Dem Rep. Lynch to DSA: You Can’t Jettison Members Simply Because They’ve Been In Congress A Long Time
On CNN, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) discussed the ongoing age debate within the Democrat Party’s primaries. Rep. Lynch believed that one should not be removed just because they have been in Congress for a long time, but should be judged by effectiveness:
KATE BOLDUAN: There’s some age kind of similar themes, if you will, though. Every race is different. But there are similar themes also at issue in what is now a key Senate Democratic primary in Massachusetts. Ed Markey, long serving, facing a challenge from Congressman Seth Moulton. They have their final debate tonight. And there’s kind of a similar dynamic going on in this race where Moulton has said that it’s time to pass the baton to another younger generation. He’s also the — kind of the more moderate candidate between the two, though he wants to debate it. You are, you know, a moderate as well. Who’s better for Massachusetts when it comes to that Senate seat? REP. STEPHEN LYNCH: When they both announced they were running for that seat, I told them both, I said, I’m not going to get involved in your race. Good luck to both of you and we’ll be friends afterwards. Look, I think that right now in Congress we probably have the youngest Congress that we’ve had in a long, long time. I think 60 percent of the members have been there three terms or less. I think you need a mix of people. And I don’t necessarily think that, you know, that people who are there for a certain part — period of time should be jettisoned because they — just because they have experience, right? And I also think you need a mix. You need some people that know how to get things done, that have the relationships across the aisle. Sometimes it requires compromise. And, you know, I think that — I don’t think that the Democratic socialists have all the answers. I think you need to — I think you need to sometimes come to a — come at a problem on — from a position of compromise to do what’s best for the American people and not from ideology. So, I think all those elements add up to, you know, get — getting things done in Washington, D.C.
