My Fellow Americans...It is time for term limits and age limits in the House, the Senate, and the White House

[Paul_Thomson]

@Rodeo

An upper age limit of 75 for service in the offices of the President of the United States, The House of Representatives and the Senate. Diane Feinstein is almost 90…Biden’s in his 80’s…

2 six year terms in the Senate…4 2 year terms in the House. After that go home and live with the laws you passed and with the people who elected you. I have far more faith that our elected representatives will serve we the people instead of their donors and need to be re elected if they know they aren’t campaigning for a job for life.

My thoughts…

I disagree on age limits. However, i do think all reps should have to take and pass a cognitive test before standing and every year during their term. I do agree with limiting the numbet of terms a represrentative may hold a federal office.

[bigtwnvin]

@Rodeo

6 years (3 terms) in the House and 2 terms in the Senate.

Sounds reasonable. Should be a good place to start anyway.
The “kindler gentler transparent” oaf currently in the WH has been in goobermint for nearly 50 years. Lying , scheming and apparently selling influence to the highest bidder?
Term limits are long overdue

[zantax]

No thanks on term limits. All it would do is strengthen the control of unelected bureaucrats. If you think someone has been in office too long or is too old, don’t vote for them.

[Rodeo]

Reading through the thread…

I knew a lot of my conservative friends would disagree with me on the term limits thing…

I actually hadn’t thought in terms of the increased powered of the unelected bureaucrat class…

That is a good point in the post above.

Samm was largely right above with his “chest thumping bitch session” comment above. Unless we the people demand change there’s no way a lifer like up chick Schumer will bring a term limits bill before the senate.

So what’s to be done?

The status quo is not working…the single most egregious example of that is currently living in the White House. The highly controversial business man outsider showed up in 2016 and did a far better job than the 50 Year government veteran ever came close to doing. And the 50 Year government veteran has done nothing but lie to us about his family and family businesses…he’s corrupt garbage.

How many other other Joe Biden’s are in the House and Senate…on both sides of the aisle. There is an insider training bill named after Pelosi.

The problem is politicians showing up, insulating themselves from losing, getting rich, giving lip service to problems they never solve because if they solved the problems what would they run on?

While there are several reasonable posts on this thread in opposition to the idea and pointing out the impracticality of term limits ever becoming reality…my opinion remains unchanged.

The status quo is broken….as long as the status quo remains nothing will change…problems will fester the border will go unrepaired, spending will continue to skyrocket. Nothing will change is we just keep putting the same people in DC.

Term limits would be a very good first step…

Thank you for your feedback have a great day!

[zantax]

I think the house should be filled by lottery. I doubt random people could do worse.

[Paul_Thomson]

@zantax

No thanks on term limits. All it would do is strengthen the control of unelected bureaucrats.

Not necessarily. The power of bureaucrats to slow-walk and sabotage the policies being pursued by the elected representatives can be limited by legislation that punishes mutiny. Without such legislation multiple-term reps will remain subject to the whims of bureaucrats.

[zantax]

@Paul_Thomson

@zantax

No thanks on term limits. All it would do is strengthen the control of unelected bureaucrats.

Not necessarily. The power of bureaucrats to slow-walk and sabotage the policies being pursued by the elected representatives can be limited by legislation that punishes mutiny. Without such legislation multiple-term reps will remain subject to the whims of bureaucrats.

By the time they figure out who is obstructing them it will be time to leave.

[Paul_Thomson]

@zantax

By the time they figure out who is obstructing them it will be time to leave.

If it takes elected reps two or three terms to work out who the obstruction is coming from, they probably cheated on the cognitive test.

[Samm]

That’s part of the problem … there is no cognitive test.

[TheDoctorIsIn]

@Rodeo

Congress is one of the most disliked entities in the country….yet once they get elected it’s next to impossible to root them out. I see no problem with these folks going into office knowing they aren’t there for life.

The problem is, you’re trying to tell other people who they can or cannot vote for.

You may hate my Congressman, and may feel justified in your desire to prevent me from voting for him again - but all I can say in response to that is tough.

If you want term limits for your own members of Congress, then don’t vote for them.

But i reject your desired authority over who I vote for.

[tzu]

Nah. If you want actual turnover in Congress, switch to short campaigns, public funding, guaranteed ballot access, proportional + IR voting, and automatic voter registration.

[TheRedComet]

This always sounds good on paper…

But in reality, I don’t think it would work out like people hope it would.

