our brothers Jack and Jimmy McCain to somehow ease your pain, I would love to do that for you Kay.
Cheer up lady! Don't worry. We'll fight back. You'll see.
Thanks, KB - you wrote the diary that I meant to write
bs July 14th, 2008 at 6:21 p.m. CDT (link)
I saw that story on the AP wire and it seriously pd me off. Where's the story about how black Obama is? What about his Muslim heritage? Or any other bit of discriminatory coverage? Last I checked, age discrimination was just as illegal as by color, gender, etc. But will anyone in the Obama campaign stand up and object to that story, as McCain did about the New Yorker cover? Hell, no.
This one had me steaming. Thanks for writing it up.
The Unofficial RedState FAQ 2.0 “You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say. ” - Martin Luther
sometimes I wonder
KBDay July 16th, 2008 at 11:01 p.m. CDT (link)
if we really know how to fight. And now's the time if there ever was one.
Thank you for reading and for kind words.
best, Kay
gc recommended - more later
gamecock July 17th, 2008 at 12:07 a.m. CDT (link)
nt
Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer columns The Minority Report and The HinzSight Report "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." - The Chief Justice Race 4 2008 "One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson