Patrick Leahy

As President Biden plans to launch his reelection campaign, he is whistling past a graveyard of recently discarded Democratic Party icons, who have either left the scene willingly or are being gracelessly kicked out. Nancy Pelosi. Steny Hoyer. Pat Leahy. Jim Clyburn. Anthony Fauci. Dianne Feinstein. Their combined age is 500 — and until a few months ago, they were running the country. Now they’re shadows of their former selves, headed to the greener pastures of retirement, book deals or the backbenches of the House of Representatives. Over the past few months, the Democratic Party’s leadership has transitioned from the Silent Generation to a mixture of baby boomers and Gen Xers.

Who says Democrats and Republicans can’t find common ground? According to the Senate’s recent approval of the $1.7 trillion omnibus bill, bipartisanship is still possible after all. There’s just something about dumping debt on the American people that brings both sides of the Swamp together. Chalk it up to holiday magic. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 68-29 and was met with a round of applause from antsy lawmakers determined to get out of DC before the incoming storm. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer heaped praise on soon-to-be retiring Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont for his work on the bill. “What a capstone to a brilliant career,” he gushed.

Like characters in a dystopian novel, the elderly bore the worst of it. Dianne Feinstein, whose friends were already whispering about how there she really was, was found walking back and forth between her private room and common area, which she was required to come to over and over again just to get through the 16-hour ordeal. Chuck Grassley, only a year younger, confessed to taking 10-minute naps and struggling to stay awake, while lamenting how he missed his family. Patrick Leahy, 84 and coming off hip surgery, was lucky. He received more comments about the Batman sticker on his wheelchair than he did questions about why he was even there in the first place. “Pat, I’m glad you’re here,” the comparatively juvenile Tim Kaine (64)  remarked. “We shouldn't have to suffer alone.