Term Limits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Term Limits - Essay Example That potential has all too often been realized with the rise of the career politician in American, and the ubiquity of that political animal has led to a deep rift between those who support and those who oppose the idea of constitutionally restraining the excesses of those who see public service as a route toward personal empowerment. The growth of public support for term limits was made clear in 1995 when nearly half of America's fifty states had chosen to limit terms for their representatives. The momentum for the movement stalled, however, when the Supreme Court ruled by a slim one vote majority that these restrictions on terms were unconstitutional. The high court asserted that "allowing individual States to craft their own qualifications for Congress would thus erode the structure envisioned by the Framers, a structure that was designedto form a 'more perfect union'" (Bandow). What this ruling means, therefore, is that the only way that the system can ever be changed is if those very people who are benefiting from the status quo take the initiative to draft a Constitutional amendment that is directly in opposition to their own best interests. The voting public, indeed the entire country, is placed at the mercy of goodness in the hearts of its lawmakers. Opponents to the idea of limiting the terms of elected officials primarily argue that to do so runs counter to the very democratic ideals upon which the country is based, asserting that the ability to limit terms is already an inherent, indeed integral, part of the existing political process. Those who are unhappy with the governance of their lawmakers have the opportunity ever two to six years to impose a limit upon the terms by simply voting them out of office. Critics insist that there is significant turnover during elections, and that term limits will serve to disincline people from running for office if they see no long term future in it (Levene 210). This idea becomes problematical, however, when one realizes that the likelihood of an incumbent losing a bid for re-election is very low. Even during the historical GOP landslide during of 1994, the incumbency rate was still remarkably high: despite the fact that over three dozen Democratic incumbents failed in their bid for re-el ection, the overall re-election rate in the House was still an astounding 90 percent, with 314 of the 348 members retaining their seats. Likewise, Senate incumbents proved resilient even in the face of widespread voter dissatisfaction as only two Senators up for re-election were voted out of office (Mattei 30). The argument against term limits carries on with the concept that term limits create an atmosphere of chaos and confusion in Congress as a result of loss of experience on the part of legislators. It is suggested that longer service increases legislator's knowledge and arcane "rules, routines, and procedures that are essential to survival in Congress[and] may also know a great deal about how to use the federal bureaucracy to serve their constituents" (Petraca). Incumbents, it is argued, are therefore a vital and necessary component in keeping Congress operating smoothly. This argument seems disingenuous, however, since Congress can hardly be said to have ever been running smoothly; the argument seems