Why Term Limits Should Be Implemented on Congress
When framing our government, the American founding fathers envisioned members of Congress to be a group of average people, representing their respected area, pushing for favorable policy. While checks and balances and the bicameral legislature were wonderful ideas, the entire system is a failure with one weak part. Our Congress has become a failure due to an absence of term limits on Congressman and Senators. No term limits in Congress have created corrupt and selfish members of Congress, a huge incumbency advantage, and a gridlock between Republicans and Democrats due to an increase in partisanship.
When given power for a long period of time, it is human nature to abuse it. We see this in American politics today, through members of Congress working only to be reelected, and not working in favor of the people they represent. These members become "lifetime politicians" and seek only to advance in their political careers. They become extremely corrupt, and are influenced more by interest groups than their constituents. If term limits were enforced, we would see politicians strive more to serve their constituents, and not to serve themselves.
Non-supporters of term limits in Congress will argue that it is not necessary because the people have the power to vote in a new candidate if the one they previously voted for is not acting favorably. While this is true, the incumbency advantage makes it very hard for new candidates to get elected into office. Even with poor approval ratings, at least 90% of incumbent members of the House consistently get reelected while 80% of incumbent members of the Senate consistently get reelected. If Congress is so poorly rated, why do members keep getting reelected? Incumbents get reelected for reasons such as being able to raise much more money than challengers, and by living in gerrymandered districts that ensure their seats in Congress are "safe." With term limits, the incumbency advantage would be diminished, as both voters and politicians would be thinking much more in the short-term than long-term.
Long tenures in Congress have played a direct role in the increase of partisanship in government. In order to be reelected, many members find it beneficial to become "more" conservative or "more" liberal, to fire up their constituents. With Republicans and Democrats in office becoming more extreme, we have seen a struggle for members to compromise and enact policy. Republicans and Democrats seem to despise each other. Often times, Republican Congresses refuse to work with a Democratic President and Democratic Congresses refuse to work with a Republican President. This has created a situation in which balancing the federal budget seem almost impossible, an issue that all voters find important. In order for issues such as the budget to be solved, Republicans and Democrats must be able to compromise. More than anything, Congress needs new faces and new minds to have their chance at solving the issues of the country. We can not expect the types of Congresses we have recently elected to all of a sudden reach agreements and move our nation in the right direction.
Reforming the length of tenures in Congress would be fairly simple. An amendment to the Constitution would have to be passed, limiting Congressman to five two-year terms, and senators to two six-year terms. This is an idea both Republican and Democratic voters agree on, and has widespread popularity throughout the country. According to a Fox News Poll, 78% of Americans are in favor of enacting term limits on members of Congress. In a democracy, a view shared by 78% of voters should easily become policy. While it may seem impossible that members of the House and Senate would pursue this policy, members such as Senator Jim Demint and Congressman Paul Ryan have claimed that they are in support of term limits for Congress. With bipartisanship reaching an all time low and the federal debt rising each year, now is the time to act. In order to save our country, we must get rid of lifetime politicians and enact term limits to Congress.
It is extremely possible that with Congressional election reform, the public's approval on the federal government would improve over a short period of time. This in return could spark an interest in politics and increase voter turnout. A vast majority of Americans would agree that high voter turnout is a good thing, just as they agreed term limits on members of Congress would be beneficial. To preserve the greatest country in the world, it is imperative that we get lifetime politicians out of office, and protect the interests of their constituents.
Non-supporters of term limits in Congress will argue that it is not necessary because the people have the power to vote in a new candidate if the one they previously voted for is not acting favorably. While this is true, the incumbency advantage makes it very hard for new candidates to get elected into office. Even with poor approval ratings, at least 90% of incumbent members of the House consistently get reelected while 80% of incumbent members of the Senate consistently get reelected. If Congress is so poorly rated, why do members keep getting reelected? Incumbents get reelected for reasons such as being able to raise much more money than challengers, and by living in gerrymandered districts that ensure their seats in Congress are "safe." With term limits, the incumbency advantage would be diminished, as both voters and politicians would be thinking much more in the short-term than long-term.
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| (http://www.gallup.com/poll/157475/congress-approval-poised-lowest-election-year.aspx) |
Long tenures in Congress have played a direct role in the increase of partisanship in government. In order to be reelected, many members find it beneficial to become "more" conservative or "more" liberal, to fire up their constituents. With Republicans and Democrats in office becoming more extreme, we have seen a struggle for members to compromise and enact policy. Republicans and Democrats seem to despise each other. Often times, Republican Congresses refuse to work with a Democratic President and Democratic Congresses refuse to work with a Republican President. This has created a situation in which balancing the federal budget seem almost impossible, an issue that all voters find important. In order for issues such as the budget to be solved, Republicans and Democrats must be able to compromise. More than anything, Congress needs new faces and new minds to have their chance at solving the issues of the country. We can not expect the types of Congresses we have recently elected to all of a sudden reach agreements and move our nation in the right direction.
Reforming the length of tenures in Congress would be fairly simple. An amendment to the Constitution would have to be passed, limiting Congressman to five two-year terms, and senators to two six-year terms. This is an idea both Republican and Democratic voters agree on, and has widespread popularity throughout the country. According to a Fox News Poll, 78% of Americans are in favor of enacting term limits on members of Congress. In a democracy, a view shared by 78% of voters should easily become policy. While it may seem impossible that members of the House and Senate would pursue this policy, members such as Senator Jim Demint and Congressman Paul Ryan have claimed that they are in support of term limits for Congress. With bipartisanship reaching an all time low and the federal debt rising each year, now is the time to act. In order to save our country, we must get rid of lifetime politicians and enact term limits to Congress.
It is extremely possible that with Congressional election reform, the public's approval on the federal government would improve over a short period of time. This in return could spark an interest in politics and increase voter turnout. A vast majority of Americans would agree that high voter turnout is a good thing, just as they agreed term limits on members of Congress would be beneficial. To preserve the greatest country in the world, it is imperative that we get lifetime politicians out of office, and protect the interests of their constituents.
Sources
- http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/03/fox-news-poll-percent-favor-term-limits-congress/
- http://restartcongress.org/revolution/arguments-for-term-limits/
You make a really good case for term limits here Ricky. It is really eye opening to see the numbers on how unhappy the American people are with congress according to the low approval ratings, yet the same people get elected year in and year out. The only con I can think of to term limits would be forcing the good politicians out with the bad, but that con is strongly outweighed by all the pros.
ReplyDeleteI agree 100%. Limiting congressional terms can only benefit our government, and our country. It makes no sense to have these old men win popularity contests in districts their guaranteed to win, as they become even more out of touch with the American public. Putting a limit on terms allows new ideas, as well as a push for real policy reform.
ReplyDeleteWell said Rick. And great title, cartoons
This is a good idea in theory, however, it would be difficult for it to be put into practice. Congressmen and senators are constantly being trained for their office, which can be identified as an investment made by the tax payers. The training would consist of different conferences and trips made across the country, which all paid for by the government. If there were term limits, those investments would not pay off in the long term.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Enacting term limits would increase competition and, in my opinion, lead to more effective leaders because they'd actually have to get stuff done and make the people like them, not just recognize their names. I do think that the term limits could be extended a bit, making it three terms for the Senate and ten for the House so that they actually could make a substantial career of politics (in Congress, anyway).
ReplyDelete