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He knows how they work — but he also knows his constituents don't know how they work. And they don't care how they work. So he says what his voters want to hear

He knows how they work — but he also knows his constituents don't know how they work. And they don't care how they work. So he says what his voters want to hear. It's bad faith, intellectual dishonesty, and cowardice. And sadly: it's the norm. Too many elected officials value their political career over doing the right thing. I think that's probably the strongest argument for term limits: being a professional politician just shouldn't exist as a career track.

mech422 6y ago
I'm hoping Brand New Congress(1) actually makes some progress.. We won't get any real change until we get term limits (and then campaign finance reform) and we won't get that till the current incumbents are out. 1) https://brandnewcongress.org/ https://brandnewcongress.org/
- gabereiser 6y ago
  Term limits and abolishment of salary for life. Yes.
  - mech422 6y ago
    I'm actually not too upset about the pension/salary... What floored me was learning ex-prez's get a $1 million travel allowance/year! That seems a bit excessive, to say the least :-P
    - gabereiser 6y ago
      If they used it like Ford did I’m ok with that. If you use your ex-prez status for a force of good in the world. Building orphanages or communities and such. If you’re just going to go golfing you can do that on your dime.
      - mech422 6y ago
        Can't a 'force for good' fly coach ? :-P TBH, the sad part is, I can't even think of how you'd categorize usage without someone finding a loophole. Wish I could have a higher opinion of our politicians.
        lallysingh 6y ago
        I suspect the secret service detail is in that travel budget.
        mech422 6y ago
        Really? I would have thought they submit receipts back to the secret service, like a business expense re-reimbursement? Either way, I'd love to have a travel budget like that :-)
- fossuser 6y ago
  I’m with you on campaign finance reform, but term limits have knock on effects that can create bad incentives. Congress is already a farm league for K street and would be even more so with term limits. More experienced lobbyists would have more leverage with term limited newbies in the government. That’s not to say there are no negatives to long serving clueless members, but term limits may not be better.
  - amanaplanacanal 6y ago
    Agreed. I'm not sure having tons of new people every 2 years that have no idea how Washington works would be a good thing. We just had a president who had no idea, and that was not so good. I used to be a big supporter of term limits for congress, but changed my mind a while ago.
  - mech422 6y ago
    Term limits don't necessarily have to be one term. I was sorta thinking 8 years like the pres. or maybe 10 for an even decade. That would give freshmen time to learn the ropes, but not long enough to get too ensconced. Especially since they still have to win re-election.
- pstuart 6y ago
  Term limits can have unintended consequences -- I'd rather see ranked choice voting or similar.
  - mech422 6y ago
    I don't see those as mutually exclusive. Also, term limits don't necessarily have to be one term. I was sorta thinking 8 years like the pres. or maybe 10 for an even decade. That would give freshmen time to learn the ropes, but not long enough to get too ensconced.
    - pstuart 6y ago
      True, they're different things. But if a pol is good at their job they shouldn't get pushed out; we just need to find ways so that they don't remain by inertia alone.
      - mech422 6y ago
        >>But if a pol is good at their job they shouldn't get pushed out; we just need to find ways so that they don't remain by inertia alone. If you figure that one out...Let me know :-) We've had McConnell and Pelosi since the mid 80s! Inertia seems to be the main force in politics (why? I have no idea)
        mreome 6y ago
        I think it has a lot to do with the two-party system. Many (most?) congressional districts are essentially locked to one party. Unless the incumbent did something egregious enough for their supporters to turn on them, why would their party not support them as their candidate? If they won by decent margin last time, they'll probably win again unless something major changed. Why make all the necessary investments to support a new candidate when it's cheaper and easier to support the incumbent? They would much rather put their money and time into the districts that might flip.
        pstuart 6y ago
- tick_tock_tick 6y ago
  Term limits just means you need to find a candidate with integrity and willingness to support the people X times more often than with them. As for the amendment some of them are just silly. > "The United States must not support any other governments that infringe upon the right to self-determination." Trade deals have been our main method of influence change around the world and this would just sign away our ability to do that. Some stuff is interesting but for every good one there is a random poison pill inside.

