"... for every great, ethical, long-serving politician there are dozens who are self-serving and harmful to this nation and to the freedoms we have traditionally enjoyed."

...................................................................................................................................................................
COMMENT:   However it can't just be the politicians. It must include their staff or the same puppet-masters will continue to have control from behind the curtain of anonymity.
...................................................................................................................................................................
Term-limit the politicians
By Linda White, January 4, 2015

The New Year edges over the horizon like an early-morning sun, its rays streaming like fingers over the calendar. Like swallows returning to Capistrano, or buzzards to a kill, lawmakers are making their way back into Washington and Richmond, ready to begin a new Congress, a new General Assembly. And what can we expect?

Same old, same old. Political gamesmanship. Special interest influence. Bulging budgets. Pork. The same faces jockeying for power.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

The Founders called it “rotation.” We call it “term limits.” Whatever you call it, the time to return to the concept of citizen legislators is long overdue.

The idea is as old as democracy itself. The Greeks and Romans limited delegates’ term of service to ensure those who were making laws were not far removed from the people.

As America’s foundational documents were being written, changeover in government was an expected feature. George Mason remarked, “[N]othing is so essential to the preservation of a Republican government as periodic rotation.” The Articles of Confederation required a three-year limit on service. But term limits were left out of the Constitution, a flaw which alarmed Richard Henry Lee, who warned the absence of restraint was “most highly and dangerously oligarchic.”

George Washington voluntarily limited himself to two terms as president, a tradition that held until Franklin Roosevelt usurped it in World War II. That prompted swift passage, in 1951, of the 22nd Amendment codifying executive limits. But nothing has been done to limit members of Congress, or in Virginia, members of the General Assembly. And honestly, can you expect politicians to vote into law their own reduction in power and prestige?

When the need for term limits arises (and almost 80 percent of voters back the idea) politicians are quick to retort, “We have term limits. They’re called ‘elections.’” True, but thanks to gerrymandering and hefty special-interest re-election campaign funding, incumbents have a huge advantage. In the U.S. House of Representatives, for example, 90 percent of current office-holders typically win re-election. Only open seats, when a member dies or retires, provide a chance for newcomers.

So, what’s the problem with having a professional political class? Simply speaking, it concentrates power in a few people (Lee’s “oligarchy”) who quickly lose touch with we, the people.

Take it from an insider. Leon Drolet is a former Michigan state legislator who was term-limited out of his job, yet supports the concept. Drolet reports that something happens to you when you’re elected. You get called “honorable” all the time. People want to have lunch with you. They flatter you. Try to become friends with family members to gain influence over you. You attract staff members who tell you what you want to hear. You become an exalted guest at dinners. After a while, “Being a superstar in a political bubble surrounded by sycophants erodes one’s ability to perceive reality.”

A political career becomes an “eternal Disneyland,” one politicians are reluctant to give up. That’s why at least 15 states have term limits for their legislators.

According to the National Taxpayers Union, the longer people serve in Congress, the bigger spenders and regulators they become. Need I mention the $1.01 trillion federal spending bill that Congress just passed?

There are some politicians I admit I’d like to stay on for a long time. Virginia House Speaker Bill Howell is one. Retired Congressman Frank Wolf is another. But even my appreciation for these politicians doesn’t dim my enthusiasm for term limits. Because for every great, ethical, long-serving politician there are dozens who are self-serving and harmful to this nation and to the freedoms we have traditionally enjoyed.

I say the worst thing that ever happened to America was air conditioning. Before central cooling, the infernal Washington summers would send Congress home, at least for a while. But we don’t need to give up our AC—just insist on a constitutional amendment requiring term limits. The time has come to rein in Congress.

[snipped]
...................................................................................................................................................................