We in Alabama are going to be up the proverbial creek without a paddle after Shelby. It was part of their contract with America Agenda in 1994.ДЄlabamians need to consider being for term limits in 2022, because it comes down to the old adage of whose ox is being gourd. Republicans run on the issue of term limits. There are continuing attempts to pass a Constitutional Amendment to limit terms of Congressmen and Senators. The owner of GrubвЂ™s Pharmacy used by many on Capitol Hill in Washington raised eyebrows in 2017 when he revealed he routinely sent AlzheimerвЂ™s medication to Capitol Hill. House or Senate but did not address a maximum. Our founding fathers created a minimum age for serving in the U.S. It was no secret that his staff did everything for him during his last six-year-term. In 2003 Strom Thurman retired at the age of 100 after 48 years in the Senate. The most notable example of possibly staying too long is probably the story of legendary Senator Strom Thurman of South Carolina. It was common knowledge and apparent that Senator ShelbyвЂ™s predecessor as Chairman of Appropriations, Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi, was not very cognitive in his last years in the Senate although he was younger, chronically. There is a pervasive whispering campaign about FeinsteinвЂ™s alleged cognitive decline and the Democratic senior leadership has indeed quietly removed her as the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Liberals believe she was too conciliatory during Supreme Court nominee Amy Comey BarrettвЂ™s confirmation hearing. Senator Feinstein has been the most widely discussed current senator for decline in health. At some point voters have to weigh, вЂњIs my senator too old to perform the duties of the office or does the weight and power of their seniority and the benefit of their influence to the state outweigh their energy and cognizance?вЂќ Voters tend to go with experience and seniority over youth. senator?вЂќ According to the Congressional Research Service, the average age of senators at the beginning of this year is 64-years. The question becomes, вЂњHow old is too old to be a U.S. By the way, Grassley and Leahy are ShelbyвЂ™s closest allies in the Senate. James Inhofe of Oklahoma and Senator Pat Leahy of Vermont are 81. She is followed by IowaвЂ™s Charles вЂњChuckвЂќ Grassley who turns 88 next month. CaliforniaвЂ™s Dianne Feinstein is the oldest sitting senator at 88. Shelby is one of five octogenarians serving in the Senate. However, he will be 88 at the end of his term. He very well could run and serve another 6-year term. In fact, his mental and cognitive abilities are similar to someone 30 years his junior. He works out daily and has the memory of an elephant. The obvious question asked by observers of Washington politics is, вЂњAre some of our most powerful senators too old to function cognitively?вЂќ I can attest to you that I know Senator Richard Shelby personally and he is the most cognitively alert and healthy 87-year-old man I have ever seen. Senator Byrd, who was in his ninth term as a senator when he died at 92, funneled an estimated $10 billion to his constituents during his 51 years in the Senate. His only rival was the late Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia. Shelby has not only been the most prolific funneler of federal dollars to Alabama in our stateвЂ™s history, but he could also be considered one of the most profound movers and shakers of federal funds to their state in American history. Congressman for the old 7th Congressional district for eight years. He has already broken Senator SparkmanвЂ™s 32-year record of longevity in Alabama history and at the end of his term next year he will have served a record 36 years in the Senate. It is everything, and Senator Shelby has it. However, history will record that none of these above senators brought the federal dollars back home to Alabama that Shelby has procured. Folks, thatвЂ™s saying a lot because we have had a host of prominent men serve Alabama in the United States Senate, such as giants like Lister Hill, John Sparkman and John Bankhead. Our senior senator, Richard Shelby, will be remembered as AlabamaвЂ™s most prominent senator when he retires next December.

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