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Anyone have any thoughts on term limits? (Original Post) hrmjustin Sep 2012 OP
Any level of government? Kennah Sep 2012 #1
yes hrmjustin Sep 2012 #4
It used to seem important to me, but today it's a distant issue at best Kennah Sep 2012 #14
I think it is something that we should at least have a debate about in congress and the media. n/t hrmjustin Sep 2012 #15
I am not sure it matters. DURHAM D Sep 2012 #2
I'm against them. They would put lobbyists in charge. Elections do work if you vote. Viva_Daddy Sep 2012 #3
They're not in charge now? n/t Smarmie Doofus Sep 2012 #5
It's the only way to get rid of career Congressmen and Senators with ultra-safe seats bluestateguy Sep 2012 #6
I would support term limits, but with longer terms Scootaloo Sep 2012 #8
i'm with you 100% on that antigop19667 Jan 2013 #21
Not a fraction as important as (1) campaign reform and (2) return to paper voting. nt valerief Sep 2012 #7
I'm not sure this 5/4 SCOTUS would ever let it stand. Smarmie Doofus Sep 2012 #9
I'm actually against them. eppur_se_muova Sep 2012 #10
I am against them, entirely. longship Sep 2012 #11
For U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, it would require a constitutional amendment... Agnosticsherbet Sep 2012 #12
No- no term limits. In term-limited California, the lobbyists are the mentors for the newly elected NBachers Sep 2012 #13
that is a great point about ted hrmjustin Sep 2012 #16
Spam deleted by NRaleighLiberal (MIR Team) TheNaimSadik Oct 2012 #17
I used to think they were a great idea daveMN Nov 2012 #18
01/04/2013: A bill proposing we repeal the constitutional limit on the number of Presidential terms Howzit Jan 2013 #19
If we had a democracy, I'd be against them. Stevepol Jan 2013 #20
We must have a term and 1 family person limit for each person elected to office; no dictatorships. WilliamTuckness Jun 2014 #22
I don't agree with limitations on families but I think two terms in the Senate and 6 terms in hrmjustin Jun 2014 #23
I like 2 terms in Senate limit and 6 terms in House limit; prohibit families from taking over. WilliamTuckness Jun 2014 #24
Message auto-removed Name removed Jun 2014 #25
Absolutely AGAINST Term Limits ... Trajan Jun 2014 #26
Term limits mean that right around the time SheilaT Jun 2014 #27
I go back and forth on them Prophet 451 Jun 2014 #28
Against. for many of reasons already listed. northoftheborder Jun 2014 #29

Kennah

(14,010 posts)
14. It used to seem important to me, but today it's a distant issue at best
Sat Sep 29, 2012, 04:29 PM
Sep 2012

As others have said, campaign reform via overturning Citizens United is a much more important matter.

 

hrmjustin

(71,265 posts)
15. I think it is something that we should at least have a debate about in congress and the media. n/t
Sat Sep 29, 2012, 04:59 PM
Sep 2012

bluestateguy

(44,173 posts)
6. It's the only way to get rid of career Congressmen and Senators with ultra-safe seats
Sat Sep 29, 2012, 12:56 AM
Sep 2012

It's real nice to say that we have elections, but come on, no election is ever going to replace some good ole' boy Republican congressman from rural Alabama. He ain't going anywhere unless you have term limits.

 

Scootaloo

(25,699 posts)
8. I would support term limits, but with longer terms
Sat Sep 29, 2012, 01:07 AM
Sep 2012

Sometimes it feels like there's an election every other week. Out Reps and Senators are almost constantly in "campaign mode," rather than actually legislating. As soon as they sit down, they have to defend the seat.

But then I'd also support a parliamentary system of government, to replace the current primitive "winner take all" system we're running.

Just 'cause we invented it doesn't mean we're the best at it, sadly.

 

Smarmie Doofus

(14,498 posts)
9. I'm not sure this 5/4 SCOTUS would ever let it stand.
Sat Sep 29, 2012, 01:17 AM
Sep 2012

Even if by some miracle we could get term limits through the congress. ( They're going to limit *themselves*? I don't think so.)

I think where it's been done locally ( like NYC , for example) it was forced on 'em by referendum. No mechanism for that at the federal level.


Still... the idea is worth talking and thinking about. ( Preferably in reverse order.)

eppur_se_muova

(36,222 posts)
10. I'm actually against them.
Sat Sep 29, 2012, 01:43 AM
Sep 2012

Given the population turnover in any given district, the people who vote for a candidate the third time are not all the same people who elected him/her the first time. Should the new voters be denied the right to choose the representative they want just because someone else -- who may no longer reside in the district -- voted for them before ?

Remember, the limit on Presidential terms was legislated by vengeful R's after FDR's fourth victory. GOP presidents get to be too old (or too incriminated) for a third term; without the 22nd Amendment, only Clinton could have won a third term since, and we weren't better off with his successor. Most Presidents who sought a third term failed; no further "protection" is really needed. FDR probably won a fourth term largely because it was a wartime election. Personally, I'd love to see the 22A repealed just to get Obama (at least) one more term. The 22A seems to say that you can't give the voters what they want. I'd rather trust the voters to make the right decision.

longship

(40,416 posts)
11. I am against them, entirely.
Sat Sep 29, 2012, 02:12 AM
Sep 2012

WW II may have ended up differently with term limits, but that isn't the strongest argument.

Rather, I would point out that the Republicans were the first to advocate term limits. They did that in a blatant attempt to cut off the decades long Democratic congressional majority. Of course, once the 80's came and Republicans gained a majority, they shut up about it.

