OPINION:
Term limits is the one thing we should all be able to agree on. It’s step one in draining “the swamp.” I knew after 12 years serving on a city council it was time to step down and let in a new set of ideas; the same should go for everyone in Congress.
There is no good reason to let anyone make a lifetime career in politics. The temptation for corruption is too great when incumbents have a 98% chance of getting reelected without doing anything. Sadly, the freshmen in the House and Senate are looked down upon the same way high school seniors look at a freshman class.
The term limit debate resurfaced after Sen. Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, stood frozen for 30 seconds during a 2023 press conference. Afterward, Sen. Joni Ernst, Iowa Republican, called McConnell “very sharp” and “he’s a good fundraiser for senators.” (That second sentiment is likely the real reason for the defense.)
As Mike Huckabee commented on Newsmax, “Unless term limits bubble up from the people it won’t happen. Congress will never impose it upon itself.” In other words, it will take a Convention of the States to make term limits a reality.
The lure of money is too much for taxpayers to risk more than 12 years, no matter who the politician is. Just look at Joe Biden. In December 2023 the House Oversight Committee identified him and his family as having more than 20 shell companies, and found that the Bidens and their associates brought in more than $24 million dollars between 2015 and 2019.
Biden will wish he’d pardoned himself.
BEN FURLEIGH
Port Charlotte, Florida
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