What Are The Arguments For Incumbents?

Also, how could we protect one aspect of the current system that we have in place so we never have all freshman Senators and Representatives in office. The danger would potentially lead to them possibly be persuaded into corruption by outside influences.

Term limits, thus provide an escape from the Faustian bargain that voters face: they know that returning an incumbent for another term may help their district, but in the long run it has dire institutional and national consequences. Voters realize even though the Congressman is doing good things for their district soon they will need someone new. They know long-term officeholders become less vulnerable because they come gradually to identify their interests more and more with those of the federal government. There is a strong relationship between length of legislative service and votes in favor of more public expenditures.

America’s founding father, George Washington, set the pattern for presidential term limits to two four year terms; but not through any legislative means. Before 1947, there were no term limit rules. George Washington’s footsteps as the first President set an unbroken precedent for term limits, but it wasn’t until much later that the 22nd Amendment was passed. In more recent years, politicians and citizens alike have begun to point out more of the flaws in the two-term limit than ever before; and they are on the right track. Restricting the president to a two-term limits the president’s effectiveness in office, provides the opportunity for an elected president to abuse power, and restricts a current president from continuing a successful policy even when majority wishes for the opposite

This means that someone who already holds the office that they are campaigning to be reelected into will almost always win. One reason for this is because people feel uncomfortable voting for someone new who doesn't know how to do the job when they could vote for someone who is already in the office doing the job. People often vote based on the candidate's experience and being experienced in the exact position is a major advantage to incumbents. This also gives incumbents the opportunity to campaign during their term without really campaigning. They can run for reelection saying all of the things they have already done for their constituents like Sharpe James did in Street

I do believe we should have a cap on how many terms a congressional member should be able to serve. Many congressional members believe they can do whatever they please, as long as they are able to get reelected. They know that they don't have a limit on terms, so they believe that as long as the can prove to the people they are still working hard at their job, then their is no big if they mess up along the way. They believe their is always a way to clean up their messes. Another reason there should be a cap on how many terms a congressional member is, because change is good. One of the best ways to fix a problem is by having new eyes take a look at it. New congressional member could find a better way to fix a problem, than the congressional

With each new president comes new ideas, new methods, and newer everything. Our Congress is in deep economic trouble right now and they need new ideas fast. Fortunately for us, our current president is almost out of office and a new president is almost here. If there were no term limits, then there would never be any new ideas. When running for re-election, former presidents have an obvious advantage. Most people assume that because they’ve been in office before, they are therefore better than someone who hasn’t and others just don’t want to change anything. Because of that, there will hardly ever be any new presidents, and therefore never any new ideas.

Many people who are elected are very well known names, so often reelects. Having term limits gives people a chance to get their name out there and run for positions. According to the site Our Generation, “There is a 94% re-election rate in the House and 83% in the Senate. Because of name recognition, and usually the advantage of money, it can be easy to stay in office. Without legitimate competition, what is the incentive for a member of Congress to serve the public? Furthermore, it is almost a lost cause for the average citizen to try to campaign against current members of Congress.” People are not very likely to vote for someone they have never heard of. That’s why people start out in their states, become politicians and work their way up. If it wasn’t for term limits, then there would be not room for them to advance. The term limits make politicians think about and worker harder toward their objectives. No one is going to get anything done if they have all the time in the world. Politicians have limited time in each position to prove themselves if they are ever to be reelected or move up the line of

When the United States was founded, the theme behind the new government was to establish an efficient system without doling out too much power to any one person. The Founders intended to prevent a rebirth of tyranny, which they had just escaped by breaking away from England. However, when members of Congress such as Tom Foley, who served as a Representative from 1964 through 1995, and Jack Brooks, who served as a Representative from 1952 through 1994, remain in the legislative system for over forty years, it is evident that tyranny has not necessarily been eradicated from the United States (Vance, 1994, p. 429). Term limits are a necessity to uphold the Founders’ intentions, to prevent unfair advantages given to incumbents, and to

Congressional terms have no limits. Controversy exists between those who think the terms should be limited and those who believe that terms should remain unlimited. The group that wants to limit the terms argues that the change will promote fresh ideas and reduce the possibility of decisions being made for self-interest. Those who oppose term limits believe that we would sacrifice both the stability and experience held by veteran politicians. They also point out that our election process allows the voter to limit terms, at their discretion. While experience and stability are important considerations, congressional terms should be limited to a maximum of two.

Should members of Congress have term limits? I believe the answer to that is yes. I will explain why Congress should have a term limit, possible oppositions, and why those oppositions are not credible. It is important to realize that being a member of Congress used to

It is a good thing there are not term limits. Election time should be used to elemenate unwanted office members. If someone is doing a good job then there is not reason to changes thing. It is very hard to fix things that are not

John Dingell, a member of the United States House of Representatives, served fifty-nine years and twenty-one days at this position. With no term limits set for the federal legislative positions in the United States, is this representation becoming redundant? Term limits can potentially be crucial in political reform of the United States that would bring new perspectives to federal legislative positions, warrant regular federal legislative turnover, and reduce incentives for wasteful election-related federal spending. Term limits can also pervert the entire understanding of what democracy is, by substituting the people’s will with term limits that may go against what the people want. United States federal legislative term limits have previously

James Madison states in Federalist 48 that “The legislative department is everywhere… drawing all power into its impetuous vortex”(Will). Congress corrupts with power and the only way to stop this is to impose term limits on the US Congress. Term limits are laws that keep one politician from being in Congress for too long. Term limits are on the rise with the public, but are hard to get accepted in Congress. Because of this, the last time a bill that proposed term limits was even voted on was on May 26, 1993. Many wonder why term limits were not originally put in the Constitution but term limits were not needed when the Constitution was written because most founding fathers were not career politicians, now many are career politicians and an amendment to the Constitution is needed. Term limits should be implemented in the United States Congress because they help prevent corruption, provide beneficial turnover in Congress, have public support, and, contrary to popular belief, they can be implemented easily.

Congressional elections occur every two years and it is when members if the House of Representatives and Senate are elected. An incumbent is when a congressman is up for re-election but is currently still holding office. We have long known that US incumbents enjoy profound electoral advantages in congressional elections. However contrary to speculation some evidence shows that they are on an equal playing field with contesters who are not incumbents.

Permanent representatives should appear in every session, they should ask questions for major labor unions, youth associations, or corporate organizations. The temporary representatives should be cycled in based on their relevance to current events, and however long they had been waiting for their turn to question. The purpose of having more representatives than just Congress members is to broaden the range and spectrum of opinions being voiced, opinions not only of our government officials but of the people. The Judiciary branch should also have a representative to ask questions regarding laws and how the constitution is being considered and applied to the democratic process. Questioning should not be open to media outlets under any circumstances to stop the spread of misinformation and tactics used to paint the President in a certain light, whether it be good or bad. These changes will lead to more opinions being heard and less filtering of the facts.