Why Term Limits are an Awful Idea

We’ve all heard the cliche that there are “lies, damn lies, and statistics”. Well, in the context of political reform, there are blunders, meshugganah blunders and term limits (I’m quite sure this cliche will soon sweep the nation).

Term limits for elected officials are often sold as some sort of cure-all for all of the myriad flaws in our political system. If we just sweep out the old and bring in “fresh blood” every few years, congress and state legislatures will no longer be gridlocked. They will pass more laws, all of them good and they will be less corrupt, stupid, reactionary or Communist (depending on your ideology) poorly dressed and just plain weird.

Put another way, term limits will force us to elect young, bright, pristine, honest politicians we are lucky to have, who will all, within a few years, turn into crusty, crooked, worthless dingleberries we must get rid of. Every single one of them.

This argument is false. It is nothing more than wishful thinking. Having served in both the House and Senate of a legislature for 18 years, I had occasion to observe hundreds of colleagues. Some, on both sides of the aisle, were brilliant, sincere and insightful. Others were fine. Not stand-outs, but did their jobs and represented their constituents satisfactorily. And of course, there were some who were either dumb as a tub of prunes…