Yep, term limits for all. I’ve believed that for decades and was reminded of it again yesterday when a CNN chyron said something about a judge being appointed for life.
For life. Think about that. Think about the senility/dementia that sooner or later will overtake every human being if death doesn’t come first. (I’m old enough to know a thing or two about aging.) Think about our current and immediate past presidents. And the Supreme Court, with nine people empowered for life to make decisions for the entire nation. And those “senior” members of Congress. You know full well that some of them no longer think as clearly as they did when elected. If they were running for office today, you wouldn’t vote for them. (Or maybe you would because, if nothing else, they could still vote as instructed by your party of choice.)
Yes, we should have term limits for every elective and appointive office where the officeholder makes decisions affecting other individuals and the nation as a whole.
The problem, as always, is that it is not in the self-interest of lawmakers to enact term limits.
* * *
After a time, civil servants tend to become no longer servants and no longer civil.
— Winston Churchill
I think we want to see new voices and new ideas emerge — that’s part of the reason why term limits are a really useful thing.
— Barack Obama
My reason for fixing them in office for a term of years, rather than for life, was that they might have an idea that they were at a certain period to return into the mass of the people and become the governed instead of the governors which might still keep alive that regard to the public good that otherwise they might perhaps be induced by their independence to forget.
— Thomas Jefferson
Term limits would cure both senility and seniority — both terrible legislative diseases.
— Harry S. Truman
Asking an incumbent member of Congress to vote for term limits is a bit like asking a chicken to vote for Colonel Sanders.
— Bob Inglis
Agreed, term limits do make sense. The quotes also are persuasive, including the one by Bob Inglis, whoever he is. I assume, given your reasoning, you would also agee with age limits. We have them at the bottom of the scale, why not at the top?
On another political topic I heard mentioned today, I wonder what you think about Kamala running again? Personally, I think it would be disastrous.
I included age limits several times as I was writing, and then deleted it. Given how differently people age, I wasn’t sure I could adequately defend it. I thought of people forced to retire at 65 even though they might still be every bit as capable as someone age 50. But then I think about age limits for pilots, where the slightest loss of thinking or reaction time could kill dozens of people. And then I think about those I mentioned who are elected or re-elected at an advanced age when they are capable of little more than casting a vote for their party. So, yeah, conflicted.
Almost dropped everything to write about Kamala. She obviously stayed out of the CA governor’s race and released her book because she intends to run for president again. I cringed. I only voted for her because she was Not Trump. Same reason I held my nose and voted for Hillary. It won’t be Not Trump the next time … but then I googled “likely Republican presidential candidates in 2028” and gagged.
Please, please, please, all you worthy Democrats, start your 2028 presidential race TODAY!!!
P.S. I had to look up Inglis when I picked up that great quote. He has twice been a US Representative from South Carolina. A Republican.
johnthecook…SPOT ON!
Amen!
I so agree about term limits for all. Kamala would be great in the cabinet !
As long as she’s not in the White House …
johnthecook…Kamala may be good for your cabinet, but definitely not good for mine. She proved to be not to be very effective in the past except as a decoration in the cabinet where she lived for almost 4 years. I would not give her a second chance. Term limits for those appointed to a political office…YES, because there is no litmus test to prove absolute cognativity to do the job.
Well, we are certainly in agreement today. And now that you mention it, yes, some sort of mental health or psych exam, at least for presidential candidates, would be a good idea after a certain age. I mean, look at Trump and Biden. Not sure either could have passed such a test before their elections. Of course then we’d get into the issue of who to trust to administer such tests …
I love this, and very well-written! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment. Much appreciated!
I’m following Heather Cox Richardson’s Substack now, where the comments that follow each of her clear, factual and frightening reports each day are from the heart and impassioned.
You’d be at home there too, Colorado. 😀
I’ll check it out. I’d never heard of either Richardson or Substack until you mentioned them. But I’m already seeing and hearing too many frightening reports. Not sure I want to see more … and yet, one must stay aware of what’s going on. It all gets pretty exhausting.
Tons of good blogs on Substack. Heather Cox Richardson is one of the best. A historian and college professor
Impressive credentials. I’ll get there soon. Spent the weekend trying to avoid all political news.
Thank you both for the Substack suggestion. I’ve been over there off and on for several days trying to figure out how everything works. Set up an account. Still haven’t figured out how to put people on some kind of Follow list without subscribing to and receiving their emails. At least half a dozen people there I’d like to keep track of, but I don’t want to get bombed with their emails.