If you know anything about California Senator Diane Feinstein, it’s likely that she’s been around for pretty much forever. I mean, she is the oldest current lawmaker in Washington, as ripe old 88 years old. As such, there have been numerous calls over the years for her to retire. And many point to her as a prime example of why congressional term limits should be implemented.
However, with every new call made and every attempt to input limits on the number of terms she can hold, she has always managed to find a way out of it – probably because most of that criticism has come from the opposing Republican Party.
But as she continues to age and indeed lose a bit of her step, her own beloved Democrats are starting to join the party.
The latest of which comes from former Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer. Boxer, a fellow Californian, and one who entered into Congress the very same year, 1992, as Feinstein was. However, unlike Feinstein, Boxer seems to know her limits a bit more.
Instead of keeping her beloved title and power for as long as possible, she decided to go out on a good note, retiring of her own free will in 2017 at the age of 76 – still plenty long enough to amass a great deal of wealth and have a career to be proud of.
And when Boxer speaks of her former colleague now, she says she would like to give her some advice: retire.
Now, of course, she didn’t say it in quite so many words or so bluntly. Instead, according to the Los Angeles Times, she merely said if asked by the aging lawmaker about retiring, Boxer would wholeheartedly endorse it.
She said, “If Sen. Feinstein were to call me today and asked my advice, I would say only you can decide this. But from my perspective, I want you to know I’ve had very productive years away from the Senate doing good things. So put that into the equation.”
Boxer also mentioned that she didn’t really miss either the environment or the daily grind of working in Washington and all that that entails. She suggested that should Feinstein follow her lead, she would be sure to find joy and pleasure in the slowing down of retirement and being allowed to spend more time with family.
And she’s not the only Democrat who believes it is time for Feinstein to go.
Much of the criticism on the subject began in 2020, during the infamous Supreme Court confirmation hearings for now-Justice Amy Coney Barrett. As you likely know, Feinstein was a major part of the Senate Judiciary Committee tasked with vetting the newly appointed justice.
And while Feinstein used to be quite the firecracker in similar instances, many noted that she lacked a bit. Some in her party even said she wasn’t harsh enough and didn’t ask enough questions. This was only made worse because Coney Barrett’s nomination went through, adding another conservative justice to the Supreme Court.
But then, Feinstein dared to show some of her Republican counterparts and co-workers appreciation and, dare I say it, respect after the hearings. She even hugged Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who chaired the Judiciary Committee. She also thanked Graham afterward for his “fairness” of the hearings, saying it was “one of the best set of hearings” she’d ever participated in.
Rumors then suddenly began to fly around about how poorly fit Feinstein was for the job at hand now and was “seriously struggling.”
According to one article by The New Yorker, sources said her “short-term memory has grown so poor that she often forgets she has been briefed on a topic, accusing her staff of failing to do so just after they have. They describe Feinstein as forgetting what she has said and getting upset when she can’t keep up.”
Now, I’m not saying this isn’t true. However, that’s not exactly the point. Instead, it’s that her fellow party member, Joe Biden, who is several years younger than she, shows those same exact signs. And yet, no one on the left is quite ready to put him out to pasture.
Mark my words, though, that time is coming. It’s only a matter of times before he steps on enough toes or ruffles enough feathers that his party will soon be calling for his resignation, just as they currently are with Senator Feinstein.