Now More Than Ever, Strict Term Limits Are Needed for America’s Survival
For more than a decade I have been actively writing political columns which have appeared in local newspapers and national websites along with Canada Free Press, a solidly American free conservative website out of our friendly neighbor to the north, as you are probably aware.
Many of my columns have covered the subject of term limits which I insist MUST be a part of our political discussion and eventually our laws as an absolute necessity for our country’s survival. The only thing about long term entrenchment in political office, of which we can be assured, is the constantly multiplying corruption and national financial damage. There is not enough space to list all, or even much of, the down side to our normal political process, but safe to say, it is rapidly KILLING the country.
I equate the word “corruption” with “reelection”. I believe that there is some sub-rosa corruption in EVERY campaign for reelection; POTUS included. This corruption expands and each term gets more hurtful to our country from the out-and-out theft of taxpayer funds for personal gain to the incumbent. What some politicians get away with could, if ever closely scrutinized, result in prison terms or at least, scathingly shameful records of abuses.
Ever notice how quickly the money-strapped candidate you sent to Congress becomes a millionaire? It’s not the salary, though almost $200K annually is a good start; the real money comes with learning the ins and outs of financial corruption and privileged trading secrets. The POTUS is even worse – look at the ‘low to no’ pre-election incomes of Clinton and Obama; multi-millionaires in less than eight years.
Proof of the anti-American activities and damages to our Constitutionally mandated laws through this political corruption was vividly and egregiously displayed in the attempts (and success) of unlikely pols of the GOP establishment, namely Senator Cochran (R-MS), actually BUYING VOTES from, of all people, DEMOCRATS to cross over and vote for the ultra-corrupt Sen. Cochran to defeat his conservative primary campaign opponent, Chris McDaniel. These votes may not pass the smell test.
Deneen Borelli of FreedomWorks.org online June 27, 2014, opines, “Mitch McConnell, John McCain, the Chamber of Commerce, K Street lobbyists, and the NRSC helped Democrats choose the Republican Nominee.” In her own words, that was “shameful, corrupt, and unforgivable.” And, in my words, ‘unforgettable but not unfixable.’
The most sensible and honest answer to prevent ANY sort of corruption like we currently have in monstrous amounts at all levels of government is ABSOLUTE TERM LIMITS; and by that, I mean just like our Founding Fathers envisioned more than 230 years ago, a non-career volunteer form of governance.
The big difference between my version and that of the FF (Founding Fathers) is that where the FF approved of the current pertinent Constitutional law citation of limitless numbers of terms for each of the two houses of Congress, they, having had no previous records of Congressional actions to guide them, naively, and mistakenly, went along with trust in their fellow man; my version registers the disgustful and untrusting recorded abuses inflicted by these politicians for unlawful moves that have been targeted to benefit the lawlessness of the individual seeking office instead of the country.
It has been my experience and perception (proven correct over many years and many politicians) that corruption begins with the simple word, REELECTION. There can be little to no corruptive advances made by the politicians in their first term in office. Of course that is much more ‘equateable’ to the members of the House of Representative who are charged with serving only ONE two-year term in office as opposed to the SIX year term Constitutionally allowed for Senators and for which more time is allowed to become corrupt and manipulative with government loosely worded regulations.
My version of correction for the ills of corrupt politicians would first require a Constitutional Amendment changing the provisions of service in all offices to a fully equal FOUR years, eliminating the current SIX and TWO years for Senators and Representatives as documented in the U. S. Constitution. Furthermore, such four year terms would be terminal at the end of four years with no option to apply again for elected service in the federal government.
This restricted requirement would satisfy and make possible more candidates from all corners of the American population and bring new ideas and freshness to our government every four years, preventing stagnant and repetitive dull, thoughtless and boredom of what now can consist of “permanent” or “career” types of representation, all aimed at more honest and civic-minded spirited membership for four years and then return home.
The high costs of contesting even for the first term, where it is deemed that millions of dollars MUST be gathered just to make the run, would no longer be routine as now; the very long-shot potential long range benefits to special interests and large corporate entities just aren’t in the realms of possibility with only four years of potentiality.
If voluntary service from inexperienced civilian recruits for such service in government ever seriously lags in numbers available, consideration could be given to allowing a former elected member to serve a second term provided that at least eight years had lapsed since the prior term ended with no inside contacts permitted. This could be an emergency classification need due to low expected candidate numbers.
The provisions for service as listed here are strictly of my own presentation. A Congressionally sponsored national public forum on this subject should be held in order to gain fresh new ideas for adoption and acceptance of U. S. Constitution legal requirements.