I’m against term limits for members of Congress for the following reasons:
- I want GOOD/HONORABLE representatives like Bernie Sanders, AOC, the late Edward M. Kennedy, Barbara Jordan, John Lewis and others like them to be returned to their posts as many times as their constituents see fit to seat them. They are thoughtful statespeople, not shills for corporate masters. They help hold the line against egregious policies because they keep their minds on, and dedicate their lives to, what we the people want and need in a just society.
- We have elections every four to six years to find out if the constituents of Senators and Congressfolk are satisfied with them. If they are, they should be able to continue serving. If they aren’t, we can turn them out to pasture. These are sufficient “term limits” as long as voters pay attention and watch what their representatives are not just saying but actually DOING to make our lives better. Those who walk the walk should be retained by a grateful populace.
- Good prepresentatives should not be denied the ability to continue to serve. The longer someone holds a position, usually the better they get at doing it. We don’t need newbies thrashing around for half of their tenures.
Wherever the fault lies in our current system when it comes to stewardship-type representation, it isn’t with the protocol. It’s with the voters themselves. Low-information, knee-jerk, blindfolded voters are where the problem lies. A great many voters especially in red states have been indoctrinated to vote Republican even though red states are the ones most hurting their people; they are among the least educated and most neglected people in the country, sadly (by design). Until that changes, nothing we do about “term limits” in any direction will change anything.
