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Politics : Bill Clinton Scandal - SANITY CHECK -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hiram Walker who wrote (4466)	9/21/1998 9:05:00 PM
From: dougjn	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 67261

I agree with you about term limits. I understand the argument for them, and find some attractions to those arguments. I do think that there is some tendency of those in Congress to become more involved in Washington political maneuverings, and less involved in their constituencies issues, the longer they have been in office. I also think there really is a learning curve. And certainly for the better Senators and Representatives, experience makes them both wiser and also vastly more knowledgeable, in ways that help our passage of useful and wise laws. I think the real remedy to the concerns held by those who advocate term limits is campaign finance reform. The real problem is the enormous advantage held by those already in office, by the mear fact that they can raise money on that basis, rather than any inherant problem with having been there for a while. I.e., the real problem is, the longer they've been there, the surer a bet they seem for fund raising purposes. Regardless of how good a job the voters really think, in a fair contest, they have done. I'm not sure the exact solution. It might even require a Constitutional amendment, which I am very slow to advocate. But I think it is a vital area to focus on. I haven't, enough, yet. Doug

To: Hiram Walker who wrote (4466)	9/22/1998 11:42:00 AM
From: Ann Corrigan	Respond to of 67261

Hiram, The reason I'm convinced term limits would solve many of the problems with congress is that the system today strongly favors the incumbent being re-elected. The incumbent always has a substantial advantage financially and therefore the challenger does not have a level playing field. The statistics have proven that an incumbent's chances of winning are much greater than a newcomers. The founding fathers never imagined that anyone would want to make a life-long career in congress. To them it was a terrible inconvenience in their lives, but they felt duty-bound to perform it for awhile & then return to the "real world."......In that way those who represent us are more in touch with the needs of their constituents.....the longer they stay in the rarified air of Wash. D.C., with their perks & privileges, the less able they are to identify with the populace. Ann