More than a dozen sitting members of Congress (of both political parties) have been in their seats for more than 36 years, so forgive me if I find these argumen

More than a dozen sitting members of Congress (of both political parties) have been in their seats for more than 36 years, so forgive me if I find these arguments about long-term and short-term interests moot. Politicians care about getting elected and then re-elected, in that order. Somewhere much lower in their set of priorities is pushing policy.