Americans overwhelmingly support term limits for Congress. Nonetheless, last week, three-fourths of the U.S. Senate said, “Hell no, [they] won’t go.”
By a 75 to 24 vote, Senators defeated an amendment introduced by Sen. Jim DeMint (R‑SC) to express support for a constitutional amendment limiting congressional tenure as a “sense of the Senate.”
Term limits killed again — but with zombies currently all the rage, could the issue reach back from the grave for revenge … hungry for incumbent flesh?
Yes.
Senate races in Indiana, Missouri and Montana feature incumbents in very tight re-election contests who voted against the term limits the citizens of their states enthusiastically endorse.
Sen. Claire McCaskill’s campaign is reeling from scandal — her office billed taxpayers $76,000 for 89 chartered flights on a plane she co-owned. If profiting from expensive jet-setting on the taxpayers’ tab isn’t enough to defeat her, the Senator’s vote against term limits just might do the trick.
In Montana, Sen. Jon Tester claims to be a populist, but voted to allow incumbents to stay in office just as long as they live. What will Montana voters think about that … if they were to find out?
In a competitive GOP primary in Indiana between 36-year incumbent Sen. Dick Lugar, the third longest-serving senator, and State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, Lugar’s vote against term limits may be Exhibit A to show that he is an out-of-touch career politician — a part of the problem, not the solution.
Given a choice, voters favor candidates who favor term limits, who understand that power must come with limits.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
9 replies on “Voters with Zombie Power”
The need for term limits is a bastardization of the representative government we were robbed of by the 17th amendment. When the Senate was reponsible to the state legislature, they looked out for the interests of the state or they looked for a job.
I disagree with Drik.
The members of a state legislature looked out FOR THEIR INTERESTS, OR THOSE OF THEIR PARTY AND FRIENDS.
THEY STILL DO.
People would still ( then and now) usually vote the incumbents in– tiem and time again.
sorry for the spelling error above
Term limits do not work other than for the executive branch. Remember the fear we had about the nonsense the Dems could have done as a lame duck House in 2010? Imagine 1/3 of the legislature being in lame duck status for their entire final term with only one thing in mind: soft landing. CA is the prime example of what happens. We’re in fiscal disaster because, not in spite, of the fact that these guys no longer have ANY responsibility to the voters. These dogs have themselves pretty well hidden but when you can find out where they went it’s ALWAYS to some kind of commission (tax-payer funded, of course) or some association with a special interest group they helped while in office. Term-limits throw out the good experienced legislators along with the bad but CREATE the self-serving creatures out of the “good” that they were meant to prevent.
Term limits are a “one-size-fits-all” sledge hammer approach that doesn’t address the real problem — electorate ignorance.
If voters don’t like an incumbent, they don’t have to vote for him. That’s term limits.
“Given a choice, voters favor candidates who favor term limits, who understand that power must come with limits.”
I might believe that if voters didn’t consistently vote for the same person over and over and over again. Voters usually favor term limits for other people’s representatives, not their own.
Pat, you’re right. Term Limits is a way to get rid of the OTHER guy’s representative.
Another way of looking at term limits is that a law is enacted to tell people they’re too dumb & ignorant to be able to reelect their guy. “We’re sorry but you’ve exceeded your times to vote for your representative. You can’t have him anymore.”
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