Posted on 06/28/2007 11:55:31 AM PDT by nels96
Well, because of gerrymandering and voter registration trends, senior Democrat officeholders with name recognition are so safe that they are just playing musical chairs with both legislative and statewide elected offices. Term limits isn't forcing them out of office, just to change jobs with each other.
Your point is a good one.
I'd argue the opposite, however: By implementing term limits (as well as getting rid of some other incentives) you'll be more likely to have people elected that aren't interested in going to Washington for the sole purpose of "feathering their nests".
There is some truth to that, I’m sure.
But, I for one believe that “we the people” should be able to choose whoever we want to lead us. Term limits are the easy way out.
Reid Chevrolet: New and Used.
Don’t agree. Let the people know who the liberals are, let the people determine the party they want to work for them.
Term limits will prevent the big plumping down of a pompous senator spending his time buying favors, storing up favors and building a personal kingdom in the senate. It will prevent them ignoring the people who sent them there, it will prevent their ongoing corruption tentacles working its way though our government.
We need people accountable to the American public - not cliques formed to bribe the newcomers or to uncover ways to control their voice in the senate.
No, power corrupts and power also isolates the office holder from the regular people and the real facts of American life.
We are seeing this in our senators who bride, form liasions more and more powerful and in our president that does not understand the recent onslaught of illegals sweeping into our nation and the damage all through our systems of a slave class and a taxpayer class.
Then you fix the loopholes.........
Also discontinue the ability for the senate or house to vote themselves salary increases. Set up some other procedure so that the salary stays tied to their actual work, value for the people.
Also, do away with the lifetime salaries paid any legislator. None of us are able to work for a company 6 years and have lifetime full salary. Why should the government?
We do not have term limits that prevent 50 years in office.
I’ve always been against term limits because we already have a way to impose term limits — elections, of course.
But then I started thinking about the balance of power in Washington. Term limiting the president without term limiting Congress vastly upsets that balance of power.
So here’s where I stand: if we’re going to term limit the president, then we must term limit members of Congress. Term limit ‘em all, or none at all.
Vote fraud IS a reality and has been for years.
Well this needs to be changed. Congress should not have the ability to vote themselves salary increases, or to vote on the rules of their own tenure.
When did you get to vote yourself a salary or how long you could stay in your job?
I agree, generally. However, in the current system, it's extremely easy to thwart "we the people"-- at least the ones that are paying attention.
I would argue that re-electing an incumbent over and over and over is the actual easy way out for most of the populace.
It the general populace were forced to actually consider the merits of an incoming politician, instead of asking each other "who'd we vote for last time?", they might pay more attention. Then again, they might not.
In either event, they're still able to choose whomever they want to lead them-- it's just not a default decision anymore-- and isn't a career path for the most narcissistic and greedy people available.
No, the ineffective way we have now is worth changing to prevent a congress that totally ignores the will of the people and goes behind closed doors to enact legislation the people are 75% against.
These little kingdoms in our senate have given them the ability to make themselves millionaires, to ignore any need for American law that goes against their personal agendas. It allows them to have a country club clique which protects itself rather than America. We then have senators not daring to cross the clique if they want any of the goodies.
Time for a senate and congress that work for the country - not for their step up to the treasury till to insure they are millionaires for life with the bartering of their “power”.
Those that approve of this current system are denying what the founding fathers intended.
They never intended lifetime senators - we only have lifetime judges. They never intended lifetime salaries, of a closed group voting itself salary and benefits yearly.
The system is not working and we have seen the picture of the monstrosity in action.
Closed doors to write legislation. Not allowing senators to read the law they are writing. Ignoring the will of the people and telling the people they are racist because the people will not blindly follow.
Pork. Pork. Pork.
And, the egomaniacs that have instilled themselves as royalty in our senate ruling instead of legislating.
Get them all out.
Get a new mob in there.
id say 2 six year terms for senator (MAX 12)
id say 6 two year terms for house (max 12)
id make potus term six years rather than four and a max of two terms (12 yrs)
Id cut senate to one per state. Id reduce house to 300 (1mm per rep)
id make Supreme court appointments for 15 years, no more.
If you really want to fix the Senate, repeal the 17th Amendment, and restore true federalism. Then, the choice of your local legislators would matter greatly once again when it comes to affecting national policy and politics.
how would having state legislatures select senators be better than direct election by the people?
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