I support term limits for members of Congress

[bluestateguy]

For years, until recently, I always opposed term limits. I even supported Tom Foley's stupid lawsuit against the voters of his own state in 1994. Washington voters had approved term limits on members of Congress. Even after the Republicans took over Congress in 1994, I continued to oppose term limits. Conveniently, of course, this was one provision of the "Contract with America" that Republicans never delivered on: Congress has not even held a vote on term limits since 1995.

Well, I have had enough, and now I finally realize what so many of the term limits proponents have been saying for years. I now support term limits of three terms for Representatives and two terms for Senators. A constitutional amendment would probably be needed. I have had it with members of the House and Senate who just never seem to go away. Presidents come and go, but folks like Tom DeLay, James Sensenbrenner and Trent Lott just never, ever go away. They just keep getting elected and reelected over and over and over and over again. They come from rock solidly safe states and districts and no scandal, no stupid statement they make, nothing can ever seem to drive them from office. They have huge incumbency advantages, tremendous fund raising abilities that scare away good potential challengers and 100% name recognition among their constituents.

"But, but, we already have term limits. They're called elections!" Awwww! That's so cute. It's also hopeless idealism that almost never materializes into electoral justice for bad, corrupt or extremist congressmen. For every exception you can cite me, I'll cite you 10 cases of congresspersons who deserved to be thrown out of office, but instead were re-elected easily. Fact of the matter is that the American people just aren't all that bright, and cannot be trusted to vote out of office an incumbent officeholder who is beholden to special interests, or is an extremist, or ignores the wishes of the folks back home.

I like the idea of the citizen legislator, the average, ordinary, working man or woman serving in Washington D.C. for a few years, representing his or her constituents. Then, after a few years the congressperson leaves Washington and goes home to let someone else do the job. I am not persuaded by these silly, elitist arguments that serving as a congressman or a senator is such a complicated job akin to rocket science. It isn't, and term limits would open the doors to good congressional candidates of both parties in districts all over the country. The insurmountable power of incumbency probably scares away good candidates and good potential congresspersons of both parties. Term limits would diminish that incumbency advantage and encourage good candidates to run, who would otherwise have little chance to win and serve as good members of Congress.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. How about a drawing?

:think:

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. I am starting to feel that way too. Think we have any shot of

getting the current incumbents to sign on to this idea?

[flowomo]

3. a worthy argument, but here in central PA....

we'd elect 10 idiots for 4 years each instead of one idiot for 40 years. And there'd be plenty of idiots lined up to run. The issue isn't how long, but who.

[seriousstan]

4. I oppose term limits for the same reason Hamilton did....

FEDERALIST No. 72

The Same Subject Continued, and Re-Eligibility of the Executive
Considered
From the Independent Journal.
Wednesday, March 19, 1788.

HAMILTON




One ill effect of the exclusion would be a diminution of the inducements
to good behavior. There are few men who would not feel much less zeal in
the discharge of a duty when they were conscious that the advantages of
the station with which it was connected must be relinquished at a
determinate period, than when they were permitted to entertain a hope of
obtaining, by meriting, a continuance of them. This position will not be
disputed so long as it is admitted that the desire of reward is one of
the strongest incentives of human conduct; or that the best security for
the fidelity of mankind is to make their interests coincide with their
duty. Even the love of fame, the ruling passion of the noblest minds,
which would prompt a man to plan and undertake extensive and arduous
enterprises for the public benefit, requiring considerable time to
mature and perfect them, if he could flatter himself with the prospect
of being allowed to finish what he had begun, would, on the contrary,
deter him from the undertaking, when he foresaw that he must quit the
scene before he could accomplish the work, and must commit that,
together with his own reputation, to hands which might be unequal or
unfriendly to the task. The most to be expected from the generality of
men, in such a situation, is the negative merit of not doing harm,
instead of the positive merit of doing good.

Another ill effect of the exclusion would be the temptation to sordid
views, to peculation, and, in some instances, to usurpation. An
avaricious man, who might happen to fill the office, looking forward to
a time when he must at all events yield up the emoluments he enjoyed,
would feel a propensity, not easy to be resisted by such a man, to make
the best use of the opportunity he enjoyed while it lasted, and might
not scruple to have recourse to the most corrupt expedients to make the
harvest as abundant as it was transitory; though the same man, probably,
with a different prospect before him, might content himself with the
regular perquisites of his situation, and might even be unwilling to
risk the consequences of an abuse of his opportunities. His avarice
might be a guard upon his avarice. Add to this that the same man might
be vain or ambitious, as well as avaricious. And if he could expect to
prolong his honors by his good conduct, he might hesitate to sacrifice
his appetite for them to his appetite for gain. But with the prospect
before him of approaching an inevitable annihilation, his avarice would
be likely to get the victory over his caution, his vanity, or his
ambition.

An ambitious man, too, when he found himself seated on the summit of his
country's honors, when he looked forward to the time at which he must
descend from the exalted eminence for ever, and reflected that no
exertion of merit on his part could save him from the unwelcome reverse;
such a man, in such a situation, would be much more violently tempted to
embrace a favorable conjuncture for attempting the prolongation of his
power, at every personal hazard, than if he had the probability of
answering the same end by doing his duty.

-----------------------

We truly have nothing saving us from the greed and avarice of elected officials except their fear of losing power. What is the incentive not to "feather your nest" if you already know your chance at the gold ring is upon you and nearing an end?

[bluestateguy]

5. kick

:kick:

[ISUGRADIA]

6. Term limits are a bad idea for many reasons try

public campaign finance and limitations on lobbying instead

[bluestateguy]

7. kick

Because it needs to be kicked.