Term Limits

I have been a proponent of term limits for a long time. I feel it was the intention of our forefathers that Congress would be composed of citizen legislators, rather than the professional sort we are subjected to today. The entrenchment of incumbents in Congress leads to greater influence by special interest groups, as well as the morass that passes for legislation these days. The complexity of Congress' workings is nothing more than a barrier to entry, and it poses no benefit to the nation.

Voters like term limits. As a matter of principle, they like to know that the powerful people won't be powerful forever. They would like to know that the power of the purse is held by people more in tune with their ideas. Greater turnover in Congress would seem to provide such a fresh perspective. Unfortunately, term limits for the United States Congress will only come as part of a Consitutional amendment, and it seems highly unlikely that our self-interested representatives will become involved with that. Voters must be content to focus on states and municipalities, and they have been.

In today's Opinion Journal, John Fund writes about the fight over term limits. Take a look, and see if you don't agree with me.