Are Congressional Term Limits The Answer?
Look at where we are. We have a Democratic Congress which is refusing to enact the program of a Democratic President (who won a landslide victory running on that program). What gives? There are several different factors at play but the biggest one, the one that trumps every other factor, is the intense desire of members of Congress to stay in Congress for their entire careers. I worked on the Hill for 20 years and whenever a Democrat (I’m sure it’s the same with Republicans) is presented with any idea that might cost a few votes or campaign contributions, the response is “no” followed by: “So you want me to stick my neck out on (single payer, gay rights, the Israeli occupation, whatever) and lose the election. I guess you think it would be better if some other guy had this seat.” I have heard this over and over again. You think the Blue Dogs really oppose Obama’s plan? I suppose a few do, just the way a few Congressional Democrats really support Israeli policies in West Bank/Gaza. But
