Should there be term limits for Senators, Congresspeople, Judicial and Supreme Court Justices?

If there is ever a time to explore constitutional amendments in regard to term limits, now may be the time. The division between Republicans and Democrats has become untenable in the landscape of politics in our country today. There are currently 16 states with term limits in place for state legislators (*) and 37 states have term limits for governors (**). The sad reality of all members in both the house and senate is they spend 85-90% of their time talking with donors soliciting the dollars necessary to get themselves and their party re-elected, that is all they care about, staying in office and in their minds in power. They have bent the narrative of who they serve, the citizens who voted them in their current posts, into a game of if we lose then we can’t get anything done. The reality is, they no longer are concerned about the voters, their only concerns are pleasing the large donors and super PAC’s interests. (The topic of campaign reform and eliminating PAC’s will be another discussion)

I don’t believe the founders and authors of our Constitution envisioned or wanted career politicians. (even though many were themselves) Rather, they wanted people who were truly and genuinely, in the most basic definition, interested in serving their country and resolving the issues of their neighbors and fellow citizens. Most of the early legislators of our country had businesses, farms, and other trades they needed to oversee and operate to provide for their families. In our current political system, that is no longer the case, it seems people enter politics for financial gain instead of serving the people in their respective constituency.

I don’t want to ever try and dissuade anyone from pursuing a path in politics if their true motivation is to help make life better for every American not just the ones who align with their own personal beliefs. In fact, I believe there is a logical way to go about it. If all states had legislative term limits, let’s say a person decides they have a passion or calling to serve. They enter and win a local race for city council. They then want to serve a greater number, they campaign and win a seat in their state legislature, the term limits for state legislators varies by state, (a rough estimate of the average is 10 years). So why not them campaign for a seat in the US legislature and the term limit there is 12 years total combined. (could be as a Representative in the house or a Senator, or combination of both as some states have similar limits) You now can have that career in politics. I would also argue there should be a mandatory age limit where a politician is prevented from running for office or re-election if they have reached the age of 70.

There are a lot of other things in the soup with a proposal like this, (retirement pay, health benefits etc) but I’m sure there are opportunities to solve the fiscal issues in a more beneficial budget friendly impact than we currently have.

I’m R. Simon Kent and that is My View from the Cheap Seats.

*As of January 1, 2024, the number of states with legislative term limits is 16. They are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.

**Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, Indiana, Wyoming, Oregon, Montana, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma