The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Another upset in the liberal Northeast.  Say hello to Ayanna Pressley.  She just beat a 10-term incumbent Democrat in Massachusetts' 7th District.  The Democratic Party is so badly in need of fresh faces and is finally getting them.  Of course, establishment figures like Michael Capuano are none too happy about it, but after so many terms he should be thinking about retirement anyway.

If only we could convince Nancy Pelosi, Dianne Feinstein and other lifetime Congresspersons to step down gracefully.  Pelosi is 78.  Feinstein is 85.  They have been in Washington since 1987 and 1992 respectively.  There reaches a point where these political figures no longer offer any fresh ideas, dragging the party down.

Ayanna, like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Conor Lamb, has voiced outright opposition to Nancy Pelosi, as have many of these young insurgents in the Democratic Party.  A strategy that has worked for Democratic candidates as their Republican challengers try to tie them to the embattled Democratic House minority leader.

Not surprisingly, Ayanna received virtually no support from the Democratic establishment, despite having worked for John Kerry and Joseph Kennedy.  All the state Democratic US Representatives backed Capuano.  Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, both up for re-election, stayed neutral.  Pelosi endorsed Capuano, although she congratulated Ayanna on her victory.

Why doesn't Pelosi simply give up her leadership role?  That would undermine what little is left of the Republican strategy in 2018.  But, the 16-term Congresswoman has no intention of stepping down, even if she has lost two of her strongest allies, Capuano and Crowley, in the liberal Northeast.

Some persons just don't know when to go.  For both Capuano and Crowley it should have been obvious.  They were aging white men in districts that had become predominantly Black and Hispanic.  Yet, they hung on like two paternalistic old men pretending to represent their districts in Congress, when they pretty much just served the Democratic Party.

This is the problem across the country.  Congresspersons serve party interests, often to their own detriment, as they come to rely on political machines to keep them in power.  But, in this day of social media anything is possible, because you no longer need a huge war chest to mount a campaign, especially in a district that favors you to begin with.  It also helped that Ayanna and Alexandria got out and stirred people up with their presence, while their opponents relied largely on surrogates.

Even with this popular insurgence of young candidates, the Democratic Party still favors age.  Believe it or not, Joe Biden is being seriously considered for President in 2020.  He will be 77 during the campaign year.  Sure, he still has a youthful spirit, much like Bernie did in 2016, but why isn't the Democratic Party promoting younger potential candidates like Cory Booker, Julian Castro, or Kamala Harris?  The closest the party has come to backing a progressive candidate is Elizabeth Warren, who will be 71 in 2020.

I suppose there is a certain fear these younger candidates would not fair well on a national stage, but then Obama proved this kind of conservative thinking wrong in 2008.  Since the Civil Rights Movement, the Democratic Party has done better when it promotes youthful nominees, not old farts.  Ironically, Ayanna Pressley will be representing John F. Kennedy's former district in Congress, showing just how far the Democratic Party has come since the 1950s.

Congratrulations, Ayanna!