[Vintage Freeper]

The Founders understood the distinction between democracies and republics. Thomas Paine's Common Sense contained an outline of his vision for a Constitution. It included a term limits provision and a simple obvious explanation of why it was necessary. More than a decade later the Constitutional Convention did not include a provision for term limits. It was another one of those inconvenient political compromises that is now doing us in.

Adams said all democracies murder themselves. History tells us that the United States has already outlived most democracies whose lives average 200 years. Our longevity is partly attributable to the fact that we began life as a republic. But the main reason has been that the US has been the most capitalistic of all countries only beginning to embrace socialism on an expanding scale beginning after the 1912 election. How long is the US going to last if it does not embrace TERM LIMITS? A decade? Two decades? I think not more.

[Vintage Freeper]

Ping.

[Tex-Con-Man]

If you think bureaucrats are troublesome now, wait until you pass term limits...they’ll run the place. Government union bosses will be running the country in no time.

[newzjunkey]

Ask any Californian how term limits have worked out for that state.

We've had them in place 20 years. They are an abject failure. The elected faces shift seats but the special interests and unaccountable bureaucracy remain rooted in place.

[Melas]

I agree. Elections as they imply to incumbents are horrible things. I’d favor 6 year terms for representatives, 12 year terms for senators, and 8 year terms for president, with an absolutely hardcore 1 term limit for all offices.

Campaigning in one thing, and governing another. IMHO, the above would completely eliminate the pressure to govern with not the good of the country, but the results of the next election in mind.