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Should Their Be Term Limits?

I'm in favor of the electorate determining term limits. Beyond that, there should be none.

Term limits are just a GOP cudgel to remove Democrats they can't beat in elections, as we saw in 1994 and 2010.

As well though, the GOP has lost a number of good governors like this the last few decades, giving us Pences in return.

The one-term limit for governors in Virginia is the most asinine in the Nation .
 
It's not how long a politician holds office that we should change. It's Lobbying and campaign funding. We need to put an end to ALL LOBBYING and ALL CAMPAIGN FUNDING. If we could do that and prosecute to the fullest anyone who is caught taking money we could finally have a government of, by and for the people.
 
Yes. Career politicians are a scourge on democracy.
 
Yes...I think they should have a one off term limit ONLY for the 2016 Presidential winner.

Say...7 months.

Then they should go back to the regular term limits.
 
Yes...I think they should have a one off term limit ONLY for the 2016 Presidential winner.

Say...7 months.

Then they should go back to the regular term limits.
 
Yes. It's usually difficult to get a bad one out. People come out to vote as much for for these elections. When they do it's usually for specific reasons that have nothing to do with how the congress person voted on issues. If their staff was friendly and helped them out, or they met the congress person once and like them, they vote for them again. Not in all areas of the country, but enough that I think term limits would be a good idea.

Although, I would also lengthen the term itself. That's one of the reasons I think people don't bother to vote. Since their terms start on odd years, some people are "politically tired" if it's right after a presidential election year.

I'm not sure what a good balance would be, but maybe the same as the presidential term.
 
Would you support term limits for congressmen? Why or why not?


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No I do not think there should be term limits for congressmen. Being a congressman or congresswoman is not a position that is so powerful, like being president, that there should be term limits. Now how about this, should supreme court justices have term limits?
 
Would you support term limits for congressmen? Why or why not?


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Yes.... and Senators and Supreme Court Justices...
 
Would you support term limits for congressmen? Why or why not?


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I think a lot of people have the misconception that term limits would be set by the Federal Government. They can't--the states would have to do that since Senators and Congressmen are representatives of the state they were elected in.
 
So how long should a term for a supreme court justice be?

Not sure... no shorter than ten years but no longer than twenty... 12 maybe? Get some turnover but also make rotating presidents get more input and change.
 
Would you support term limits for congressmen? Why or why not?

Term limits are not really a problem, and in fact states that have tried to in act them have seen that they tend to have the opposite effect that you're looking for. Rookie congressmen who don't know what they're doing rely more heavily on the advice and influence of lobbyists where as seasoned politicians have more confidence to stand their ground and recognize who's trying to sway them towards a bad idea. Contrary to popular belief politicians are just like virtually every other job known to man. The longer you do the job the better you get at it.

Furthermore the real problem in congress is Gerrymandering and the fact that we do not have equal representation based on realistic populations. The house can easily be gerrymandered. States with ridiculously small populations have equal say in the senate to states with massive populations. Some populations like Washington DC have no Senators despite the fact that the city by itself has a larger population than all of Wyoming. The Electoral College is another major problem as we saw in the most recent election. The majority of Americans did not get the president they wanted.

Unless you fix these problems term limits won't do you any good. Even if someone like Nanci Pelosi or Paul Ryan had to step down their replacement would be elected by the same voting block, and would therefore almost certainly share the same policy positions, they'd just be worse at trying to get them implemented.
 
Term limits are not really a problem, and in fact states that have tried to in act them have seen that they tend to have the opposite effect that you're looking for. Rookie congressmen who don't know what they're doing rely more heavily on the advice and influence of lobbyists where as seasoned politicians have more confidence to stand their ground and recognize who's trying to sway them towards a bad idea. Contrary to popular belief politicians are just like virtually every other job known to man. The longer you do the job the better you get at it.

Furthermore the real problem in congress is Gerrymandering and the fact that we do not have equal representation based on realistic populations. The house can easily be gerrymandered. States with ridiculously small populations have equal say in the senate to states with massive populations. Some populations like Washington DC have no Senators despite the fact that the city by itself has a larger population than all of Wyoming. The Electoral College is another major problem as we saw in the most recent election. The majority of Americans did not get the president they wanted.

Unless you fix these problems term limits won't do you any good. Even if someone like Nanci Pelosi or Paul Ryan had to step down their replacement would be elected by the same voting block, and would therefore almost certainly share the same policy positions, they'd just be worse at trying to get them implemented.
That's good AND bad. :lol:
 
Would you support term limits for congressmen? Why or why not?


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No. Put in term limits and you only increase the power of the lobbyist.

Some states already impose term limits and that was the exact result they got:

while term limits have changed the way lobbyists do their business, they have actually increased their influence. The legislators elected after term limits were imposed often lack knowledge of the details of many complex policies and turn to lobbyists for information. These special interest groups actually report that they now work harder “educating” less knowledgeable legislators.
https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2015/01/16/states-show-term-limits-wouldnt-work-for-congress
 
In theory, term limits seem like a good thing. Allow an elected official to serve a certain amount of time, and then move on to allow fresh faces and ideas to be introduced.

In practice it is any but that.

California enacted term limits, and it turned into a festering pot of back room deals, payoffs, and little more than seat jumping as the same elites jumped from one office or legislative office to another.

For once, we agree.
 
I supported term limits for the longest time. But the more I have learned about the negative unintended consequences, the less appealing the idea has become.

It is another idea with good intentions having bad consequences.
 
Of course, as long as it is a single term. Why? Because I think it would end the corruption caused by re-election.
 
Of course, as long as it is a single term. Why? Because I think it would end the corruption caused by re-election.

Likely it would just make it worse. From the moment the politician enters office they know there won't be a re-election so they will start lining up their options for when they get out. Which inevitably will lead to them doing favors and passing laws they think prospective employers want.
 
No. We all should have a voice.
 
Likely it would just make it worse. From the moment the politician enters office they know there won't be a re-election so they will start lining up their options for when they get out. Which inevitably will lead to them doing favors and passing laws they think prospective employers want.

Assuming there is enough time to get it done. In my view all corruption in congress comes from money or re-election. A single term limit wouldn't fix the money angle but it would eliminate the re-election angle. It couldn't possibly make things worse. It might make a less than desirable improvement but it couldn't make things worse. Why is congress unable to do its job? Partisanship and re-election concerns. If members of congress actually voted their conscience we would have a better reflection of what is good for the country rather than what is good for re-election.
 
That's good AND bad. :lol:

And a variation on the theme might be "the longer you do the job, the more opportunities for corruption there are."
 
I think we should limit the career elected leader by first taking away retirement. It is a public service not a career. I think we need to remove industry from the funding (owning) the parties and the candidates. Enough with the millions and millions of TV dollars to mud sling. Local candidates should spend more time having town meetings and talking to the people about what they will do for the people. I would like to see them come to my town or suburb and field questions from the people. It is too easy to send out a TV add saying one thing then doing the bidding of the rich and powerful who fund your campaign and line your pockets with money and favors. Even professional liars struggle to lie to your face over and over. Most important is to scale back their salary to match the average middle class worker. If we can live comfortably at that pay so can they. Right now that is $75,000.00. The only raise is to continue to match the average middle class wages.
 
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