Breaking gridlock: How about term limits for all Washington lawmakers?

America has term limits for the office of the president, governors and a plethora of local offices. However, the Congress and Senate have escaped the boundaries of term limits. The ability to spend a literal lifetime in the US Senate and Congress may be at the heart of the recent legislative paralysis that has crippled the US government. If all politicians knew they were out after two terms, perhaps they would spend less time electioneering and more time governing.

Fighting among lawmakers in Washington has produced frustration for the electorate and both the democratic and republican parties.  Moreover, infighting has bought the legislative process to a screeching halt. Jockeying for position on powerful committees has kept senior members of the House and Senate focused on reelection for control of key committees, because that is where the true power lies.

Now take the same picture and remove career politicians. For one thing, lobbyists would have to change their strategy. It would cost them a lot more money to fund an unknown candidate, every two years for Congress and six years for the Senate. With new lawmakers being part of the rule instead of the exception, deeply entrenched power-brokers would be forced to give up their powerful seats on everything from the Armed Services 

Committee, to budget and commerce committees. And the list goes on.

The advantage to voters is not only faster changes in a notoriously slow legislative body, but it may put a dent in the corruption process.

Change is what Americans vote for when the country is heading down the wrong path. However, change brings false hope when elections merely exchange one well funded career politician for another with little more than a different name or party label.

While not the ultimate solution, term limits for every elected office in the Unites States would take America a long way toward weeding out career politicians who have grown too comfortable in their deep seats of power. It would also bring American government closer to the design of the country’s founders.