Thomas Jefferson foresaw that “the total abandonment of the principle of rotation in the offices of President and Senator [would] end in abuse.” His prediction could not be more accurate.
Despite plummeting annual approval ratings, Congress enjoys reelection rates that coast at a steady 80-90% year after year. Congress people are afforded the many advantages of incumbency, and ever-growing career incentives to pursue a long tenure. Powerful corporations and wealthy donors lobby representatives to serve their political interests, pouring vast sums of capital into these reelection campaigns which yield such overwhelming success.
These special interests treat politics as an investment, striking gold when their legislative assets reach tenures upwards of 20, 30, even 40 years. Political capital is auctioned off to the wealthiest interests on the planet who represent a rapidly shrinking portion of our global population. The political influence that comes with a position of seniority in the United States Congress is worth an astronomical sum, and our representatives have developed a dependency on this IV drip of Corporate/PAC money.
Enacting term limitations would arrest the endless cycle of political insider trading and open the floodgates to a surge of fresh new faces and initiatives. Rather than letting corporate interests dictate the law of the land, finite terms would cultivate a healthy revival of political competition and rejuvenate the marketplace of ideas, renewing the legislative process with a true public servitude. In many cases, term limits have had a positive impact on diversifying legislatures, giving voice to a wide variety of perspectives informed by the true American experience. [] Building this new standard of representation starts with imposing term limits on our national legislature.