Term Limits are a popular issue. The most recent poll I’ve found is a 2013 Gallup poll which found that 75% of Americans want term limits. But will they help?
On Facebook, I saw a short video about Term Limits. It says term limits:
- Eliminate Career Politicians
- Promote New Ideas
- Fights Corruption
I wrote a comment under it: How does it fight corruption?
Do Term Limits limit Corruption?
One user said: I live in area that has been run by the same group of men for the last 40 years. Anyone new that was brought into the fold was hand picked.
I personally broke that cycle and got in on a Write-in. My sons and myself stood at our municipal building from 7am till 9pm talking to people and changing the outlook of the people who voted. In the end the vote was 24 to 17….. I won and since then we have seen a great improvement.
That’s a great answer. But notice, this change didn’t happen due to term limits. From what she said, it happened because her group made the effort to make a difference and promote a change.
Will term limits stop career politicians?
I have no problem with term limits. But I imagine if there’s a group of elite who are running something, they’ll just, very early, pick a new person to run. They’ll ensure his/her name gets lots of press in the two years before the election. And they’ll give him/her their endorsements, leftover campaign funds, mailing lists, their organization, introductions to donors, and anything else they think will ensure their group stays in power.
For the same reason, term limits won’t stop career politicians. Even if a senator has to stop running, he or she could be the head of staff for the new, incoming senator.
The “revolving door” to lobbying
And they could do what they do now. When they lose a race, many eagerly go through “the revolving door” and snap up a lucrative lobbying position. OpenSecrets reports that of the 75 members of the 2013 Congress that were not re-elected, 41 continued to work. Of those, 2/3 go to work for lobbying firms or lobbying customers. Many staffers have careers in politics as well. The Washington Post reports that over the last 10 years, 400 members of Congress and 5,400 staffers have gone to work for lobbying firms.
And if term limits won’t stop career politicians or limit corruption, it’s probably not going to promote new ideas.
How can we pass a term limit amendment?
So term limits aren’t the solution. But if the revolving door could be closed, and other anti-corruption measures passed, term limits could be much more effective.
But how can we get a term limit amendment passed? Back in 1995, when the Supreme Court struck down state laws that limited terms for their own members of Congress, only 23 states had passed such laws, far from the 34 needed to pass a constitutional amendment.