My Case Against Term Limits

[Martin Eden]

11. I have additional reasons for being against term limits:

(5). It does not address the root problems. Bad politicians keep getting re-elected due to gerrymandered districts and the corruption of special interest money. We need to eliminate gerrymandering and overturn Citizens United, not restrict the number of terms for what should be a public servant.

(6). True public servants would be cast aside just as they are getting good at their job. Learning all the nuts & bolts of government and becoming an effective legislator is a career progression just like any other. Rookies have less job knowledge and make more mistakes.

(7). Term limits would discourage a career in elected public service for the kind of people best suited for the public good. Choosing a career path that would be terminated long before retirement is not viable for many people. Instead, we would see a revolving door of opportunists looking to get in and get out with rewards for serving the big money interests that financed their campaign.


If we're going to fix what's wrong with our highly dysfunctional electoral system let's fix the root causes. Let's have universal voter registration; standard balloting which accurately records voter intent, is recountable, and can't be hacked; ample polling places with no long lines; instant runoff voting (ranked choice); and elimination of the Electoral College.