hj res 24

[lbstr32]

[Last week, some of the most right wing representatives in the House introduced a bill. HJ Res 24, to repeal the 22nd Amendment that placed term limits on the office of the presidency.]

if i'm not mistaken, the bill has been introduced by a democrat, steny hoyer d-md, and sponsored by reps. berman, d-ca, pallone, d-nj, sabo, d-mn, and sensenbrenner, r-wi. don't get me wrong, i despise bush and the current administration and am a registered democrat. but unless i'm missing something, your statement above seems like a distortion of the facts. are the demcrats considered right wing now?

[WatsonGlenn]

I hope there are not too many Republicans involved in this. I can't imagien a worse time for such a stupid idea. I'm with George Washington on this. Two terms is enough for any man.

[NatGertler]

I've never been too fond of term limits in concept. However, I'm also not found of making changes like this applicable to the immediate person that supporters want in office. Make the changes because there's some problem in the bigger picture, rather than because just this once it would be nice not to have to get new stationery for the White House.

[fumetti]

I didn't have a problem with 2-term limits on the White House until after the 2000 election. This country would be in a whole lot better shape if Clinton had been able to run again (he'd have cleaned ol' Dubya's clock). And, no, I wasn't a Clinton supporter when he was in office. Dubya just makes Clinton look that good now.

What's more, I have a nagging belief that the voters should determine how long a politician can serve.

But... this issue has so many edges to it.

The success rate of incumbents in this country is a real eye-opener. Once they get in, they're very difficult to get out no matter how much scandal gets reported. If the party wants to keep them, they can pump enough money into their campaigns to make them virtually undefeatable. We should be a nation of laws and ideas, not men and money (so to speak).

But if we rotate the politicians too frequently, then the real power will always be behind closed doors held by those who handle the money. Politicians like Bob Dole and Robert Byrd built up a track record and a reputation that gave them strong credibility (at least in their parties and districts). This is itself a kind of protection against Big Money interests. These men could speak and vote their conscience without looking too often over their shoulder. And isn't that what we really want--elected representatives who vote what they really believe and not what they are paid (via contributions) to believe? Term limitations lead to Congresses full of "bought-and-paid-for" opinions.

The best answer is hard to determine. But I agree with term limits for the presidency. Even though it cost me in 2000, it saved me in 1988 from another four years of Reagan (not that Bush I was much of an improvement). And it'll cost me again in 2008 because I'm convinced ol' Dubya would lose significantly and that would be a great blow to the GOP ego.