[W_and_C]

@TheDoctorIsIn

@Rodeo

Congress is one of the most disliked entities in the country….yet once they get elected it’s next to impossible to root them out. I see no problem with these folks going into office knowing they aren’t there for life.

The problem is, you’re trying to tell other people who they can or cannot vote for.

You may hate my Congressman, and may feel justified in your desire to prevent me from voting for him again - but all I can say in response to that is tough.

If you want term limits for your own members of Congress, then don’t vote for them.

But i reject your desired authority over who I vote for.

Hmm, maybe individual districts or states can be given autonomy to vote for term/age limits as it applies to them only; not a bad idea.

[Samm]

@TheDoctorIsIn

@Rodeo

Congress is one of the most disliked entities in the country….yet once they get elected it’s next to impossible to root them out. I see no problem with these folks going into office knowing they aren’t there for life.

The problem is, you’re trying to tell other people who they can or cannot vote for.

You may hate my Congressman, and may feel justified in your desire to prevent me from voting for him again - but all I can say in response to that is tough.

If you want term limits for your own members of Congress, then don’t vote for them.

But i reject your desired authority over who I vote for.

Yep, that is the crux of the matter. As I said “they are all incompetent, corrupt idiots … except for my guy.”

[Rodeo]

@TheDoctorIsIn

The problem is, you’re trying to tell other people who they can or cannot vote for.

I m gonna stop you right there….

No one is telling you who you can and can’t vote for….those decisions are made externally in dozens of different ways prior to anyone casting a vote. Multiple local, county and state jurisdictions employ term limits successfully…

So just stop. An attempt to evaluate our current system and to recognize that apparently a large swath of the population supports the idea of term limits on members of the House and Senate does not qualify as some personal attack on you.

Hell once upon a time the president could serve more than two terms….

[TheDoctorIsIn]

@Rodeo

No one is telling you who you can and can’t vote for….those decisions are made externally in dozens of different ways prior to anyone casting a vote. Multiple local, county and state jurisdictions employ term limits successfully…

Term limits are by definition a restriction on who I can vote for - whether or not they are legal on a local level is irrelevant.

@Rodeo

So just stop. An attempt to evaluate our current system and to recognize that apparently a large swath of the population supports the idea of term limits on members of the House and Senate does not qualify as some personal attack on you.

Oh, I just used myself as an example - I don’t think the disdain you feel for other people’s choices is specific to me, I think it’s just an example of the general authoritarian desire to enforce your will on others, for your own political ends.

[Rodeo]

@TheDoctorIsIn

Oh, I just used myself as an example - I don’t think the disdain you feel for other people’s choices is specific to me, I think it’s just an example of the general authoritarian desire to enforce your will on others, for your own political ends.

Ahhhhh-

A smartest guy in the room lib trying to drag me into a food fight.

Sorry not taking the bait.

And I refuse to be lectured about authoritarianism by some liberal…

I happen to believe term limits are a good idea.

If you disagree fine. I presented the thread to hear opinions….some of the people I see as my best friends on this board disagree with me….those people have opinions worthy of respect.

Yours was nothing but a personal cheap shot.

[Supreme_War_Pig]

@tzu

Nah. If you want actual turnover in Congress, switch to short campaigns, public funding, guaranteed ballot access, proportional + IR voting, and automatic voter registration.

Me likey.

I’d also like to add something about locking the revolving door between K-Street and elected office to your list.

[TheDoctorIsIn]

@Rodeo

I happen to believe term limits are a good idea.

If you disagree fine. I presented the thread to hear opinions….some of the people I see as my best friends on this board disagree with me….those people have opinions worthy of respect.

Yours was nothing but a personal cheap shot.

I’m sure your internet friends prefer to disagree with you politely, but as you’ve never been polite to me, I feel no need to be polite to you.

More importantly, I’m not trying to convince you of anything - I know how much of a waste of time that would be. I’m explaining why your proposal is wrong, both factually and (for lack of a better word) morally.

[Rodeo]

@TheDoctorIsIn

More importantly, I’m not trying to convince you of anything - I know how much of a waste of time that would be. I’m explaining why your proposal is wrong, both factually and (for lack of a better word) morally.

No…it’s not.

It’s not immoral to restrict the president to two terms…that is respectfully a silly argument. Term limits are a regular part of the politics of several jurisdictions…

It’s a choice people can make. But they have to decide they want to. I doubt seriously that enough pressure will be asserted on our politicians for term limits to become anything more than an idea nationally. But it is a discussion Worth having.

Don’t worry…it’ll probably never happen…

I wish it would because the status quo today is failing our country.