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President . Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell during press conferences, presumably from an unknown medical episode or condition. The late Sen. when she was supposed to vote 鈥渁ye鈥� or 鈥渘ay鈥� on the Senate floor. All three elected officials are or were older than 80, which is not unusual anymore.

and in U.S. history, in terms of the average age of its members. Congressional representatives are now than they did 70 years ago.

The phrase 鈥溾�� may as well have been created for today鈥檚 aging politicians, of whom have the popular social media platform TikTok as the breath mint 鈥淭ic Tac,鈥� and many voters appear skittish about voting for Biden, solely . 

Are their fears justified? Should there be age limits for elected officials, or past a certain age, as some have suggested? Aside from the fact that many younger people could trip on sandbags and that adverse health events can happen at any age, age limits are as discriminatory as they are arbitrary.

Take Sen. Bernie Sanders, who hasn鈥檛 stumbled or frozen in public, and who is older than Biden. During his 2016 and 2020 presidential bids, when he was the oldest candidate at 75 and 79, respectively, he was wildly popular with young people (and at that).

Age doesn鈥檛 necessarily determine an individual鈥檚 capabilities to lead. There are older candidates who possess the qualities necessary to be effective leaders and younger candidates who don鈥檛. Instead, what is important is candidates鈥� responsiveness to the tenets of our liberal democracy and to social movements that arise when those tenets are unmet or underachieved.

Age limits overlook the reality that people age differently鈥攚ith some older candidates possessing mental acuity compared to some younger candidates鈥攁nd could exclude qualified people from running for office. Further, age limits infringe on voters鈥� ability to choose their candidates based on merit and qualifications. Finally, it would take a to institute age limits on elected officials, and the chance of that is slim.

Life span and health in the U.S. have over the past century. There are as there were even 20 years ago. It should be noted that, due to systemic policy failures, Black, Latinx, American Indian, Alaska Natives, and lower-income Americans from these , and policy remediation is critical.

The issue is representation鈥攏ot aging鈥攁nd that can be remedied by policies such as or making it easier for young people to vote with same-day voter registration.

Some have suggested term limits as another remedy. While this idea seems initially attractive鈥攅specially since it addresses the unresponsiveness of career politicians, corruption that could come with long terms in office, and discouragement of civic participation as incumbency鈥攊t might deter new candidates. However, opponents may argue that deep knowledge of the issues and of congressional processes means that continuity is vital.

What if we paid attention instead to how closely a politician cleaves to the mandate of a democratically elected representative of the voters in a ? 

What if we paid attention instead to how closely a politician cleaves to the mandate of a democratically elected representative of the voters in a liberal democracy?鈥� 

Baby boomers such as and Reps. , , and are among those over the age of 70 whose voting records demonstrate strong receptiveness to the needs of working families and progressive social movements.

Even Biden proved to be responsive to social movements and the needs of poor and low-income voters and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic when he achieved greater economic equality through the and the , and proposed even more with his stymied . 

Liberal democracies of fair distribution of wealth, income, and power as embodied by civil rights, civil liberties, inclusiveness, and equality before the law. These are achieved through free and fair elections, free speech and press, and constitutional courts, sustained by a separation of powers and checks and balances on those powers.

When these tenets are at risk, social movements arise to demand their realization. Right-wing populists may form movements to undermine them in favor of a minority rule that subverts liberal democratic values and favors authoritarian rule.

A liberal democracy, such as the U.S. ostensibly is, demands that our elected representatives remain responsive to principles and to social movements when those principles are unmet or at risk. Age limits are irrelevant to these objectives. After all, Reps. and , both of whom are relatively young, embrace Christian Nationalism, in opposition to the principles of a liberal democracy. Growing numbers of elected officials, particularly Republican ones, appear to be adopting the idea of over democracy.

So let鈥檚 put ageism in the trash bin of illiberal discrimination where it belongs. Instead, let鈥檚 judge fitness for elected office by a candidate鈥檚 demonstrated ability to respond to the needs of the majority of people, expressed through the principles of liberal democracy and democratic social movements.