Mooooove #$#$
Get out da wayyy
In the immortal words of Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, sometimes we need to learn how to say “move B$## get out the way”
Of course this thought is in reference to the news today that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the few Dem members of Congress who seems to care about more than just having the title, lost out to 74 year old Gerry Connolly (who?) for the coveted role as ranking member of the oversight committee.
But why tho?
And no that is not a question of why would she run— it is a question of why in the world did they vote overwhelmingly (131-84) for someone I had to google. I am a pretty informed person politically and this guy really does not pique my interest in the slightest.
Adding salt on the wound is the fact that we sit in a place where older leaders cling to power even though they aren’t really doing anything but accumulating said power. It also comes at a time when the Republican leader, Mitch the Turtle had a nasty fall last week—
And not to be outdone, former speaker and Democratic Leader, Nancy Pelosi, also fell this week and needed to have emergency hip replacement surgery.
This happened in Germany. Also— must be nice to have good healthcare huh?
But why bring this up? Look, I am not saying people who are advanced in years are not able to do their jobs. There is no ageism going on here but more looking at the long view and the world in which we exist.
Regardless of her apparently insane skin care/workout regimen and maybe enhancements, Pelosi is 84. Connolly (I had to google again for spelling) is 74 and just was diagnosed with cancer. In a time when this committee will be at the utmost of importance in trying to protect us from the terrors of the Ginger Goblin’s presidency, we need someone who is not afraid to ask real questions and is a master at communicating. Someone like AOC. WE also need someone who can put their focus on that effort AND be available to do so.
A football coach once told me the best ability is availability, and who knows how available someone seeking treatment, which he deserves, will be in the challenging years to come.
Pass the Baton
For a long period of my life I ran and later coached track. One of my favorite things was always a relay race where the concept was to have four people run a race each passing the baton to someone else to run after you complete your ‘leg.’
There is strategy to running a good relay to win. You don’t have to put the fastest person first always and you don’t always put them last. You figure out what is the BEST formula to be successful and then you as a team run to the best of your ability in your respective race—the hope is you set the next person up to be in a better spot than when you had the baton.
The same should go for leadership in the policy space. We owe so much to the leaders who have been in this fight for a while. They have set us up to have victories to build upon but now we need to go forward. And it is hard to move forward if you keep looking back.
President Biden seemed to somewhat understand this concept, albeit too late (and also what is he doing now?) when he stepped down from the race and endorsed Vice President Harris.
One big knock on the current Democratic Party is unlike the Republicans, the old guard just won’t cede any power. This is true at the state and local level as well, where the parties keep going back to the same old tired playbook of old white man or super conservative woman despite many worthy and willing possibilities. The Republicans on the other hand will probably elevate toddlers to power if it means they can reign longer.
There needs to be a balance, and that is why news like today with AOC is so frustrating. She didn’t just come in and try to take over, she did everything the right way. She came in as a new voice and perspective and has worked hard to garner respect from colleagues. She has taken on fights that others ran from. She has put in the work, but just like all the other millennials such as myself, the opportunity to advance gets blocked in favor of people who won’t let it go.
We are Falling Behind
Going back to the track and relay race example, as a country we are falling behind and our positioning in leadership is doing nothing to pull us back ahead. We had a few strong runners before, Obama, and saw the coalition he energized and the gains we made (hello Obamacare) but then we followed that up stepping back in time with Clinton to be followed by Joe Biden.
If we want to win a few races…we need to pass the baton to the stronger runners and pull back even so we can finally get ahead. Some of the other just need to get out of the way.