The Need For Term Limits

With the passing of Robert Byrd, we have seen in the last year three long time members of the Senate leave Washington either through death or through finally getting voted out. Byrd, Ted Kennedy and Arlen Specter are the three members I am thinking of. Byrd served over 50 years, Kennedy over 45, and Specter about 30.

If Robert Byrd is not an example of the need for term limits, I don't know who is. He could barely function in the last several years. How could he possibly be representing West Virginia to the best of his ability?

Kennedy is an example of someone who was simply too entrenched in power to be removed. With his name and his wealth, it was virtually impossible to vote him out, although few people in Massachussetts were inclined to do so.

Specter is an example of a cynical politician whose only concern was saving his job. In the last year, it was clear he no longer had core beliefs. He switched from the Republican party to the Democratic party because he knew he could not win the Republican primary due to his votes to support the stimulus in 2009. Once he became a Democrat, he supported virtually every policy of the Obama administration. In return, he received the support of the Democratic powers in his bid for re-election, which was stopped cold in the Democratic primary.

I suspect that Harry Reid in Nevada will be difficult to remove as well. He is currently the most powerful member of the Senate, and while currently trailing his opponent, he has plenty of money to spend on his re-election bid. He will at least make it close, when in fact, it is clear most Nevadans don't want him representing the state any longer.

At some point, when a politician spends too much time in Washington, they become corrupt. However, they become so entrenched in power by catering to the lobbyists, who end up helping their re-election bids, it becomes extremely difficult to remove them.

This needs to change. We see corruption at all levels of government because of the lack of term limits. Here in Pennsylvania, we have a number of representatives under investigation, yet they face little challenge in their re-election bids due to how much power they wield.

The only way Washington and many state governments can be fixed is with term limits. Until we see that day, we will continue to see power centrally located within an inefficient government that no longer represents the will of the people it serves.