While it took our reporters several minutes to remind the lawmakers who they were, The Onion eventually asked senators why it was acceptable to have dementia in office, and this is what they said.
Senators Defend Having Dementia In Office
Joe Manchin (D-WV)
“Mental competence doesn’t really matter if you’re just saying what the lobbyists tell you to say.”
Cory Booker (D-NJ)
“If you know of a better place to put America’s elderly, I’d like to hear it.”
Jim Risch (R-ID)
“That’s it—we’re getting rid of books about dementia next.”
Tom Cotton (R-AR)
“I mean, it’s not like we do that much here anyway.”
Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
“Let’s just prop those meat-bags up in their chairs and get this show on the road.”
Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ)
“I’m actually still undecided. How much does dementia pay?”
Tim Kaine (D-VA)
“No person with a fully functioning brain should have to listen to Chuck Schumer give a speech.”
Tim Scott (R-SC)
“Many senior citizens work well past retirement age these days.”
Mike Lee (R-UT)
“Early stage dementia is a perfect representation of the average U.S. citizen’s intelligence.”
Alex Padilla (D-CA)
“Sen. Feinstein keeps calling me Ricky Martin, and who doesn’t want to be Ricky Martin?”
Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
“Little Ronnie Reagan? Is that you? Oh! I haven’t seen you in years. You look good. So young. What was the question again?”
Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
“And a merry Christmas to you too!”
Marco Rubio (R-FL)
“This country has a proud legacy of leadership with advanced neurological deterioration, and it’s made us the country we are today.”
John Kennedy (R-LA)
“If we forced every nonfunctional 90-year-old out of their position, the whole U.S. government would break down.”
Tommy Tuberville (R-AL)
“It’s a great excuse for insider-trading accusations.”
Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
“I don’t know what everyone’s freaking out about. The job’s pretty easy.”
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
“When I was senator, I never let that stop me!”