Bernie Sanders was not happy about Eric Swalwell's 'pass the torch' line

[TexasTowelie]

During the second night of the first Democratic presidential debates, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., repeatedly told former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders to "pass the torch" to a younger generation of Democrats.

Sanders didn't like it.

After the debate, Sanders told NBC's Andrea Mitchell that Swalwell's attacks were a form of "ageism."

"I think that's kind of ageism to tell you the truth," Sanders said of Swalwell's "pass the torch" line. "And I think what we're trying to do and all of us are trying to do is to end discrimination in this country against women, against minorities, against the LGBT community, and I think ageism as well."

Link to tweet

Read more: https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Bernie-Sanders-unhappy-torch-Eric-Swalwell-ageism-14058825.php

[emmaverybo]

1. Good on Bernie. Openly ageist as in " I'd like to take this opportunity to point out to

Every one watching tonite that you two old geezers need to concede NOW so I can get my shot
at the prize. Just off yourselves. You contribute nothing.”
Keeping it classy.

[padah513]

2. Couldn't agree more

I like Swalwell, but he really disappointed me. Between that pass the torch comment and his taking both Grandpa's keys away, I'm not sure if I will ever look at him the same way again.

[onetexan]

3. Same here. Thats what i mean by smug. Swalwell completely

Disrespected them.

[JI7]

4. did he actually say the thing about taking away grandpa's keys ?

[padah513]

5. Yes both grandpas

To be fair I can understand why, but it's not the kind of thing a candidate should say during a Presidential debate. It reeks of ageism and that's how a lot of people probably took it.

[JI7]

6. i didn't watch it but yeah, even just reading about it makes him seem like a arrogant jerk

and there are ways to do it without being an ass that way.

just talk about what YOU experience that will connect to people of the younger generation that the others wont get. especially in these days when it could be so easy for younger candidates to make that case with the fast changing technology and how they understand it better so will be able to make policies that are more effective.

[dansolo]

7. Bernie never spoke up when those types attacks were made against Nancy Pelosi

Just another bit of Bernie hypocrisy.

[Princetonian]

8. Why should he? Pelosi can speak for herself.

As he is doing for himself.

[we can do it]

9. Not surprised.

[KitSileya]

10. You know what? If having age as a factor when judging suitability for office,

is ageist, call me an ageist. But call the Constitution ageist too. It was first in putting age limits on the office of President, after all. They decided people under 35 shouldn't be President, most likely because they rightly figured twentysomethings are too immature and inexperienced for the job. Likewise, I think eightysomethings are too rigid and slow to do one of the most demanding jobs in the world. In both age brackets there are exceptions, of course, but while most twentysomethings have a positive development in front of them - more experience and maturity gained - ALL eightysomethings are facing a physical and in most cases also a cognitive decline. Both VP Biden and Senator Sanders would be in their eighties for much of their first term, and it doesn't help that they're men, either. Statistically, they will not be able to do as good a job as someone twenty years younger, or even a woman five or ten years their junior. The risk of health problems, dementia and other cognitive problems and so on is sky high, and so is their risk of dying in office. The chances are that they will simply not be up to the job - and that's before considering the increased stress of the 2020-2024 term due to what has happened in the four years before that term.

[Boomer]

12. Yes, age matters

I say that as a woman in her 60s.

You do slow down in a number of ways. And while I can easily see someone being an effective congressman into their 70s or even 80s if they're in good health, the presidency is another level of stress entirely.

Aside from the physical issues, however, some old people are better at living in the present than the past. Biden -- from everything I've seen -- looks backward more than forward. He reaches into the past with a misplaced nostalgia and is tone-deaf to how those memories play out for a contemporary audience. The entire episode with him referencing a working relationship with the vicious segregationists of his own party is that mindset in a nutshell.

Biden was trying to do something very simple: highlight that he could create a bipartisan atmosphere to replace the divisiveness of today's Washington. But he stumbled in several ways by reaching so far back into the past. The alliance he referenced isn't really relevant today, it wasn't even bipartisan (it was within the Democratic party), and it was an exceptionally painful association for black Americans. Altogether it gave the impression that Biden is mired in past glories, oblivious to today's landscape of obstructionism that plagued Obama's administration long before Trump, and that he doesn't understand how his past experience translates to minorities.

[KitSileya]

16. When you compare pictures of President Obama in 2009 and 2017,

the difference is staggering. He looks a whole lot better now than he did in December 2016, but it is clear the job took a huge toll on him. Same with President Clinton. They took the job seriously, and tried to do it to the best of their ability, and I know all our candidates now would have the same attitude to the job. Bush and Trump did not and do not - it is clear that the they don't spend nights awake worrying about whether they made the right choice or what the impact of this or that event will be. In addition, Trump don't care where the buck stops, so he delegates large parts of the job responsibilities to other, something a Democratic President won't do - even if they have someone else do the job, they oversee what is done. That is why VP Biden and Senator Sanders and former Senator Gravel are simply too old to take a chance on.

As for slowing down - I see it just from my 20s to now. I will be 44 this year, and I don't have the same memory capacity as I did back in the day. In many cases my experience makes up for it, as I manage to work more efficiently, but I can already see that in twenty years, I simply will not be able to think on my feet as well. Not to mention being ON my feet - a friend joked that we have gotten to the mending stage of life, as we mend our bodies from wear and tear. A damaged ankle here, a troublesome gallbladder there, type two diabetes caused by stress and so on. I am still able to keep ahead of it - exercise, diet, good shoes and so on helps, but I'll never get back to the way my body was at 24.

[Mike Nelson]

11. Pass the torch...

… seems like a JFK line... When candidates are older, I do think about it... advancing years = advancing health concerns. But age can also bring more knowledge and experience. I don't think Bernie shows any limitations due to age. He seems the same as last time - he, Hillary & Crooked Donald had tough schedules - I don't think I could do them! Biden I'm not clear about, yet... I haven't seen him in many townhalls and debates. Elizabeth Warren shows the strengths age can bring; her age is an asset. I like the younger candidates... but, they do have to get "jabs" in to be noticed. Harris did very well... Swalwell didn't score with his comment. I don't think he was rude, though...

[Boomer]

13. And youth is not so much an asset in this arena

I say that as an old person, of course, but it really isn't until you're old that you get some perspective. I don't hold that against young people, because I wouldn't have believe me when I was in my 20s either.

Much as I'm impressed with Pete Buttigieg, he's still very young. He's mature for his age, but that only gets you so far. Intelligence and a good heart aren't enough. You also just need to live through more adversity, gain more experience, before you take on the responsibility of the entire country. The recent shooting in South Bend was bad timing for his campaign, but shit happens and he needs to go through it to fully understand the depth of the problems facing our country, the corrosive effects of racism, and what it takes to step up and deal.

[treestar]

15. +1

One of the few assets is having no history. The "baggage" we hear about. That was something lived through, and the person still standing.

[treestar]

14. It kind of is

I'm not going to vote to Swalwell because he is younger than someone else. He screwed up there. Maybe he should apologize? Ageism is not appealing.