1. Professional politicians become out of touch with everyday Americans.
The founding fathers designed a government "of the people, by the people, for the people". They envisioned lawyers, businessmen, and farmers taking a few years off from their careers to contribute to running the country as part of their civic duties. As there were no limits on how many times one could be reelected, however, from the very beginning of our nation we have people who have been reelected to office again and again for decades—professional politicians.
Spending a great deal of time in Washington, steeped in national politics, and living on a comfortable government salary, such politicians may gradually become disconnected from the lives, challenges, and dreams of the average, everyday people they represent. Instead of being "of the people, by the people", they become a separate class above the people, and may lose touch with what exactly it is that common people want and need.
2. Incumbent politicians have an unfair advantage in elections.
Statistically and historically speaking, incumbent politicians campaigning for reelection frequently win over first-time campaigners trying to break into politics. The most common explanation given is that voters are simply more comfortable with someone who has governmental experience and already knows the job. There is more to the story than that, however.
Incumbent politicians have access to governmental resources and contacts that first-time campaigners do not. In recent years, campaign laws have been passed trying to curb this—for example, preventing a politician from using taxpayer money to finance their reelection campaign. There are some advantages, however, that we cannot be controlled with new laws—media coverage, campaign contributions, endorsements… the list goes on. For all these reasons, it is very hard for an everyday American to challenge and defeat an incumbent politician in an election.
3. Professional politicians increase the power of lobbyists.
It is no secret that lobbyists forge relationships and curry favor with politicians. They can sometimes spend years trying to win over a politician. Once they have established a good relationship with that politician, however, lobbyists have political influence through them as long as they remain in office, which in the case of some career politicians, could be decades.
If Congressional term limits were established, then lobbyists would have to forge new relationships with new politicians every few years. The newly elected politician may not be favorable disposed toward that lobbyists, or the lobbyists may spend years building a relationship with that politician, and just be getting to the point where they can start calling in favors when the politician must leave office because their terms have run out. Term limits alone will not break the power of lobbyists—but it may weaken it.
By Bate Dulin.
Authors update 1/25/10
It’s been a busy but disturbing year in Congress, busy yet highly unproductive. Many of us watched on c-span as the senate gave us day after day, week after week, month after month of oratory, partisianship, name-calling and very very little else. This is a system that has grown so enamored with taking credit that its become a mockery of what it was envisioned. Serving in the senate was supposed to be a service to the Country And Your State, in that order. Instead we get career politicians whose only function, that I see, Is to get reelected. What would John Adams think of a supermajority and it’s need to pass any meaningful legislation? With the new ruling coming down last week from the Supreme Court what are the chances for campaign finance reform, or for that matter any legislation that curtails the glut and greed in Washington. I personally am not surprised, just a little sickened.-Bate
