NICK TOMBOULIDES: Washington’s Broken. It’s Time For Term Limits |
Editor’s note: Big Tent Ideas always aims to provide balanced perspectives on the hottest issues of the day. Below you’ll find a column from U.S. Term Limits CEO Nick Tomboulides, which calls for congressional term limits. You can find a counterpoint here from former Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President J.D. Foster, who argues that term limits would be a win for Washington’s entrenched interests.
If you type “Why doesn’t Congress have…” into Google, the site will instantly offer to complete your search with “term limits.”
That says a lot. Americans aren’t asking whether Congress should have term limits. They’re wondering why it still doesn’t.
Polling reinforces what those search results suggest. For more than three decades, surveys have shown overwhelming bipartisan support for congressional term limits. Support consistently reaches levels rarely seen on any public policy issue, according to Pew Research.
Few proposals enjoy such broad agreement across party lines:
Yet term limits are still not the law of the land. What explains this? We know why legislation on issues like taxes, immigration and gun policy often stalls. Those issues divide the public, creating fierce disagreements that make compromise difficult.
Congress’ failure to pass term limits is different. This is not a case of partisan gridlock. The more likely explanation is that members of Congress from both parties have little incentive to support a reform that would limit their own tenure in office.
Unlimited tenure has allowed legislators to build decades-long careers in Washington. In too many cases, it has encouraged politicians to focus more on maintaining visibility, fundraising and securing........