mech422 6y ago

I'm hoping Brand New Congress(1) actually makes some progress.. We won't get any real change until we get term limits (and then campaign finance reform) and we won't get that till the current incumbents are out. 1) https://brandnewcongress.org/ https://brandnewcongress.org/

gabereiser 6y ago
Term limits and abolishment of salary for life. Yes.
- mech422 6y ago
  I'm actually not too upset about the pension/salary... What floored me was learning ex-prez's get a $1 million travel allowance/year! That seems a bit excessive, to say the least :-P
  - gabereiser 6y ago
    If they used it like Ford did I’m ok with that. If you use your ex-prez status for a force of good in the world. Building orphanages or communities and such. If you’re just going to go golfing you can do that on your dime.
    - mech422 6y ago
      Can't a 'force for good' fly coach ? :-P TBH, the sad part is, I can't even think of how you'd categorize usage without someone finding a loophole. Wish I could have a higher opinion of our politicians.
      - lallysingh 6y ago
        I suspect the secret service detail is in that travel budget.
        mech422 6y ago
        Really? I would have thought they submit receipts back to the secret service, like a business expense re-reimbursement? Either way, I'd love to have a travel budget like that :-)
fossuser 6y ago
I’m with you on campaign finance reform, but term limits have knock on effects that can create bad incentives. Congress is already a farm league for K street and would be even more so with term limits. More experienced lobbyists would have more leverage with term limited newbies in the government. That’s not to say there are no negatives to long serving clueless members, but term limits may not be better.
- amanaplanacanal 6y ago
  Agreed. I'm not sure having tons of new people every 2 years that have no idea how Washington works would be a good thing. We just had a president who had no idea, and that was not so good. I used to be a big supporter of term limits for congress, but changed my mind a while ago.
- mech422 6y ago
  Term limits don't necessarily have to be one term. I was sorta thinking 8 years like the pres. or maybe 10 for an even decade. That would give freshmen time to learn the ropes, but not long enough to get too ensconced. Especially since they still have to win re-election.
pstuart 6y ago
Term limits can have unintended consequences -- I'd rather see ranked choice voting or similar.
- mech422 6y ago
  I don't see those as mutually exclusive. Also, term limits don't necessarily have to be one term. I was sorta thinking 8 years like the pres. or maybe 10 for an even decade. That would give freshmen time to learn the ropes, but not long enough to get too ensconced.
  - pstuart 6y ago
    True, they're different things. But if a pol is good at their job they shouldn't get pushed out; we just need to find ways so that they don't remain by inertia alone.
    - mech422 6y ago
      >>But if a pol is good at their job they shouldn't get pushed out; we just need to find ways so that they don't remain by inertia alone. If you figure that one out...Let me know :-) We've had McConnell and Pelosi since the mid 80s! Inertia seems to be the main force in politics (why? I have no idea)
      - mreome 6y ago
        I think it has a lot to do with the two-party system. Many (most?) congressional districts are essentially locked to one party. Unless the incumbent did something egregious enough for their supporters to turn on them, why would their party not support them as their candidate? If they won by decent margin last time, they'll probably win again unless something major changed. Why make all the necessary investments to support a new candidate when it's cheaper and easier to support the incumbent? They would much rather put their money and time into the districts that might flip.
      - pstuart 6y ago
tick_tock_tick 6y ago
Term limits just means you need to find a candidate with integrity and willingness to support the people X times more often than with them. As for the amendment some of them are just silly. > "The United States must not support any other governments that infringe upon the right to self-determination." Trade deals have been our main method of influence change around the world and this would just sign away our ability to do that. Some stuff is interesting but for every good one there is a random poison pill inside.