Cruz, DeSantis To Introduce Term Limits Bill To Drain The Swamp

10 Dec, 2016 by William Teach

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Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Ron DeSantis have an op-ed up in the Washington Post, explaining the steps needed to actually drain the swamp

If Republicans really want to drain the swamp, here’s how to do it

On Election Day, the American people made a resounding call to “drain the swamp” that is modern Washington. Yet on Capitol Hill, we seem mired in the same cycle of complacency: The game hasn’t changed, and the players remain the same. Thankfully, there’s a solution available that, while stymied by the permanent political class, enjoys broad public support: congressional term limits.

During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump called for enacting term limits, and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) has endorsed the idea. As soon as the 115th Congress convenes, both of us will move to restore accountability among the entrenched Washington establishment by introducing a constitutional amendment to limit the number of terms that a member of Congress can serve to three in the House and two in the Senate.

Passing term limits will demonstrate that Congress has actually heard the voice of the people.

In an age in which partisan divisions seem intractable, it is remarkable that public support for congressional term limits is strong regardless of political affiliation — huge majorities of rank-and-file Republicans, Democrats and independents favor enacting this reform. Indeed, according to a Rasmussen survey conducted in October, 74 percent of likely voters support establishing term limits for all members of Congress. This is because the concept of a citizen legislature is integral to the model of our democratic republic.

They go on to note that the Founders, who declined to add term limits at the time, were very concerned with the creation of a Political Aristocracy, what Cruz and DeSantis refer to as a “permanent political class” and “political careerism”, and they are exactly correct. I remember a few years ago when two Senators, one a Democrat, one a Republican, were lauded and celebrated in the Senate for each having taken over 25,000 votes. That’s despicable. No one should spend that long in a political position. They should spend a short time as a publicly elected servant, then go home to live under the laws they passed.

The rest goes on to describe more reasons for term limits, well worth the read, and worth the support. You may not like Ted Cruz, but, The People on both sides of the political aisle support term limits.

One thing I’ll mention again, if they want to drain the swamp, the 17th Amendment needs to be repealed at the same time, restoring the Federalist notion that State general assemblies should vote on their Senators, meaning that the Senators are beholden to their states, not their parties.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.