It's Time for Term Limits

Yesterday's decision by Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter to change from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party has renewed my long held belief that we need term limits for our Representatives in Washington. I would propose that members of the House can be elected to 4 consecutive terms (8 years), while Senators could have 2 terms (12 years).

The biggest reason for this is I believe these people go to Washington DC with genuine intentions to do good for the people they are representing. However, they quickly get assimilated into the "grab as much power as we can" mentalities of both political parties. These people become so concerned with protecting their own power and prolonging their stays in Washington that they begin to do what is politically expedient, rather than doing real good. This is why our toughest problems never get solved...because solving hard problems would rock the boat and cost some their power.

This was never more evident than yesterday, when Senator Specter switched to the Democratic party. He didn't switch parties because he no longer agrees with the Republicans...he really does agree with them on most issues. No, Specter switched parties to protect his own power. In 2010, the Pennsylvania Republican party is going to run someone against him in the primary, and polls showed that Specter was going to lose that primary. Many Pennsylvania Republicans are mad at Specter for supporting President Obama's latest stimulus package, and this lead to the poor poll numbers.

So, Senator Specter did what was politically expedient. He became a Democrat, and in the process of protecting his power, he tipped the balance of power in the Senate. The Democrats will soon have a 60-40 majority in the Senate, meaning what possible opposition the Republicans could have offered is no longer possible. Specter sold out the country to liberal policies in the name of getting 1 more term.

This is why we need term limits. If men and women stop seeing this as a life long career, maybe they'll actually solve the tough problems, rather than passing them on to the next generation while covering their own butts.