One Man’s Opinion: Knowing When it’s Time to Go Home By Bill Crane I first had the pleasure of meeting U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky in Scottsdale, Arizona, roughly six months into his first term. McConnell was energetic, vibrant, quick-witted, and thoughtful in his public policy position statements. McConnell is now the U.S. Senate Minority Leader and has led the GOP Senate Caucus since 2007. While still a brilliant political strategist and tactician, the Senator is clearly missing a step after a fall and reasonably severe concussion that resulted this spring. Though given a conditional clean bill of health by the U.S. Senate physician, McConnell is pale, appears fragile, speaks slowly, and in a softer timber. In addition to the two highly documented “freeze” moments, some of his public speaking has occasionally been non-sensical. That said, Mitch McConnell is a friend, a fraternity brother of mine from another school, and I have had the opportunity to have supper a few times with the Senator and his wife, Elaine Chao, a former U.S. Secretary of Transportation and former Director of the U.S. Peace Corps. Love or loathe their politics, this power couple is devoted to our nation, and both are decades-long public servants. Power and fame are two very highly addictive as well as fleeting circumstances in life for some. Letting go of either voluntarily is challeng-
October 2023 Our Town Gwinnett
ing, and perhaps even harder for those who become accustomed to that life is knowing when it is time to go home. I started this column discussing Senator McConnell, though the effective service warranty and date of expiration on President Joe Biden has been blinking red hot for well over a year now. Yet McConnell (81) and Biden (80) appear as young pups next to Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) at 89. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) is 83 and announced that she will again be seeking re-election as a member of the House Democratic Caucus in 2024. I don’t believe in term limits, and there is almost no place where more value is placed on seniority than on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Still, when senior moments become daily or weekly occurrences, it also becomes time for self-evaluation and medical assessment. Congressional staff often tend to be closest, even making policy decisions in the White House or on the Hill for aging and failing elected officials. But that is NOT representative democracy. There is some incredible staff in government at all levels, but staff members’ desire to maintain their own power and position does not justify propping up public servants who also endanger their own health by staying past their effective expiration dates. No matter how much coddling you might receive from staff and some party officials, public life is no picnic. The hours are long, and the schedules are demanding. Here in Georgia, Senator Johnny Isakson resigned when his Parkinson’s Disease had too fully compromised his ability to serve. And for several years after his diagnosis, he put in ten miles every day on a treadmill. Senator Saxby Chambliss, after receiving a cancer diagnosis, decided not to seek re-election and to focus on his family and remaining time, which thankfully has likely been years more now due to stepping back to that lighter and less demanding lifestyle and schedule. I am not suggesting that we codify age limits, particularly as modern medicine and new treatments slow, or in some cases, roll back the clock advancing. But as with periodic tests for the re-issuance of a driver’s license primarily about keeping our roadways safe, we need to consider Continued on page 22
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