It seems more and more, elderly lawmakers suffer very serious age-related health emergencies, requiring hospitalization. But in spite of their poor health, they continue running for reelection because they refuse to give up their power and access. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more.
Transcript:
*This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.
Mike Papantonio: Two elderly lawmakers suffered very serious age related health emergencies last week, both requiring hospitalization, in spite of their poor health, both of these men are running for reelection because it seems like the thing to do. And because all of these people that you see up here on the screen are old as hell. Now, I always get, Pap how old? I ain’t that old. And oh, by the way, and I’m not running for office. But the point is this, this is such a big money maker, isn’t it? Politics is such a big money maker for these people. Some of them went in and they had a moderate amount of money. Hell, they’re multimillionaires now. They stay in it for the money, don’t they?
Farron Cousins: Yeah, absolutely. And you would think if you’ve been in it for 30 or 40 years and you haven’t made enough money to retire.
Mike Papantonio: You’re a idiot.
Farron Cousins: Yeah, then something’s wrong with you.
Mike Papantonio: Yeah, you’re really stupid.
Farron Cousins: But look, you’ve got Steny Hoyer who last week gets hospitalized because he had a mild, as they call it, but a stroke and, okay, he’s in the hospital for a few days, gets out, and I’m still running for reelection. 85 years old, obviously having age related health problems. I’m not going anywhere. Well, I think God has other plans for you, but, okay.
Mike Papantonio: Is it just a need for power and acceptance? Are these people so unsure of themselves in their own skin that they can’t just do what, you know, step aside?
Farron Cousins: I think there’s definitely a psychological component. It’s not just about the money. There is something fundamentally broken in a lot of these people’s brains that force them to say, no, I need this in my life. I need this kind of approval. I need people to know that I’m important because something is broken in them.
Mike Papantonio: It’s as many Democrats as it is Republicans.
Farron Cousins: It is.
Mike Papantonio: And it’s gotta be, there is something broken. I really think that’s part of it. They just can’t be comfortable in their skin. They can’t be comfortable without that attention that they get, I guess. Maybe they go to the local restaurant and everybody pats ’em on the back. Congratulations, you’re running again. Some of these people run 15 and 16 times and they’re still there and we still allow it. And you still, actually, you know what? You still have people out there that say, under no circumstances should we have term limits.
Farron Cousins: And then if we put a challenger in any of these races, oh my God, you’ve betrayed the party. How dare we elect somebody in their fifties, just a young whippersnapper, as opposed to this octogenarian
Mike Papantonio: The safe seat. It’s a safe seat mentality, right?
Farron Cousins: Who’s got one foot in the grave. I mean, and it’s ridiculous that they’re saying, I’m still in this race.
Mike Papantonio: Yeah, it is a sad story, isn’t it? Thanks for joining me. Okay.
Farron Cousins: Thank you.
Mike Papantonio: That’s all for this time, but all of these segments are gonna be posted right here on this channel in the coming week, so make sure you’re subscribed. I’m Mike Papantonio and this has been America’s Lawyer where we tell you stories every week that corporate media won’t tell you because their advertisers won’t let ’em. If they tell the story, they’re gonna lose the advertising dollars or their tribal politics won’t allow for it. If they’re too Republican and they don’t color within those lines, they got a problem. If they’re too Democrat and they don’t color within those lines, they got a problem. Well, just to be clear, we’re not beholden to corporations or certainly not political parties. We’ll see you next time.
