Sen. Dianne Feinstein offers us yet another example of how some politicians couldn’t cut it in the private sector.
Is the Democrat from California mentally fit to do her critically important job? Some of her Senate colleagues don’t think so. According to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle, these colleagues say Feinstein, 88, is suffering significant cognitive decline. They allege that the once formidable Senate powerhouse doesn’t remember people’s faces and has a deteriorating memory.
If the suggestions are true, Feinstein’s situation highlights a major problem in politics. If workers cannot perform or choose not to perform their job, an employer will often fire them. However, when it’s politicians in the government, they get to keep their positions.
If Feinstein can’t do her job, she should resign. It does a disservice to Californians to have someone representing them who is not capable of serving them.
If Feinstein were mentally sharp, her age wouldn’t be a concern. But age is only one part of the broader problem. Some politicians frequently miss votes in Congress when running for president. Others have used proxy voters because they went to CPAC instead of doing their jobs.
A politician can refuse to show up to committee meetings for no reason at all. A 2014 Washington Examiner report found that many members of the House missed more than two-thirds of their committee meetings. Of course, if someone stops showing up to business meetings in the private sector, their employer would probably fire them!
In politics, as long as someone wins an election to do a certain task, he or she can fail to do that task but nevertheless keep the job. Massachusetts Auditor Suzanne Bump is a great example. In Massachusetts, the auditor must audit 210 state government departments every three years. However, a 2019 report found that nearly one-fourth of state entities had not been audited in more than three years.
Politicians should do their best to serve the people they were elected to serve. If someone cannot or chooses not to do that, he or she should resign. Voters should not have to wait for an election to make their right to better government heard.
Tom Joyce ( @TomJoyceSports ) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts.
