Posted on 04/10/2010 5:13:33 PM PDT by Lexluthor69
Term limits may be the answer to what ails Washington. Its truly amazing when one stops to consider that there are Senators and Congressmen who have served upwards of 50 years in office. While it is possible for a politician to remain untarnished by corruption for that lenght of time it is unlikely.
I have compiled this list of the longest serving Senators and Congressmen. I have to take my hat off to those who have dedicated thier lives to public service. It is a noble and worthy cause. Having said that maybe we should question why the people of this country chose to limit presidents to only 8 years.
(Excerpt) Read more at silentmajority09.com ...
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
How would you deal with staffers that have served in Washington for decades and hold more power than first term Congressmen?
Find a legal way to limit a private citizens power in our system and I will reconsider term limits.
How would it hurt? We do it for the Presidency. Lot’s of lazy people vote party line, not issues or what the person stands for.
How about 15 minutes to get outa-town for the current group?
The downside to that is that only the very rich would bother to run, because the working class couldn’t afford to.
It would be nice to term limit the idiots on their staffs. These are the bozos writing the laws and telling the Senators and Congressmen how to vote. Sometimes I think that is where the REAL power lies in Washington.
I agree!
12 years (2 terms) in the Senate, then must sit out a full term to regain eligibility
12 years (6 terms) in the House, then must sit out 2 full terms to regain eligibility
Enforce residency requirements, way to many Congress-Pigs with a “hotel room” being their residences back back in their districts or home states. The states MUST put teeth in this and enforce these requirements.
Repeal the 17th Amendment , go back to something like what the founders intended for the Senate. Maybe a compromise might be, let the “people (meaning parties)” pick the slate of candidates the legislature elects. Make them re-callable by both the Governor & by popular petition.
All laws & requirements made to apply to the American people apply to Congress and its staff.
Put the Congressional staff under civil service, that way the staff will behave more like Sir Humphrey (See “ Yes Minister & Yes Prime Minister”), they will have their own agendas instead of being the personal “wise guys” advancing Congress-Thing or Senator-Pig personal aggrandizement.
Shorten the campaign season to 90 days prior to election, no money raising, no forming of campaign committees prior to that 90 days.
Absolutely agree with these
“.....
Our elections should be moved to the week after taxes are due.
Elected officials who wish to run for a different office should have to resign from the one they hold. Citizens should not pay a salary to someone who is campaigning instead of working.
Candidates should only be allowed to raise money from the district they represent.
No benefits, no retirement and no insurance or residual salary should be paid to volunteer representatives after they leave office.
.................”
Also create a “Congressional village” so both Senators-Pigs and Congress-Things live in similar nice but not Taj Mahal opulent surroundings. That way they can't use living expenses to whine about salary increases.
Cap Spending at 20% of GNP, only an “emergency vote” requiring 2/3rds of the combined Congress and increase the percentage. If the want a ever increasing amount of dollars from the “wealth pie” to serve then they have to adopt policies that will create a bigger pie.
I also would like to see the 16th amendment repealed and replaced with a national consumption tax. But no consumption tax if a national income tax exists.
>Term limits may be the answer to what ails Washington.<
.
Do you really believe that our congresscritters would willingly give up their easy life?
I agree that our unelected Federal bureaucracy is a huge problem largely overlooked.
Here is a realistic Constitutional Amendment that would not only solve the problem but for which mass appeal among citizens could be developed.
http://docs.google.com/View?id=d9zrjs6_12g68ptbg5
“The Congress shall not have power to lay and collect taxes of any kind within the borders of a State with the exclusive exception of a revenue-tax which shall be based solely on the accrued revenue of that State’s government.”
“Actually, I was thinking of a more creative fix. A state legislature can create a measure where you have to be within state borders for a specified period (265 days would suit this case) if you wanted to be considered a state figure or citizen for any office within that state. So if you want to be a state attorney general or a sheriff or a US Representative...you’d have to show you were within the state 265 days.
Naturally, this would trigger every congressman to fight this in court. But if you only had one hundred days to travel on exotic trips to France in American interest, or sit around DC making fine speeches to empty rooms...you’d have to count each and everyday.
Face it...we have made the whole senate and house....into Hollywood. If you limited them and said they had to associate with their own statesmen back in Arkansas or Texas or Kansas....to grasp what was important to them...rather than some media group in DC...you might actually get something accomplished.”
They have lost touch with the public ,that would help them remember who they work for.
It would be ONE step in the right direction. All federal offices should be capped or limited to 8 years.
Once in place all State and local offices should follow.
As I said ONE step. Steps Two and Three could Tax Reform, Spending Reform. The we can tackle Sun-setting statutes and agencies/cabinet offices.
Yea, that may be so, but at least we’d get rid of dynastic clans such as the Kennedys. Having someone serve (and
I use that term lightly) for 40 years is not how the founders envisioned this country working. We kicked out royalty over 200 years ago, we don’t need to resurrect it.
Term limits and making sure Congress has to live with the same laws They pass, as us peasants.
Pay Members a “Contractor Wage”.Require yearly Drug Testing as in the real world.Require Social Security participation,with no Cadillac retirement packages.After their term is finished,get a real job like the rest of us...Health Insurance provided for Members Only.If they wish to insure their family;they foot the bill.Economy travel on scheduled airlines when not on Official Business.Funding only from with-in given state/district.Limit of 6 terms in the House,2 terms in the Senate.We need limits now!!!!Respect our CONSTITUTION!
There is another way. Starve the beast. No taxes paid would get their attention.
I AGREE
I was surprised that Boxer and Feinstein weren’t on the list....seems like they’ve been in office for a looooooong!
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