Super Committee FAILED!!!! Time to FIRE some congressmen and women.

[Biggsly]

Time for term limits and a house cleaning. This people are playing a dangerous game and the American people will lose.

This.........

 

[soonerwings]

Time for term limits and a house cleaning. This people are playing a dangerous game and the American people will lose.

Term limits is our only real chance, people. Career politicians will never truly be in touch with the will and needs of the real people.

I understand the "damage control" mindset that people have gotten into as a result of career politicians. That being said, I still abhor the idea of term limits on ideological grounds. In my mind, term limits are intellectual laziness. Career politicians wouldn't exist in the first place if voters didn't allow it. For crying out loud, we've had the power to term limit bad politicians since the drafting of the Constitution. It's called voting. If a guy/gal does a great job representing his constituents, then let him/her keep doing it. Why deprive someone of the right to vote for a good representative or executive? If a guy/gal does a rotten job, then he/she can be voted out after his/her first term.

We get the government that we deserve.

 

[tRidiot]

Term limits keep people from gaining increasing influence and power with their longevity in office. If Tom Coburn spends 60 years in office, he's bound to have practically unlimited influence to bring projects to Oklahoma, win funding for Oklahoma and exert massive amounts of sway in pork-barrel projects to bring more dollars to our state. Our people would naturally want him to remain in office and keep helping Oklahomans.

However, people in Mississippi, Alabama, Arizona, Alaska, Oregon, Illinois and Wisconsin, who had lost out projects and dollars to Oklahoma during all those years have NO way to vote out Tom Coburn. They can't even field a candidate against him.

I find absolutely NO compelling arguments against term limits and against career politicians. Turning over the population in Congress and the Senate every few years to keep new blood and fresh ideas flowing with people who live everyday lives (teachers, doctors, firemen, armed service members, small business owners, etc.). In my mind there is NO down side to this.


Let's put it this way... how are things working out for us the way it is NOW?

 

[SMS]

I understand the "damage control" mindset that people have gotten into as a result of career politicians. That being said, I still abhor the idea of term limits on ideological grounds. In my mind, term limits are intellectual laziness. Career politicians wouldn't exist in the first place if voters didn't allow it. For crying out loud, we've had the power to term limit bad politicians since the drafting of the Constitution. It's called voting. If a guy/gal does a great job representing his constituents, then let him/her keep doing it. Why deprive someone of the right to vote for a good representative or executive? If a guy/gal does a rotten job, then he/she can be voted out after his/her first term.

We get the government that we deserve.

Very, very good point.

My cynicism has reached the point of "F##K it, you wanna do this? Let's go and see where it ends up just don't cry to me when it all comes crashing down."

People want to keep electing corrupt morons...fine. Bring it.

 

[soonerwings]

Term limits keep people from gaining increasing influence and power with their longevity in office. If Tom Coburn spends 60 years in office, he's bound to have practically unlimited influence to bring projects to Oklahoma, win funding for Oklahoma and exert massive amounts of sway in pork-barrel projects to bring more dollars to our state. Our people would naturally want him to remain in office and keep helping Oklahomans.

Seeing as he's elected by the people of Oklahoma, I see no problem with this. Again, if you don't like the system fix the system. There are ways to eliminate pork barrel projects without trampling on voters' rights to elect whatever representation they desire.

However, people in Mississippi, Alabama, Arizona, Alaska, Oregon, Illinois and Wisconsin, who had lost out projects and dollars to Oklahoma during all those years have NO way to vote out Tom Coburn. They can't even field a candidate against him.

Since the people in these states aren't represented by Mr. Coburn, they should focus more on THEIR representative.

I find absolutely NO compelling arguments against term limits and against career politicians.

I do. It's called freedom. Ron Paul said (and I'm paraphrasing here) that being able to make our own decisions AND being willing to accept the consequences of those decisions are what freedom is all about. He's spot on. That simple principle applies just as much to voting as it does to health care.

Let's put it this way... how are things working out for us the way it is NOW?

We the people have let things get this way. Pointing the finger at representatives that WE elected is only an attempt to shift blame. Term limits are just one more excuse that people can use to justify not paying attention to what's happening in the world around them.

 

[SMS]

We always talk about holding politicians accountable...voters need to be held accountable as well. If you keep electing the same idiot, you get what you deserve.

 

[VitruvianDoc]

We always talk about holding politicians accountable...voters need to be held accountable as well. If you keep electing the same idiot, you get what you deserve.

I keep hearing this but the elephant thus far is that the way the system is set up, you need money to get into office and generally you have to have that money yourself unless you get sponsorship of one of the two major parties. Therefore, the field of people to be elected is heavily influenced by the two parties. I find myself often voting for the lesser of two evils rather than someone I truly want to represent. Voting has become such a farce lately, in my opinion, largely due to this phenomenon.

I have no thought as to a solution of this issue but its definitely an issue that needs to be addressed along with the ethics reform of politics in general (insider trading, under-the-table and closed-door votes and pork barreling, etc).

 

[tRidiot]

Well, then we should remove the term limits here in the state and for the President, right?

RINOs like Sue Tibbs who've been shitting on our firearms rights for years due to "seniority" and being appointed to certain committees? So because people in a liberal district in Tulsa keep electing her and she has power over our firearms rights, that's perfectly ok, huh? So one rep from Tulsa keeping our rights under her thumb is the way the game is played in this system, and it's the people in Tulsa who are to blame for your not being able to open carry a firearm, huh?

You won't convince me terms limits are bad.... for any reason. They are enacted to prevent some in power from gaining TOO MUCH power, and that is the exactly the point.

 

[SMS]

You make passionate points tR...but I just don't see how it can be done across the board.

The States reserve the right to elect their own Senators/Reps per the Constitution...are you talking about further weaking the power of the States by amending the Constitution? And do you really think that will get ratified?

 

[soonerwings]

Well, then we should remove the term limits here in the state and for the President, right?

Yes.

RINOs like Sue Tibbs who've been shitting on our firearms rights for years due to "seniority" and being appointed to certain committees? So because people in a liberal district in Tulsa keep electing her and she has power over our firearms rights, that's perfectly ok, huh? So one rep from Tulsa keeping our rights under her thumb is the way the game is played in this system, and it's the people in Tulsa who are to blame for your not being able to open carry a firearm, huh?

People that live in her district can vote for/against her and people that don't can worry about THEIR representatives. You really think that ONE rep in a congress can control which law passes and which law doesn't? I don't buy it. If most representatives thought it was a good idea to open carry, then it would happen. Again, I understand the tendency to finger point at "other peoples' " representatives, but we really just need to worry about ours.

You won't convince me terms limits are bad.... for any reason. They are enacted to prevent some in power from gaining TOO MUCH power, and that is the exactly the point.

The ballot box was designed for this purpose. Term limits are just an excuse to justify not using the ballot box.