There’s an old saying.  It has a lot of variants but it goes something like this: If you’re not a liberal when you’re young, you have no heart.  If you’re not a conservative when you’re old, you have no head.  People who DO become conservative like to use this line as a way to suggest they find some deeper understanding as they age and naturally become conservative.

My personal feeling is that the phrase simply describes a phenomenon of aging.  Another way to say it is this: when you’re young, healthy, and vibrant – when your body and brain are working at their optimum – you think well.  Therefore, you tend to be liberal.  After years of abuse by the world, alcohol, injuries and just plain age – when your body and brain are no longer functioning well – you think poorly or, perhaps, just “less effectively.”  THAT’S when you become more conservative.

I think that has been happening to Diane Feinstein over the years.  Now, don’t get me wrong, here.  I’m not suggesting Feinstein is some kind of rabid tea-bagger hoping for the end of America but she certainly seems to have moved right with age at a time when an increasing number of Americans are tiring of the “incremental baby-steps” approach.  People are looking for more progressive representatives.

Apparently, the California Democrats agree.  They’ve endorsed Kevin de Leon in his bid for the US Senate despite the elder Statesperson’s request that they remain neutral.  Feinstein’s camp suggested such an endorsement might lead to inter-party squabbles.  It might.  Perhaps, since the California Democrats have endorsed their preferred candidate, she might consider stepping aside with grace and supporting the new wave.

Ha ha, just kidding.  Of COURSE she’s going to run.  Hell, she’s still the odds-on favorite to win.  I don’t have any major heartburn with that.  She’s been (mostly) good for California for years.  But she’s 85.  She’s held her seat since 1992.  That’s 26 years!  She’s the oldest sitting Senator.  Perhaps it’s time for new blood; a new vision…