It's Time to Bid Adieu

“Power is the great aphrodisiac.” – Henry Kissinger, New York Times, January 19, 1971

I don’t know what you were doing in the spring of 1980, but I was a junior at Temple University in Philadelphia. To my everlasting shame, I was still a registered Democrat – and a liberal one at that – and so, I foolishly cast my vote in the New Jersey primary election that year for Ted Kennedy… and then compounded my mistake by checking the box next to John Anderson’s name in the general election.

(By 1984, I was a full-fledged, card-carrying member of the Reagan Revolution and happily voted for the Gipper’s re-election.)

In 1980, a first-class stamp cost just $.15 and a gallon of gas was $1.19 (seven cents more than a gallon of milk). The sticker price on a new car, such as a Ford Pinto with its exploding gas tank or a Chevy Chevette, was $7,600 and a new house could be yours for about $68,000 and change.

Dallas, Magnum P.I., M*A*S*H, Happy Days, and Three’s Company dominated primetime TV, while The Empire Strikes Back, 9 to 5, and Private Benjamin were box office gold in the theaters (what teenage boy didn’t have a crush on Goldie Hawn?)

The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV, the L.A. Lakers got revenge by beating the Philadelphia 76ers for the NBA title, and the Phillies made up for the Sixers’ loss by upending the Kansas City Royals, 4 games to 2, to claim their first-ever World Series championship.

That same year, Hal Rogers (R-KY), Chris Smith (R-NJ), and Steny Hoyer (D-MD) were all running for the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time. All three men won their races that November, were sworn into office the following January, and have remained there for the past 44 years and counting.

Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) were also elected to the House that year but later graduated to the Senate after 15 and 18 years, respectively, where they remain today.

Not to be outdone, Ed Markey (D-MA) served 37 years in the House beginning in 1976 before transitioning to the Senate in 2013 where he still “resides”. Markey is best known for co-authoring the unrealistic and unattainable Green New Deal (and for possibly having the worst combover in the history of the Senate).

And then there’s the grand old man of the Senate, Chuck Grassley (R-IA). An accomplished lawmaker with a strong work ethic, Grassley has sponsored 909 bills during his lengthy legislative career. Of course, it has taken him 50 years to do so… six years in the House and 44 in the Senate. Grassley, age 91, is the current President pro tempore of the Senate, which makes him third in the presidential line of succession after the Vice President and the Speaker of the House.

What about 85-year-old Nancy Pelosi, you ask? Why, she is still wet behind the ears, not having taken office until June 2, 1987. That means that Nancy has only represented California’s 5th district (1987-1993), 8th district (1993-2013), 12th district (2013-2023), and 11th district (2023-present) for a collective 38 years.

However, the point remains that when you’ve served so long that your district has changed three different times because of four different censuses, you have probably overstayed your welcome. But try telling that to Nancy… or Steny… or Hal… or any of the other octogenarians clogging the halls of Congress while refusing to make way for relative youngsters in their 40s, 50s, and 60s.

The Political Dictionary defines Potomac Fever as “the condition where a politician is gripped by a desire to stay in government, whether to make a change or for power’s sake. The term describes a politician who never intended to stay in Washington, D.C. but eventually ‘gets infected’ and decides to stay for a long time.”

There is only one known cure for this often-fatal disease but sadly, most patients refuse the antidote. In fact, they vehemently fight it with every ounce of strength in their rapidly deteriorating bodies.

It’s called Term Limits, and polls repeatedly show that a super majority of Americans support the idea. Alas, the power brokers in Washington do not, which makes Sen. Dick Durbin’s recent decision not to seek re-election in 2026 such an unusual – and admirable – one.

Having served seven two-year terms in the House and five six-year terms in the Senate, the 80-year-old Durbin is calling it quits after next year, despite being the #2 ranking Democrat in the Senate. His reasoning?

“You observe your colleagues and watch what happens,” Durbin said in announcing his decision. "For some of them, there’s this miraculous aging process where they never seem to get too old. But for a number of other people, they’re not so lucky.”

“I’m physically and mentally strong,” Durbin added. “But I don’t want to wait too long and test fate.”

“The decision of whether to run for re-election has not been easy,” Durbin said. “I truly love the job of being a United States Senator. But I know in my heart it’s time to pass the torch.”

The next day, Durbin explained on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” his decision in the simplest possible terms. “If you’re honest about yourself and your reputation,” he said, “you want to leave when you can still walk out the front door and not be carried out the back door.”

I sure hope his colleagues on Capitol Hill were listening.