[Campaigns-l] Congressional Term Limits

[nhprman at comcast.net]

That's a great idea, and sometimes, term limits DO remove some able politicians who would probably do better remaining in office.

Most likely, however, without term limits, politicians (and I'm thinking mostly Congressmen here) have rigged their districts to make them "safe" so they are virtually assured that they cannot be toppled by someone of the other party, and then they gather a warchest of money that allows them to scare off potential primary opponents, and if they aren't scared off, they can be beaten into the dust with endless mailings, TV ads, etc. (And this is both parties who are guilty here, folks.) 

So, I view term limits as a very viable discussion for a site dedicated to a "new" politics, even though the chances of getting it through seem quite remote at this point. Then again, this site is supposed to be about doing things in a new way. Maybe it can come up with some new and innovative ways of changing this system - and along the way, giving backers of OTHER issues some ideas on how to move them forward. That's the incredible promise this site holds out for political operatives and citizens alike, in my view.

Stephen A.

-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: "Lord Voldemort" <lordbishopvoldemort at gmail.com> 

> On 7/10/06, Gordon P. Hemsley wrote: 
> > Interesting that they chose to do that, as I was going to suggest the 
> following: 
> > Term limits are already in place for President (2 terms [8 years] or 10 
> years). 
> > Senators should also have a limit of 2 terms (12 years) or 15 years. 
> > Representatives should have a limit of 8 terms (16 years) or 17 years. 
> > 
> > The theory is, the less area a politician has to represent, the more 
> > (s)he knows about the people living there, and the more the people 
> > living there know about him/her. That's why the term limits increase 
> > as the area gets smaller. And the extra years at the end include an 
> > extra half of a term, following the example of President. Thoughts? 
> 
> Yeah, how about abolish all term limits and let the people elect who 
> they want? If someone is doing a brilliant job, why should they be 
> forced out? The best man or woman for the job. What a novel idea. 
> --LV 
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