Opinion: A Plea to Senator Ed Markey: Please Choose a Graceful Exit

Massachusetts’ Ed Markey is 79 years old and running for another six-year term as Senator, a position he has held since 2013.  A reliable Democratic vote and steady voice for progressive policies. I’m sure he feels that he is vigorous and healthy, emotionally, physically, and cognitively. 

But, despite what he believes or feels, Markey cannot defy the human condition.  If re-elected, he will be 80 years old when he begins his term, and 86 when he completes it. Each year, he will be at increasing risk of a stroke, heart attack, cancer, and/or dementia, not to mention a string of lesser illnesses that could incapacitate him or keep him out of work for long periods of time. Even if none of those happen, he cannot escape the reality of aging, which means memory lapses, slowing reflexes, risk of falls and fractures, and waning energy levels, to name a few.

We are living in dangerous and frightening times and our nation’s democratic institutions are failing us. Congress is ceding its authority to an almost 80-year old President who appears to be living in an alternate reality. The next six years will determine whether we descend into total autocracy or are able to pull ourselves back from the brink. 

If we do emerge from our current dystopian government, much of the traditional ways of conducting governmental business will have disappeared. Out of the debris that remains of what we once called a democracy, elected officials will need to figure out how to build a functioning multi-racial, multi-ethnic democratic society that serves everyone.

That requires stamina, agility, a willingness to think and act outside of the box, pivot when necessary and to consider new, untested and unconventional solutions.  It is not a task for 80 plus year olds, no matter how vigorous they believe themselves to be.

I get it. I’m 69 years old myself. We all want to feel important and valued and remain relevant. It’s difficult to transition from a high-powered job where you are in constant demand to retirement, where you may suddenly feel rudderless. We’d all like to believe that our experience and gained wisdom more than compensate for slower responses and reflexes, or struggles keeping up with the incredibly fast pace of change.

But no one is indispensable. Massachusetts has a wealth of younger, energetic, capable and driven leaders chomping at the bit to get in positions of influence and power where they can make a difference. At a certain point Markey’s decision to run feels more like ego and arrogance than a commitment to service or progressive ideals.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of recent examples of what can happen if politicians insist on staying in office past their shelf life. If Markey wins and becomes incapacitated, like California’s Senator Dianne Feinstein, he could miss critical votes, or hold up important hearings and appointments.  What if votes on health care or a national ban on abortion or Medicaid allocations came down to one vote, and Markey was absent due to illness?  What if Massachusetts elected a Republican governor who could appoint his successor?  I’m old enough to remember that Scott Brown’s election in 2010 to replace Ted Kennedy deprived Senate Democrats of the 60^th vote they needed to pass health care reform.  That meant they had to change their approach and move toward reconciliation; a strategy with far more restrictions on what they could achieve.

I applaud Senator Markey for his service and excellent stewardship over this past decade.  But I implore him not to go down in history alongside Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg or President Joe Biden who, by clinging to their positions, inadvertently hurt the causes they cared about most passionately. If Ginsburg had retired in 2013, when she was 80 years old and a survivor of two cancers, Roe v. Wade would still probably be the law of the land and women’s rights—to which she devoted her life—would not have suffered such a long-term and crushing setback.

If Biden had recognized his growing age-related limitations and stepped aside earlier, the Democrats could have run a proper set of primaries, allowing the strongest Presidential candidate to emerge. Perhaps, we would now have a President Gavin Newsom or Gretchen Whitmer or Cory Booker or Kamala Harris sitting in the White House and Biden’s goal of restoring sanity and stability to the federal government would have been realized.

In contrast, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer accepted the reality of his advancing age.  He chose to retire while Biden was President and the Senate had a Democratic majority. He was replaced by a brilliant jurist, Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson, who will hopefully sit on the Court long enough for her well-reasoned dissents to become majority opinions and the law of the land.

Senator Markey, here is my plea:  Take your place in history alongside Justice Breyer. Exit gracefully while you are still on top, and become a respected elder statesman. You will find new ways to contribute and to use your experience and talents for the greater good. You will do so without blocking future generations of leaders from taking the reins and steering our very rickety government back to solid ground. 

At the very least, you will know you opted to put the greater public good ahead of your own ambition. And, who knows, perhaps your grace, generosity, and common sense will inspire others to do the same.

Johanna Wald is a resident of Dedham.