Does Congressional Black Caucus Need New Blood?

Rep. Charles Rangel is pleading for mercy after the House ethics committee earlier this week found him guilty of 11 violations of House rules.  The 80-year-old New Yorker has served in Congress since 1971 and his tenure is similar to that of several other members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC).  Does the CBC need new blood?

The Democrats in Congress experienced a drubbing in the Nov. 2nd election, except for Rangel and other Black Democrats in the House.  To a person, every one of the members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) who ran was re-elected.   Two Black Republicans were also elected in South Carolina and Florida, which adds an interesting dynamic to the mix.

Why were the Black Democrats all returned to Congress?  The reason is that nearly all represent "safe" districts which were carved out for them.  This means the only challenge they ever really experience is during the primary when the voter turnout is extremely low.  In the general election in November, there is either no Republican challenger or there is a sacrificial lamb on the ballot -- someone Republicans know will lose by 40 to 50 percentage points.

The lack of competitive races in the "black" districts also suppresses turnout in midterm elections.  Because these candidates are a shoo-in for the November election, there's not much incentive for Black voters in their districts to go to the polls, as evidenced by the abysmal 10% turnout among Black voters on Nov. 2nd.  There's no president on the ballot and, while there may be some statewide or local races that are interesting, these often do not receive the same level of exposure and emphasis by the media.

But this shouldn't be the case.  There needs to be some new blood with some new ideas among the CBC.  The lack of any genuine competition leads to a sense of stagnation as well as a sense of entitlement.  After all, these seats are not thrones where elected officials can just occupy them for decades.  They are offices that represent the people.  Consider these facts:

• The average age of CBC members is 62, close to the age when most people retire.  Twelve of them (25%) are age 70 or older.
• The average years served among CBC members is 13, but nearly 50 percent have served in Congress for more than 15 years.
• Three of the CBC members (Andre Carson, William Lacy Clay Jr., and Kendrick Meek) succeeded family members, making their tenures within their families effectively much longer than their actual years served.

With Congressmembers so entrenched and at ages when it's difficult for them to embrace new ideas, are their constituents being ill served?  It is a good idea to have representation that is so steeped in the past, rather than looking toward the future?