I’m for term limits

I have already voted in next Tuesday’s election. I will be in Illinois on Monday and Tuesday so I cast an absentee ballot.

The real issue that I want to see considered was not on the ballot. My interest is in two simple words: term limits. This election cycle, more than any other in memory, causes me to yearn, desire, yea, thirst for term limits. I want to limit how long people can serve in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Frankly, I am disgusted nearly to the point of vomiting by the shameless pandering, scheming, and conniving by people to build their life-long careers at the expense of the American people.

As far as I can tell, there are very few people who seem to care about working together with members of the “other” party to accomplish something great and there is an overabundance of professional, career politicians who, like bad relatives, have overstayed their welcome.

For me, term limits is not a Republican or a Democrat issue. It is a leadership issue and there are way too few genuine, consensus-building, cooperating leaders in Congress.

I guess it’s difficult to aspire to greatness in statesmanship when the goal is to amass a war chest of millions of campaign dollars and stay in power.

Years ago, I was in a denomination that elected area officials called “presbyters.” These men were elected every year but, with the power of incumbency, they tended to stay in office for years and years. After a while, some began to rule their little area of the world as though it were their own personal fiefdom.

I, along with others, pushed for term limits. Eventually, the measure passed and presbyters were limited to two consecutive terms of one year each, later changed to two years each.

Eventually, I was elected a presbyter. Some wag came and said, “Bet you wish you hadn’t pushed for term limits now!” He couldn’t have been more wrong. I served my two one-year terms and stepped down.

While I was there, I worked hard to improve the situation for the next guy and for the churches in our nine-county area. About four years later, I was nominated again. I declined to run for the office feeling that someone else deserved the opportunity to serve.

Every man who served, even though he was inexperienced in the beginning, did a most commendable job. Without term limits, stagnation and apathy would have continued to reign.

The president of the United States is term-limited. So is the vice president. In most communities, mayors and city council members are term-limited. In many, if not most, states, the governors are term-limited. In fact, in many churches, even board members are term-limited.

So why not representatives and senators? Are they so special, so brilliant, and so elite that no one else could do the job they do?

Hardly. This Congress has allowed a deadly and potentially catastrophic situation to exist on our southern border. If terrorists destroy an American city with a nuclear device smuggled in from the south, you can thank the bickering Congress.

If Iraq is a problem on the minds of most Americans, then why cannot Democrats and Republicans quit posturing for a bit and sit down together and hammer out a solution that benefits America? Is that too much to ask?

Some would say that we would lose some good men and women if term limits were imposed. Oh, well, too bad, so sad. I rather think that men and women with a passion to serve for a limited time and do the best job they could, regardless of party politics, would have to do a better job than the current mob on Capitol Hill.

And if we lose a few good men and women, it’s well worth the price. Besides, they can always go home and run for governor or the local mayor.

So here’s what I want: Members of the House of Representatives should be restricted to six two-year terms over the course of their lives. Senators should be limited to two six-year terms over the course of their life. Twelve years — that’s it. Give it your best shot and then go home!

But it won’t happen. Congress will never limit itself. It’s about their influence, their power, and their egos. And in my opinion, for the most part, they care far more about their jobs than they do about you.