Election Reform
In reply to the discussion: Should presidents be allowed to run for more than two terms? [View all]Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)but this idea of playing the endless game of "what would they have wanted", or "they would have wanted this" is silly. Would they have driven SUVs? Hybrids? Drank Diet coke? Would they have enjoyed violent XBOX games? HBO?
It's meaningless. At the end of the day, they're dead dudes from over 200 years ago. Really more relevant to us today, is to ask ourselves, now, what can we do and what should we do in a constitutional framework.
Personally, I am opposed to congressional term limits; I think that, like many jobs, people often require time and experience to get good- and point blank kicking all Senators and Reps out after one or two terms guarantees a perpetual crop of people 'learning the ropes'. There is something to be said for experience in Washington; love him or hate him (and there are ample reasons for both) Lyndon Baines Johnson was quite possibly the most effective politician of the 20th century; he honed that ability by spending a great deal of time in DC. We have long-time members of congress, like Barney Frank, who still do good work and have established themselves and their positions over time.
We have remedies for bad legislators, i.e. elections. That is how voters can remove people who have outstayed their usefulness in DC.
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