Story Published:
Sep 27, 2009 at 11:58 AM CDT
Story Updated:
Sep 27, 2009 at 11:58 AM CDT
Every few years people talk about term limits for U. S. Senators and Representatives.
Others counter the term limits argument by saying that we have term limits by virtue of the ballot box.
Take Teddy Kennedy--47 years is too long. Robert Byrd--50+ years is too long. Alcee Hastings from Miami has been a Representative for 20+ years. He's been there too long. He was a Federal judge who was impeached.
How's this for an idea? In lieu of mandatory term limits on all 535 members of Congress, every 20 years on a year that there's a Presidential election the ballot would reflect a "house cleaning" question.
If it passes nationwide, the members of Congress would be prohibited from running in their next election.
They would be barred from running for Congress for ten years.
Should it pass, there wouldn't be a complete turnover in the Senate but all 435 House members would be gone in two years.
The states could do the same in their years when each elects a governor.
The founding fathers never meant for our Senators and Representatives to gain a stranglehold on Congress.
Their original idea was for ordinary citizens to go to the Capitol whether it was New York, Philadelphia, or Washington to represent ordinary citizens.
They never envisioned that our elected representatives would get rich in the process.
Neither did they ever think that it would cost so much to get elected and re-elected into infinity.
These people start working on their re-elections the day after their November victory.
It's quite apparent that they have forgotten a very important principle.
They work for us. We don't work for them. This little issue is true for many local elected officials.
But, most local Councilpersons and mayors are term limited.
I'm awfully tired of our Congressmen and women who think their jobs are secure forever.
At least Zach Wamp is leaving Congress. He gets it.
That "housecleaning amendment" looks better each day.
Steve Moore contributes this column and the thoughts and opinions are his and do not necessarily represent those of cookevilletimes.com or the parent company UC Media Group, LLC. If you have an opinion or opposing viewpoint to Steve or have an opinion on anything else, we welcome you comment. Just click e-mail in the top menu bar and send us you thoughts.
