Term Limits

I'll admit that I'm torn on term limits. On one hand they limit the amount of power that a person gets in a position. We don’t get people serving in Congress for 40 years, getting comfortable and just accumulating funds every election that they eventually get, or can prevent change with another candidate. We don’t have politicians that are bought by an industry or company and always shower them with gifts.

However, I also know there is something to learning how politics and government work. If limits are too short, say one term, we don’t get experience and balance. We also potentially have companies that can buy a person for less because the person will want to get as much as they can in the few terms they have, so they’ll accept gifts and bribes contributions from lobbyists.

On balance, I would like to see:

President – 2 consecutive terms, 3 lifetime

Senator – 2 consecutive terms, 3 lifetime

House – 4 consecutive terms, 6 lifetime

Supreme Court – 20-25 years, 1 term

State Governor – No consecutive terms, 3 lifetime. Obviously this needs to vary by state, but that’s what I’d like.

State Rep – same as Federal Congress.

Background (from Gary Johnson) – Common Sense Term Limits