General Discussion

Jedi Guy

(3,408 posts)

31. I'm of two minds on the subject.

Sun Dec 28, 2025, 09:22 AM

Dec 28

On the one hand, the Founders surely didn't intend for people to serve in Congress for 40+ years and make a literal lifetime career of it. Furthermore, having people in the same roles for 40+ years encourages static thinking and the longer someone is in Congress the less they have in common with the common folk.

On the other hand, being an effective Congresscritter isn't something you pick up in a year or two. The government now is so vast, so complex, that even a very intelligent person is going to need some time to ramp up and learn the ropes, to say nothing of the time it takes to build the relationships needed to be an effective legislator.

On the whole I think I lean more towards term limits than against, though. I think the benefits of injecting new ideas outweigh the drawbacks of losing experienced folks. Modern problems require modern solutions, as Dave Chappelle would say.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

1 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

mr715

34 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

I am ready for Term Limits..... [View all] FarPoint Dec 27 OP

What say I? Greg_In_SF Dec 27 #1

I have ended up there. mr715 Dec 27 #2

No Emile Dec 27 #3

It is both .... FarPoint Dec 27 #5

Break up some of these giant monopolies too. pwb Dec 27 #4

Yes on term limits and end partisan gerrymandering. mikewv Dec 27 #6

Long overdue. patphil Dec 27 #7

There is some evidence drmeow Dec 27 #8

Exactly. markodochartaigh Dec 27 #10

Great analogy drmeow Dec 27 #11

The fact that it is another limitation on democracy markodochartaigh Dec 27 #18

Our system drmeow Dec 27 #26

I think a balance is required Metaphorical Dec 27 #12

Well....just thinking.... FarPoint Dec 28 #32

Came here to say this. Efilroft Sul Dec 28 #33

Term Limits Metaphorical Dec 27 #9

I'm opposed to term limits on elected positions, totally pro for appointed positions. eppur_se_muova Dec 27 #13

Voters get the opportunity to impose term limits on members of Congress every 2-6 years. tritsofme Dec 27 #14

Agree. However, mikewv Dec 27 #17

What other choice do we have? Let voters vote for the candidate of their choice. tritsofme Dec 27 #19

With all due respect. mikewv Dec 27 #20

If the "rules of the past" consist of democracy and citizens voting for the candidate of their choice tritsofme Dec 27 #21

May peace and good fortune be with you... mikewv Dec 27 #22

You are explicitly arguing that democracy ought to be limited and restricted. tritsofme Dec 27 #27

No anybody doing anything past the age of 69.... Melon Dec 27 #15

Yes. We would be smart to run on this. The Revolution Dec 27 #16

Without campaign finance reform, all that does is put the lobbyists in charge. Iggo Dec 27 #23

Yeah, im on board. And, since republicans say they want it anyway, Volaris Dec 27 #24

I oppose term limits more than ever Polybius Dec 27 #25

Pukes came up with term limits to shut down another FDR run. Bad idea. Blues Heron Dec 27 #28

How about an age limit? Xolodno Dec 27 #29

I think any specific term limit plans should yorkster Dec 27 #30

I'm of two minds on the subject. Jedi Guy Dec 28 #31

Until we have public financing of campaigns edhopper Dec 28 #34