I am totally against term limits. Let the voters speak.

Important is election finance reform. Kill Citizens United and mandate sole public funding limits. That eliminates the need for term limits. Period!

Agnosticsherbet

(11,619 posts)
12. For U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, it would require a constitutional amendment...
Sat Sep 29, 2012, 02:44 AM
Sep 2012

States can do it if they want, but it has real problems.

If you have an effective elected representative, why would you want to term limit that person?

Term limits destroy institutional memory so that you constantly have a new crop of ignorant newbies who are never sure just what has been tried and what hasn't.

As instituted in California, it didn't really remove career politicians, just rotated them through various offices. Their expertise was lost, because they went on to a new job.

Term limits go hand n hand with the theory that government should not be a full job. But in the modern world, everything is too complex for that to be workable in most places.



NBachers

(16,967 posts)
13. No- no term limits. In term-limited California, the lobbyists are the mentors for the newly elected
Sat Sep 29, 2012, 03:29 AM
Sep 2012

By the time the legislators learn the ropes, they're termed out. Then it's time for the lobbyists to mentor a new class.

Ted Kennedy should not have been term limited. Neither should Franklin D Roosevelt

daveMN

(25 posts)
18. I used to think they were a great idea
Thu Nov 8, 2012, 09:53 PM
Nov 2012

but now I realize they would do nothing to solve our problems; in fact, they are a recipe for gridlock and possibly a boon for lobbyists.

Instead we need proportional representation. Our current method of electing members of congress is profoundly un-democratic. If you live in a 'safe' district, your vote effectively does not count unless you vote for the winner. Just look at what just happened in the house. Even though more people voted for democrats, repukes hold on to a majority because of gerrymandering.

Howzit

(967 posts)
19. 01/04/2013: A bill proposing we repeal the constitutional limit on the number of Presidential terms
Sun Jan 6, 2013, 04:19 AM
Jan 2013

This proposed amendment is fresh from Friday January 4, 2013.

See thread at http://www.democraticunderground.com/1091727

Stevepol

(4,234 posts)
20. If we had a democracy, I'd be against them.
Tue Jan 8, 2013, 04:34 PM
Jan 2013

As long as the vote is counted in secrecy and not verified, term limits are irrelevant.

Assuming the vote that gets a candidate into office is the real vote, I don't see why that person can't stay in as long as he or she can continue to be elected. The longer you're in, the better you should be able to understand how to serve more effectively. If you're in it just for the power trip, of course, you will also know better how to remain in power even if you're not doing a very good job. But I think the balance tips toward not having term limits.

 

WilliamTuckness

(41 posts)
22. We must have a term and 1 family person limit for each person elected to office; no dictatorships.
Tue Jun 17, 2014, 10:02 PM
Jun 2014

One of the reasons why most people don't vote is because there aren't term limits and/or relatives of people that have been in offices get elected to those offices. I'd like to take this further by saying that a person that is or has been or will be an immediate family member of any other person elected to a public office is automatically disqualified from being elected to that public office.

 

hrmjustin

(71,265 posts)
23. I don't agree with limitations on families but I think two terms in the Senate and 6 terms in
Wed Jun 18, 2014, 01:55 AM
Jun 2014

the house is enough.

 

WilliamTuckness

(41 posts)
24. I like 2 terms in Senate limit and 6 terms in House limit; prohibit families from taking over.
Mon Jun 23, 2014, 07:16 PM
Jun 2014

But we can't allow families to control our elections; we must give more citizens the ability to be elected to public offices; otherwise we'll have the equivalent of a constitutional monarchiac dictatorship. Recall Congressional members that oppose term limits.

Response to hrmjustin (Original post)

 

Trajan

(19,089 posts)
26. Absolutely AGAINST Term Limits ...
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 08:26 PM
Jun 2014

If we get a good representative for our district, and they are the best option, then I want to vote for them ...

I should be able to vote for the best, and that person might be a senior pol ... think Teddy Kennedy ...

 

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)
27. Term limits mean that right around the time
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 08:29 PM
Jun 2014

someone has really learned the job, they're term limited out. Just think about it.

Someone has suggested two terms for Senators, Six for Representatives. Each serving a total of twelve years. If this were to come about, starting twelve years into the term limits, For senators, it would mean that every single election (if I'm doing the math right) half of the seats would be open seats. For Representatives, one sixth (sixteen percent) of all seats would be open seats. That of course assumes that each senator and representative actually is elected every time until they are term limited out.

To me this is not a good solution. There is a huge problem with lobbyists, and that's in no small part that much of the legislation they're trying to pass involves complex issues that most legislators don't know a whole lot about. Some sorts of restrictions on lobbyists are needed, but other than to prevent anyone who has worked in an industry from ever being a lobbyist for that industry, I don't know what can be done.

The largest problem is that the very vast majority of legislators are lawyers. Plumbers and schoolteachers and engineers and every other occupation out there should be represented. Figure out a way to do that and things might be better.

Oh. And women should be serving in legislatures in proportion to their numbers in the society at large. Think about what that would mean.

Prophet 451

(9,796 posts)
28. I go back and forth on them
Tue Jun 24, 2014, 09:52 PM
Jun 2014

On one hand, it prevents incumbents from becoming gradually corrupted and should, in theory, make more races competitive. On the other hand, more competitive races means more chances for big money to get involved and, on the off-chance you get a good politician, why should there be an arbitrary limit on how long they can serve for?

So I'm undecided on teh issue. Also, I think there are better ways to deal with the power of money in campaigns.

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