November 11, 2009
Term Limits? I can get behind that.
I think term limits for politicians are a fabulous idea:
A handful of Republican senators have proposed a Constitutional amendment to limit the amount of time a person may serve in Congress.
Currently, there are no term limits for federal lawmakers, but Sen. Jim DeMint, R-South Carolina, and several of his colleagues are advocating that service in the Senate be limited to 12 years, while lawmakers would only be allowed to serve 6 years in the House.
“Americans know real change in Washington will never happen until we end the era of permanent politicians,” DeMint said in a statement released by his office. “As long as members have the chance to spend their lives in Washington, their interests will always skew toward spending taxpayer dollars to buyoff special interests, covering over corruption in the bureaucracy, fundraising, relationship building among lobbyists, and trading favors for pork – in short, amassing their own power.”
Two-thirds of the House and Senate would need to approve the amendment – a stumbling block that short-circuited the idea 14 years ago. The new proposal echoes the Citizen Legislature Act, part of the original Contract with America proposed by Republicans before they won control of Congress in 1994. That measure, which would have allowed both senators and members of the House to serve just 12 years, won a majority in the Republican-controlled House in 1995, but failed because it did not meet the constitutionally-required two-thirds threshold.
My first reaction concerned the constitutionality of imposing term limits, but if they want to do this right and amend the Constitution, I’m very supportive of the whole idea.
Part of the problem with out political system is career politicians. When our country was first being founded we didn’t have career politicians like we do today. People it as a duty to serve one’s country and so most served, in some shape or form, at one point or another. Then they returned to their normal lives.
Today, this simply isn’t the case. Even some of the politicians who self-impose their own term limits go back on their word once they get used to the life. The life being power, money, and fame. What more could a person want? Not much, I suppose.
There is something wrong with the system if being a politician is such an attractive job people want to stay in it until the day they die. Think about it. Politicians never want to retire. They’re always looking to the future. Winning the next election. Gaining that higher seat of power. It’s disgusting. I think term limits could limit them and the damage the can do.
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